Saturday 9 May - Western Oval
Crowd: Unknown
Footscray 2.3, 2.3, 2.8, 2.8
Melbourne 0.0, 4.5, 4.5, 6.7
Melbourne win by 4 goals
Goalkickers: McCarthy 3, Christie 1, Powell 1, O'Halloran 1
Having lost their opening engagement of the new season, the third best team of 1895 were still without McGuinness, Moysey, Healing, Wilson and Hughes for their clash against fellow first round losers Footscray.
The home side kicked with a strong wind in the first quarter, but they managed just two goals in the face of strong defence by a Melbourne backline ably led by O'Halloran. The Reds got four in the second term, and held Footscray goalless in the third quarter before running out comfortable winners with the breeze in the last.
The last match between the two sides, in the final match of 1895, had degenerated into an unseemly brawl but there was no sign of similar in the return match even though it was still rough.
Best were Christie, McCulloch and Ramsden.
Media
Argus - 09/05/1896
Australasian - 16/05/1896