Coach: Frank Hughes
Captain: Don Cordner
Finishing Position: 2nd (Premiers)
Best and Fairest: Alby Rodda
Leading Goalkicker: Lance Arnold (41)
Best First Year Player: n/a
| Matches | Ladder | Playing List | Tribunal | Seconds | Thirds |
After their triple-premiership winning sides at the turn of the century were torn apart by war, and a fall down the ladder in 1947 after making the Grand Final a year earlier, Melbourne recovered to capture their sixth league premiership. It took the first Grand Final Replay in league history, after Essendon kicked themselves out of the first match.
Melbourne's secret weapon for the finals was Jack Mueller, who came out of retirement late in the season to kick 20 goals in his three finals appearances - including six of ten in the first Grand Final and another six in the Replay. Melbourne needed Mueller as they were down to the bare bones of their playing list midway through the finals but his inclusion proved decisive.
Late in the season a siren was introduced to the MCG for the first time, replacing a bell known as 'Old Lysander' which had been used since 1922. VFL games were now scheduled to start at 2.15 instead of 2.30.
Melbourne Thirds played a Queensland representative side at the MCG on Wednesday 11 August. The Demons juniors won comfortably.
An exhibition game was proposed for October in Broken Hill, but was later cancelled.
At the end of the season Checker Hughes retired as coach, along with star players Don Cordner, Shane McGrath, Norm Smith and Jack Mueller followed. It marked the start of a rebuilding phase.
Despite the premiership, and record receipts of £6581/18/1, the club made a loss due to £7524/17/8 expenditure.
Melbourne's VFL delegates were Bill Flintoft and Bruce Hogg.
Premiership season
| Round | Opposition | Result | Score | ||
| 1 | Essendon | LOSS | 77-96 | ||
| 2 | St. Kilda | WIN | 79-48 | ||
| 3 | Fitzroy | LOSS | 48-86 | ||
| 4 | Richmond | WIN | 89-84 | ||
| 5 | North Melbourne | WIN | 95-50 | ||
| 6 | South Melbourne | WIN | 105-59 | ||
| 7 | Carlton | WIN | 102-51 | ||
| 8 | Collingwood | LOSS | 76-83 | ||
| 9 | Footscray | LOSS | 68-75 | ||
| 10 | Hawthorn | WIN | 120-70 | ||
| 11 | Geelong | WIN | 71-57 | ||
| 12 | Essendon | LOSS | 65-91 | ||
| 13 | St. Kilda | WIN | 163-58 | ||
| 14 | Fitzroy | WIN | 113-77 | ||
| 15 | Richmond | LOSS | 44-106 | ||
| 16 | North Melbourne | WIN | 74-42 | ||
| 17 | South Melbourne | WIN | 103-54 | ||
| 18 | Carlton | WIN | 101-92 | ||
| 19 | Collingwood | WIN | 89-59 | ||
| SF | Essendon | LOSS | 58-94 | ||
| PF | Collingwood | WIN | 166-101 | ||
| GF | Essendon | DRAW | 69-69 | ||
| GF-R | Essendon | WIN | 89-50 | ||
Ladder
| W | D | L | % | P | |
| Essendon | 16 | 1 | 2 | 137.2 | 66 |
| Melbourne | 13 | 0 | 6 | 124.9 | 52 |
| Collingwood | 13 | 0 | 6 | 118.3 | 52 |
| Footscray | 12 | 0 | 7 | 103.2 | 48 |
| Richmond | 11 | 1 | 7 | 125.6 | 46 |
| Carlton | 10 | 0 | 9 | 113.1 | 40 |
| Fitzroy | 9 | 0 | 10 | 112.8 | 36 |
| North Melbourne | 8 | 0 | 11 | 83.6 | 32 |
| Geelong | 7 | 0 | 12 | 89.7 | 28 |
| South Melbourne | 7 | 0 | 12 | 82.8 | 28 |
| Hawthorn | 5 | 0 | 14 | 75.7 | 20 |
| St. Kilda | 2 | 0 | 17 | 59.8 | 8 |
Exhibition match
| Opposition | Result | Score | |||
| Central Goulburn Valley League | WIN | 126-70 | |||
| North Western Football Union | WIN | 120-73 | |||
Playing list
| Number | Name | Games | Goals | ||
| 1 | Denis Cordner | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1 | Jim Mitchell | 12 | 7 | ||
| 2 | Robert McKenzie | 19 | 39 | ||
| 3 | Geoff Collins | 7 | 3 | ||
| 4 | Norm Smith | 13 | 35 | ||
| 5 | Billy Deans | 23 | 0 | ||
| 6 | Eddie Craddock | 11 | 18 | ||
| 7 | Eddie Jackson | 13 | 3 | ||
| 8 | Doug Heywood | 2 | 0 | ||
| 9 | Les Crawley | 4 | 0 | ||
| 10 | Lance Arnold | 22 | 41 | ||
| 11 | Gordon Bowman | 11 | 1 | ||
| 12 | Jack Mueller | 5 | 28 | ||
| 13 | Max Spittle | 22 | 1 | ||
| 14 | Eric Roscoe | 12 | 11 | ||
| 15 | Frank O'Connor | 7 | 7 | ||
| 16 | George Bickford | 23 | 2 | ||
| 17 | Greg Lourey | 5 | 1 | ||
| 18 | Wally Lock | 18 | 0 | ||
| 19 | Bill Scanlan | 6 | 1 | ||
| 20 | Russ Robinson | 6 | 1 | ||
| 21 | Don Cordner | 23 | 0 | ||
| 22 | Shane McGrath | 22 | 1 | ||
| 23 | Dave Hardie | 5 | 3 | ||
| 24 | Frank Hanna | 14 | 3 | ||
| 25 | Col McLean | 22 | 0 | ||
| 26 | Colin Cox | 2 | 2 | ||
| 27 | Ernie O'Rourke | 10 | 5 | ||
| 28 | Adrian Dullard | 23 | 31 | ||
| 30 | Alby Rodda | 21 | 23 | ||
| 31 | Stan Rule | 19 | 1 | ||
| 32 | Len Dockett | 22 | 8 | ||
| 33 | Alan McGowan | 4 | 1 | ||
| 33 | Des Bell | 1 | 1 | ||
| 34 | Frank Scanlan | 12 | 5 | ||
| 35 | Noel McMahen | 17 | 15 | ||
Best and Fairest
| Player | Votes | ||||
| 1st | Alby Rodda | ||||
Other Awards
Outstanding Service - Len Dockett
Effective Play in Finals - Col McLean
Tribunal
| Round | Player | Charge | Sanction | ||
| Round 7 | Norm Smith | Obscene Language | 4 matches | ||
| SF | Bob McKenzie | Striking | Guilty (Reprimand) | ||
| PF | Alan McGowan | Attempted Striking | 2 matches | ||
Seconds
1948 Seconds season
Best and Fairest - John Dorgan
| W | D | L | % | P | |
| Collingwood | 16 | 0 | 3 | 130.1 | 64 |
| Richmond | 15 | 0 | 4 | 151.1 | 60 |
| Geelong | 12 | 1 | 6 | 135.5 | 50 |
| Essendon | 12 | 0 | 7 | 134.0 | 48 |
| Melbourne | 11 | 1 | 7 | 108.1 | 46 |
| Carlton | 11 | 0 | 8 | 103.5 | 44 |
| Footscray | 9 | 1 | 9 | 118.4 | 38 |
| South Melbourne | 7 | 0 | 12 | 83.9 | 28 |
| St Kilda | 6 | 0 | 13 | 84.1 | 24 |
| North Melbourne | 6 | 0 | 13 | 79.0 | 24 |
| Fitzroy | 5 | 1 | 13 | 77.0 | 22 |
| Hawthorn | 2 | 0 | 17 | 54.0 | 8 |
Thirds
| W | D | L | % | P | |
| Essendon | 16 | 1 | 0 | 229.8 | 66 |
| Geelong | 15 | 0 | 2 | 207.3 | 60 |
| Carlton | 14 | 0 | 3 | 230.4 | 56 |
| Richmond | 12 | 0 | 5 | 155.6 | 48 |
| Melbourne | 9 | 0 | 8 | 154.9 | 36 |
| Footscray | 9 | 0 | 8 | 81.4 | 36 |
| South Melbourne | 7 | 0 | 10 | 94.9 | 28 |
| Fitzroy | 7 | 0 | 10 | 73.2 | 28 |
| Hawthorn | 5 | 1 | 11 | 72.2 | 22 |
| North Melbourne | 4 | 0 | 13 | 16 | |
| North Essendon | 2 | 0 | 15 | 28.6 | 8 |
| St Kilda | 1 | 0 | 16 | 29.6 | 4 |
Media
Barrier Daily Truth - 30/09/1948
Sporting Globe - 13/10/1948
Argus - 28/01/1949