Coach: Allan La Fontaine
Captain: Denis Cordner
Finishing Position: 5th
Best and Fairest: Len Dockett
Leading Goalkicker: Bob McKenzie (41)
Best First Year Player: n/a
| Matches | Ladder | Playing list | Tribunal | Seconds | Thirds |
After breaking through for their first post-war premiership, Melbourne lost a number of senior players and retiring coach Checker Hughes. The board selected Allan La Fontaine as Hughes' replacement, winning by a single vote over Norm Smith. Smith left to take change at Fitzroy, and the Demons struggled to four losses in their first five games. They won 11 of their last 13 games but the damage was done, leaving Melbourne a game and percentage outside the top four. Five losses by under eight points, and three by exactly two points, cost them.
The VFL approved a rise in player payments from £3 to £4 per match from Round 4 onwards.
A proposed trip to Sydney and Narrandera during the season was cancelled due to "difficulty arranging transport".
The Seconds won their first premiership since 1939.
A contested election was held for board positions before the season. Candidates were WD Oliver, RJ Taylor, ECH Taylor, R. Gillespie-Jones, K. Scott, WCJ Saunders, IC Warne-Smith and LV King. WJ Berry and AL McPaterson were elected unopposed as representative of football club members.
Jack Chessell resigned as Secretary at the end of the year due to business pressures. He was expected to be replaced by AEF Causer, formerly secretary of VFA side Northcote, but Alan Thompson was appointed instead.
Premiership season
| Round | Opposition | Result | Score | ||
| 1 | Geelong | LOSS | 83-145 | ||
| 2 | Collingwood | LOSS | 80-82 | ||
| 3 | Footscray | WIN | 100-48 | ||
| 4 | South Melbourne | LOSS | 51-59 | ||
| 5 | North Melbourne | LOSS | 46-48 | ||
| 6 | St. Kilda | WIN | 61-37 | ||
| 7 | Essendon | WIN | 90-75 | ||
| 8 | Hawthorn | WIN | 77-66 | ||
| 9 | Fitzroy | WIN | 74-52 | ||
| 10 | Carlton | WIN | 86-78 | ||
| 11 | Richmond | WIN | 101-63 | ||
| 12 | Geelong | WIN | 101-98 | ||
| 13 | Collingwood | WIN | 73-58 | ||
| 14 | Footscray | LOSS | 72-74 | ||
| 15 | South Melbourne | WIN | 79-65 | ||
| 16 | North Melbourne | LOSS | 58-64 | ||
| 17 | St. Kilda | WIN | 106-52 | ||
| 18 | Essendon | LOSS | 76-101 | ||
| 19 | Hawthorn | WIN | 102-76 | ||
Ladder
| W | D | L | % | P | |
| North Melbourne | 14 | 0 | 5 | 119.1 | 56 |
| Carlton | 13 | 0 | 6 | 126.4 | 52 |
| Collingwood | 13 | 0 | 6 | 123.5 | 52 |
| Essendon | 13 | 0 | 6 | 120.7 | 52 |
| Melbourne | 12 | 0 | 7 | 113.0 | 48 |
| Richmond | 10 | 0 | 9 | 116.7 | 40 |
| Fitzroy | 10 | 0 | 9 | 97.8 | 40 |
| Geelong | 9 | 0 | 10 | 111.8 | 36 |
| Footscray | 7 | 0 | 12 | 83.9 | 28 |
| South Melbourne | 6 | 0 | 13 | 80.5 | 24 |
| St. Kilda | 4 | 0 | 15 | 73.5 | 16 |
| Hawthorn | 3 | 0 | 16 | 61.1 | 12 |
Exhibition Match
| Opposition | Result | Score | |||
| Ballarat League | WIN | 151-149 | |||
Playing list
| Player | Games | Goals | |||
| 1 | Denis Cordner | 18 | 8 | ||
| 2 | Bob McKenzie | 18 | 40 | ||
| 3 | Geoff Collins | 17 | 0 | ||
| 4 | Bob Chadwick | 2 | 0 | ||
| 5 | Billy Deans | 19 | 1 | ||
| 6 | Eddie Craddock | 11 | 18 | ||
| 7 | Eddie Jackson | 15 | 0 | ||
| 8 | Doug Heywood | 6 | 4 | ||
| 9 | Ray Harvey | 2 | 3 | ||
| 9 | Colin Cox | 1 | 0 | ||
| 10 | Lance Arnold | 17 | 29 | ||
| 11 | Gordon Bowman | 4 | 0 | ||
| 12 | Jack Mueller | 4 | 9 | ||
| 13 | Max Spittle | 10 | 0 | ||
| 14 | Eric Roscoe | 5 | 0 | ||
| 15 | Len Toyne | 12 | 18 | ||
| 16 | George Bickford | 17 | 2 | ||
| 17 | John Dorgan | 3 | 0 | ||
| 18 | Wally Lock | 4 | 1 | ||
| 19 | Colin Love | 4 | 8 | ||
| 20 | Alan McGowan | 8 | 2 | ||
| 21 | Don Cordner | 19 | 1 | ||
| 22 | Shane McGrath | 15 | 0 | ||
| 23 | Ken Carlon | 16 | 4 | ||
| 24 | Frank Hanna | 5 | 0 | ||
| 25 | Col McLean | 19 | 0 | ||
| 27 | Ken Rollason | 6 | 0 | ||
| 28 | Adrian Dullard | 18 | 35 | ||
| 29 | Ray Jones | 1 | 0 | ||
| 30 | Alby Rodda | 19 | 15 | ||
| 31 | Stan Rule | 16 | 5 | ||
| 32 | Len Dockett | 18 | 2 | ||
| 33 | Jack Thomson | 2 | 2 | ||
| 34 | Jim Shaw | 3 | 2 | ||
| 35 | Noel McMahen | 7 | 3 | ||
| 36 | Bob Stone | 3 | 0 | ||
| 37 | Mike Woods | 16 | 0 | ||
Best and Fairest
| Player | |||||
| 1st | Len Dockett | ||||
| 2nd | Denis Cordner | ||||
Awards
Most Consistent - Col McLean
Tribunal
| Round | Player | Charge | Sanction | ||
| Round 6 | Jack Mueller | Striking | 4 matches | ||
| Round 13 | Len Toyne | Striking | Not Guilty | ||
| Round 18 | Billy Deans | Striking | Not Guilty | ||
Seconds
| W | D | L | % | P | |
| Melbourne | 15 | 0 | 4 | 133.3 | 60 |
| Essendon | 13 | 1 | 5 | 143.2 | 54 |
| Collingwood | 13 | 0 | 6 | 121.4 | 52 |
| Richmond | 12 | 0 | 7 | 118.0 | 48 |
| Footscray | 11 | 1 | 7 | 114.5 | 46 |
| Geelong | 9 | 1 | 9 | 111.6 | 38 |
| Fitzroy | 9 | 1 | 9 | 97.9 | 37 |
| Carlton | 9 | 0 | 10 | 98.6 | 36 |
| South Melbourne | 7 | 0 | 12 | 89.9 | 28 |
| St Kilda | 6 | 1 | 12 | 74.1 | 26 |
| North Melbourne | 4 | 1 | 14 | 79.4 | 18 |
| Hawthorn | 3 | 0 | 16 | 59.9 | 12 |
Finals
| Round | Opposition | Result | Score | ||
| SF | Essendon | LOSS | 91-71 | ||
| PF | Richmond | WIN | 122-73 | ||
| GF | Essendon | WIN | 112-68 | ||
Thirds
| W | D | L | % | P | |
| Geelong | 14 | 0 | 3 | 165.6 | 56 |
| South Melbourne | 14 | 0 | 3 | 132.8 | 56 |
| Carlton | 13 | 0 | 4 | 176.5 | 52 |
| Melbourne | 12 | 0 | 4 | 120.8 | 48 |
| Richmond | 11 | 0 | 6 | 111.1 | 44 |
| Essendon | 9 | 0 | 8 | 120.2 | 36 |
| Footscray | 7 | 0 | 9 | 108.9 | 28 |
| Fitzroy | 7 | 0 | 9 | 74.2 | 28 |
| St Kilda | 4 | 0 | 12 | 65.6 | 16 |
| North Melbourne | 4 | 0 | 12 | 57.8 | 16 |
| Hawthorn | 4 | 0 | 12 | 36.6 | 16 |
Finals
| Round | Opposition | Result | Score | ||
| SF | Carlton | LOSS | 34-64 | ||
Notes
Thirds teams played a different amount of games. Some matches seem to have been cancelled. Carlton, Melbourne, Essendon, Fitzroy, North Melbourne and Hawthorn all had two byes. Geelong, South Melbourne, Richmond, Footscray and St Kilda had one.
May have been a game during the October trip to Sale.
Media
Age - 22/10/1948
21/01/1949
Narrandera Argus and Riverina Advertiser - 27/05/1949
Sun - 28/11/1949