Coach: Norm Smith
Captain: Denis Cordner
Finishing Position: 11th
Best and Fairest: Ken Melville
Leading Goalkicker: Bob McKenzie (38)
Best First Year Player: Ken Melville
Members: 3600
After climbing from the bottom of the ladder to sixth in 1952 under new coach Norm Smith, the Demons crashed back to the bottom of the ladder. After losing 10 of their last 11 games they finished half a game ahead of wooden spooners Hawthorn.
With the last remaining stars of the 1948 premiership team either gone or on the way out, Smith blooded 19 new players, many of whom went on to be part of the 1955 Premiership. Another avenue for recruitment came with the introduction of a Fourths team, a reaction to having too many Thirds players available. For the first time teams were able to sign players to their Thirds but allow them to play with their original club when not required. Melbourne's side showed that there was plenty of talent coming through the ranks by winning the premiership
Before the season Melbourne and Richmond had joined to veto a move to allow Carlton to use at the MCG while Princes Park was being prepared for the 1956 Olympics. Melbourne objected that it was impractical for two clubs to train on the ground. They left the door open to the club playing matches there but the Blues remained at their home ground..
The disappointing season led to a deficit, with £8990 of income and £10,484 in expenses. An end of season trip was taken to Coleraine.
Richard Taylor replaced Wally Scott as Melbourne's VFL delegate, sitting alongside Bert Chadwick.
Premiership season
| Round | Opposition | Result | Score
|
| 1 | Richmond | LOSS | 67-73
|
| 2 | Carlton | LOSS | 59-90
|
| 3 | North Melbourne | LOSS | 83-84
|
| 4 | Footscray | LOSS | 30-75
|
| 5 | Essendon | WIN | 57-46
|
| 6 | Fitzroy | LOSS | 71-81
|
| 7 | Geelong | LOSS | 58-82
|
| 8 | South Melbourne | LOSS | 71-77
|
| 9 | Collingwood | LOSS | 48-63
|
| 10 | Hawthorn | LOSS | 74-102
|
| 11 | St. Kilda | LOSS | 69-73
|
| 12 | Richmond | DRAW | 75-75
|
| 13 | Carlton | LOSS | 70-96
|
| 14 | North Melbourne | WIN | 67-64
|
| 15 | Footscray | LOSS | 61-98
|
| 16 | Essendon | LOSS | 57-82
|
| 17 | Fitzroy | WIN | 64-49
|
| 18 | Geelong | LOSS | 56-110 |
Lightning Premiership
Exhibition match
| Opponent | Result | Score
|
| Army | ? | ? |
Ladder
| W | D | L | % | P
|
| Geelong | 15 | 0 | 3 | 143.3 | 60
|
| Collingwood | 14 | 0 | 4 | 123.5 | 56
|
| Footscray | 13 | 0 | 5 | 136.5 | 52
|
| Essendon | 13 | 0 | 5 | 129.9 | 52
|
| Carlton | 10 | 0 | 8 | 107.6 | 40
|
| Fitzroy | 10 | 0 | 8 | 85.0 | 40
|
| North Melbourne | 9 | 0 | 9 | 107.8 | 36
|
| South Melbourne | 9 | 0 | 9 | 104.7 | 36
|
| St. Kilda | 5 | 0 | 13 | 68.2 | 20
|
| Richmond | 3 | 1 | 14 | 81.3 | 14
|
| Melbourne | 3 | 1 | 14 | 80.1 | 14
|
| Hawthorn | 3 | 0 | 15 | 68.5 | 12 |
Playing List
Best and Fairest
Other awards
Consistent service - John Beckwith and Stuart Spencer (shared)
Most improved - Ralph Lane
Best clubman - John Ferguson
Outstanding first year service - Peter Marquis and Don Williams
Unselfish play - Ken Christie
Tribunal
Seconds
1953 Seconds season
| W | D | L | % | P
|
| Essendon | 16 | 0 | 2 | 161.4 | 64
|
| Richmond | 14 | 0 | 4 | 127.8 | 56
|
| North Melbourne | 12 | 0 | 6 | 101.3 | 48
|
| Carlton | 11 | 0 | 7 | 121.7 | 44
|
| Collingwood | 9 | 0 | 9 | 114.6 | 36
|
| South Melbourne | 9 | 0 | 9 | 100.4 | 36
|
| Melbourne | 9 | 0 | 9 | 95.8 | 36
|
| Fitzroy | 8 | 0 | 10 | 98.0 | 32
|
| Geelong | 7 | 0 | 11 | 86.3 | 28
|
| Footscray | 6 | 0 | 12 | 92.6 | 24
|
| Hawthorn | 4 | 0 | 14 | 72.5 | 16
|
| St Kilda | 3 | 0 | 15 | 66.0 | 12 |
Thirds
Captain - Robert B Johnson
1953 Thirds season
Leading goalkicker - Jeff Crouch (42 goals)
| W | D | L | % | P
|
| Melbourne | 14 | 0 | 2 | 175.3 | 56
|
| Footscray | 12 | 1 | 3 | 148.6 | 50
|
| Collingwood | 12 | 0 | 4 | 134.6 | 48
|
| Essendon | 10 | 1 | 5 | 162.4 | 42
|
| Fitzroy | 9 | 1 | 6 | 127.2 | 38
|
| Geelong | 9 | 0 | 7 | 86.7 | 36
|
| Carlton | 7 | 0 | 9 | 100.7 | 28
|
| South Melbourne | 6 | 1 | 9 | 91.2 | 26
|
| North Melbourne | 5 | 0 | 11 | 96.2 | 20
|
| Richmond | 5 | 0 | 11 | 82.2 | 20
|
| Hawthorn | 4 | 0 | 12 | 55.0 | 16
|
| St Kilda | 1 | 0 | 15 | 38.6 | 4 |
Finals
| Round | Opposition | Result | Score
|
| SF | Footscray | WIN | 51-37
|
| GF | Essendon | WIN | 24-11 |
Fourths
1953 Fourths season
Media
Argus - 31/10/1952
Sun - 02/10/1953, 18/09/1953
Herald - 27/01/1954
Links
AFL Tables page
Wikipedia page