Preliminary Final, 1937
Collingwood vs Melbourne
Saturday 18 September
Venue: MCG
Attendance: 55,616
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Collingwood | 5.2 | 6.4 | 12.6 | 16.11.107 |
| Melbourne | 2.2 | 6.3 | 7.7 | 7.10.52 |
Collingwood win by 55 points
Goalkickers: Ron Baggott 2, Allan La Fontaine 2, Les Jones 1, Wally Lock 1, Norm Smith 1
Milestones:
Last Game
Bert Chandler
Joe Kinnear
Harry Long
Gordon Ogden
Stan Penberthy
After a narrow loss to Geelong in their first final, the Demons went into the knockout Preliminary Final wracked with injuries, and suffered a disappointing loss which put them out in straight sets. Captain Allan La Fontaine had been unable to train during the week but recovered to take his place. Much of the pre-match speculation had been around which end of the ground Jack Mueller would play at. There was debate about whether he had been used to best advantage in forward pocket during the Semi Final. He was returned to his regular position on the half-back line.
On a day where strong winds wreaked havoc across Melbourne and its suburbs, a 60mph breeze blowing across the ground made conditions difficult and ruined any chance of scientific football. La Fontaine won the toss and kicked to the end that had the most benefit from the wind, but it was strongly blowing from the right side of the goals.
With the ball impossible to judge in the air most of the action took place on the ground and it led to a brutal spectacle. The heavy players on both sides started the clashing from the first bounce when Lewis and Collier ran into each other.
With two flags on the grandstand being ripped apart by the wind, neither team scored for the first 15 minutes. Via a superiority on the wings, Collingwood eventually broke the drought then went on to boot the first five goals of the game. Melbourne kicked the last two goals of the quarter to stay in touch, including one to Allan La Fontaine who was resting in the forward pocket after being bumped heavily to the leg earlier in the quarter. Still, the Pies had been the better team. In the conditions their handball game benefited from them, and they were using the correct side of the ground to best take advantage of the breeze. Truscott repalced La Fontaine in the middle and was his side's best player.
Rain threatened to add to the difficult conditions during the second term, but Melbourne kept up the momentum, and came to terms with the vagaries of the wind. They levelled the scores at 5.3 apiece before a wild brawl broke out. Collingwood added another point before half-time to take the lead into the long break.
Heavy showers finally fell during half time. The wet conditions favoured Collingwood and they ran riot in the second half, kicking 10 goals to one. By three quarter time the margin was nearly five goals, and both the game and Melbourne's season were over.
Best were Truscott, Chandler and Roberts. John Lewis was charged with striking but found not guilty. La Fontaine had a thigh injury
Team
B: Ogden, Kinnear, Chandler
HB: G. Jones, Mueller, Roberts
C: McNamara, La Fontaine, Buckley
HF: Lock, Baggott, Truscott
F: Penberthy, Smith, L. Jones
Foll: Lewis, Fischer, Beames
19th: Long
Emg: Barassi, Foster, Emselle
Lists
Tribunal
Media
Age - 13/09/1937
Herald - 14/09/1937
Age - 15/09/1937
Sporting Globe - 15/09/1937
Age - 15/09/1937
Argus - 17/09/1937
Herald - 17/09/1937
Herald - 17/09/1937
Argus - 18/09/1937
Weekly Times - 18/09/1937
Herald - 18/09/1937
Sporting Globe - 18/09/1937
Age - 20/09/1937
Argus - 20/09/1937
Herald - 20/09/1937
Northern Standard - 21/09/1937
Football Record - 1937 Grand Final