Round 1, 1903
South Melbourne vs Melbourne
Saturday 2 May
Venue: Lake Oval
Attendance: Unknown
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| South Melbourne | 1.2 | 3.7 | 5.11 | 6.14.50 |
| Melbourne | 0.2 | 1.7 | 3.10 | 5.13.43 |
South Melbourne win by 7 points
Goalkickers: Vin Coutie 2, Syd Anderson 1, Frank Langley 1, Ernie Tout 1
Milestones:
First Game
Harry Cordner
Harry Henderson
Paddy Mills
Ernie Tout (and first goal)
First MFC Game
Jack Gardiner
First Goal
Syd Anderson (11th game)
The two sides opened their season with a close, hard-fought but less than premiership standard game. They had to wait 10 minutes longer than expected to start the season when the umpire was late in appearing.
South were clearly the better side in the first half and should have had a larger lead if they converted their chances better. At times during the second half when Melbourne rallied it looked as if they'd be made to pay for not finishing the game when they had the chance.
Melbourne never hit the front in the second half, at best getting to within a point, but doubled South's score in the last two quarters when they played with better system.
Best were Henderson, Langley and Moodie.
Media
Argus - 04/05/1903
Australasian - 09/05/1903
Record - 09/05/1903
Leader - 09/05/1903