Round 1, 1930
South Melbourne vs Melbourne
Saturday 3 May
Venue: Lake Oval
Attendance: 16,000
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| South Melbourne | 2.4 | 5.9 | 6.11 | 9.16.70 |
| Melbourne | 5.3 | 6.6 | 8.16 | 13.17.95 |
Melbourne win by 25 points
Goalkickers: Robert C Johnson 4, George Margitich 3, Stan Wittman 2, Hec Davidson 1, Jimmy Davidson 1, Harry Long 1, Ivor Warne-Smith 1
Milestones:
First Game
Bill Cutler
Hec Davidson
Webber Jackson
George Margitich
Bill Vanthoff
First Goal
Hec Davidson
George Margitich
Melbourne's campaign kicked off with five new players and a comfortable win over the Swans. It was the first time ever a 19th player was allowed to replace a teammate during the game, but Melbourne did not use theirs as they didn't have any injuries.
For the first half the match was of a higher standard than expected for Round 1. Kicking with the breeze in the first quarter the Fuschias booted the first five goals of the match before South fired a shot before narrowing the margin with the last two goals of the quarter. With their use of the wind in the second the home side drew to just three points behind at half time.
In the second half South tired noticeably, and had Melbourne's forwards not missed so many easy chances they would have won by a much bigger margin.
The third quarter saw Melbourne back in front and with a 17 point lead to defend into the wind during the last term.
South briefly threatened but ran out of gas and Melbourne comfortably outscored them in the last 10 minutes to confirm victory.
Best were Tymms, Warne-Smith and Johnson.
Media
Herald - 02/05/1930
Argus - 05/05/1930
Football Record R2 1930