Round 1, 2021
Melbourne vs Fremantle
Saturday 20 March
Venue: MCG
Attendance: 21,365
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Melbourne | 4.4 | 7.6 | 9.8 | 11.14.80 |
| Fremantle | 0.4 | 3.8 | 6.9 | 8.10.58 |
Melbourne win by 22 points
Goalkickers: Bayley Fritsch 2, Tom McDonald 2, Christian Petracca 2, James Harmes 1, James Jordon 1, Ed Langdon 1, Kysaiah Pickett 1, Charlie Spargo 1
Milestones:
First game and first goal
James Jordon
100 games
Clayton Oliver
Brownlow votes:
3 - Clayton Oliver
2 - Tom McDonald
1 - Steven May
Melbourne played their first Victorian home game in front of crowds since late 2019. In the early minutes, Fremantle was the better side but wasted opportunities in front of goal and allowed Melbourne to kick four first quarter goals. The rest of the game was even, with the margin only creeping above 30 points early in the second term. The Dockers got back to within two goals early in the third quarter before being beaten.
Best were May, Lever and Oliver. Kade Chandler was the first Melbourne player chosen as a new 23rd man 'medical substitute'. He was not required to be used, despite James Harmes suffering a broken wrist.
Video
Links
Demonblog match review