Round 10, 1969
Melbourne vs Footscray
Monday 16 June
Venue: MCG
Attendance: 27,330
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Melbourne | 3.4 | 4.7 | 7.15 | 17.18.120 |
| Footscray | 0.7 | 9.14 | 11.18 | 12.23.95 |
Melbourne win by 25 points
Goalkickers: Blair Campbell 4, Russell Colcott 3, Gary Hardeman 2, George Lakes 2, Greg Parke 2, Denis Clark 1, John Letcher 1, Peter Sinclair 1, John Townsend 1
Milestones:
First Game
Russell Colcott (and first goal)
Mark Mitchell
Confidence was higher in the Demon camp than it deserved to be for a side sitting 1-8 and off the bottom of the ladder only because of percentage, but a thumping victory over Collingwood in an exhibition match in Sydney during the State of Origin break had boosted their confidence
They might not have gotten within ten goals of the Pies in a game for premiership points, but matched up against the far less accomplished Bulldogs the Demons notched their second win of the season despite sending out a side with nearly a thousand games less experience than their opponents.
Despite neither team kicking a goal for the first fifteen minutes of the match Melbourne managed three in the second half of the quarter and led comfortably at the first change, aided by the Bulldogs absymal inaccuracy, before going almost six goals down at half time in the face of a nine goal to one quarter.
The Dogs still led by over four goals before the Demons manufactured a barnstorming comeback to run over the top of the Bulldogs and win comfortably. Their ten goal last quarter belied the fact that they were struggling to get off the bottom of the ladder and had lost almost all of the sparkle of the great Demon sides of the previous decade. Blair Campbell booted three goals in the final term avalanche.
Best were Parke, Hardman and Townsend. Davis (concussion) was replaced by Sullivan in the third quarter. Mitchell was an unused reserve in his first game.
It was Melbourne's highest score in 39 games, since they thrashed South Melbourne in 1967, and their highest against the Bulldogs for a decade.
Reserves
Melbourne 10.18 d. Footscray 9.12
Goals - Clarke 6, Hayes 3, Aitken 3, Jennings 2, Weekes 2, Johnson 1, Powell 1, Stone 1, Vagg 1
Best - Stanton, K. Clarke, Jennings
Under 19s
Footscray 15.3 d. Melbourne 10.3
Goals - Wells 3, Cook 2, Stephenson 2, Callery 1, L. Allan 1, Roberts 1
Best - Callery, Wells, Aubrey
Media
Age - 16/06/1969
Age - 17/06/1969
Football Record R11 1969