Round 11, 1955
Collingwood vs Melbourne
Saturday 2 July
Venue: Victoria Park
Attendance: 40,000
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Collingwood | 2.1 | 3.3 | 4.4 | 7.6.48 |
| Melbourne | 1.3 | 3.6 | 4.11 | 5.15.45 |
Collingwood win by 3 points
Goalkickers: Ian Ridley 2, Ron Barassi 1, Noel Clarke 1, Stuart Spencer 1
Milestones:
Nil
After 10 wins in a row to start the season, the Demons finally came unstuck in front of a capacity crowd at Victoria Park. A week before they had played a tough game in the mud of Brunswick Street against Fitzroy, but they could still have won the battle between the league's two top teams if they'd kicked straight.
The Pies won with seven less scoring shots, after kicking 3.2 to 1.4 in the final term. Twice already during 1955 Melbourne had almost kicked themselves out of a game, and inaccuracy finally caused them to lose despite having the better of the ruck duals and winning a majority of marking battles. Their defence also played well for much of the day, but weren't supported by a firing forward line. Bob Johnson had a torrid day, missing from directly in front in the second quarter, then fumbling a mark which would have otherwise gone through for a goal, and finally missing from the pocket while the Demons were four points down in the last quarter.
In a reverse of their Round 10 victory over Richmond, the Demons had outplayed their opposition all day but managed to come out on the wrong side. The Pies had been forced to fight doggedly to stay within range, before they put on a burst which gave them what turned out to be a match winning lead. It was then Melbourne's chance to launch a comeback, but thanks to strong defence by Collingwood they couldn't get back in front and lost their unbeaten record. Despite the defeat Melbourne stayed top of the ladder.
Williams, Beckwith and Denis Cordner were best. Dixon was replaced by Baumgartner during the second quarter after an ankle injury. Ridley suffered a cut mouth. Gleeson was 19th man.
Seconds
Melbourne 12.12 d. Collingwood 7.9
Goals - Webb 4, Unknown 8
Best - McKenzie, McGivern, Atkinson
Thirds
Collingwood 7.9 d. Melbourne 6.9
Media
Argus - 01/07/1955
Age - 04/07/1955
Argus - 04/07/1955
Sporting Globe - 04/07/1955
Football Record R12 1955
Notes
Football Record shows the crowd as 33,000.