Round 12, 1939
Richmond vs Melbourne
Saturday 8 July
Venue: Punt Road
Attendance: 22,000
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Richmond | 4.2 | 7.10 | 10.13 | 13.21.99 |
| Melbourne | 3.4 | 5.8 | 12.13 | 15.16.106 |
Melbourne win by 7 points
Goalkickers: Norm Smith 4, Les Jones 3, Harold Ball 2, Keith Truscott 2, Ron Baggott 1, Jack Maher 1, Jack Mueller 1, Alby Rodda 1
Milestones:
First Game
Les Gibbs
50 Games
Wally Lock
The Demons all but assured themselves of first or second place on the ladder as they conquered their Round 1 nemesis. Even without rovers Beames and Barassi, Melbourne were impressive in their victory, overturning a half time deficit with a seven goal third quarter then withstanding a strong fightback by the Tigers in the last term.
On a treacherous playing surface, Richmond started well, using ruck dominance and clever handball to rattle Melbourne's defence early. At first they were poor in attack, allowing the Demons to rebound for two goals. The Tigers got three in a row to take the lead, briefly conceding it later in the quarter before going to the first change four points ahead.
The second term was fiercly fought. Richmond had plenty of opportunities but were wasteful, kicking 3.8 from 14 shots. It came back to haunt them when Melbourne burst out of the blocks after half time, kicking two quick goals, and four without reply. They had been instructed by Checker Hughes to open the game and watch Dyer's hitouts and followed his instructions to the letter. Richmond retook the lead with a burst of three goals in five minutes during the quarter, but two at the end of the term left the Demons 12 points up at three quarter time.
Richmond got the first goal of the last quarter but Melbourne soon responded. Melbourne were six points up late in the quarter before Alby Rodda kicked a handy point which put the result beyond doubt. The result might have been different if the home side had kicked straight in the last quarter instead of registering eight behinds. At one stage the Tigers went from six points behind to equal by kicking successive behinds, then a goal put them ahead. Mueller was unbeatable in the last two minutes, kicking the goal that levelled the scores and setting up another one soon after, before Rodda's point make victory certain, all but sealing a double chance in September.
Lock, Mueller and Smith were best. Keith Truscott suffered a heavy knock in an accidental collision with Jack Mueller but continued playing. Rowley Fischer injured his thigh.
Scoring
Smith 4.2, Jones 3.1, Ball 2.1, Truscott 2.2, Baggott 1.3, Maher 1.1, Rodda 1.1, Mueller 1.3, Gibbs 0.1, Wartman 0.1, Rushed 0.1
Seconds
Richmond 14.11 d. Melbourne 8.14
Media
Sporting Globe - 08/07/1939
Age - 10/07/1939
Argus - 12/07/1939
Football Record R13 1939