Round 12, 1940
Melbourne vs Essendon
Saturday 13 July
Venue: MCG
Attendance: 18,640
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Melbourne | 4.2 | 7.10 | 10.15 | 17.20.122 |
| Essendon | 3.4 | 4.5 | 6.9 | 7.12.54 |
Melbourne win by 68 points
Goalkickers: Ron Barassi 4, Jack Mueller 4, Norm Smith 3, Maurie Gibb 2, Les Jones 2, Sid Anderson 1, Roy Dowsing 1
Milestones:
Nil
In treacherous, wet conditions Essendon were favoured to give Melbourne a run for their money on the MCG, and were well in the game after the first quarter before falling in a heap. Neither side scored for 10 minutes before the locals rushed a behind. Two in a row gave the home side a comfortable break, and Essendon was almost three goals down before scoring two late to stay in touch.
Taking command of the ruck, Melbourne kicked away early in the second quarter. They continued to extend the margin in the third, with Essendon's defenders trying to adopt negative tactics and spoil the ball as it came towards them but failing. The Demons were wasteful with their chances, but were five goals up at the last change.
From there Melbourne dominated. 13 goals to four in the second half saw the home side register the shock result of the day in racking up a massive victory over one of their fellow premiership contenders. The pacy Bombers were expected to run over the top in the second half but the reverse occured and it was Melbourne who finished the stronger side as the visitors tired.
Best were Gibb, Barassi and Mueller. Maher was unused 19th man.
Reserves
Essendon 15.9 d. Melbourne 10.11
Notes
Sporting Globe gives the crowd as 18,329. Baxter was 19th man in the selected side.
Media
Sporting Globe - 13/07/1940
Football Record R13 1940