Round 13, 1940
Richmond vs Melbourne
Saturday 20 July
Venue: Punt Road
Attendance: 21,000
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Richmond | 4.5 | 8.6 | 13.7 | 13.9.87 |
| Melbourne | 4.4 | 5.7 | 10.12 | 13.16.94 |
Melbourne win by 7 points
Goalkickers: Jack Mueller 4, Norm Smith 4, Ron Baggott 1, Fred Fanning 1, Maurie Gibb 1, Jack O'Keefe 1, Alby Rodda 1
Milestones:
100 Games
Frank Roberts (also with St. Kilda)
Top of the table Melbourne met third place Richmond with the result crucial in the race for the double chance. The Demons thrashed fellow top four contenders Essendon a week earlier, and won again but were made to work a lot harder for the four points.
Two early goals gave Melbourne a handy lead in a game that was quick but marred by errors, and Richmond's early attacks struggled to break through their defence. Once they got going, the Tigers kicked a string of goals to grab the lead, with Fanning's major at the end of the quarter cutting the margin back to a point.
Richmond went as much as 38 points in front during the third quarter before suffering a fade out which saw them throw the match away. They'd opened up the third term like a house on fire to take the margin out to the game high before the potent Melbourne attack sparked with ten minutes left in the term and got them back to within three goals at the last change. Muller kicked four goals as part of the comeback.
Melbourne found only points when attacking deep in the last quarter until they finally broke through for two late goals to take the four points. They won the free kick count 43-27, much to the chagrin of Tigers' fans.
The victory left Melbourne in front of Geelong at the top on percentage and a game in front of third placed Essendon with an even more significant for/against gap.
Mueller, La Fontaine and Anderson were Melbourne's best. Murnane and Fanning both suffered knee injuries in the first quarter, and Murnane was replaced by Maher after half time. Les Jones (leg injury) was a late withdrawal for Alby Rodda
Seconds
Melbourne 12.19 d. Richmond 10.17
Goals - Baldwin 3, Hall 2, Williams 2, Sitch 2, Unknown 3
Best - Williams, Neenan, Daly
Notes
Herald says Murnane was injured early in the second quarter.
Media
Herald - 19/07/1940
Sporting Globe - 20/07/1940
Age - 20/07/1940
Herald - 20/07/1940
Argus - 22/07/1940
Australasian - 27/07/1940
Football Record R14 1940