Round 15, 1944
Melbourne vs Geelong
Saturday 12 August
Venue: Punt Road
Attendance: 4500
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Melbourne | 1.6 | 4.9 | 4.15 | 8.21.69 |
| Geelong | 1.1 | 4.3 | 4.6 | 8.8.56 |
Melbourne win by 13 points
Goalkickers: Bill Scanlan 5, George Archibald 1, Neil Bencraft 1, Lloyd Bennett 1
Milestones:
Last Game
Neil Bencraft
A second narrow win in a row held the Demons pull even further away from the bottom of the ladder. For the second week there was serious inaccuracy on display, but this time it was Melbourne - having 29 scoring shots to 16 but only winning narrowly in front of a tiny crowd.
The Demons dominated through their ruck in the first quarter, were faster and played with better teamwork but kicked poorly and were only five points in front at quarter time on the basis of five extra behinds.
Two more solid forward moves were wasted early in the second quarter through bad kicking before the Demons found a chance they couldn't miss when they scored from a yard out. They continued to be wasteful with their chances, and by half time the margin had only increased by a point.
Melbourne were once again woeful with their opportunities during the third quarter, kicking 0.6 but at the same time holding their opponents to 0.3.
In the last quarter the Pivotonians had a golden opportunity to break through for their first victory of the season, with Melbourne's inaccuracy leaving them just nine points behind and having the use of a strong breeze - but they conceded 10 more scoring shots and the Demons held on.
Smith, Dowsing and Irwin were Melbourne's best. 19th man was Herbert.
Seconds
Geelong 15.16 d. Melbourne 12.9
Media
Sporting Globe - 12/08/1944
Football Record R16 1944