Round 15, 1993
Melbourne vs Geelong
Saturday 10 July
Venue: MCG
Attendance: 40,819
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Melbourne | 6.3 | 11.5 | 15.8 | 22.9.141 |
| Geelong | 5.3 | 10.3 | 15.6 | 20.7.127 |
Melbourne win by 14 points
Goalkickers: Glenn Lovett 4, Darren Cuthbertson 3, Rod Grinter 3, Kevin Dyson 2, Darren Kowal 2, Andrew Obst 2, Peter Rohde 2, Steven Stretch 2, Steven Febey 1, Garry Lyon 1
Brownlow votes:
2 - Todd Viney
1 - Jim Stynes
Milestones:
Nil
With their season seemingly over after a shock loss against Sydney two weeks earlier, Melbourne's second straight win kept them in the hunt for the top six. They had to survive Gary Ablett kicking 11 goals straight, but the Geelong spearhead didn't have enough support and his side lost the shootout. Without Sean Wight, Martin Pike or late withdrawal Phil Gilbert, Neil Balme sent Steven Febey to Ablett at the first bounce, before switching Peter Rohde onto him in the third quarter after he'd kicked two goals of his own. The coach realised that the champion forward was going to kick goals no matter who he was matched against, and successfully focused on shutting down the other Cats forwards. He had six on Febey, then another five on Rohde, but his teammates combined for just nine more.
Melbourne was without Allen Jakovich, still battling a heel injury, dropped Darren Bennett after one ineffective game back in the seniors, and had Garry Lyon held to one, but found a spread of other goalkickers. Eight players kicked two goals or more, including quick doubles to Darren Kowal in the second quarter and late inclusion Kevin Dyson in the last, including one from 55 metres out on the boundary line. Glenn Lovett had 26 touches and two goals to half time, adding another pair in the second half.
The Demons were out to 34 points ahead in the last quarter before the Cats made the margin more respectable.
Balme said: "The rest of the season looks a bit better than it did yesterday".
Best were Glenn Lovett, Garry Lyon and Stephen Tingay. Phil Gilbert (hip) was replaced in the selected side by Kevin Dyson.
Reserves
Melbourne 15.7.97 d. Geelong 10.6.66
Goals - Pickering 3, Mackay 3, Lamb 3, Sullivan 2, Taylor 1, Schwarz 1, Healy 1, Evans 1
Best - Keogh, Sullivan, Yeats
Video
Media
Age - 11/07/1993, 12/07/1993
Canberra Times - 11/07/1993
Football Record - R16 1993