Round 16, 1983
Melbourne vs Geelong
Saturday 16 July
Venue: MCG
Attendance: 34,155
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Melbourne | 3.4 | 3.7 | 6.12 | 10.19.79 |
| Geelong | 2.3 | 4.5 | 8.10 | 10.13.73 |
Melbourne win by 6 points
Goalkickers: Gerard Healy 2, Stephen McCarthy 2, Kelly O'Donnell 2, Kelvin Templeton 2, Dale Dickson 1, Shane Zantuck 1
Milestones:
Nil
The Demons threw themselves back into finals contention with a narrow win in a game that The Age claimed "neither side deserved to win".
On a day where luminaries of both sides were presented to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the code, the two sides served up a game that was less than classic. According to The Age's Gerry Carman, "Theirs was a display of painfully inept kicking and handball. Having forked out $112,261 at the gate, they vented their feelings with an unparalled, stunning chorus of booing five minutes into the third term when the hapless Alan Johnson, best afield, accepted a kick-out from Steven Smith and set off into the wide open spaces along the members' half-back flank. He passed to Michael Reynolds who, amazingly, passed about 20 metres in reverse to Zantuck who even more inexplicably managed to kick out on the full".
Ron Barassi sent Kelvin Templeton to the bench for a full quarter, and he kicked two goals but struggled. The game was won courtesy of the Demon centreline which handily beat the Cats.
The Demons took a ten point deficit into the last term but Shane Zantuck's goal 11 minutes into the last quarter put them ahead, and the two sides went goal for goal until the final siren. A courageous mark, and point, by Brian Wilson on the final siren extended the margin to a goal.
With six rounds to go the Demons were now only 5.5 percentage points outside the five. Still, the coach was a hard man to please. He dismissed fans chanting “We want Ron!” as he entered the rooms post-match, saying: “They were our two worst quarters of football this year. Geelong were just as bad, the scores show that”.
The victory set up a match against The Swans the next week which might have seen them displace Collingwood in the top five with a win.
Best were Johnson, O'Donnell and Connolly. Robert Flower was replaced in the selected side by Roger Ellingworth due to a shoulder injury.
Reserves
Geelong 24.4.158 d. Melbourne 13.10.88
Goals - Young 2, Gordon 2, Cordner 2, Sutcliffe 2, Philby 2, Elshaug 1, Bergman 1, Rugolo 1
Best - Williams, Hutchinson, Barnes
Under 19s
Geelong 10.14.74 d. Melbourne 5.7.34
Goals - Healy 2, McCarthy 1, McDonald 1, Yeates 1
Best - King, Withers, Louttit
Media
Football Record R17 1983
Canberra Times - 17/07/1983
Age - 18/09/1983