Round 17, 1931
Melbourne vs North Melbourne
Saturday 5 September
Venue: MCG
Attendance: 3,944
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Melbourne | 5.4 | 9.6 | 12.11 | 18.15.123 |
| North Melbourne | 1.8 | 8.9 | 11.12 | 11.13.79 |
Melbourne win by 44 points
Goalkickers: George Margitich 12, Robert C Johnson 3, Percy Beames 1, Jimmy Davidson 1, Ivor Warne-Smith 1
Milestones:
Nil
A tiny crowd at the MCG saw a dominant performance by George Margitich, who kicked 12.2 and won the match for his side single handedly. He kicked all of Melbourne's nine goals in the first half, and by quarter time had already had nine shots.
While the Reds had the dominant forward on the ground, North's attacking play was poor. They matched Melbourne in every other aspect of the game but it took them well into the second term before they started to kick a competitive score. The first half ended with Melbourne three points in front, with Margitich on nine goals and North on eight.
Despite Margitich's heroics the game was a good contest for the first three quarters, with North having flashes of brilliance. They could have had the lead at the start of the third quarter but missed the first shot. Johnson kicked Melbourne's 10th, but North replied almost immediately. The Shinboners led for the first time all day soon after, and it took a long shot from Davidson rolling through an unguarded goal to restore Melbourne's lead at the last break.
After doing their best work in the third term North stopped cold in the last quarter Melbourne and ran over the top of them. Melbourne's forwards tried to feed Margitich more goals once the game was won but their passing was wayward. The strong finish saw six goals to a point in the final term.
Best were Margitich, Warne-Smith and Johnson. 19th man Long replaced Ogden (injured) at quarter time.
Seconds
Melbourne 13.17 d. North Melbourne 6.3
Media
Herald - 04/09/1931
Sporting Globe - 05/09/1931
Argus - 09/09/1931
Australasian - 19/09/1931
Football Record R18 1931