Round 17, 1946
Melbourne vs Hawthorn
Saturday 17 August
Venue: MCG
Attendance: 15,601
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Melbourne | 4.2 | 9.5 | 11.8 | 18.15.123 |
| Hawthorn | 4.4 | 9.5 | 13.5 | 13.8.86 |
Melbourne win by 37 points
Goalkickers: Norm Smith 7, Jack Mueller 5, Ernie O'Rourke 3, Arnold Byfield 2, Fred Fanning 1
Milestones:
Nil
Football returned to the MCG for the first time since the 1941 Grand Final, with an experimental placement of the boundary line 12 feet from the fence to try and standardise ground sizes.
Melbourne eventually strengthened their spot in the top four, but not until they'd suffered a scare. They kicked 4.1 - including three goals to Norm Smith - before Hawthorn scored a point, but by the end of the quarter they'd only added one more point and were behind. Three of the Hawthorn goals came from free kicks, a symptom of Melbourne's defenders panicking against more direct tactics and conceding.
Two more Hawthorn goals to open the second quarter extended their lead, and though Melbourne fought back with four quick goals to level the scores they had the solid defence of the Cordner brothers to thank.
The Demons looked shaky when they trailed at three-quarter time, but 7.7 to 0.3 in the last quarter delivered the four points as Hawthorn ran out of gas in the last quarter. Melbourne finally showing the recent form which had dragged them up from ninth to fourth.
Don Cordner was best on ground. The Age noted that he was "at his best. In the back pocket he was always steady, and when following his knock outs and high marking were a feature of the game".
Best were D. Cordner, Smith and Mitchell. Dockett suffered a knee injury. Stabb and Copsey were unused reserves.
Seconds
Melbourne 16.17 d. Hawthorn 6.7
Media
Sporting Globe - 17/08/1946
Sporting Globe - 17/08/1946
Age - 19/08/1946
Football Record R18 1946