Round 17, 1948
Melbourne vs South Melbourne
Saturday 21 August
Venue: MCG
Attendance: 13,196
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Melbourne | 3.4 | 7.6 | 10.11 | 15.13.103 |
| South Melbourne | 1.3 | 2.5 | 2.9 | 7.12.54 |
Melbourne win by 49 points
Goalkickers: Bob McKenzie 4, Len Dockett 3, Norm Smith 3, Lance Arnold 2, Eddie Craddock 1, Adrian Dullard 1, Noel McMahen 1
Milestones:
First Game
Les Crawley
With two difficult matches to follow in the last two home and away rounds, Melbourne desperately needed to beat strugglers South to give themselves some breathing space in the finals race.
Another solid defensive effort was the difference in their big win, gradually pulling away from South all day and holding them to just four behinds in the third quarter. Melbourne took the offensive after half-time, with their fast play-on tactics helping them extended their lead to over 50 points at three quarter time.
The visitors kicked a few consolation goals in the final term to increase their score, but Melbourne were scoring freely by that point too so it barely helped the margin.
The win left Melbourne a full game and percentage inside the four, but matches against Carlton and Collingwood could trip them up.
Arnold, Spittle and Lock were best. Dockett replaced Rodda in the second quarter and O'Rourke replaced Lock in the final quarter.
Seconds
Melbourne 11.12 d. South Melbourne 10.10
Media
Sporting Globe - 21/08/1948
Football Record R18 1948