Round 18, 1930
Hawthorn vs Melbourne
Saturday 13 September
Venue: Glenferrie Oval
Attendance: 5,000
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Hawthorn | 5.8 | 5.10 | 10.18 | 12.18.90 |
| Melbourne | 1.0 | 4.9 | 6.11 | 10.17.77 |
Hawthorn win by 13 points
Goalkickers: George Margitich 4, Ted Esposito 2, Robert C Johnson 2, Richard Taylor 1, Ivor Warne-Smith 1
Milestones:
MFC Debut
Lew Gough
Having never lost to the Mayblooms before, Melbourne went into their final game of the season needing to win to make the finals without five of their best players. Having already blown two chances to seal their spot in the four against fellow top four contenders the fixture finally favoured the visitors who found themselves against the league's 10th placed team - but one playing their best of six league seasons.
Glenferrie Oval had posed problems to the Reds in the past, and even though they had never been beaten there Melbourne had gone closer to defeat in 1927 and 1928 than would have been expected against the perennial underdogs. The task wasn't made any easier by a bitterly cold wind.
Hawthorn kicked with the strong breeze in the first term and opened up big lead by registering five goals from their first seven scores, but when Melbourne had their chance they were wasteful and managed just 3.9. Hawthorn had no such trouble and opened up a lead of more than five goals at the last change. Melbourne won the last quarter but it was too late - Hawthorn were under siege for 15 minutes but broke free to boot two goals late in the quarter and seal victory.
Despite storming home with a 4.6 to 2.0 last quarter, including three goals in a row, their inaccurate kicking let Hawthorn win and allowed Geelong to slip into the four on percentage. It was the upset of the season, and the side who had beaten the minor premiers twice were now out of the running.
Two weeks before they had played against Essendon with the hope of stealing a double chance and now they had been ignominiously bundled out of the competition. It was the first time Melbourne had lost three games in a row since 1924.
Vine, Abernethy and Johnson were Melbourne's best. Bill Tymms missed the game as he had just been married.
Seconds
Hawthorn 8.10 d. Melbourne 8.4
Media
Argus - 15/09/1930
Australasian - 20/09/1930
Football Record 1930 Finals
Argus - 03/08/1955