Round 18, 1964
Footscray vs Melbourne
Saturday 22 August
Venue: Western Oval
Attendance: 20,553
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Footscray | 3.0 | 6.1 | 7.1 | 12.6.78 |
| Melbourne | 1.4 | 2.6 | 4.13 | 4.14.38 |
Footscray win by 40 points
Goalkickers: John Townsend 2, Rob Foster 1, Graeme Jacobs 1
Milestones:
First Goal
Rob Foster (2nd game)
With a double chance assured, an injury hit Melbourne suffered their worst defeat of the season. Other than a short period during the third quarter the Bulldogs dominated the game from start to end. Ron Barassi had a rare off day, trying his heart out to combat Footscray's advantage but failing miserably. He was caught while bouncing the ball, handballed backwards too often, and kicked the ball into the man on the mark. In contrast, Bulldog champion Ted Whitten was on his best form.
Melbourne's forward line had underperformed all year, and they disappointed again. Dixon and Adams constantly moved the ball forward but couldn't find targets. The few times they penetrated Footscray's defence it usually led to hurried shots and they only registered four goals for the afternoon. The score was their lowest since Round 4, 1960, and they had now kicked less than 60 points three times in the last four weeks.
Best were Dixon, Jacobs and Townsend
Only a surprise defeat for Geelong allowed the Demons to hold top spot going into the finals.
Scoring
Townsend 2.1, Jacobs 1.1, Foster 1.0, Emselle 0.3, Bourke 0.2, Barassi 0.2, Mann 0.1, Kenneally 0.1
Reserves
Melbourne 10.13.73 d. Footscray 7.6.48
Goals - Robbie 3, Bartlett 2, Wood 2, Unknown 3
Best - L. Mann, Robbie, Miller
Under 19s
Melbourne 14.15.99 d. Footscray 10.3.63
Media
Football Record 1964 Finals