Round 18, 1996
Sydney vs Melbourne
Sunday 4 August
Venue: SCG
Attendance: 18,850
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Sydney | 4.1 | 6.6 | 11.9 | 17.13.115 |
| Melbourne | 0.4 | 4.8 | 5.14 | 6.16.52 |
Sydney win by 63 points
Goalkickers: Jeff Farmer 2, David Neitz 2, Glenn Lovett 1, Shaun Smith 1
Brownlow Votes:
Nil
Milestones:
Last Game
Craig Turley
In the week where it was revealed Melbourne and Hawthorn were proposing to merge, the Demons travelled to surprise premiership contenders Sydney and were well beaten. In a tricky crosswind that affected the game's fluency, Sydney had too many winners. Their first eight goals were kicked by eight different players. The visitors kept the margin to 10 points at half time, and had held Tony Lockett to one goal to that point, but the Swans ran away with the game after the break and Lockett got four - including his 1000th career goal - in the last quarter.
Best were Ingerson, Irving and G. Lovett. Matthew Febey had a thigh injury.
Reserves
Sydney 22.20.152 d. Melbourne 3.4.22
Goals - Howman 2, Gehling 1
Best - Doyle, McDonald, Davidson
Media
Sydney Morning Herald - 05/08/1996
Age - 05/08/1996
Football Record R19 1996