Round 22, 2022
Melbourne vs Carlton
Saturday 13 August
Venue: MCG
Attendance: 55,705
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Melbourne | 1.2 | 4.6 | 7.11 | 11.13.79 |
| Carlton | 1.3 | 3.4 | 7.8 | 10.14.74 |
Melbourne win by 5 points
Goalkickers: Jake Melksham 4, Kysaiah Pickett 2, Ben Brown 1, Bayley Fritsch 1, Max Gawn 1, Ed Langdon 1, Christian Petracca 1
Milestones:
Nil
The late season game had plenty on the line, with Carlton needing just one win from their last two games to return to the finals for the first time in a decade, and Melbourne needing to win to keep their top four chances in their own hands heading into the final round.
Melbourne led through most of a tough, contested match, before conceding the lead with three goals in the middle of the third quarter. They narrowly got back in front by the end of the term, before going behind again in the last. The Blues kicked 1.5 between Demon goals, but looked home after Charlie Curnow goalled with three minutes to play. Melbourne staged a miracle recovery, with Jake Melksham goalling from a strong pack mark directly in front of the goal to cut the gap to one point with time running out.
A draw would have been good enough for the Blues, but their efforts to run the clock down failed due to poor disposal and decision making, allowing Melbourne a final inside 50 with 20 seconds remaining. Melksham tapped the ball for Pickett to scoop up and snap the winning goal with 15 seconds left. Carlton got the ball forward from the last centre bounce but their attack was turned back and the Demons held on to a famous victory.
Best were Oliver, Brayshaw and Melksham. James Harmes was an unused substitute.