Round 3, 1905
Melbourne vs Essendon
Saturday 20 May
Venue: MCG
Attendance: Unknown
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Melbourne | 1.4 | 4.5 | 6.10 | 8.14.62 |
| Essendon | 2.2 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 5.9.39 |
Melbourne win by 23 points
Goalkickers: Paddy Mills 3, Jim Trend 2, Horrie Drane 1, Frank Langley 1, Hugh Purse 1
Milestones:
First Game
Edward Cordner
First Goal
Jim Trend (2nd game)
The sides went goal for goal in the opening minutes, before Essendon took the advantage into quarter time with their second. Both teams had their chances before quarter time but couldn't add to their goal tally.
Melbourne immediately went on the offensive in the second term, with Hugh Purse snapping the first goal. As the game started to become rough, Essendon got their only goal of the quarter. The Reds responded with a pair, and held out a late run by the opposition to take a six point lead into half time.
The visitors got the first goal of the third quarter to level the score, and Melbourne could initially only respond with a string of behinds. They got two goals eventually, and when Essendon had a player carried off before three quarter time it left them at a disadvantage that they couldn't overcome.