Round 3, 1938
Fitzroy vs Melbourne
Saturday 7 May
Venue: Brunswick Street
Attendance: 14,000
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Fitzroy | 3.2 | 5.8 | 7.9 | 12.11.83 |
| Melbourne | 3.3 | 6.8 | 10.11 | 17.14.116 |
Melbourne win by 33 points
Goalkickers: Norm Smith 4, Eric Glass 3, Ron Baggott 2, Jack Mueller 2, Lou Reiffel 2, Percy Beames 1, Wally Lock 1, Jack Maher 1, Hugh Murnane 1
Milestones:
First Game
Len Catton
Dick Hingston
Jack Maher (and first goal)
Last Game
Jack Foster
50 Games
Ray Wartman
Both sides had disappointed the week before, not least a Melbourne side who suffered their first ever loss to Hawthorn at the MCG. Despite a poor record of their own at Brunswick Street, Melbourne led at every change to win and get their season back on track.
Fitzroy kicked the first goal, and held back six consecutive Melbourne attacks before finally conceding to Percy Beames. At first the home side had been successful in keeping the ball out of the hands of Melbourne's tall marking players, but the Demon small man brigade soon took over to give the visitors a narrow lead at quarter time.
There was no score for 10 minutes of the second quarter, as the teams battled hard for supremacy, before Melbourne kicked three goals to two to lead by six points at the half.
The Dees then kicked away in the third quarter, but despite going into the last change with a comfortable lead the Demons went on to concede five goals in a row in the last term to allow the Maroons to get back to within two points of the lead. It was then that the visitors sparked again and slammed on five of their own thanks to the domination of stand in captain Mueller.
Stand-in captain Mueller, in the absence of Allan La Fontaine, had been a tower of strength in defence all day but when the Maroons got their run on in the last he switched to the ruck and carried his team over the line.
Best were Jones, Murnane and Beames. 19th man Barassi replaced Jack Foster, who suffered a leg injury, allowing the also injured Maher to go to the forward pocket. By the end of the game Murnane and McNamara were also limping.
Seconds
Melbourne 12.14 d. Fitzroy 10.11
Media
Age - 06/05/1938
Herald - 06/05/1938
Age - 09/05/1938
Argus - 13/05/1938
Football Record 1938