Round 3, 1954
Hawthorn vs Melbourne
Saturday 1 May
Venue: Glenferrie Oval
Attendance: 17,000
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Hawthorn | 2.2 | 5.2 | 7.6 | 11.9.75 |
| Melbourne | 1.2 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 9.10.64 |
Hawthorn win by 11 points
Goalkickers: Ron Barassi 2, Noel Clarke 2, Frank Adams 1, Ken Christie 1, Denis Cordner 1, Terry Gleeson 1, Stuart Spencer 1
Milestones:
Last game
Leigh Gloury
Last MFC game
Keith Robinson
50 games
John Beckwith
Ken Christie
First goal
Terry Gleeson (5th game)
Two of the league's most improved sides clashed for a chance to stamp their authority on the new season, and it was Hawthorn who narrowly won. Melbourne had suggested they would try to stop Hawthorn's boom recruit Clayton Thompson playing by objecting against his clearance from Sturt on the grounds that he hadn't lived in Victoria long enough to qualify for a clearance. Despite being confident in their evidence the committee decided not to oppose Thompson's clearance. Thompson played in a win on debut, helping Hawthorn win with a big last quarter in the ruck after having been beaten all day.
Melbourne's ongoing experimentation with the full-forward position contributed to their low score, with Noel Clarke the only player who looked likely to kick a bag of goals. Other than Clarke their attack was terrible and they were lucky to be just three points down at half time. The Hawks were the better side in the air and played with more vigour all day, but handicapped themselves short passing along the narrow Glenferrie Oval wing.
Starting the last quarter 17 points behind the Demons kicked five goals, but allowed Hawthorn four to only slice away a small part of the margin.
Cordner, Clarke and Spencer were best. Williams suffered an injured thigh in the last quarter and was replaced by Gloury. Mithen struggled with a knee injury from the first bounce. He left the ground in the lats quarter, with the club claiming he had cramp.
Seconds
Melbourne 16.19 d. Hawthorn 13.12
Goals - D. Anderson 4, Unknown 12
Best - Wilson, Bull, Carroll
Thirds
Melbourne 11.7 d. Hawthorn 4.6
Notes
Sporting Globe gives the crowd as 20,000
Media
Sun - 28/04/1954
Sporting Globe - 28/04/1954, 01/05/1954, 05/05/1954
Age - 01/05/1954
Argus - 03/05/1954
Age - 03/05/1954
Herald - 03/05/1954
Age - 05/05/1954
Football Record R4 1954