Round 3, 1963
Essendon vs Melbourne
Saturday 4 May
Venue: Windy Hill
Attendance: 27,283
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Essendon | 4.3 | 6.8 | 7.12 | 9.14.68 |
| Melbourne | 2.4 | 4.7 | 6.7 | 9.9.63 |
Essendon win by 5 points
Goalkickers: Frank Adams 3, Ron Barassi 2, Ray Groom 1, John Lord 1, Ray Nilsson 1, John Townsend 1
Milestones:
Nil
With their record sitting at 1-1, the Demons went to Windy Hill and nearly pulled off an upset, while at the same time demonstrating that their best was seemingly behind them. Early, they were unable to match Essendon's pace and teammwork, going into the first break 11 points down. Essendon had the wind, but found themselves having to defend in the opening minutes, turning back a number of attacks. Melbourne restricted the gap to 13 by the half, as rain began to fall they cluttered the play, taking away the Bombers' speed advantage.
Essendon threatened to kick away during the third term, before Townsend and Adams kicked goals that reduced the margin to 11 points. A late Barassi goal dragged the margin to less than a goal, and Ray Groom followed his lead to put the Demons a point in front with 16 minutes played. Essendon had been the better side and fought back to kick two goals in a row, and a late goal to Ray Nilsson was as close as the Demons got, dropping them to 1-2 for the season. They'd been beaten in the ruck, and hadn't been as clean in setting up goalkicking opportunities - though Essendon were wasteful when they did have shots.
Best were Barassi, Kenneally and Adams. Leahy replaced Tassie Johnson (cramp) in the last quarter and Nilsson replaced Adams (thigh) at three quarter time.
Scoring
Adams 3.0, Barassi 2.2, Groom 1.0, Lord 1.3, Nilsson 1.0, Townsend 1.1, Bourke 0.2, Carroll 0.1
Reserves
Melbourne 12.15 d. Essendon 6.9
Goals - Jenkinson 5, Jacobs 2, Bourke 1, McNab 1, Matthews 1, Thiessen 1, Whitelaw 1
Best - Anderson, Hill, Bourke
Under 19s
Essendon 14.5 d. Melbourne 11.12
Goals - Schultz 4, Harrison 2, Warren 2, Date 1, O'Mahony 1, Mumme 1
Best - Stewart, Vaughan, Brodie
Media
Herald - 04/05/1963
Football Record R4 1963