Round 4, 1972
Melbourne vs South Melbourne
Saturday 22 April
Venue: MCG
Attendance: 18,594
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Melbourne | 4.5 | 6.8 | 13.12 | 18.19.127 |
| South Melbourne | 3.2 | 6.5 | 6.6 | 8.8.56 |
Melbourne win by 71 points
Goalkickers: Stan Alves 4, Peter Sinclair 4, Greg Parke 3, Shane McSpeerin 2, Paul Callery 1, Denis Clark 1, Ross Dillon 1, John Townsend 1, Greg Wells 1
Milestones:
Last game
Ray Carr
The Demons racked up their first win of the season, and coach Ian Ridley pointed to the result as a lesson to Ray Carr. Despite his 11 goals in three games, Carr was named as a reserve against the Swans. As Ridley explained "He was dropped because didn't lead down the ground as he was told". Graeme Osborne was also dropped and Trevor Rollinson was out with a sore knee.
Carr's replacement Greg Parke was dominant in the role and Carr never played for the Demons again, cleared to Oakleigh in the VFA during the season. Parke let himself down with poor kicking at goal but still managed to snare three.
Ridley had taken a new approach to training during the week, after flogging his side on the track in the wake of their Round 2 defeat they had lost by 10 goals to Collingwood, so he gave them a light week instead.
Ross Dillon was handy at centre half-forward, and his forward line colleagues Shane McSpeerin and Peter Sinclair kept their opponents under control. Seven goals to a solitary point, including six goals in the first ten minutes, during the first quarter puts the Swans away. A mark of their domination was Melbourne's advantage of 102 marks to 51.
Alves, Wells and McSpeerin were best. Clennett (bruised leg) was replaced by Carr during the last quarter. Sinclair suffered broken ribs. Collins was an unused reserve.
Reserves
Melbourne 18.22 d. South Melbourne 11.13
Goals - Ritterman 6, Brewer 4, Osborne 2, Delmenico 1, Dilnot 1, Queay 1, Anderson 1, Gallus 1, McKenzie 1
Best - Brewer, Ritterman, McKenzie
Under 19s
Melbourne 15.19 d. South Melbourne 16.12
Goals - Giampaolo 3, McGuinness 3, Moore 3, G. Macdonald 2, R. Macdonald 1, McMullin 1, Slade 1, Tesoriero 1
Best - Harrold, Slade, Giampaolo
Media
Age - 19/04/1972
Age - 24/04/1972
Inside Football - 29/04/1972
Football Record R5 1972