Round 7, 1923
Melbourne vs Essendon
Saturday 16 June
Venue: MCG
Attendance: 29,979
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Melbourne | 1.3 | 3.4 | 4.9 | 8.12.60 |
| Essendon | 4.3 | 6.6 | 7.8 | 11.8.74 |
Essendon win by 14 points
Goalkickers: Bert Chadwick 2, Percy Tulloh 2, Derek Mollison 1, Vern Moore 1, Bill Shelton 1, Richard Taylor 1
Milestones:
Nil
Alf Wilson, Harry Coy and Charlie Haines returned to the team which had suffered its first loss in a month against Fitzroy a week earlier. For the second week in a row the Redlegs gave away a big lead at three quarter time before putting in a creditable performance in the final term to win back some respect, but lost again.
A shower fell shortly before the start of play, which made the ground heavy. Essendon took the conditions better and kicked four goals to one in the first term. They went first in the second quarter, scoring the first goal and when the tide turned against them their defence stood firm in the face of several Melbourne attacks on goal. The sides eventually managed two goals apiece, Essendon improving their lead by two points.
Melbourne were wasteful in the third term, and kicked 1.5 to cut the margin to 17 points at the final change. The game had hit no great heights until the last quarter when the home side's comeback began. At one point late in the quarter they'd reduced the margin to ten points but overhauling Essendon's score was too much and they suffered a second consecutive defeat.
Umpire Fred Turnbull paid 104 free kicks for the day, most of them going to Essendon.
Despite their second loss in a row the Redlegs had put in a pair of convincing performances against the two best sides in the league so there was nothing to indicate the collapse which would see them not win another game for the year.
Best were Lilley, Haines and Wilson. Joe Flanagan was reported for striking and tripping and suspended for four matches. Bert Chadwick was down on his usual good form after suffering a heavy knock in the first quarter.
Lists
Tribunal
Media
Sporting Globe - 16/06/1923
Sporting Globe - 20/06/1923
Football Record R8 1923