Round 7, 1978
Geelong vs Melbourne
Saturday 13 May
Venue: Waverley
Attendance: 13,072
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Geelong | 3.2 | 6.8 | 9.13 | 18.18.126 |
| Melbourne | 8.7 | 13.9 | 17.12 | 21.13.139 |
Melbourne win by 13 points
Goalkickers: Henry Coles 6, Robert Walters 3, Ross Brewer 2, Peter Johnston 2, Barry Norsworthy 2, Garry Baker 1, David Code 1, Robert Flower 1, Graham Hunnibell 1, Peter Thorne 1, Greg Wells 1
Milestones:
First game and first goal
Graham Hunnibell
The signs looked good for the Demons when rover Henry Coles kicked four goals in the first nine minutes, helping his side to a lead of over five goals at quarter time. Coles dominated around the packs and was ably assisted by Greg Wells and Barry Norsworthy in the middle. Robert Flower marshalled the wing and the Cats were behind by 35 points.
Shane Grambeau destroyed dangerous forward Larry Donohue, and Cat ruckman Ken Newland was busy torching chance after chance on his way to five behinds.
The Demons dominated all day and built up a 57 point lead early in the last quarter. It looked like a percentage boosting massacre was on the cards, but inexplicably the Cats racked up 44 points to nil in the next 13 minutes and the biggest comeback in history was a chance.
As the Cats charged back into the game in the last quarter coach Denis Jones abandoned the box and coached from the boundary line. He lamented the lack of experience in his side, saying "if we had lost the game I would have cut their throats", but he saved his best for the umpires with whom he was furious with for their interpretations of tackling rules. "I am going to keep talking about them - bugger them" he said.
Flower, Wells and Coles were best. Ray Biffin had been replaced in the selected squad by Robert Walters after suffering a knee injury. Smith strained his hamstring and was replaced by Thorne at half time.
Melbourne won $5000 from a sponsor who'd put the money up as a 'winner takes all' prize for the game.
Reserves
Geelong 27.17.179 d. Melbourne 5.13.43
Goals - Cooke 3, Barrett 1, Graham 1
Best - Tippett, Woodman, Giulieri
Under 19s
Geelong 16.22.118 d. Melbourne 14.15.99
Goals - Angelis 3, Elshaug 2, Hayes 2, Quine 2, Saduaskas 2, Clarke 1, Love 1, Whitford 1
Best - Elshaug, Hayes, Merton
Media
Age - 11/05/1978
Age - 13/05/1978
Age - 15/05/1978
Football Record R8 1978