Round 7, 1983
Melbourne vs St. Kilda
Saturday 7 May
Venue: Waverley
Attendance: 25,192
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Melbourne | 5.2 | 8.4 | 12.9 | 16.12.108 |
| St. Kilda | 3.1 | 8.3 | 9.5 | 11.9.75 |
Melbourne win by 33 points
Goalkickers: Brian Wilson 5, Kelvin Templeton 4, Adrian Battiston 2, Tony Elshaug 2, Robert Flower 1, Gerard Healy 1, Alan Johnson 1
Milestones:
100 Games
Alan Jarrott (also with North Melbourne)
The coach was proving a hard man to please. A Melbourne side hadn't finished Round 7 with more wins than losses for as years and he was still grumbling about his team's performance. Even the fact that it was 600th match combined as a player and a coach couldn't cheer Barassi up. If a win wasn't going to then nothing was.
When he complained about “big name” players not living up to expectations his ire was clearly directed at Peter Moore. A week after being one of his side's best he went without a kick in the first half, barely improved after and was dragged in the third quarter. Kelvin Templeton was also in the gun. He kicked four goals but showed little interest in the contest unless the ball came directly to him.
Robert Flower disappointed, but once again he was played out of position. First Flower played at centre half-back with little success before moving to the forward line. Demons fans could hold themselves back from screaming about him not being on the wing as long as the club kept winning.
Brian Wilson was one man the coach couldn't fault. Another five goals and talk started to circulate that the reigning Brownlow Medallist might have been in the frame to go back-to-back. The wings were where the game was won, with Wilson and Alan Johnson lifting their side. Johnson was carried off in the last quarter after being knocked out in an incident after which Saint Robert Mace was reported. Earlier a St Kilda player had been felled, and Melbourne kicked three goals while he was being treated.
At the end of the night only percentage kept the Demons out of the five, and whether he liked it or not Barassi's team was starting to be taken more seriously by the rest of the competition.
Best were Connolly, Wilson and Elshaug. Les Bamblett suffered a hamstring injury and Alan Johnson a concussion.
Reserves
St Kilda 21.11.137 d. Melbourne 12.13.85
Goals - Barnes 5, Tossol 2, Withers 2, Bergmann 1, Howard 1, Philby 1
Best - Barnes, Gordon, Bright
Under 19s
Melbourne 12.14.86 d. St Kilda 6.12.48
Goals - McCarthy 4, Howard 3, Payne 1, Grinter 1, Healy 1, Newport 1, Ward 1
Best - McCarthy, McDonald, Ward
Notes
Age 09/05 shows St Kilda scoring 78
Media
Canberra Times - 08/05/1983
Age - 09/05/1983
Football Record R8 1983