Round 7, 2003
Melbourne vs Port Adelaide
Sunday 11 May
Venue: MCG
Attendance: 12,410
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Melbourne | 7.5 | 10.9 | 13.12 | 16.15.111 |
| Port Adelaide | 3.2 | 6.5 | 7.9 | 12.12.84 |
Melbourne win by 27 points
Goalkickers: Andrew Leoncelli 3, David Neitz 3, Russell Robertson 3, Cameron Bruce 1, Ryan Ferguson 1, Mark Jamar 1, Travis Johnstone 1, James McDonald 1, Scott Thompson 1, Peter Vardy 1
Brownlow Votes:
3 - Andrew Leoncelli
2 - Chris Heffernan
Milestones:
First Goal
Ryan Ferguson (7th game)
Mark Jamar (2nd game)
In front of a tiny Mother's Day crowd, the Melbourne side looked nothing like the one which had conceded ten goal quarters in each of its two previous matches. Three straight losses had moved president Gabriel Szondy to say that changes would have to be made if the side kept losing, but seven goals in the first quarter set up a platform for the Demons to take the points.
The Demon midfielders were cleaning up in the centre, and while David Neitz was well held Russell Robertson booted two and should have had another. Chris Heffernan tagged Gavin Wanganeen out of the game so effectively that he was thrown into defence on Robertson.
Future Demon Byron Pickett was the most hated man in the stadium when he took out Nathan Brown with a huge hit in the first quarter. He would later deliver a similar bump to Simon Godfrey in the third.
The margin stretched to 47 points in the second term, but a Power rally brought them back to 28 behind at the long break but a six goal third quarter put the result beyond doubt going into the last change. For the seventh straight week the Demons lost the last quarter, but they were far enough in front for it not to matter.
Leoncelli, Heffernan, WIlliams and McDonald were Melbourne's best. Nathan Brown and Travis Johnstone had hamstring injuries.
Media
Age - 12/05/2003