Round 8, 1991
Melbourne vs Footscray
Saturday 11 May
Venue: MCG
Attendance: 23,617
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Melbourne | 5.5 | 7.7 | 12.14 | 17.19.121 |
| Footscray | 2.3 | 6.6 | 8.9 | 12.10.82 |
Melbourne win by 39 points
Goalkickers: Ricky Jackson 3, Steven O'Dwyer 3, Rod Owen 3, Darren Bennett 2, Darren Cuthbertson 2, Tony Campbell 1, Steven Clark 1, Garry Lyon 1, Todd Viney 1
Brownlow votes:
3 - Jim Stynes
2 - Todd Viney
Milestones:
Nil
With the Demons flying high the Cheer Squad banner took the unusual step of displaying hubris before the game, declaring "Our objective - Beat Footscray then worry about the good sides". It would have been a disastrous piece of premature boasting if they had got it wrong, but the players dug deep to save the blushes of the crepe paper and pom pom people.
Even with Earl Spalding and Steven Stretch in the reserves the Demons had the manpower to hold off the dogs. Darren Cuthbertson was well held and Darren Bennett spent most of the day on the bench after tweaking his hamstring but John Northey still had the luxury of throwing Garry Lyon, Steve O'Dwyer and Ricky Jackson forward to cover them.
It hadn't all been one way traffic for the Demons, Footscray had defied the natural flow of the game to level the scores at 8.7 apiece during the third term. Then a missed opportunity by forward Mark Cullen led to Jackson kicking a goal at the other end and he followed up with another shortly after to take the advantage back for his side.
Jim Stynes was once again dominant in the ruck and around the ground with 14 marks, and Peter Rohde shut Doug Hawkins out of the game in the forward line.
Best were J. Stynes, Lyon and T. Viney
Video
Reserves
Melbourne 20.18.138 d. Footscray 10.12.72
Goals - Jakovich 8, Stretch 3, Robins 2, Gorozides 2, Spalding 1, Heaver 1, Francis 1, Tohill 1
Best - J. Viney, Jakovich, Yeats
Under 19s
Melbourne 12.9.81 d. Carlton 9.16.70
Goals - Lemon 5, Burgmann 2, Sullivan 2, Wilkins 1, Siderellis 1, Aubrey 1
Best - Nelson, Sullivan, T. Goldberg
Media
Canberra Times - 12/05/1991
Age - 12/05/1991
Age - 13/05/1991