Round 9, 1963
Melbourne vs North Melbourne
Saturday 22 June
Venue: MCG
Attendance: 23,971
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Melbourne | 6.1 | 10.5 | 15.5 | 18.6.114 |
| North Melbourne | 2.2 | 5.4 | 8.4 | 9.10.64 |
Melbourne win by 50 points
Goalkickers: Ron Barassi 6, Barry Bourke 3, Ray Groom 3, John Lord 2, Frank Adams 1, Ken Emselle 1, Bryan Kenneally 1, Ray Nilsson 1
Milestones:
Nil
After a surprise win over Geelong the week before kept Melbourne in the hunt for a place in the finals they further pushed to regain their spot in the top four with another comfortable victory.
The win was set up in the first quarter where the Demons opened up a 23 points lead, and they extended it at each chance to ease away from the Kangaroos with more experience and domination in the middle of the ground. North lost their 16th in a row against Melbourne, failing to handle the Demon pressure while simultaneously leaving their forwards too much space. Recently dropped from the state side, Ron Barassi responded with a flawless game in the forward line, kicking a career high six goals.
The heat was on from the first bounce, where North's defence was put under siege. One attack was turned away, but on the second opportunity Barassi got the opening goal. North's defence was desperately trying to keep things tight but were overwhelmed by weight of numbers. Barassi had three for the term and the margin was out to more than 30 points before the Roos got a late consolation.
Two quick goals at the start of the second regained the ground Melbourne lost with the late goal and then some. North continued to try hard but were overwhelmed. They had a purple patch in the middle of the term that cut the lead to less than three goals but that was as close as they got. Melbourne rebounded to kick the last three and led by 31. The margin was increased to 43 at the last change.
Melbourne was untroubled by light rain at the start of the last quarter, crossing the century with more accurate kicking. Their superior teammwork beat North's reliance on individual brilliance, and they showed better experience and pressure.
Best were Barassi, Dixon and Lord. Miller replaced Tassie Johnson (lacerated leg) at three quarter time and Nilsson replaced Rowarth (mouth injury from collision) in the first quarter.
The win left Melbourne a game outside the four, but with a superior percentage to everyone but top placed Essendon.
Scoring
Barassi 6.0, Bourke 3.0, Groom 3.1, Lord 2.0, Adams 1.0, Emselle, 1.0, Kenneally, 1.0, Nilsson 1.1, Townsend 0.1, Rushed 0.3
Notes
Some sources show that Roet suffered the injury to his mouth. All further reports show Rowarth.
Reserves
North Melbourne 9.5 d. Melbourne 5.9
Goals - Johnston 2, Carroll 1, Zinko 1, Rattray 1
Best - Robbie, Matthews, McLean
Under 19s
Melbourne 7.12 d. North Melbourne 4.5
Goals - Jacobs 3, Mitchell 2, Warren 1, Stone 1
Best - Davis, Doyle, Edwards
Media
Herald - 22/06/1963
Age - 22/06/1963
Sporting Globe - 22/06/1963
Football Record R10 1963