Saturday 26 September - Corio Oval

Geelong 2.9
Melbourne 2.10 (half time 2.7 to 1.5)

Match drawn

Goalkickers: Carroll 1, C. Coulson 1

The 1885 football season ended with a morale boosting performance in Geelong. Melbourne had a terrible year, so in bad conditions earning a draw against the home side could be considered a success.

A strong wind blew across the ground, troubling both clubs, and Melbourne were first to work the ball forward to the opposition goal and register a score. They should have had the first major of the game but Baird missed an easy chance and after two more behinds Geelong finally sparked and scored the first goal of the match.

Carroll eventually scored first for Melbourne, but from there until the end of the half the ball was camped in front of their goal and Geelong eventually got a second goal before the break.

In the second hour Melbourne were much improved, but the ball was slippery and made it hard for either team to handle the ball properly. C. Conlon finally equalised for Melbourne, and with the ball more often than not rolling out of bounds due to the wind the two sides couldn't register another goal - leaving the season to end in a tie.

With a few minutes left to go and a massive downpour falling players signalled for the timekeeper to ring the bell, but he either didn't realise or ignored them as he played out the rest of the game.

Media
The Argus - 28/09/1885
The Sportsman - 30/09/1885