Saturday 16 September - Fawkner Park
Melbourne 2
South Yarra 0
Melbourne win
Goalkickers: Tom Hope, Ireland
In the last match of the season - with the Athletic Sports Committee prolonging the season so South Yarra could accept their challenge - Melbourne won back the Challenge Cup that they had earned in the first game of the year against Geelong.
On a warm day both sides fielded strong teams, with South Yarra including several players who had appeared for Melbourne against Geelong a few weeks earlier. South lost the toss and were forced to kick into the breeze, but they held their own for the first 15 minutes. Only a late touch on a ball going through the goal stopped them from opening the scoring.
As the game went on Melbourne players began to take over, sticking to their positions better. After two hours, and two narrow misses, they finally opened the scoring via Hope from a mark 12 yards out from goal. With 20 minutes left to play they still needed another goal to win the tie and the cup - ten minutes later Ireland marked and goalled from 30 yards out on a 45 degree angle to win the game. The ball only narrowly dropped in and avoided the hands of the South Yarra defenders.
At the conclusion of the match, Melbourne handed the cup back to the Athletic Sports Commission with a request that a fresh set of rules for the cup to be drawn for 1866.
Best were Marshall, Aitken and Ireland.
Selected team
Harrison (c), R. Wardill, J. Conway, Treacey, Riggall, Locke, O'Brien, Marshall, Neal, Serrell, Fleming, Bennie, Ireland, Kennedy, W. Campbell, J. Campbell, McCarthy, Aitken, Clarke, M. Smith, Ballantyne, Davidson, D'Archy, Osborne, Shiels, Woolley, Hope
Notes
It's not clear if Tom Ireland or Richard Ireland played.
Media
Age - 16/09/1865, 18/09/1865
Geelong Advertiser - 18/09/1865
Argus - 18/09/1865
Herald - 18/09/1865
Australasian - 23/09/1865
Telegraph - 23/09/1865