Coach: n/a
Captain: Fred McGinis (until Round 2) - Bill McClelland (from Round 3)
Finishing Position: 5th
Best and Fairest: n/a
Leading Goalkicker: Tommy Ryan (24)
Best First Year Player: n/a
Melbourne entered the season as defending premiers, but had been lucky to make the 1900 Grand Final after finishing sixth. Their win prompted a change in finals format, introducing a top four for the first time, and when they lost their first two games of the new season the premiership looked even more fortuitous. Fred McGinis captained the side for the first two games, replacing premiership skipper Dick Wardill, before resigning and handing over to Bill McClelland.
From a 1-4 start, Melbourne finished with six consecutive wins to sit a game and a half inside the top four. Matched up in the sectional rounds against fellow top four contenders Collingwood and Fitzroy, they lost two of three games and missed the four. They were inside the four until the last quarter of Round 17, when Fitzroy came back from five points to finish ahead of them on percentage.
Practice matches
Premiership season
| Round | Opposition | Result | Score
|
| 1 | Geelong | LOSS | 21-23
|
| 2 | South Melbourne | LOSS | 36-40
|
| 3 | St. Kilda | WIN | 58-21
|
| 4 | Collingwood | LOSS | 22-44
|
| 5 | Essendon | LOSS | 24-50
|
| 6 | Carlton | WIN | 49-34
|
| 7 | Fitzroy | DRAW | 36-36
|
| 8 | Geelong | LOSS | 46-59
|
| 9 | South Melbourne | WIN | 61-45
|
| 10 | St. Kilda | WIN | 38-28
|
| 11 | Collingwood | WIN | 36-35
|
| 12 | Essendon | WIN | 42-33
|
| 13 | Carlton | WIN | 42-36
|
| 14 | Fitzroy | WIN | 29-23
|
| 15 | Collingwood | LOSS | 28-44
|
| 16 | St. Kilda | WIN | 124-22
|
| 17 | Fitzroy | LOSS | 24-37 |
Ladder
| W | D | L | % | P
|
| Geelong | 14 | 0 | 3 | 142.9 | 56
|
| Essendon | 12 | 0 | 5 | 186.4 | 48
|
| Collingwood | 12 | 0 | 5 | 158.4 | 48
|
| Fitzroy | 9 | 1 | 7 | 131.7 | 38
|
| Melbourne | 9 | 1 | 7 | 117.4 | 38
|
| South Melbourne | 8 | 0 | 9 | 99.6 | 32
|
| Carlton | 2 | 0 | 15 | 47.0 | 8
|
| St. Kilda | 1 | 0 | 16 | 32.1 | 4 |
Playing List
Notes
A match was scheduled against a 'District' team in Bright on Saturday 10 August.
Links
AFL Tables page
Wikipedia page