Saturday 27 May - Corio Oval
Geelong 2.2, 2.4, 3.5, 3.9
Melbourne 1.1, 2.2, 3.4, 4.4
Melbourne win by 1 goal
Goalkickers: Roche 2, Fry 1, A. Kelly 1
The match was the only one of the day not ruined by heavy rain. Rain had fallen in Geelong but only enough to make the clay surface sticky rather than slippery, as opposed to games in the metropolis which were ruined as spectacles due to the downpours. The Reds played under protest as Geelong wouldn't supply a new ball.
Melbourne had been in fine form so far in 1893, but the conditions disadvantaged them
by slowing down their quicker players. Geelong adopted tactics which had served them well in the past as a way to counter the superior Reds, and they did end up having a majority of shots on goal for the day even if it meant nothing in the final result. The home team also avoided Melbourne's superiority in the rucks by keeping the ball from going out of bounds, and their talented high marking players were not as affected by the conditions as their opponents were.
Under the circumstances Melbourne were not only lucky to win, but to even avoid a loss. The only thing that saved them was Geelong's weakness up forward where they were missing a key player.
They were fortunate to not have thrown the game in the first quarter, with O'Halloran and Moore saving them in defence multiple times. There was no breeze to blame, both teams had their chances but Geelong was just simply the better side and took a 2-1 lead into quarter time. A late Roche goal narrowed the gap after Geelong had registered the first two majors.
From there Melbourne held their opponents goalless in two of the remaining three quarters, while adding one of their own in each term to gradually overhaul the locals. The second quarter saw the two sides attack and counter attack, but Geelong failed to made their superior play count on the scoreboard - and late in the half lost Houston for a few minutes when he was knocked out by a blow on the jaw.
Geelong got their third goal of the day not long after the start of the last quarter, but they couldn't add another. The two sides went into the last quarter locked together before a goal to Roche gave Melbourne the lead again and they held it.
One of the best was debutant O'Halloran, whose marking and long kicks out of defence got his side out of trouble on numerous occasions. R. Kelly and B. McKenzie were also amongst the best.
The fiercly partisan Geelong crowd did not appreciate the umpiring of Mr. Wilson and their "coarse insinuations" were recorded as being "not only blackguardly but unjust".
Melbourne remained unbeaten after five games, second on the premiership list.
Team (from)
Christy, Fox, Fry, Gaunt, Howes, Healing, R. Kelly, B. Kelly, Lewis, Massey, Moore, McRaile, McKenzie, O'Leary, O'Halloran, O'Dea, Roche, Smith. Stranger, F. Sheahan, G. Sheahan, Toms, Wilson, Wiseman