Round 1, 1955
St. Kilda vs Melbourne
Saturday 16 April
Venue: Junction Oval
Attendance: 20,000
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| St. Kilda | 3.2 | 3.3 | 7.6 | 8.11.59 |
| Melbourne | 2.5 | 6.12 | 11.13 | 17.16.118 |
Melbourne win by 59 points
Goalkickers: Noel Clarke 4, Brian Dixon 3, Ron Barassi 2, Robert B Johnson 2, Laurie Mithen 2, Frank Adams 1, Tony Bull 1, Geoff Case 1, Clyde Laidlaw 1
Milestones:
Only MFC game
Kevin Clarke
In a battle of the 1954 Grand Finalists vs Wooden Spooners, it took Melbourne a quarter to get on top, but once they did the reigning league runners up did pretty much whatever they want to the Saints. It didn't help the Demons' cause that at one point they had 2.11 on the board from 13 scoring shots.
St Kilda had deceived in the opening game of 1954 by beating the eventual premiers Footscray before finishing last, and they did have several moments during their match against the eventual 1955 champions. Even after their first quarter heroics the Saints struck back briefly with three goals in a row during the third quarter before being overwhelmed.
It ended up being Melbourne's third biggest opening day win ever (to that point), and their largest since Round 1, 1899. It was also their third highest Round 1 score to that point. They had all the luck, Bob Johnson had a kick at the start of the last quarter where he caught a divot with his foot, but collected the ball rebounding off the man on the mark and converted the goal anyway.
Denis Cordner, Bob Johnson and Colin Wilson were the big bodies who helped turn the game in the second term. They were ably assisted by Ian McLean and Ralph Lane on the wings who set up numerous attacks.
Reserves Clarke and Dixon replaced Johnson (nose) and Mithen (shoulder/collarbone) respectively during the game.
Seconds
Melbourne 17.17 d. St. Kilda 6.15
Goals - Hamilton 5, Ridley 4, Gleeson 2, Webster 2, Constable 2, Anderson 1, Pierrehumbert 1
Best - Webster, Hamilton, Gleeson
Thirds
Melbourne 10.16 d. St Kilda 8.6
Media
Age - 18/04/1955
Argus - 18/04/1955
Argus - 18/04/1955
Argus - 18/04/1955
Football Record R2 1955