Round 1, 1977
Melbourne vs South Melbourne
Saturday 2 April
Venue: MCG
Attendance: 22,108
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Melbourne | 4.3 | 6.8 | 8.9 | 10.12.72 |
| South Melbourne | 6.1 | 11.2 | 15.9 | 21.15.141 |
South Melbourne win by 69 points
Goalkickers: Colin Graham 2, Ross Brewer 1, Henry Coles 1, Allan Davis 1, Laurie Fowler 1, Peter Johnston 1, Marty Lyons 1, Craig McKellar 1, Chris Woodman 1
Milestones:
First Game
Barry Denny
Andrew Moir
150 Games
Greg Wells
South dominated in handballs - 99 to 45 - to run out easy winners in the first hit-out of 1977. Graham Teasdale kicked 8.3 for the winners despite suffering a heavy knock 20 minutes into the first quarter which left him stunned for a few minutes.
Greg Wells was contained in the centre in his 150th, and the Demons were deplorable as a unit. Even with Stephen Smith and Robert Flower to come back into the side they looked like a completely different unit to the one which had gone so close to playing finals football in 1976.
Best were Fowler, Davis and Coles. Lyons was replaced by Johnston in the third quarter and Graham by Hutchison in the last quarter.
Reserves
South Melbourne 23.21.159 d. Melbourne 18.13.121
Goals - Davidson 6, Walters 3, Kelly 2, Thorne 2, Campbell 1, Fitzsimmons 1, Grambeau 1, Hurst 1, Walley 1
Best - Grambeau, Davidson, Wingate
Under 19s
South Melbourne 14.18.102 d. Melbourne 16.5.101
Goals - Durnan 5, Jones 3, Quine 3, Lockwood 2, Hayes 1, McKenzie 1, Salter 1
Best - Hayes, Mehrten, Durnan
Media
Age - 04/04/1977
Football Record R2 1977