Round 3, 2004
Western Bulldogs vs Melbourne
Sunday 11 April
Venue: MCG
Attendance: 27,767
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Western Bulldogs | 1.3 | 6.7 | 9.10 | 12.15.87 |
| Melbourne | 3.8 | 6.14 | 9.19 | 12.25.97 |
Melbourne win by 10 points
Goalkickers: David Neitz 3, Cameron Bruce 2, Aaron Davey 2, Scott Thompson 2, Adem Yze 2, Brad Green 1
Brownlow Votes:
3 - Travis Johnstone
1 - Jared Rivers
Milestones:
Rising Star nomination
Jared Rivers
The Bulldogs lost their third game of the season, but the story of the day was Melbourne's second win in a row - showing that they were a much improved team from 2003.
The first quarter was a Demon domination, and they should have been much further than 17 points in front had it not been for wayward kicking. Adem Yze was Melbourne's best, and the margin had blown out to 31 points early in the second term before the Bulldogs struck back. Kicking the last four goals of the term the margin was slashed to seven points at the long break.
Midway through the third term the Bulldogs had hit the front, and it looked as if the wayward kicking of their opponents was going to come back to haunt them. The Demons, though, kicked the last two goals of the quarter to go into the last break nine points in front.
The margin slowly blew out in the final term, but two late goals by the Bulldogs helped them get to within two goals for a couple of minutes left but they ran out of time.
Media
Age - 11/04/2004