Round 14, 1946
Melbourne vs Essendon
Saturday 27 July
Venue: Punt Road
Attendance: 30,000
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Melbourne | 4.5 | 8.11 | 9.20 | 9.24.78 |
| Essendon | 3.2 | 5.6 | 7.9 | 10.13.73 |
Melbourne win by 5 points
Goalkickers: Adrian Dullard 2, Jim Mitchell 2, Alby Rodda 2, Gordon Bowman 1, Jack Mueller 1, Ernie O'Rourke 1
Milestones:
Nil
Despite losing Fred Fanning and Ted Cordner to interstate duty and Col McLean to injury the Demons extended their winning streak to six. Without Fanning the Melbourne attack was incredibly wayward, becoming only the second team all season to have more than 25 scoring shots against the Dons, but only managing nine goals from their 33 scores.
Melbourne were the more impressive side in the first quarter, using handball to play-on consistently. The lead was nine at half time, before extending to 23 at half time. They began the third quarter smartly and should have extended the margin further, but kicked six behinds in a row.
By the last change the margin was unchanged, but kicking 1.13 in the second half nearly cost them. Essendon stormed home to level the scores before Mueller goalled to restore his side's lead. Bomber Jack Jones had a chance to level the scores with a late kick at goal but hit the post and Melbourne held on to win.
The win left the Demons in fifth place, still 7% behind Carlton.
Seconds
Melbourne 12.9 d. Essendon 10.19
Media
Sporting Globe - 24/07/1946
Age - 29/07/1946
Herald - 29/07/1946
Football Record R15 1946