Round 15, 1922
Melbourne vs Essendon
Saturday 26 August
Venue: MCG
Attendance: 19,206
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Melbourne | 2.3 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 3.10.28 |
| Essendon | 3.2 | 4.4 | 5.6 | 6.8.44 |
Essendon win by 16 points
Goalkickers: Edgar Dunbar 1, Jack House 1, Percy Tulloh 1
Milestones:
Last MFC Game
Herb Matthews
Melbourne's hopes of making the four were all but destroyed by their loss to the Same Olds in the match of the day at the MCG. The crowd was kept down by threatening, bleak skies in the morning and steady rain throughout the afternoon left swampy puddles of water all over the ground.
With the drop-kick off the agenda, replaced by long punts and kicking off the ground, the conditions didn't help Melbourne. Even considering the wet weather that left players often unable to kick the ball as it floated on water they let themselves down after a bright start. The Reds had the first goal, but In a low scoring match they kicked a total of 1.7 in the last three quarters - with no goals in the middle two.
Even with rain falling again after half time, Essendon's players showed better teamwork, often taking advantage of numerous Reds spoiling each other.
Those goalless quarters ruined any chances they had of victory. With Carlton winning elsewhere it was a disastrous result for the Reds. Melbourne had played a decent team game in the wet but Essendon had four star players who carried their side over the line. The home side, on the other hand, found their forwards wandering out of position too often. It also didn't help that Bill Allen dropped the ball in front of goal three times because he'd worn short sleeves in the tough conditions.
With both teams playing strong defence, superior ruck work and kicking for goal got the job done for the visitors and they went into the finals with confidence, leaving Melbourne all but finished for season 1922. Defeat left them a game and percentage behind Carlton with a bye and two matches to come.
Best were Corbett, Anthony and Haines.
Media
Herald - 25/08/1922
Argus - 28/08/1922
Sporting Globe -
Sporting Globe - 30/08/1922
Football Record 1922
Australasian - 02/09/1922