Round 3, 1947
Fitzroy vs Melbourne
Saturday 3 May
Venue: Brunswick Street
Attendance: 18,000
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Fitzroy | 2.6 | 7.7 | 10.14 | 12.20.92 |
| Melbourne | 3.3 | 9.8 | 11.8 | 12.11.83 |
Fitzroy win by 9 points
Goalkickers: Norm Smith 4, Adrian Dullard 2 Jack Mueller 2, Lance Arnold 1, Len Dockett 1, Frank O'Connor 1, Alby Rodda 1
Milestones:
First Game
Eddie Jackson
Last Game
Ron Irwin
The beaten 1946 grand finalists dropped to 1-2 in the new season after a narrow loss to the Maroons. In contrast to Melbourne's victory over Geelong on the previous Saturday, the poor kicking for goal of the opposition kept them in the game.
Solid defence also made accurate goalkicking different, and the backlines of both sides were on top in the early stages. It took several minutes for O'Connor to kick the first, and the quarter time lead was assured when Norm Smith goalled shortly before the bell.
Melbourne looked the better team in the first half, but initially struggled to get past Fitzroy's defence at the start of the second quarter. They tried a change to short passing but still couldn't break through. At the other end, the Maroons were having their opportunities but were being forced to kick from difficult positions and registered a string of points.
The visitors faded badly in the second half, with the speedy Fitzroy running over the top of them. Scores were level at three-quarter time before the 'Roys kicked two of the last three goals to win. A late rally by Melbourne failed to bring them any closed than nine points.
Dockett, Lock and McGrath were best. The Demons suffered a number of injuries, to Stabb (kidney), Lock (ankle) and Dean (broken nose). Scanlan replaced Lock at half time and Jackson replaced Stabb in the second quarter.
Seconds
Fitzroy 16.15 d. Melbourne 13.9
Thirds
Melbourne 19.13 d. Fitzroy 7.6
Notes
Sporting Globe gives the crowd as 20,000
Media
Herald - 02/05/1947
Herald - 03/05/1947
Sporting Globe - 03/05/1947
Football Record R4 1947