Round 15, 1927
Melbourne vs Essendon
Saturday 6 August
Venue: MCG
Attendance: 15,895
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Melbourne | 7.1 | 14.8 | 17.12 | 20.20.140 |
| Essendon | 2.0 | 2.0 | 6.2 | 8.2.50 |
Melbourne win by 90 points
Goalkickers: Tommy McConville 5, Harry Moyes 4, Robert C Johnson 3, Col Deane 2, Herbert White 2, Jimmy Abernethy 1, Jimmy Davidson 1, Richard Taylor 1, Francis Vine 1
Milestones:
Nil
Statistical categories led:
Biggest win against Essendon
For the second time in recent weeks the Redlegs had gone into a game on the back of a disappointing defeat and won a huge victory with a weakened side.
Despite a poor season which saw them third from bottom the 'Same Olds' had challenged many of the sides they had lost to during the year, so it was a bitter pill for their followers to see them put in such a disgraceful performance.
Melbourne burst out of the blocks with their best first quarter of the season, holding Essendon to goals from free kicks despite the use of a slight breeze while they added seven of their own. The second was equally impressive from a defensive perspected, holding Essendon scoreless in the second and increasing the margin to over 13 goals. Given the state of the game at the end of the first half it's a credit to Essendon that they managed to keep the margin under a hundred points, winning the third quarter narrowly and barely losing the last.
The result was a major contrast to Melbourne's diabolical performance against Fitzroy a week earlier. This was a different side, playing swiftly and skillfully - especially in attack where they tore Essendon to shreds. The only let-down in their forward play was missing a number of easy shots in the second half which would probably have pushed the margin into three figures. Luckily they had spent much of the first two quarters kicking goals from every angle to set up the big lead.
The big lead, and the finals shaping battles to come, meant Melbourne didn't have to exert themselves in the second half and they allowed Essendon some respectability.
Taylor, Deane and White were best.
The victory put them back into fourth place going into a three Saturday break for the interstate Carnival to be played in Melbourne.
Seconds
Essendon 14.25.109 d. Melbourne 13.8.86
Media
Age - 08/08/1927