Round 16, 1956
Geelong vs Melbourne
Saturday 4 August
Venue: Kardinia Park
Attendance: 29,687
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Geelong | 0.5 | 3.9 | 5.9 | 8.10.58 |
| Melbourne | 2.3 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 8.8.56 |
Geelong win by 2 points
Goalkickers: Robert B Johnson 3, Ian Ridley 2, Stuart Spencer 2, Peter Cook 1
Milestones:
Nil
After going thirteen rounds of the season without a loss before going down to Footscray two Saturday's before, the Demons suffered their second defeat in three weeks at Kardinia Park.
It wasn't a major shock, Geelong were second on the ladder, but it exposed just how vulnerable the side who had seemed unbeatable a month earlier now were. If it was any consolation they had suffered a similar drop in the middle of the 1955 season and rebounded to win the premiership.
Melbourne struggled to make any headroom in attack, and seven of their goals came from rucks and midfielders. Laurie Mithen, trialled at full forward, was well beaten and his cause wasn't helped by Geelong's near total domination in the centre of the ground.
Four goals in eight minutes at the start of the last quarter set up a grandstand finish, but the home side regained composure and held on to register a crucial late season victory that drew them to just a game behind Melbourne in 2nd.
Best were Spencer, Cordner and Barassi. Carroll was replaced by Gleeson after suffering a burst blood vessel in his thigh.
Norm Smith said "Uncertainty on the forward line proved our undoing. Early we were on top, but Geelong gradually evened it up in the second quarter and it was a very close struggle from then on. Melbourne finished strong, but Geelong hung on long enough to keep us out."
Seconds
Melbourne 23.26 d. Geelong 7.15
Goals - Crameri 7, Unknown 16
Best - Adams, Mountain, Crameri
Thirds
Geelong 8.5 d. Melbourne 6.14
Media
Argus - 04/08/1956
Age - 06/08/1956
Argus - 06/08/1956
Football Record R17 1956
Argus - 08/08/1956