Round 17, 1954
Melbourne vs St. Kilda
Saturday 21 August
Venue: MCG
Attendance: 16,709
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Melbourne | 3.3 | 7.4 | 10.5 | 14.13.97 |
| St. Kilda | 1.1 | 3.6 | 4.10 | 5.10.40 |
Melbourne win by 57 points
Goalkickers: Robert B Johnson 4, Ken Albiston 3, Stuart Spencer 3, Brian Dixon 2, Ron Barassi 1, Ralph Lane 1
Milestones:
First Goal
Brian Dixon (6th game)
Needing a win against the second last placed Saints to stay in the top four Melbourne continued on their path towards the finals with a strong win on their home turf.
St Kilda broke down badly in attack and only managed five goals for the afternoon. They were held out by strong defence from the Demons and even after their best period of the game during the second quarter they still lost the term and went into the half 22 points behind. Even though they were well on their way to an important win Norm Smith still tore strips off his players at half time for flashy play he believed unbecoming of a premiership contender.
As the quality of the game broke down in the third quarter the Demons further extended their lead to 31 at the last change - and they added another one almost immediately in the last quarter to make sure of victory. Bob Johnson kicked three last quarter goals as Melbourne ran away with victory.
With Richmond suffering a surprise loss to Hawthorn elsewhere it left the Demons destiny in their own hands going into the last round. If they beat South Melbourne in the final round they would make sure of their spot in the four.
Best were Arnold, Williams and Collins. Christie replaced McMahen (bruised shin) in the selected side. Carroll and Mithen replaced Cordner and McKenzie respectively during the last quarter. Dixon was originally listed as 20th man.
Seconds
Melbourne 22.14 d. St Kilda 12.4
Goals - Mueller 8, Unknown 14
Best - Ferguson, Johnson, Laidlaw
Notes
Sporting Globe shows the 'official' attendance as 16,709. McMahen also shown as having a thigh injury.
Media
Herald - 20/08/1954
Sporting Globe - 21/08/1954
Age - 21/08/1954
Age - 23/08/1954
Sporting Globe - 25/08/1954
Age - 25/08/1954
Herald - 27/08/1954
Football Record R18 1954