Round 3, 1957
Melbourne vs Essendon
Saturday 4 May
Venue: MCG
Attendance: 47,920
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Melbourne | 2.5 | 6.13 | 7.17 | 11.20.86 |
| Essendon | 0.0 | 3.7 | 4.8 | 5.11.41 |
Melbourne win by 45 points
Goalkickers: Geoff Tunbridge 3, Dick Fenton-Smith 2, Athol Webb 2, Peter Cook 1, Brian Dixon 1, Robert B Johnson 1, Graeme Pinfold 1
Milestones:
First game
Ian Thorogood
First goal
Graeme Pinfold
After opening their account for the season in a grand final rematch against Collingwood a week earlier, the Demons ran into one of the early form sides of the competition and passed the test with flying colours.
The home side were much pacier, their renowned defence held together strongly and the midfield battled well against a centreline which had been one of the league's best in the first fortnight. Essendon failed to score in the first quarter, and if Melbourne had kicked more accurately they might have built up an insurmountable lead at half time.
The visitors failed to make any headway in the third term and the Demons ran away with an easy, confidence boosting victory.
Best were Marquis, Williams and Barassi. T. Johnson was replaced by Atkinson and Williams by Thorogood. John Lord split his hand and had eight stitches.
Seconds
Melbourne 14.15 d. Essendon 12.7
Goals - Whyte 4, Unknown 11
Best - Dunsford, Gleeson, Wilson
Thirds
Melbourne 6.7 drew Essendon 5.13
Lists
Scoreless first quarters
Media
Age - 06/05/1957
Football Record R4 1957