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1925 AND ALL THAT - PART TWO  by Whispering Jack

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in Melbourne Demons

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With the opening round win under their belts, the Redlegs had a much tougher assignment in the second match of the season against Collingwood in hostile territory at Victoria Park.

Round 2 Collingwood vs Melbourne
Saturday 9 May
Venue: Victoria Park
Attendance: 15,000

MELBOURNE 0.3.3 2.7.19  3.10.28 7.12.54

COLLINGWOOD 2.2.14 5.6.35 6.10.46 10.11.71

Goalkickers: Richard Taylor 2, Harry Davie 1, Hugh Dunbar 1, Percy Tulloh 1, Bill Tymms 1, Stan Wittman 1

As it turned out, Melbourne put up on a tremendous performance but fell short in a fast paced match in which they missed the influence of skipper Bert Chadwick who was out with influenza.

The superior Collingwood defence gave it the initial impetus on the wet ground by holding Melbourne goalless in the first term and holding it to just three goals by three quarter time. The game opened up in the final term with the Redlegs narrowing the margin to 11 points late in the game when Stan Wittman marked in front of goal but lost the ball attempting to run around the man on the mark. The opportunity to cut the margin to under a goal was lost. Collingwood surged to kick another goal and the game was lost.

Melbourne’s best were Taylor, Mollison and Coy.

Seconds - Collingwood 13.20 d. Melbourne 8.12.60

Goals - Alberry 5, Parker 2, Duff 1

Best Parker, Fergens, Anderson

Round 3 Melbourne vs Carlton
Saturday 16 May
Venue: MCG
Attendance: 16,570

MELBOURNE 2.2.14 3.7.25 6.10.46 12.12.84

CARLTON 1.1.7 3.8.26 3.11.29 4.14.38

Goalkickers: Harry Davie 5, Jack Cannan 3, Jimmy Davidson 1, Derek Mollison 1, Richard Taylor 1, Ivor Warne-Smith 1

The lowly Blues were struggling but, despite their inaccuracy in front of goal, managed to put up a fight and lead by a point at half time but collapsed after the long break. Carlton’s poor kicking in front of the goals persisted in the first five minutes of the third quarter  scoring three behinds and from then onwards, the rest of the game belonged to the faster and more systematic Melbourne which added 9.5.59 to bring them a percentage building 46 point victory.

The Redleg fans had been expecting the debut of champion Tasmanian player, Col Deane in the number 33 but were confused when it was actually "Snowy" Cannan from Bendigo because Deane was unable to play due to illness (he would debut the following week). Meanwhile, Cannan played the game of his brief career and kicked three goals.

Best players were Taylor, Chadwick and Davie but the big news of the day was the resignation of Carlton coach Pat O'Brien, an outcome prompted by the game’s poor performance.

Seconds

Carlton 20.18.138 d. Melbourne 11.12.78
Goals Cameron 4

Round 4, Footscray vs Melbourne
Saturday 23 May
Venue: Western Oval
Attendance: 12,000

MELBOURNE 1.3.9 7.8.50 8.12.60 9.16.70

FOOTSCRAY 1.3.9 5.4.34 6.5.41 6.6.42

Goalkickers: Col Deane 3, Harry Davie 2, Stan Wittman 2, Jimmy Davidson 1, Ivor Warne-Smith

The fourth round marked Melbourne's first VFL game against the newly admitted Footscray Football Club. It was the first meeting between the two sides since August 1896 and the Redlegs continued their good start to the season by once again being victorious. When the teams gathered in the middle of the ground before the match to cheer for each other, Col Deane took his place and thrilled supporters by emulating Cannan's performance from the week before.

He steered his first kick for sixty years, right through the goals and also finished three goals.

A talented big man, Deane was fast for his size, a beautiful kick and a strong mark. He had been educated at Launceston Grammar where he was a fine athlete and a champion rower and became one of the best ruckmen in the competition.

Deane was inducted into the Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame in 2014.

Colin Deane Player Inductee -Launceston/New Town/Melbourne/St Kilda, Follower, 1919-33

• 82 games, 53 goals for Melbourne, 1925-30
• 3 games for St Kilda, 1933
• Around 40 games for Launceston, 1919-21
• Around 40 games for New Town, 1922-24
• St Kilda coach, 1933
• Melbourne VFL premiership, 1926
• Tasmanian National Carnival representative, 1924 (Hobart)
• Victorian interstate representative, 1925, 1929
• NTFA representative, 1919-21

IMG_0613.jpeg

It was the first wet day of the season and rain fell during the game but before it came Melbourne was the superior team, marking and kicking with precision. After an even opening term, during which play became heavily congested, Melbourne nullified Footscray's tough bullocking play and kicked six goals to four in the second term to set up their win. The game became a slog when the rain came and the Redlegs managed a goal in each of the two final terms with Wittman's goal sealing  the game. The atmosphere was convivial and the hosts provided a barrel of beer for their visitors in the rooms after the game.

Best were Wittman, Warne-Smith and the newcomer, Deane.

Seconds

Footscray 6.6.42 vs Melbourne 3.4.22 (1/2 time score)

Round 5 Melbourne vs North Melbourne
Saturday 30 May
Venue: MCG
Attendance: 11,954

MELBOURNE 5.2.32 9.7.61 10.10.70 12.13.85

NORTH MELBOURNE 2.4.16 3.4.22 8.4.52 10.5.65

Goalkickers: Harry Davie 5, Col Deane 3, Jack Cannan 2, Derek Mollison 2

Melbourne's first ever match against North in the VFL saw them earn their second victory in a fortnight over one of the league's new boys after taking care of Footscray a week earlier.

In an exciting, high standard game it looked as if Melbourne had the match won when they opened up a six goal lead at half time. They were dominant in the first quarter, always first to the ball and playing with a better system. In the circumstances the 16 point lead could have been larger, but the second term they kicked away to a 39 point lead.

The first goal of the third quarter extended the margin to over 30 points, before North stormed back with five goals in a row to cut the margin to just 18 points at the last change. The lead was down to 13 points in the last quarter, but North had left themselves too much work to do and fell short.

Best were Warne-Smith, Chadwick and Mollison.

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