Coach: Allan La Fontaine
Captain: Denis Cordner
Finishing Position: 5th
Best and Fairest: Len Dockett
Leading Goalkicker: Bob McKenzie (41)
Best First Year Player: n/a
| Matches | Ladder | Playing List | Seconds | Thirds | Tribunal |
After the retirement of Checker Hughes the Melbourne board selected Allan La Fontaine as coach over Norm Smith by a single vote. Under La Fontaine the Demons got off to a terrible start, losing four of their first five games.
They went 11-2 for the rest of the year but the damage had already been done, and the Demons finished a game and percentage outside the top four. They had been unlucky to lose five matches by eight points or less - including three by two points - but nevertheless it was a disappointing return from the reigning premiers.
The VFL approved a rise in player payments from £3 to £4 per match from Round 4 onwards.
A proposed trip to Sydney and Narrandera during the season was cancelled due to "difficulty arranging transport".
The reserves won their first premiership since 1939.
Home and Away
| Round | Opposition | Result | Score | ||
| 1 | Geelong | LOSS | 83-145 | ||
| 2 | Collingwood | LOSS | 80-82 | ||
| 3 | Footscray | WIN | 100-48 | ||
| 4 | South Melbourne | LOSS | 51-59 | ||
| 5 | North Melbourne | LOSS | 46-48 | ||
| 6 | St. Kilda | WIN | 61-37 | ||
| 7 | Essendon | WIN | 90-75 | ||
| 8 | Hawthorn | WIN | 77-66 | ||
| 9 | Fitzroy | WIN | 74-52 | ||
| 10 | Carlton | WIN | 86-78 | ||
| 11 | Richmond | WIN | 101-63 | ||
| 12 | Geelong | WIN | 101-98 | ||
| 13 | Collingwood | WIN | 73-58 | ||
| 14 | Footscray | LOSS | 72-74 | ||
| 15 | South Melbourne | WIN | 79-65 | ||
| 16 | North Melbourne | LOSS | 58-64 | ||
| 17 | St. Kilda | WIN | 106-52 | ||
| 18 | Essendon | LOSS | 76-101 | ||
| 19 | Hawthorn | WIN | 102-76 | ||
Ladder
| W | D | L | % | P | |
| North Melbourne | 14 | 0 | 5 | 119.1 | 56 |
| Carlton | 13 | 0 | 6 | 126.4 | 52 |
| Collingwood | 13 | 0 | 6 | 123.5 | 52 |
| Essendon | 13 | 0 | 6 | 120.7 | 52 |
| Melbourne | 12 | 0 | 7 | 113.0 | 48 |
| Richmond | 10 | 0 | 9 | 116.7 | 40 |
| Fitzroy | 10 | 0 | 9 | 97.8 | 40 |
| Geelong | 9 | 0 | 10 | 111.8 | 36 |
| Footscray | 7 | 0 | 12 | 83.9 | 28 |
| South Melbourne | 6 | 0 | 13 | 80.5 | 24 |
| St. Kilda | 4 | 0 | 15 | 73.5 | 16 |
| Hawthorn | 3 | 0 | 16 | 61.1 | 12 |
Exhibition Match
| Opposition | Result | Score | |||
| Ballarat League | WIN | 151-149 | |||
Playing List
| Player | Games | Goals | |||
| 1 | Denis Cordner | 18 | 8 | ||
| 2 | Bob McKenzie | 18 | 40 | ||
| 3 | Geoff Collins | 17 | 0 | ||
| 4 | Bob Chadwick | 2 | 0 | ||
| 5 | Billy Deans | 19 | 1 | ||
| 6 | Eddie Craddock | 11 | 18 | ||
| 7 | Eddie Jackson | 15 | 0 | ||
| 8 | Doug Heywood | 6 | 4 | ||
| 9 | Ray Harvey | 2 | 3 | ||
| 9 | Colin Cox | 1 | 0 | ||
| 10 | Lance Arnold | 17 | 29 | ||
| 11 | Gordon Bowman | 4 | 0 | ||
| 12 | Jack Mueller | 4 | 9 | ||
| 13 | Max Spittle | 10 | 0 | ||
| 14 | Eric Roscoe | 5 | 0 | ||
| 15 | Len Toyne | 12 | 18 | ||
| 16 | George Bickford | 17 | 2 | ||
| 17 | John Dorgan | 3 | 0 | ||
| 18 | Wally Lock | 4 | 1 | ||
| 19 | Colin Love | 4 | 8 | ||
| 20 | Alan McGowan | 8 | 2 | ||
| 21 | Don Cordner | 19 | 1 | ||
| 22 | Shane McGrath | 15 | 0 | ||
| 23 | Ken Carlon | 16 | 4 | ||
| 24 | Frank Hanna | 5 | 0 | ||
| 25 | Col McLean | 19 | 0 | ||
| 27 | Ken Rollason | 6 | 0 | ||
| 28 | Adrian Dullard | 18 | 35 | ||
| 29 | Ray Jones | 1 | 0 | ||
| 30 | Alby Rodda | 19 | 15 | ||
| 31 | Stan Rule | 16 | 5 | ||
| 32 | Len Dockett | 18 | 2 | ||
| 33 | Jack Thomson | 2 | 2 | ||
| 34 | Jim Shaw | 3 | 2 | ||
| 35 | Noel McMahen | 7 | 3 | ||
| 36 | Bob Stone | 3 | 0 | ||
| 37 | Mike Woods | 16 | 0 | ||
Best and Fairest
| Player | |||||
| 1st | Len Dockett | ||||
| 2nd | Denis Cordner | ||||
Other Awards
Most Consistent - Col McLean
| Round | Player | Charge | Sanction | ||
| Round 6 | Jack Mueller | Striking | 4 matches | ||
| Round 13 | Len Toyne | Striking | Not Guilty | ||
| Round 18 | Billy Deans | Striking | Not Guilty | ||
Seconds
| W | D | L | % | P | |
| Melbourne | 15 | 0 | 4 | 133.3 | 60 |
| Essendon | 13 | 1 | 5 | 143.2 | 54 |
| Collingwood | 13 | 0 | 6 | 121.4 | 52 |
| Richmond | 12 | 0 | 7 | 118.0 | 48 |
| Footscray | 11 | 1 | 7 | 114.5 | 46 |
| Geelong | 9 | 1 | 9 | 111.6 | 38 |
| Fitzroy | 9 | 1 | 9 | 97.9 | 37 |
| Carlton | 9 | 0 | 10 | 98.6 | 36 |
| South Melbourne | 7 | 0 | 12 | 89.9 | 28 |
| St Kilda | 6 | 1 | 12 | 74.1 | 26 |
| North Melbourne | 4 | 1 | 14 | 79.4 | 18 |
| Hawthorn | 3 | 0 | 16 | 59.9 | 12 |
Finals
| Round | Opposition | Result | Score | ||
| SF | Essendon | LOSS | 91-71 | ||
| PF | Richmond | WIN | 122-73 | ||
| GF | Essendon | WIN | 112-68 | ||
Thirds
| W | D | L | % | P | |
| Geelong | 14 | 0 | 3 | 165.6 | 56 |
| South Melbourne | 14 | 0 | 3 | 132.8 | 56 |
| Carlton | 13 | 0 | 4 | 176.5 | 52 |
| Melbourne | 12 | 0 | 4 | 120.8 | 48 |
| Richmond | 11 | 0 | 6 | 111.1 | 44 |
| Essendon | 9 | 0 | 8 | 120.2 | 36 |
| Footscray | 7 | 0 | 9 | 108.9 | 28 |
| Fitzroy | 7 | 0 | 9 | 74.2 | 28 |
| St Kilda | 4 | 0 | 12 | 65.6 | 16 |
| North Melbourne | 4 | 0 | 12 | 57.8 | 16 |
| Hawthorn | 4 | 0 | 12 | 36.6 | 16 |
Finals
| Round | Opposition | Result | |||
| SF | Carlton | LOSS | |||
Notes
Thirds teams played a different amount of games. Some matches seem to have been cancelled. Carlton, Melbourne, Essendon, Fitzroy, North Melbourne and Hawthorn all had two byes. Geelong, South Melbourne, Richmond, Footscray and St Kilda had one.
May have been a game during the October trip to Sale.
Media
Age - 22/10/1948
Narrandera Argus and Riverina Advertiser - 27/05/1949
Links
Image courtesy Boyles Football Photos.