Return To The MCG
AS ANOTHER season gets set to start, the MCG is the centrepiece of our footballing lives, from the middle of the arena to the top deck of the Great Southern Stand.
However, there have been times where this has been an almost impossible dream, with the MCG put to far more austere uses, not available for either football or cricket fixtures.
Given such an episode of extended deprivation, one of the most memorable Grand Finals in living recollection was that of 1946.
Before this, the most recent time that the Melbourne team had appeared on the MCG was for a memorable victory - the 1941 premiership.
Not only was it the first post-war Grand Final, but it was also the ultimate celebration - for the Melbourne Football Club in particular - of returning to the MCG after the dark days of World War Two, during which many treasured figures had been lost.
The ground had taken on a military cast during the war, with American Marines seeking respite there after the battle at Guadalcanal, followed by RAAF personnel using it as a transit camp.
The old Long Room had been seconded for officers’ quarters, and the tunnels below the stands became accommodation bases, popularly known as ‘Pneumonia Alley’.
The side was only able to train on the hallowed turf as of early August 1946, by which time finals were beckoning, and Melbourne was one of the form sides of the competition.
Now, the team had a welcome readjustment to make, with players accustoming themselves once more to the size of the MCG after having to put up with cramped conditions at the Albert Ground.
The return match of 1946, played against Hawthorn, was a ‘must win’ encounter.
A supreme goal kicking performance by Norm Smith - seven goals - guaranteed a 37-point win and fourth place heading into the finals.
It was certainly an idyllic return to the MCG.
Adding some extra early gloss to the finals race, Donald Cordner was honoured with the Brownlow Medal, reflecting the fine performances of the side throughout 1946.
Concerns were held regarding a couple of his teammates - Smith with an inflamed appendix, Rule with a leg injury - but both were on song for a three goal win over Footscray in the first semi-final.
The Preliminary Final was against Collingwood, with 59,444 on hand to see an injured Jack Mueller kick eight goals and held turn a 23-point deficit into a 13-point win.
This meant a Grand Final berth for Melbourne for the first time since 1941, with Essendon the opponents.
Unfortunately, Melbourne faded in front of the crowd of 73,743, losing by 61 points.
It was a sad end to a season that had promised so much, but many positives could be taken out of 1946.
It would be long treasured as the year of the return to the MCG, as well as the year in which Cordner won the Brownlow.
1946 was a season to remember, and a year to look back on as the first of peace and restoration following seasons of tragedy, uncertainty and loss.
