On this day, June 3, 1918, South Melbourne suffered a narrow loss that would be the only blemish in a near-perfect season, as the Swans went on to achieve their second premiership.
The Round 4 match against St Kilda at the Junction Oval was preceded by some unusual circumstances.
South had defeated Geelong, Fitzroy and Collingwood in the opening three rounds and, in the lead-up to the Round 4 match against St Kilda, went on a team trip to the Dandenongs.
The match was scheduled for the King’s Birthday holiday Monday and the Southerners spent the previous two days holidaying at the holiday home of a club patron. The team returned to Melbourne on the morning of the St Kilda match a little worse for wear.
Champion Swans rover Mark Tandy later recalled in the South Melbourne Record “how they saw the game out is a miracle”.
The Swans lost the match by five points, going down 6-8 (44) to St Kilda’s 6-13 (49).
The following week the Swans recovered to defeat Carlton by four points at the Lake Oval, marking the start of an undefeated run to the Grand Final.
When it came time to face St Kilda again in Round 11, the Swans were eager to avenge their sole loss for season 1918. They came out firing and restricted St Kilda to just two goals to three-quarter time, going into the final break with a 55-point lead.
South Melbourne kicked the last two goals of the match to win by 50 points and The Argus named Vic Belcher, Jim Caldwell, Jack Doherty, Jack Howell, Artie Wood and Joe Prince as the best Swans players.
The victory sounded a warning to the rest of the competition, as St Kilda to that stage was regarded as a flag contender.
The Saints, in fact, finished the home and away season in fourth position, only to be knocked out of the premiership race in going down to Collingwood by just nine points in one of the two semi-finals.
If it had not been for that upset five-point defeat, South Melbourne would have gone through the entire season undefeated. The side won all of its other 13 home and away matches and then defeated Carlton by five points in a semi-final, before beating Collingwood by an identical margin in the Grand Final to see the Swans claim their second flag.
