carlton (9-1) vs geelong (6-4) princess park
blues put cats title defence on life support by 1 goal despite a fightback. carlton (10-1) host hawthorn. geelong (6-5) play melbourne
| Carlton | 2.6 | 6.12 | 11.15 | 12.16 | 88 | Sat 2-Jul-1938 2:30 pm | Princes Park | 19,500 |
| Geelong | 1.3 | 2.4 | 5.5 | 12.10 | 82 | Carlton won by 6 points | ||
collingwood (6-4) vs south (1-9) victoria park
pies beat swans by 2 goals. collingwood (7-4) host fitzroy. south (1-10) play footscray.
| Collingwood | 5.4 | 6.11 | 9.13 | 12.17 | 89 | Sat 2-Jul-1938 2:30 pm | Victoria Park | 10,000 |
| South Melbourne | 5.0 | 6.1 | 10.3 | 12.5 | 77 | Collingwood won by 12 points | ||
melbourne (7-3) vs essendon (5-5) mcg
dons stun dees by 1 goal. essendon (6-5) play st kilda. melbourne (7-4) host geelong.
| Melbourne | 3.2 | 5.6 | 10.9 | 11.13 | 79 | Sat 2-Jul-1938 2:30 pm | M.C.G. | 12,054 |
| Essendon | 4.1 | 5.1 | 9.2 | 13.7 | 85 | Essendon won by 6 points | ||
north (1-9) vs hawthorn (3-7) arden st
roos beat hawks by 14 to break drought. north (2-9) host richmond. hawthorn (3-8) play carlton.
| North Melbourne | 5.5 | 6.7 | 8.11 | 13.14 | 92 | Sat 2-Jul-1938 2:30 pm | Arden Street | 4,000 |
| Hawthorn | 0.0 | 5.2 | 8.3 | 12.6 | 78 | North Melbourne won by 14 points | ||
st kilda (5-5) vs fitzroy (4-6) junction oval
saints edge lions by 3. st kilda (6-5) host essendon. fitzroy (4-7) play collingwood.
| St. Kilda | 5.2 | 7.2 | 9.4 | 11.8 | 74 | Sat 2-Jul-1938 2:30 pm | Junction Oval | 10,000 |
| Fitzroy | 0.0 | 6.7 | 6.8 | 10.11 | 71 | St. Kilda won by 3 points | ||
footscray (7-3) vs richmond (7-3) western oval
dogs beat tigers by 52. footscray (8-3) host south. richmond (7-4) play north.
| Footscray | 4.9 | 5.10 | 9.14 | 13.20 | 98 | Sat 2-Jul-1938 2:30 pm | Western Oval | 20,000 |
| Richmond | 1.0 | 6.2 | 6.2 | 7.4 | 46 | Footscray won by 52 points | ||
ladder
| Team | GP | PTS | % |
| CARL | 11 | 40 | 125.81 |
| FOOTS | 11 | 32 | 116.26 |
| COLL | 11 | 28 | 117.12 |
| RICH | 11 | 28 | 116.63 |
| MELB | 11 | 28 | 111.13 |
| GEEL | 11 | 24 | 124.13 |
| STK | 11 | 24 | 89.57 |
| ESS | 11 | 20 | 99.09 |
| FITZ | 11 | 16 | 93.41 |
| HAW | 11 | 12 | 87.45 |
| NTH | 11 | 8 | 67.79 |
| STH | 11 | 4 | 69.41 |
round 12 matches
st kilda v essendon JO
carlton v hawthorn PP
collingwood v fitzroy VP
melbourne v geelong MCG
north v richmond AS
footscray v south WO