Essendon won the toss and kicked with the breeze in the first quarter. Essendon attacked first,<ref name="herald">{{cite news|newspaper=The Herald|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|author=Alf Brown|date=27 September 1947|page=26|title=Carlton snatch win in hectic finish}}</ref> but Carlton was the first to score, [[Herb Turner]] kicking the opening goal from a crumbing effort in front of goal.<ref name="tsg" /> Essendon attacked next, but missed on consecutive shots by [[Bill Brittingham]] and [[Dick Reynolds]] twice, before Carlton kicked the next two goals – a long drop-kicked set shot by [[Jack Howell (footballer)|Jack Howell]] and a shorter set shot by [[Jim Baird (Australian footballer)|Jim Baird]] – to take 15 point lead.<ref name="tsg" /> Essendon finally kicked its first goal when Reynolds crumbed off the back of a marking contest. Brittingham soon had two more chances from set shots, but missed both again, before [[Bill Hutchison]] narrowed the margin to one point with a wide-angled shot on the run.<ref name="tsg" /> Baird scored his second goal from a snap shot for Carlton soon after to restore a seven point buffer.<ref name="tsg" /><ref name="herald" /> Two more behinds followed for Essendon, including a missed set shot from 12 yards directly in front by Brittingham, before Essendon took its first lead when [[Jack Cassin]] goaled from a free kick. Essendon continued to attack, but were repelled by the Carlton defense. When the quarter ended, Essendon held a one point lead, 3.7 (25) led 4.0 (24).
Although Essendon had scored ten times to Carlton's four with the aid of the breeze, they had been wasteful in front of goal – especially Brittingham, who had scored 0.4. Neither side had marked the ball cleanly.<ref name="tsg" /> Carlton had the better of the ruck contests early in the quarter, Howell and [[Jack Bennett (footballer, born 1920)|Jack Bennett]] getting the better of [[Perc Bushby]] and Cassin, and Essendon moved [[Jack Jones (Australian rules footballer)|Jack Jones]] into the ruck midway through the quarter to seek an advantage.<ref name="tsg" /> Essendon captain-coach Reynolds later lamented his side's overuse of short passing in the forward line during the quarter while it held the advantage.<ref name="reynolds">{{cite news|newspaper=The Argus|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|title=Carlton win premiership in last few seconds|page=18|author=Dick Reynolds}}</ref>
