1967 VFL season
Encyclopedia
Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League
season of 1967.
Teams played each other in a home-and-away season of 18 rounds; matches 12 to 18 were the "home-and-way reverse" of matches 1 to 7.
Once the 18 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1967 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the "Page-McIntyre system".
, for the teams (5th to 12th on ladder) out of the finals at the end of the season.
Final: Footscray 15.11 (101) defeated South Melbourne
8.8 (56).
Umpires: P. Sheales, A. Cook, R. Kidd, L. Barratt, B. Grant.
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
season of 1967.
Premiership season
In 1967, the VFL competition consisted of twelve teams of 18 on-the-field players each, plus two substitute players, known as the 19th man and the 20th man. A player could be substituted for any reason; however, once substituted, a player could not return to the field of play under any circumstances.Teams played each other in a home-and-away season of 18 rounds; matches 12 to 18 were the "home-and-way reverse" of matches 1 to 7.
Once the 18 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1967 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the "Page-McIntyre system".
Night Series Competition
The night series were held under the floodlights at Lake Oval, South MelbourneSouth Melbourne, Victoria
South Melbourne is an inner city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km south from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area are the Cities of Port Phillip and Melbourne...
, for the teams (5th to 12th on ladder) out of the finals at the end of the season.
Final: Footscray 15.11 (101) defeated South Melbourne
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
8.8 (56).
First Semi-Final
| Team | 1 Qtr | 2 Qtr | 3 Qtr | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geelong Geelong Football Club The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also... |
3.4 | 8.7 | 10.10 | 16.12 (108) |
| Collingwood Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League... |
4.2 | 6.3 | 10.9 | 11.12 (78) |
| Attendance: 91,715 | ||||
Second Semi-Final
| Team | 1 Qtr | 2 Qtr | 3 Qtr | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richmond Richmond Football Club The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,... |
5.8 | 10.13 | 14.16 | 20.21 (141) |
| Carlton Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897... |
3.4 | 7.9 | 11.12 | 14.17 (101) |
| Attendance: 99,051 | ||||
Preliminary Final
| Team | 1 Qtr | 2 Qtr | 3 Qtr | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlton Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897... |
5.2 | 10.5 | 11.7 | 11.13 (79) |
| Geelong Geelong Football Club The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also... |
1.0 | 6.2 | 14.3 | 17.6 (108) |
| Attendance: 95,542 | ||||
Grand final
| Team | 1 Qtr | 2 Qtr | 3 Qtr | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richmond Richmond Football Club The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,... |
4.3 | 9.10 | 12.15 | 16.18 (114) |
| Geelong Geelong Football Club The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also... |
3.3 | 7.6 | 13.7 | 15.15 (105) |
| Attendance: 109,396 | ||||
Umpires: P. Sheales, A. Cook, R. Kidd, L. Barratt, B. Grant.
Awards
- The 1967 VFL Premiership team was RichmondRichmond Football ClubThe Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,...
(its first since 1943). - The VFL's leading goalkickerColeman MedalThe Coleman Medal is awarded yearly to the Australian Football League player who kicks the most goals in regular-season matches in that year...
was Doug WadeDoug WadeDouglas Graeme Wade is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club and North Melbourne Football Club....
of GeelongGeelong Football ClubThe Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also...
who kicked 96 goals (including 17 goals in the final series). - The winner of the 1967 Brownlow MedalBrownlow MedalThe Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
was Ross G. SmithRoss G. SmithRoss G. Smith is a former Australian rules footballer who played in the Victorian Football League .Smith played with St Kilda as a courageous rover. He won the Brownlow Medal in 1967 and captained Victoria at the 1972 Perth Carnival...
of St Kilda with 24 votes. - Footscray took the "wooden spoonWooden spoon (award)A wooden spoon is a mock or real award, usually given to an individual or team which has come last in a competition, but sometimes also to runners-up. Examples range from the academic to sporting and more frivolous events...
" in 1967.
Notable events
- Former CarltonCarlton Football ClubThe Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
ruckman Graham DonaldsonGraham DonaldsonGraham Donaldson is a former Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League.Donaldson made his debut for the Carlton Football Club in the Round 4 of the 1955 season. He announced his retirement from the game after the 1962 season.-External links:*, Blueseum*...
, now coaching in Morwell, VictoriaMorwell, Victoria-Transport:The main form of transport in Morwell is the automobile. The Princes Freeway now bypasses the town to the south while the old Princes Highway which once passed through east-west through its centre is now Princes Drive and Commercial Road. The highway connects Morwell with other...
, is also the manager of one of the district's State Savings Bank of Victoria (SSB) branches. He convinces the Bank's head office to sponsor a new competition involving children (under 12), representing their VFL club and playing in their club colours, to be played during the half-time break in the senior VFL game each Saturday. The SSB Mini League, which eventually evolved into the "Little League", conducts its first matches during the 1967 VFL season. - FitzroyFitzroy Football ClubThe Fitzroy Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Lions, is an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League on its inception in 1897...
moved to CarltonCarlton Football ClubThe Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
's home ground, Princes ParkMC Labour ParkPrinces Park is an Australian rules football ground located at Princes Park in the inner Melbourne suburb of Carlton North, Victoria....
, sharing the ground on alternate weeks. - HawthornHawthorn Football ClubThe Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League . The club, founded in 1902, is the youngest of the Victorian-based teams in the AFL. The team play in Brown & Gold vertically striped guernseys...
, having instituted an exhaustive schedule of pre-season and regular in-season training developed by coach John Kennedy and former star centreman, now gymnasium owner, Brendan EdwardsBrendan EdwardsBrendan Edwards Brendan Edwards Brendan Edwards (Born 18 March 1936 is a former Australian rules football footballer who played for Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League VFL from 1956 to 1961 and again in the 1963 season. He won their best and fairest award in 1960 and represented Victoria at...
, as a consequence of them having undertaken this gruelling schedule in addition to their normal, on-going skills training, the Hawthorn players become known as "Kennedy's Commandos". - In the round 7 match between RichmondRichmond Football ClubThe Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,...
and GeelongGeelong Football ClubThe Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also...
at the Melbourne Cricket GroundMelbourne Cricket GroundThe Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
, the teams were tied 8.5 (53) each. Richmond scored 8.3 (51) to Geelong's 1.2 (8) in the third quarter, emulating its burst of 9.4 (58) to 3.1 (19) against Geelong in the fifth round of 1966. - In the Second Semi-Final between RichmondRichmond Football ClubThe Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,...
and CarltonCarlton Football ClubThe Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
Richmond's Neville CroweNeville CroweNeville Crowe is a former Australian rules football player who played in the VFL between 1957 and 1967 for the Richmond Football Club. He served as Richmond's President from 1987 to 1993, at the helm of the club during the 1990 Save Our Skins campaign which saved the club from financial...
and Carlton's John Nicholls were wrestling for the ball when Nicholls hit Crowe "in the guts", Crowe stepped back with the football grasped to his chest in his left hand and attempted to slap Nicholls with his open right hand. Crowe missed making any contact with Nicholls by about three inches. Nicholls, always the opportunist, immediately lifted his own left hand to his face, and pretending to have been badly affected, reeled away from Crowe. Despite Crowe's protests, he was reported (for the first time in 11 senior seasons and 151 games) for striking Nicholls. At the tribunal Crowe received no assistance from Nicholls who was, obviously, most reluctant to admit that he was only acting. The case itself was complicated by the fact that the incident itself had taken place in front of where the tribunal members had sat during the match in question; and, despite the fact that none of them actually had seen Crowe hit Nicholls, they had certainly all seen Nicholls' reaction — and the nature of his dramatic performance had convinced them that he had, in fact, been hit by Crowe. It was also a controversial case because the VFL tribunal (no doubt, in part, because they trusted their own eyes) refused to allow television footage to be presented that unequivocally and without any doubt showed that Crowe's attempt to slap Nicholls had missed him altogether. Crowe was suspended for 4 weeks. He missed the Grand Final, and never played VFL football again. - At the end of the season, Harry BeitzelHarry BeitzelHarry Beitzel is an Australian sports broadcaster and media personality best known for his contribution to Australian rules football.-Umpiring career:...
's squad of players drawn mainly from the VFL, known as "The GalahsAustralian Football World TourThe Australian Football World Tour was a series of International Rules Football matches, organised by football sports broadcaster and former VFL umpire Harry Beitzel in 1967 and 1968.-First tour:...
", play matches in Ireland, England, and the United States.