1973 VFL season
Encyclopedia
Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League
season of 1973.
Teams played each other in a home-and-away season of 22 rounds; matches 12 to 22 were the "home-and-way reverse" of matches 1 to 11.
Once the 22 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1973 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the "McIntyre Final Five system".
defeated Carlton
16.20 (116) to 12.14 (86), in front of a crowd of 116956 people. (For an explanation of scoring see Australian rules football
).
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 1973.
Premiership season
In 1973, 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 22 rounds; matches 12 to 22 were the "home-and-way reverse" of matches 1 to 11.
Once the 22 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1973 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the "McIntyre Final Five system".
Grand final
RichmondRichmond 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,...
defeated 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...
16.20 (116) to 12.14 (86), in front of a crowd of 116956 people. (For an explanation of scoring see Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
).
Awards
- The 1973 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,...
. - 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 Peter McKennaPeter McKennaPeter McKenna is a former Australian rules footballer, who played 180 games and kicked 838 goals with the Collingwood Football Club between 1965 and 1975, where he spent the majority of his career...
of CollingwoodCollingwood Football ClubThe Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
who kicked 84 goals (including 2 goals in the finals). - The winner of the 1973 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 Keith GreigKeith GreigKeith Greig played on the wing for the Australian rules football North Melbourne Football Club from 1971 to 1985. He is considered as one of the most exciting players of the era, earning the nickname "Racehorse" because of his blistering speed on the field.Greig was recruited from Brunswick in 1971...
of North MelbourneNorth Melbourne Football ClubThe North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world...
with 27 votes. - South MelbourneSydney SwansThe 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...
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 1973.
Notable events
- Under the new VFL clearance system, whereby any player who has played 10 years with a single club can have a free transfer to the club of their choice, new North MelbourneNorth Melbourne Football ClubThe North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world...
coach Ron BarassiRon BarassiRonald Dale Barassi, Jr AM is a former Australian rules football player and coach. During a long and decorated career, Barassi has been one of the most important figures in the history of Australian football. His father, Ron Barassi, Sr., was the first Australian footballer killed at Tobruk during...
is able to recruit champion half-backs Barry DavisBarry DavisBarry Davis is a former Australian rules footballer who played in the Victorian Football League with Essendon and North Melbourne, before coaching his original team between 1978–1980.- Essendon career :...
(who had already played 218 games for EssendonEssendon Football ClubThe Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
) and John RantallJohn RantallJohn "Mopsy" Rantall was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League.Originally from Cobden, Rantall moved to the South Melbourne Football Club where he debuted in 1963. He moved to North Melbourne Football Club with the intention of playing in a premiership side in 1973 and...
(who had already played 174 games for South MelbourneSydney SwansThe 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...
), and champion full-forward Doug WadeDoug WadeDouglas Graeme Wade is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club and North Melbourne Football Club....
(who had already played 208 games for 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...
). - Just before half-time in the round 9 match between 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...
and North MelbourneNorth Melbourne Football ClubThe North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world...
at Kardinia Park the ball was heading out of bounds when it ricocheted back into play off the boot of boundary umpire Greg McQueen straight into the arms of North Melbourne's Wayne SchimmelbuschWayne SchimmelbuschWayne Schimmelbusch is a former Australian Rules Footballer in the Victorian Football League .A courageous wingman and inspirational speedster who seemingly never knew when to give up, Schimmelbusch played in 306 games, including 29 finals games, for the North Melbourne Football Club...
, who passed it to Doug WadeDoug WadeDouglas Graeme Wade is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club and North Melbourne Football Club....
, who kicked a goal. - In round 11 Kevin Murray plays his 300th game for 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...
. - The round 16 match between FootscrayWestern BulldogsThe Western Bulldogs are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based at the Whitten Oval in West Footscray, an inner-western suburb of Melbourne...
and 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...
at the Western Oval was played in appalling conditions with most of the centre of the ground at least ankle-deep in mud. There were 117 free kicks paid in the match. Hawthorn won due to its rovers Leigh MatthewsLeigh MatthewsLeigh Raymond "Lethal Leigh" Matthews AM is a former player and coach of Australian rules football. He played for Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League from 1969 to 1985, coached Collingwood from 1986–1995, and coached the Brisbane Lions from 1999 to 2008...
and Peter CrimminsPeter CrimminsPeter Crimmins was a rover for the Hawthorn Football Club in the VFL, playing 176 games and kicking 231 goals from 1966 to 1975. He was an inspirational player and captain from 1974 who wore number 5. He was a member of the Hawks' 1971 premiership team.At the completion of the 1974 VFL season...
being able to rove to a beaten ruck, and "shark" the dominant rucking of Footscray's much taller ruckman Gary DempseyGary DempseyGary Dempsey is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Footscray and North Melbourne in the Victorian Football League....
. - In round round 21, 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...
full-forward Peter HudsonPeter HudsonPeter John Hudson AM is a former Australian Rules Football player, considered one of the greatest full-forwards in the game's history....
, who had been injured in round 1 of 19721972 VFL seasonResults and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1972.-Premiership season:In 1972, 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...
returns to the VFL. He beats four opponents and kicks 8 goals. - In the first moments of the Grand Final Carlton'sCarlton 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...
captain-coach John Nicholls was running out of goal to mark a kick from Alex JesaulenkoAlex JesaulenkoAlex 'Jezza' Jesaulenko MBE is a former Australian rules footballer and coach. He is regarded as one of the game's greatest-ever players and is an official Legend of the Australian Football Hall of Fame...
when Richmond'sRichmond 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,...
's back-pocket Laurie FowlerLaurie FowlerLaurie Fowler is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Richmond and Melbourne in the Victorian Football League....
ran straight at Nicholls and smashed him in the head. Nicholls was given the mark and a 15-yard penalty. He kicked a goal; however, due to severe double vision cause by Fowler's blow, Nicholls could hardly see anything, and effectively took no further part in the match even though he stayed on the ground. In the second quarter Richmond's Neil BalmeNeil BalmeNeil Allen Balme is a former Australian rules football player who played in the VFL between 1969 and 1979 for the Richmond Football Club.-Playing career:...
knocked out Carlton full-back Geoff SouthbyGeoff SouthbyGeoff Southby was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League .An attacking full-back who ran hard from defence and stopped the best full-forwards, Southby was a key contributor to Carlton Football Club's success in the 1970s.In 2000 Southby was inducted into the Australian...
with a vicious elbow strike to the head (Southby did not return after half-time, and it took some months for him to fully recover from the effects of the assault). In the ensuing brawl, Balme also attacked Carlton's Vin WaiteVin WaiteVincent Waite was an Australian rules footballer who played for Carlton in the VFL. His son Jarrad followed in his footsteps and plays with Carlton, acquired under the Father-son rule....
. Balme was not reported by the umpires. - On the day of the Grand Final, the Richmond Football ClubRichmond 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,...
had much to celebrate: its Senior Team, Reserve Team, Under-19 team, and its Under-17 team all won their Grand Finals 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...
.