1968 VFL grand final

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The 1968 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday, 28 September 1968.[1][2][3] It was the 71st annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1968 VFL season. The match, attended by a record crowd of 116,828 spectators, was won by Carlton ("The Blues") by a margin of 3 points, making it that club's ninth premiership victory, but its first since winning the 1947 VFL Grand Final.

1968 VFL Grand Final

Carlton

Essendon
7.14 (56) 8.5 (53)
1 2 3 4
CAR 2.2 (14) 6.8 (44) 7.9 (51) 7.14 (56)
ESS 2.1 (13) 5.1 (31) 6.4 (40) 8.5 (53)
Date28 September 1968
StadiumMelbourne Cricket Ground
Attendance116,828
← 1967 VFL Grand Final 1969 →

The Blues emerged victorious despite Essendon kicking more goals, the first of only two times that had happened in a VFL/AFL grand final as of 2023. There was a strong wind blowing during the whole game, which did not help it as a spectacle and possibly contributed to Carlton's inaccuracy. Garry Crane starred on the wing for the Blues with 30 possessions.

Essendon came within a point of Carlton at the 20 minute mark of the final term after a goal to Geoff Blethyn. Despite being goal-less in the final quarter, Carlton managed to keep their lead, thanks largely to 20th man Neil Chandler, who took some crucial marks in the dying stages.

Aided by the opening during the year of the ground's new Western Stand, the attendance of 116,828 was the highest at a VFL premiership decider up to that time, breaking the record of 115,902 spectators who witnessed the 1956 VFL Grand Final.[4] The new record was broken at the 1969 VFL Grand Final, and that record was broken in turn at the 1970 VFL Grand Final.

Teams edit

 
 
 
 
Carlton
 
 
 
 
 
Essendon
Carlton
B: 19 Ian Collins 20 Wes Lofts 42 Robert Walls
HB: 21 Barry Gill 11 John Goold 3 Kevin Hall
C: 34 Ian Robertson 17 Brent Crosswell 6 Garry Crane
HF: 25 Alex Jesaulenko 12 Bill Bennett 32 Bryan Quirk
F: 28 Peter Jones 16 Brian Kekovich 8 Dennis Munari
Foll: 2 John Nicholls (c) 1 Sergio Silvagni 10 Adrian Gallagher
Res: 36 Peter McLean 47 Neil Chandler
Coach: Ron Barassi
Essendon
B: 17 Darryl Gerlach 35 Geoff Pryor 36 Neil Evans
HB: 28 Alec Epis 22 John Williams 32 Barry Davis
C: 21 Ken Fletcher 30 John Ellis 14 Russell Blew
HF: 19 Robin Close 10 Alan Noonan 5 David Shaw
F: 20 Ted Fordham 11 Geoff Blethyn 26 Paul Sproule
Foll: 24 Don McKenzie (c) 7 Charlie Payne 6 Geoff Gosper
Res: 16 Bruce Lake 15 Don Gross
Coach: Jack Clarke

Scorecard edit

Carlton vs Essendon
2:30PM AEST
Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Final
Carlton 2.2 (14) 6.8 (44) 7.9 (51) 7.14 (56)
Essendon 2.1 (13) 5.1 (31) 6.4 (40) 8.5 (53)
Venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
Date and time: 28 September 1968
Attendance: 116,828
Umpires: Jeff Crouch (central)
Goal scorers: Carlton 4: Kekovich
1: Crane, Crosswell, Quirk
Essendon 4: Blethyn
1: Close, Lake, Noonan, Sproule
Best: Carlton
Essendon
Reports: nil
Injuries: nil

Footnotes edit

  1. ^ Australian Football.com – Carlton v Essendon
  2. ^ AFL Tables: Carlton v Essendon
  3. ^ Blueseum: Grand Final, 1968
  4. ^ "Attendance alterations from 1908" (PDF). Australian Football League. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2015.

References edit

  • Ross, J. (ed), 100 Years of Australian Football 1897–1996: The Complete Story of the AFL, All the Big Stories, All the Great Pictures, All the Champions, Every AFL Season Reported, Viking, (Ringwood), 1996. ISBN 0-670-86814-0

External links edit