The 1975 VFL season was the 79th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 5 April until 27 September, and comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top five clubs.

1975 VFL premiership season
Teams12
PremiersNorth Melbourne
1st premiership
Minor premiersHawthorn
4th minor premiership
Brownlow MedallistGary Dempsey (Footscray)
Coleman MedallistLeigh Matthews (Hawthorn)
Attendance
Matches played138
Total attendance3,206,016 (23,232 per match)
Highest77,770 (regular season)
110,551 (finals)
← 1974
1976 →

The premiership was won by the North Melbourne Football Club, after it defeated Hawthorn by 55 points in the VFL Grand Final. It was North Melbourne's first premiership, making it the last of the league's twelve clubs to win a premiership.

Background

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In 1975, 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 (except that rounds 14 and 15 were the reverse of 4 and 3 respectively).

Once the 22 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1975 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the "McIntyre final five system".

Home-and-away season

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Round 1

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Hawthorn 15.15 (105) North Melbourne 11.10 (76) Princes Park 14,417 5 April 1975
Fitzroy 14.14 (98) Richmond 15.13 (103) Junction Oval 14,442 5 April 1975
Essendon 21.10 (136) St Kilda 9.13 (67) Windy Hill 19,165 5 April 1975
Collingwood 12.19 (91) South Melbourne 8.7 (55) Victoria Park 19,000 5 April 1975
Melbourne 17.9 (111) Footscray 15.10 (100) MCG 23,422 5 April 1975
Geelong 8.14 (62) Carlton 13.16 (94) Kardinia Park 22,573 5 April 1975

Round 2

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Carlton 27.10 (172) Collingwood 10.19 (79) Princes Park 38,000 12 April 1975
North Melbourne 15.13 (103) Melbourne 16.9 (105) Arden Street Oval 14,235 12 April 1975
St Kilda 11.15 (81) Hawthorn 17.19 (121) Moorabbin Oval 18,465 12 April 1975
Richmond 15.22 (112) Geelong 10.12 (72) MCG 33,600 12 April 1975
Footscray 17.14 (116) Fitzroy 11.17 (83) Western Oval 17,700 12 April 1975
South Melbourne 15.12 (102) Essendon 19.17 (131) Lake Oval 17,466 12 April 1975

Round 3

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
St Kilda 11.21 (87) South Melbourne 9.17 (71) Moorabbin Oval 15,736 19 April 1975
Essendon 16.21 (117) Melbourne 15.10 (100) Windy Hill 22,824 19 April 1975
Carlton 14.18 (102) North Melbourne 9.12 (66) Princes Park 23,824 19 April 1975
Geelong 13.12 (90) Footscray 14.14 (98) Kardinia Park 17,158 19 April 1975
Fitzroy 12.13 (85) Collingwood 12.15 (87) Junction Oval 17,626 19 April 1975
Richmond 12.15 (87) Hawthorn 17.14 (116) VFL Park 39,496 19 April 1975

Round 4

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Melbourne 12.8 (80) St Kilda 18.25 (133) MCG 35,328 25 April 1975
Carlton 12.15 (87) Essendon 16.8 (104) VFL Park 77,770 25 April 1975
Footscray 16.13 (109) Richmond 4.19 (43) Western Oval 25,388 26 April 1975
Collingwood 17.10 (112) Geelong 14.15 (99) Victoria Park 24,296 26 April 1975
South Melbourne 9.15 (69) Hawthorn 13.21 (99) Lake Oval 12,666 26 April 1975
North Melbourne 11.19 (85) Fitzroy 17.13 (115) Arden Street Oval 12,707 26 April 1975

Round 5

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Richmond 19.23 (137) South Melbourne 12.14 (86) MCG 25,296 3 May 1975
Hawthorn 19.22 (136) Melbourne 11.15 (81) Princes Park 10,622 3 May 1975
Geelong 11.5 (71) North Melbourne 12.15 (87) Kardinia Park 17,042 3 May 1975
Fitzroy 19.11 (125) Essendon 16.17 (113) Junction Oval 20,350 3 May 1975
St Kilda 7.16 (58) Carlton 12.19 (91) Moorabbin Oval 24,275 3 May 1975
Footscray 12.9 (81) Collingwood 9.16 (70) VFL Park 36,638 3 May 1975

Round 6

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Melbourne 22.23 (155) South Melbourne 13.12 (90) MCG 15,503 10 May 1975
Essendon 12.21 (93) Geelong 15.14 (104) Windy Hill 17,225 10 May 1975
Collingwood 14.12 (96) Richmond 22.14 (146) Victoria Park 27,729 10 May 1975
Carlton 16.15 (111) Hawthorn 12.13 (85) Princes Park 27,907 10 May 1975
North Melbourne 18.11 (119) Footscray 9.12 (66) Arden Street Oval 18,875 10 May 1975
Fitzroy 9.20 (74) St Kilda 11.16 (82) VFL Park 18,229 10 May 1975

Round 7

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Geelong 13.10 (88) St Kilda 11.14 (80) Kardinia Park 13,733 17 May 1975
Richmond 19.18 (132) Melbourne 10.18 (78) MCG 29,131 17 May 1975
Hawthorn 19.16 (130) Fitzroy 13.12 (90) Princes Park 10,389 17 May 1975
Footscray 8.12 (60) Essendon 14.17 (101) Western Oval 26,204 17 May 1975
South Melbourne 11.11 (77) Carlton 19.14 (128) Lake Oval 14,142 17 May 1975
Collingwood 12.18 (90) North Melbourne 12.9 (81) VFL Park 29,354 17 May 1975

Round 8

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
North Melbourne 11.8 (74) Richmond 9.12 (66) Arden Street Oval 20,257 24 May 1975
Fitzroy 13.13 (91) South Melbourne 11.12 (78) Junction Oval 12,010 24 May 1975
Carlton 16.14 (110) Melbourne 11.15 (81) Princes Park 18,788 24 May 1975
St Kilda 7.23 (65) Footscray 7.12 (54) Moorabbin Oval 16,838 24 May 1975
Essendon 7.13 (55) Collingwood 12.9 (81) Windy Hill 31,986 24 May 1975
Geelong 5.10 (40) Hawthorn 17.11 (113) VFL Park 23,466 24 May 1975

Round 9

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Footscray 8.10 (58) Hawthorn 20.14 (134) Western Oval 15,933 31 May 1975
Collingwood 15.8 (98) St Kilda 13.11 (89) Victoria Park 22,695 31 May 1975
Carlton 16.19 (115) Richmond 9.13 (67) Princes Park 32,576 31 May 1975
South Melbourne 11.26 (92) Geelong 7.13 (55) Lake Oval 9,880 31 May 1975
Melbourne 18.15 (123) Fitzroy 17.10 (112) MCG 16,244 31 May 1975
North Melbourne 11.17 (83) Essendon 15.8 (98) VFL Park 28,936 31 May 1975

Round 10

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Geelong 14.20 (104) Melbourne 14.14 (98) Kardinia Park 13,328 7 June 1975
St Kilda 15.9 (99) North Melbourne 17.19 (121) Moorabbin Oval 17,811 7 June 1975
Richmond 19.14 (128) Essendon 12.9 (81) MCG 49,469 7 June 1975
Hawthorn 19.24 (138) Collingwood 13.11 (89) Princes Park 23,830 7 June 1975
Fitzroy 15.7 (97) Carlton 16.10 (106) Junction Oval 16,249 7 June 1975
Footscray 13.11 (89) South Melbourne 12.15 (87) VFL Park 14,056 7 June 1975

Round 11

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Essendon 13.12 (90) Hawthorn 21.20 (146) Windy Hill 23,244 16 June 1975
Carlton 19.13 (127) Footscray 17.13 (115) Princes Park 25,147 16 June 1975
South Melbourne 12.16 (88) North Melbourne 16.12 (108) Lake Oval 16,037 16 June 1975
Geelong 13.19 (97) Fitzroy 14.11 (95) Kardinia Park 19,030 16 June 1975
Melbourne 14.11 (95) Collingwood 9.19 (73) MCG 42,803 16 June 1975
St Kilda 14.18 (102) Richmond 13.12 (90) VFL Park 33,653 16 June 1975

Round 12

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Footscray 20.11 (131) Melbourne 14.8 (92) Western Oval 14,204 21 June 1975
Carlton 23.19 (157) Geelong 12.14 (86) Princes Park 16,983 21 June 1975
North Melbourne 13.17 (95) Hawthorn 18.12 (120) Arden Street Oval 15,478 21 June 1975
Richmond 13.18 (96) Fitzroy 13.20 (98) MCG 21,049 21 June 1975
St Kilda 21.15 (141) Essendon 11.7 (73) Moorabbin Oval 18,987 21 June 1975
South Melbourne 11.11 (77) Collingwood 12.13 (85) VFL Park 21,154 21 June 1975

Round 13

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Hawthorn 11.19 (85) St Kilda 7.19 (61) Princes Park 15,464 28 June 1975
Geelong 8.13 (61) Richmond 13.14 (92) Kardinia Park 14,747 28 June 1975
Fitzroy 11.10 (76) Footscray 12.17 (89) Junction Oval 11,832 28 June 1975
Essendon 19.18 (132) South Melbourne 17.12 (114) Windy Hill 6,916 28 June 1975
Collingwood 9.12 (66) Carlton 12.10 (82) Victoria Park 28,234 28 June 1975
Melbourne 6.10 (46) North Melbourne 11.14 (80) VFL Park 12,631 28 June 1975

Round 14

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Fitzroy 14.12 (96) North Melbourne 15.15 (105) Junction Oval 10,034 5 July 1975
St Kilda 15.11 (101) Melbourne 6.13 (49) Moorabbin Oval 14,584 5 July 1975
Richmond 17.18 (120) Footscray 12.10 (82) MCG 29,501 5 July 1975
Geelong 14.12 (96) Collingwood 9.11 (65) Kardinia Park 16,579 5 July 1975
Essendon 15.5 (95) Carlton 27.13 (175) Windy Hill 22,632 5 July 1975
Hawthorn 9.10 (64) South Melbourne 5.9 (39) VFL Park 14,008 5 July 1975

Round 15

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Hawthorn 14.10 (94) Richmond 2.20 (32) Princes Park 17,115 12 July 1975
Footscray 13.15 (93) Geelong 7.7 (49) Western Oval 12,449 12 July 1975
Collingwood 16.19 (115) Fitzroy 11.7 (73) Victoria Park 17,127 12 July 1975
South Melbourne 10.10 (70) St Kilda 19.16 (130) Lake Oval 11,170 12 July 1975
Melbourne 19.20 (134) Essendon 16.13 (109) MCG 16,040 12 July 1975
North Melbourne 9.11 (65) Carlton 5.14 (44) VFL Park 26,389 12 July 1975

Round 16

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Collingwood 16.14 (110) Footscray 16.7 (103) Victoria Park 21,746 19 July 1975
Carlton 11.22 (88) St Kilda 8.27 (75) Princes Park 21,827 19 July 1975
South Melbourne 8.12 (60) Richmond 26.11 (167) Lake Oval 13,411 19 July 1975
Melbourne 15.17 (107) Hawthorn 17.17 (119) MCG 18,829 19 July 1975
North Melbourne 14.25 (109) Geelong 6.19 (55) Arden Street Oval 11,002 19 July 1975
Essendon 11.11 (77) Fitzroy 16.19 (115) VFL Park 13,582 19 July 1975

Round 17

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Footscray 9.14 (68) North Melbourne 17.15 (117) Western Oval 19,639 26 July 1975
St Kilda 12.15 (87) Fitzroy 7.14 (56) Moorabbin Oval 15,259 26 July 1975
Geelong 13.16 (94) Essendon 16.13 (109) Kardinia Park 14,922 26 July 1975
Richmond 16.19 (115) Collingwood 10.9 (69) MCG 56,846 26 July 1975
Hawthorn 15.15 (105) Carlton 15.11 (101) Princes Park 31,104 26 July 1975
South Melbourne 11.9 (75) Melbourne 13.13 (91) VFL Park 11,427 26 July 1975

Round 18

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Melbourne 19.13 (127) Richmond 12.18 (90) MCG 25,211 2 August 1975
Fitzroy 15.23 (113) Hawthorn 10.19 (79) Junction Oval 9,139 2 August 1975
Essendon 11.17 (83) Footscray 19.13 (127) Windy Hill 15,227 2 August 1975
Carlton 19.17 (131) South Melbourne 15.13 (103) Princes Park 14,039 2 August 1975
North Melbourne 15.20 (110) Collingwood 8.10 (58) Arden Street Oval 21,559 2 August 1975
St Kilda 11.18 (84) Geelong 11.14 (80) VFL Park 16,706 2 August 1975

Round 19

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Footscray 5.16 (46) St Kilda 16.18 (114) Western Oval 18,107 9 August 1975
Collingwood 20.18 (138) Essendon 15.9 (99) Victoria Park 18,664 9 August 1975
Richmond 13.18 (96) North Melbourne 13.23 (101) MCG 39,664 9 August 1975
Hawthorn 25.23 (173) Geelong 8.7 (55) Princes Park 8,123 9 August 1975
South Melbourne 13.20 (98) Fitzroy 16.19 (115) Lake Oval 9,032 9 August 1975
Melbourne 11.23 (89) Carlton 7.9 (51) VFL Park 30,328 9 August 1975

Round 20

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Geelong 12.16 (88) South Melbourne 15.15 (105) Kardinia Park 10,973 16 August 1975
Fitzroy 13.22 (100) Melbourne 13.11 (89) Junction Oval 13,181 16 August 1975
Essendon 15.15 (105) North Melbourne 13.13 (91) Windy Hill 16,545 16 August 1975
St Kilda 20.17 (137) Collingwood 24.12 (156) Moorabbin Oval 28,359 16 August 1975
Richmond 13.20 (98) Carlton 14.11 (95) MCG 49,756 16 August 1975
Hawthorn 13.13 (91) Footscray 14.9 (93) VFL Park 15,601 16 August 1975

Round 21

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
North Melbourne 16.15 (111) St Kilda 6.5 (41) Arden Street Oval 14,917 23 August 1975
Collingwood 7.15 (57) Hawthorn 3.9 (27) Victoria Park 26,303 23 August 1975
Carlton 10.14 (74) Fitzroy 11.13 (79) Princes Park 14,779 23 August 1975
Melbourne 8.16 (64) Geelong 10.10 (70) MCG 11,022 23 August 1975
South Melbourne 10.15 (75) Footscray 18.7 (115) Lake Oval 8,659 23 August 1975
Essendon 17.15 (117) Richmond 20.16 (136) VFL Park 23,601 23 August 1975

Round 22

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Richmond 17.14 (116) St Kilda 8.20 (68) MCG 39,275 30 August 1975
North Melbourne 15.19 (109) South Melbourne 12.15 (87) Arden Street Oval 17,031 30 August 1975
Collingwood 14.14 (98) Melbourne 15.7 (97) Victoria Park 26,940 30 August 1975
Hawthorn 14.19 (103) Essendon 17.8 (110) Princes Park 11,945 30 August 1975
Footscray 10.15 (75) Carlton 18.11 (119) Western Oval 21,060 30 August 1975
Fitzroy 14.9 (93) Geelong 18.11 (119) VFL Park 11,075 30 August 1975

Ladder

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(P) Premiers
Qualified for finals
# Team P W L D PF PA % Pts
1 Hawthorn 22 17 5 0 2383 1735 137.3 68
2 Carlton 22 16 6 0 2360 1827 129.2 64
3 North Melbourne (P) 22 14 8 0 2096 1821 115.1 56
4 Richmond 22 13 9 0 2269 1999 113.5 52
5 Collingwood 22 13 9 0 1983 2112 93.9 52
6 St Kilda 22 11 11 0 1982 1954 101.4 44
7 Footscray 22 11 11 0 1968 2076 94.8 44
8 Essendon 22 10 12 0 2222 2451 90.7 40
9 Fitzroy 22 9 13 0 2079 2142 97.1 36
10 Melbourne 22 9 13 0 2092 2234 93.6 36
11 Geelong 22 7 15 0 1735 2218 78.2 28
12 South Melbourne 22 2 20 0 1798 2398 75.0 8

Rules for classification: 1. premiership points; 2. percentage; 3. points for
Average score: 94.6
Source: AFL Tables

Finals series

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Finals week 1

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Home team Score Away team Score Venue Crowd Date
Richmond 11.11 (77) Collingwood 10.13 (73) VFL Park 65,512 6 September
North Melbourne 14.12 (96) Carlton 12.4 (76) MCG 74,015 6 September

Finals week 2

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Home team Score Away team Score Venue Crowd Date
Carlton 9.8 (62) Richmond 9.17 (71) MCG 76,967 13 September
Hawthorn 12.10 (82) North Melbourne 10.11 (71) VFL Park 52,076 13 September

Preliminary final

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Home team Score Away team Score Venue Crowd Date
North Melbourne 10.16 (76) Richmond 8.11 (59) VFL Park 71,130 20 September

Grand final

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Home team Score Away team Score Venue Crowd Date
Hawthorn 9.13 (67) North Melbourne 19.8 (122) MCG 110,551 27 September 1975

Season notes

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  • Football matches were telecast in colour, following the official launch of colour television in Australia on 1 March 1975. In response to this, many clubs adopted brighter playing colours: Fitzroy changed its colours from maroon, blue and white to red, blue and gold; Melbourne changed the primary colour of its guernsey from navy blue to royal blue; and other clubs adopted coloured home shorts to replace the black they had previously worn (except Collingwood, Richmond & St Kilda where black is a club colour).[1]
  • The centre square replaced the centre diamond (which had been used throughout the 1973 and 1974 VFL seasons).
  • There was a wild brawl in the Round 1 match between Hawthorn and North Melbourne involving 34 of the 36 players. Hawthorn's Don Scott and North Melbourne's Brad Smith did not participate. There were no reports from this match.
  • Footscray had three new, highly talented recruits from interstate in 1975: 183 cm centreman Peter Featherby from Subiaco Football Club in the West Australian National Football League (WANFL), 183 cm forward Ian Low from Manuka Football Club in the Canberra Australian National Football League (CANFL), and 190.5 cm forward-flanker Neil Sachse from North Adelaide Football Club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). In an accidental collision in the Round 2 match against Fitzroy at the Western Oval, Neil Sachse was badly injured and became a quadriplegic.
  • On 17 June, Hawthorn announced that it had given full-forward Peter Hudson who had only played three and a half games for Hawthorn in three years, a clearance to Glenorchy.
  • The second quarter of the round 14 match between Carlton and Essendon at Windy Hill lasted almost 40 minutes, with Carlton scoring 14.1 (85) to Essendon's 4.1 (25) for a record quarter aggregate score of 18.2 (110). It is the first quarter to beat South Melbourne's 1919 team record of 17.4 (106).
  • At the end of the season, greatly dissatisfied with the approach of coach Des Tuddenham (especially his emphasis on "vigour" with players who were renowned for their skill), and disturbed by the fact that, under Tuddenham, Essendon had been involved in two massive brawls in two consecutive years, the committee of the Essendon Football Club sacked Tuddenham and paid out his contract.
    • Also, given the example of an injured John Nicholls in the 1973 Grand Final, and that of Tuddenham having his leg broken in the round 10 match against Richmond, Essendon now recognized the dangers of having its coach on the playing field and liable to injury.

Awards

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References

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  1. ^ Damien Berry (30 July 2012). "Clash colours an untraditional eyesore". Bound for Glory News. Archived from the original on 23 April 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  2. ^ Davis claimed that he had been knocked out five times during the match, see caption to the photograph of severely injured Davis taken on the day following the match (The Age, (Monday, 7 July 1975), p.22.)
  3. ^ Barker, Geoff, "For Game, read Shame: Thuggery at Windy Hill, The Age, (Monday, 7 July 1975), p.20.
  4. ^ Hartigan out to it, The Age, (Monday, 7 July 1975), p.20.
  5. ^ Beames, Percy, "Probe the Windy Hill war:VFL cannot let eight reports pass", The Age, (Monday, 7 July 1975), p.22.
  6. ^ Carter, Ron, Knox, Ken, and Sheahan, Mike, "Windy Hill War—5 Players Outed", The Age, (Tuesday, 8 July 1975), pp.28, 26, and 26.
  7. ^ "Grand final scores". The Age. Melbourne. 29 September 1975. p. 22.
  • Hogan, P., The Tigers of Old, The Richmond Football Club, (Richmond), 1996. ISBN 0-646-18748-1
  • Maplestone, M., Flying Higher: History of the Essendon Football Club 1872–1996, Essendon Football Club, (Melbourne), 1996. ISBN 0-9591740-2-8
  • Rogers, S. & Brown, A., Every Game Ever Played: VFL/AFL Results 1897–1997 (Sixth Edition), Viking Books, (Ringwood), 1998. ISBN 0-670-90809-6
  • 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

Sources

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