1973 VFL season

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Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1973.

Contents

[edit] 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".

[edit] Round 1

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Melbourne 9.12 (66) St Kilda 14.14 (98) MCG 44,737 7 April 1973
Fitzroy 20.17 (137) Footscray 12.15 (87) Junction Oval 14,988 7 April 1973
Essendon 19.13 (127) Richmond 19.15 (129) Windy Hill 27,959 7 April 1973
Collingwood 17.22 (124) South Melbourne 6.12 (48) Victoria Park 23,412 7 April 1973
North Melbourne 14.14 (98) Hawthorn 9.16 (70) Arden Street Oval 15,934 7 April 1973
Geelong 10.8 (68) Carlton 18.16 (124) Kardinia Park (Stadium) 26,130 7 April 1973

[edit] Round 2

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Hawthorn 14.14 (98) Melbourne 13.22 (100) Glenferrie Oval 13,128 14 April 1973
Carlton 18.15 (123) North Melbourne 14.12 (96) Princes Park 29,185 14 April 1973
Richmond 18.19 (127) Geelong 16.14 (110) MCG 29,665 14 April 1973
St Kilda 0.4 (4) Fitzroy 10.11 (71) Moorabbin Oval 23,662 14 April 1973
South Melbourne 15.19 (109) Essendon 21.20 (146) Lake Oval 16,260 14 April 1973
Footscray 11.16 (82) Collingwood 14.18 (102) Western Oval 24,794 14 April 1973

[edit] Round 3

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Collingwood 21.23 (149) Geelong 11.13 (79) Victoria Park 49,552 21 April 1973
St Kilda 12.9 (81) Richmond 17.8 (110) Moorabbin Oval 33,022 21 April 1973
North Melbourne 11.18 (84) Fitzroy 10.18 (78) Arden Street Oval 18,704 21 April 1973
South Melbourne 17.16 (118) Footscray 20.15 (135) Lake Oval 13,199 23 April 1973
Melbourne 11.9 (75) Carlton 11.16 (82) MCG 49,439 23 April 1973
Hawthorn 27.8 (170) Essendon 15.12 (102) VFL Park 32,045 23 April 1973

[edit] Round 4

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Richmond 11.18 (84) North Melbourne 14.20 (104) MCG 48,923 25 April 1973
Collingwood 19.16 (130) St Kilda 8.12 (60) VFL Park 49,552 25 April 1973
Geelong 17.16 (118) South Melbourne 12.14 (86) Kardinia Park (Stadium) 14,739 28 April 1973
Fitzroy 13.9 (87) Melbourne 13.16 (94) Junction Oval 16,101 28 April 1973
Carlton 14.11 (95) Hawthorn 12.11 (83) Princes Park 27,913 28 April 1973
Footscray 8.19 (67) Essendon 17.13 (115) Western Oval 25,314 28 April 1973

[edit] Round 5

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Melbourne 13.13 (91) Richmond 16.14 (110) MCG 37,667 5 May 1973
Essendon 16.26 (122) Geelong 15.16 (106) Windy Hill 19,007 5 May 1973
South Melbourne 6.12 (48) St Kilda 10.16 (76) Lake Oval 13,513 5 May 1973
Hawthorn 18.16 (124) Footscray 16.12 (108) Glenferrie Oval 11,402 5 May 1973
North Melbourne 13.20 (98) Collingwood 15.19 (109) Arden Street Oval 27,048 5 May 1973
Carlton 15.15 (105) Fitzroy 10.8 (68) VFL Park 19,654 5 May 1973

[edit] Round 6

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Fitzroy 15.17 (107) Hawthorn 12.13 (85) Junction Oval 10,706 12 May 1973
Collingwood 15.10 (100) Melbourne 10.16 (76) Victoria Park 21,360 12 May 1973
Geelong 11.14 (80) Footscray 14.14 (98) Kardinia Park (Stadium) 15,305 12 May 1973
St Kilda 18.13 (121) Essendon 21.14 (140) Moorabbin Oval 23,120 12 May 1973
Richmond 18.20 (128) Carlton 15.12 (102) MCG 54,139 12 May 1973
North Melbourne 18.16 (124) South Melbourne 11.14 (80) VFL Park 10,020 12 May 1973

[edit] Round 7

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Melbourne 17.10 (112) South Melbourne 12.11 (83) MCG 16,075 19 May 1973
Footscray 14.9 (93) St Kilda 13.12 (90) Western Oval 14,953 19 May 1973
Essendon 20.24 (144) North Melbourne 11.8 (74) Windy Hill 26,907 19 May 1973
Carlton 16.23 (119) Collingwood 8.12 (60) Princes Park 43,531 19 May 1973
Hawthorn 19.15 (129) Geelong 9.14 (68) Glenferrie Oval 11,621 19 May 1973
Richmond 16.21 (117) Fitzroy 12.8 (80) VFL Park 19,539 19 May 1973

[edit] Round 8

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Collingwood 15.13 (103) Fitzroy 10.8 (68) Victoria Park 20,822 26 May 1973
Richmond 10.22 (82) Hawthorn 16.23 (119) MCG 32,613 26 May 1973
St Kilda 16.10 (106) Geelong 8.12 (60) Moorabbin Oval 15,114 26 May 1973
North Melbourne 8.8 (56) Footscray 8.8 (56) Arden Street Oval 16,148 26 May 1973
South Melbourne 7.9 (51) Carlton 19.16 (130) Lake Oval 14,659 26 May 1973
Essendon 12.9 (81) Melbourne 10.11 (71) VFL Park 25,603 26 May 1973

[edit] Round 9

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Geelong 14.6 (90) North Melbourne 18.13 (121) Kardinia Park (Stadium) 18,868 4 June 1973
Footscray 9.14 (68) Melbourne 10.14 (74) Western Oval 17,973 4 June 1973
Fitzroy 16.8 (104) South Melbourne 7.15 (57) Junction Oval 10,119 4 June 1973
Carlton 19.19 (133) Essendon 13.14 (92) Princes Park 39,646 4 June 1973
St Kilda 11.12 (78) Hawthorn 8.16 (64) Moorabbin Oval 22,521 4 June 1973
Collingwood 15.15 (105) Richmond 10.6 (66) VFL Park 55,827 4 June 1973

[edit] Round 10

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
North Melbourne 11.14 (80) St Kilda 7.12 (54) Arden Street Oval 16,387 9 June 1973
Essendon 15.17 (107) Fitzroy 14.13 (97) Windy Hill 16,632 9 June 1973
South Melbourne 9.8 (62) Richmond 13.14 (92) Lake Oval 10,726 9 June 1973
Melbourne 20.19 (139) Geelong 11.15 (81) MCG 19,900 9 June 1973
Hawthorn 14.11 (95) Collingwood 15.18 (108) Glenferrie Oval 19,963 9 June 1973
Carlton 13.13 (91) Footscray 9.11 (65) VFL Park 18,205 9 June 1973

[edit] Round 11

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Melbourne 13.12 (90) North Melbourne 12.9 (81) MCG 32,957 16 June 1973
Footscray 7.16 (58) Richmond 17.7 (109) Western Oval 16,733 16 June 1973
Collingwood 23.16 (154) Essendon 16.16 (112) Victoria Park 31,754 16 June 1973
Geelong 16.8 (104) Fitzroy 11.15 (81) Kardinia Park (Stadium) 12,786 16 June 1973
St Kilda 13.13 (91) Carlton 9.13 (67) Moorabbin Oval 25,081 16 June 1973
Hawthorn 17.17 (119) South Melbourne 11.10 (76) VFL Park 9,436 16 June 1973

[edit] Round 12

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Hawthorn 12.13 (85) North Melbourne 10.10 (70) Glenferrie Oval 12,380 23 June 1973
Carlton 17.12 (114) Geelong 9.13 (67) Princes Park 14,202 23 June 1973
St Kilda 11.14 (80) Melbourne 6.18 (54) Moorabbin Oval 24,262 23 June 1973
Richmond 15.21 (111) Essendon 13.17 (95) MCG 43,892 23 June 1973
South Melbourne 12.5 (77) Collingwood 15.9 (99) Lake Oval 12,484 23 June 1973
Fitzroy 13.11 (89) Footscray 10.15 (75) VFL Park 7,016 23 June 1973

[edit] Round 13

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Fitzroy 10.11 (71) St Kilda 20.11 (131) Junction Oval 14,776 30 June 1973
Essendon 20.19 (139) South Melbourne 16.14 (110) Windy Hill 13,042 30 June 1973
Collingwood 13.17 (95) Footscray 14.6 (90) Victoria Park 18,253 30 June 1973
Melbourne 15.15 (105) Hawthorn 15.22 (112) MCG 25,787 30 June 1973
North Melbourne 16.19 (115) Carlton 16.11 (107) Arden Street Oval 19,355 30 June 1973
Richmond 21.7 (133) Geelong 13.11 (89) VFL Park 13,219 30 June 1973

[edit] Round 14

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
North Melbourne 11.12 (78) Richmond 17.15 (117) Arden Street Oval 19,114 7 July 1973
Collingwood 15.13 (103) St Kilda 12.10 (82) Victoria Park 25,312 7 July 1973
South Melbourne 18.15 (123) Geelong 12.6 (78) Lake Oval 9,681 7 July 1973
Melbourne 19.20 (134) Fitzroy 14.13 (97) MCG 13,105 7 July 1973
Hawthorn 14.24 (108) Carlton 12.14 (86) Glenferrie Oval 18,316 7 July 1973
Essendon 21.6 (132) Footscray 13.19 (97) VFL Park 12,417 7 July 1973

[edit] Round 15

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Footscray 12.7 (79) South Melbourne 20.21 (141) Western Oval 11,115 14 July 1973
Fitzroy 16.12 (108) North Melbourne 13.18 (96) Junction Oval 9,886 14 July 1973
Essendon 23.13 (151) Hawthorn 18.8 (116) Windy Hill 22,437 14 July 1973
Carlton 18.14 (122) Melbourne 12.9 (81) Princes Park 22,283 14 July 1973
Geelong 13.10 (88) Collingwood 13.18 (96) Kardinia Park (Stadium) 15,892 14 July 1973
Richmond 13.12 (90) St Kilda 11.11 (77) VFL Park 31,502 14 July 1973

[edit] Round 16

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
St Kilda 14.16 (100) South Melbourne 13.15 (93) Moorabbin Oval 17,454 21 July 1973
Footscray 6.9 (45) Hawthorn 9.11 (65) Western Oval 10,987 21 July 1973
Richmond 16.14 (110) Melbourne 9.19 (73) MCG 30,492 21 July 1973
Geelong 12.10 (82) Essendon 11.15 (81) Kardinia Park (Stadium) 16,746 21 July 1973
Fitzroy 12.19 (91) Carlton 11.14 (80) Junction Oval 14,800 21 July 1973
North Melbourne 11.10 (76) Collingwood 10.11 (71) VFL Park 25,650 21 July 1973

[edit] Round 17

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Essendon 15.12 (102) St Kilda 10.19 (79) Windy Hill 21,469 28 July 1973
Carlton 15.17 (107) Richmond 10.21 (81) Princes Park 28,592 28 July 1973
South Melbourne 19.16 (130) North Melbourne 14.7 (91) Lake Oval 13,637 28 July 1973
Hawthorn 15.10 (100) Fitzroy 9.9 (63) Glenferrie Oval 12,386 28 July 1973
Melbourne 12.15 (87) Collingwood 17.24 (126) MCG 37,838 28 July 1973
Footscray 21.15 (141) Geelong 13.14 (92) VFL Park 13,546 28 July 1973

[edit] Round 18

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Geelong 14.11 (95) Hawthorn 14.10 (94) Kardinia Park (Stadium) 13,546 4 August 1973
St Kilda 15.20 (110) Footscray 12.14 (86) Moorabbin Oval 15,217 4 August 1973
Richmond 15.14 (104) Fitzroy 13.14 (92) MCG 20,578 4 August 1973
North Melbourne 13.13 (91) Essendon 14.10 (94) Arden Street Oval 21,071 4 August 1973
Collingwood 19.7 (121) Carlton 15.16 (106) Victoria Park 37,660 4 August 1973
South Melbourne 12.14 (86) Melbourne 11.12 (78) VFL Park 15,255 4 August 1973

[edit] Round 19

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Hawthorn 11.11 (77) Richmond 12.10 (82) Glenferrie Oval 20,236 11 August 1973
Footscray 10.8 (68) North Melbourne 10.14 (74) Western Oval 13,581 11 August 1973
Essendon 17.13 (115) Melbourne 15.11 (101) Windy Hill 18,008 11 August 1973
Carlton 20.17 (137) South Melbourne 11.14 (80) Princes Park 22,181 11 August 1973
Fitzroy 10.19 (79) Collingwood 19.10 (124) Junction Oval 19,103 11 August 1973
Geelong 13.8 (86) St Kilda 11.17 (83) VFL Park 19,477 11 August 1973

[edit] Round 20

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Hawthorn 11.11 (77) St Kilda 15.8 (98) Glenferrie Oval 16,952 18 August 1973
Collingwood 8.11 (59) Richmond 14.16 (100) Victoria Park 28,286 18 August 1973
North Melbourne 9.10 (64) Geelong 7.6 (48) Arden Street Oval 11,121 18 August 1973
Melbourne 10.13 (73) Footscray 17.8 (110) MCG 12,563 18 August 1973
South Melbourne 15.11 (101) Fitzroy 14.21 (105) Lake Oval 8,584 18 August 1973
Carlton 17.9 (111) Essendon 10.7 (67) VFL Park 36,160 18 August 1973

[edit] Round 21

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Richmond 22.11 (143) South Melbourne 13.16 (94) MCG 24,307 25 August 1973
Geelong 17.11 (113) Melbourne 14.14 (98) Kardinia Park (Stadium) 15,489 25 August 1973
St Kilda 16.18 (114) North Melbourne 14.12 (96) Moorabbin Oval 29,257 25 August 1973
Fitzroy 13.22 (100) Essendon 9.23 (77) Junction Oval 14,875 25 August 1973
Footscray 10.15 (75) Carlton 9.12 (66) Western Oval 18,988 25 August 1973
Collingwood 16.10 (106) Hawthorn 13.10 (88) VFL Park 48,059 25 August 1973

[edit] Round 22

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Hawthorn 16.20 (116) South Melbourne 11.13 (79) Glenferrie Oval 9,842 1 September 1973
Fitzroy 17.15 (117) Geelong 14.17 (101) Junction Oval 9,172 1 September 1973
Carlton 20.15 (135) St Kilda 13.9 (87) Princes Park 22,753 1 September 1973
Richmond 10.16 (76) Footscray 11.11 (77) MCG 24,671 1 September 1973
Essendon 16.6 (102) Collingwood 17.10 (112) Windy Hill 28,049 1 September 1973
North Melbourne 11.5 (71) Melbourne 9.12 (66) VFL Park 9,411 1 September 1973

[edit] Grand Final

See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list.

Richmond 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).

[edit] Grand Final Teams

Carlton
Backs Ray Byrne Geoff Southby Vin Waite
H/Backs Kevin Hall Bruce Doull Phillip Pinnell
Centre Line Brent Crosswell John O'Connell Garry Crane
H/Forwards David Dickson Robert Walls Alex Jesaulenko
Forwards John Nicholls (c) Craig Davis Vin Catoggio
Rucks/Rover Peter Jones David McKay Brian Walsh
Reserves Bryan Quirk Neil Chandler
Captain-Coach John Nicholls
Richmond
Backs Laurie Fowler Dick Clay Rex Hunt
H/Backs Francis Bourke Robert McGhie Mervyn Keane
Centre Line Wayne Walsh Ian Stewart Bryan Wood
H/Forwards Stephen Rae Royce Hart (c) Kevin Sheedy
Forwards Noel Carter Neil Balme Mike Green
Rucks/Rover Brian Roberts Paul Sproule Kevin Bartlett
Reserves Kevin Morris Craig McKellar
Captain-Coach Tom Hafey

Umpire - Ian Robinson

[edit] Ladder

Team Won Lost Draw For Against % Points
1 Collingwood 19 3 0 2356 1878 125.5 76
2 Richmond 17 5 0 2301 1957 117.6 68
3 Carlton 15 7 0 2342 1850 126.6 60
4 Essendon 13 9 0 2443 2341 104.4 52
5 St Kilda 12 10 0 2024 1922 105.3 48
6 North Melbourne 11 10 1 1938 1986 97.6 46
7 Hawthorn 11 11 0 2194 2002 109.6 44
8 Fitzroy 9 13 0 1990 2194 90.7 36
9 Footscray 7 14 1 1860 2109 88.2 30
10 Melbourne 7 15 0 1938 2111 91.8 28
11 Geelong 6 16 0 1903 2426 78.4 24
12 South Melbourne 4 18 0 1932 2445 79.0 16

[edit] Awards

[edit] 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 Melbourne coach Ron Barassi is able to recruit champion half-backs Barry Davis (who had already played 218 games for Essendon) and John Rantall (who had already played 174 games for South Melbourne), and champion full-forward Doug Wade (who had already played 208 games for Geelong).
  • Just before half-time in the round 9 match between Geelong and North Melbourne 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 Schimmelbusch, who passed it to Doug Wade, who kicked a goal.
  • In round 11 Kevin Murray plays his 300th game for Fitzroy.
  • The round 16 match between Footscray and Hawthorn 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 Matthews and Peter Crimmins being able to rove to a beaten ruck, and "shark" the dominant rucking of Footscray's much taller ruckman Gary Dempsey.
  • In round round 21, Hawthorn full-forward Peter Hudson, who had been injured in round 1 of 1972 returns to the VFL. He beats four opponents and kicks 8 goals.
  • In the first moments of the Grand Final Carlton's captain-coach John Nicholls was running out of goal to mark a kick from Alex Jesaulenko when Richmond's's back-pocket Laurie Fowler 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 Balme knocked out Carlton full-back Geoff Southby 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 Waite. Balme was not reported by the umpires.
  • On the day of the Grand Final, the Richmond Football Club 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 Ground.

[edit] References

  • 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 0-959-17402-8
  • 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

[edit] External links