1968 VFL season
Encyclopedia
Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League
season of 1968.
Teams played each other in a home-and-away season of 20 rounds; matches 12 to 20 were the "home-and-way reverse" of matches 1 to 9.
Once the 20 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1968 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 home and away rounds.
Final: Hawthorn
16.15 (111) defeated North Melbourne
6.14 (50).
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 1968.
Premiership season
In 1968, 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 20 rounds; matches 12 to 20 were the "home-and-way reverse" of matches 1 to 9.
Once the 20 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1968 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the "Page-McIntyre system".
Consolation Night Series Competition
The consolation 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 home and away rounds.
Final: Hawthorn
Hawthorn Football Club
The 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...
16.15 (111) defeated North Melbourne
North Melbourne Football Club
The 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...
6.14 (50).
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... |
4.4 | 9.7 | 14.10 | 19.13 (127) |
| St Kilda | 2.4 | 4.10 | 8.13 | 11.17 (83) |
| Attendance: 98,885 | ||||
Second Semi-Final
| Team | 1 Qtr | 2 Qtr | 3 Qtr | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essendon Essendon Football Club The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League... |
1.2 | 7.6 | 7.8 | 8.11 (59) |
| 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... |
5.8 | 6.9 | 11.12 | 13.17 (95) |
| Attendance: 106,365 | ||||
Preliminary Final
| Team | 1 Qtr | 2 Qtr | 3 Qtr | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essendon Essendon Football Club The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League... |
3.6 | 7.10 | 10.18 | 11.25 (91) |
| 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... |
5.3 | 8.6 | 8.10 | 9.13 (67) |
| Attendance: 103,549 | ||||
Grand 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... |
2.2 | 6.8 | 7.9 | 7.14 (56) |
| Essendon Essendon Football Club The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League... |
2.1 | 5.1 | 6.4 | 8.5 (53) |
| Attendance: 116,828 | ||||
Awards
- The 1968 VFL Premiership team was 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...
. - 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 HudsonPeter HudsonPeter John Hudson AM is a former Australian Rules Football player, considered one of the greatest full-forwards in the game's history....
of 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...
who kicked 125 goals. - The winner of the 1968 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 Bob SkiltonBob SkiltonRobert John "Bob" Skilton was an Australian rules football player who played as a rover for South Melbourne and Victoria between 1956 and 1971....
of 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...
with 24 votes. - 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...
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 1968.
Notable events
- The season's home-and-away draw was extended from 18 to 20 rounds. This now meant that each team met nine, rather than seven, on the other eleven teams twice in a season. The final series were still conducted according to the (1931) "Page-McIntyre system".
- In round 3, the ANZAC Day match between 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...
and EssendonEssendon Football ClubThe Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
at Princes Park is greatly affected by an unusually strong wind that blew across the ground from wing to wing, Making kicking and marking entirely unpredictable as balls would almost turn at right angles in the air as they moved down the ground towards the outer (eastern) end and lost the protection of the stands (or, whilst in the stand-protected western end, the ball went above the protection of the stands). In an otherwise close, hard-fought match with not many scoring opportunities available, Carlton were least able to cope with the windy conditions, kicking 1.11 (17) to Essendon's 7.8 (50). - In round 7, EssendonEssendon Football ClubThe Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
played 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,...
at Windy HillWindy Hill, EssendonWindy Hill is an Australian rules football ground located in Essendon, a northwestern suburb of the Melbourne metropolitan area....
in a rain-sodden game that finished in such dark conditions that players could not see across the ground, let alone along its full length. In the last quarter Geoff GosperGeoff GosperGeoff Gosper is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Essendon in the VFL during the 1960s.Gosper played mostly as a half forward flanker and was recruited to Essendon from Strathmore. He was a reserve in Essendon's 1962 premiership side and on a half forward flank in their 1965...
kicks for goal and hits the post. In the gloom, the goal umpire signals a goal, and Essendon goes on to win the match by two points, 11.14 (80) to Richmond's 10.18 (78). - After their round 8 match against 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,...
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...
, 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...
leave the ground believing that they have tied with Richmond. When the goal-umpires meet in the centre of the ground, as was the custom in those days (when they checked their own scorecards and signalled an "all clear" to the scoreboard), they check the scores on their own score cards and signalled to the scoreboard operators that the scoreboard was wrong and that Richmond had, in fact, won by a point: 11.15 (81) to 11.14 (80). - In round 16, 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....
scores his 100th goal for the season. He is the first player to do so since John Coleman in 1952. - In round 17 and round 18 respectively, 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...
and Brian DixonBrian DixonBrian Dixon is a former Australian rules footballer and Victorian Politician.Dixon played 252 VFL games for Melbourne between 1954 and 1968, playing mostly on the wing...
play their 250th VFL games.- By 1968, due to the shorter home-and-away seasons, the influences of the two World Wars on the VFL competition, and the effects of war service on player availability, only thirteen VFL players had reached 250 games in the 72 seasons since the VFL began in 1897:
- Ted WhittenTed WhittenEdward James "EJ" Whitten was an Australian rules football player and media personality. He played a then-record 321 Victorian Football League games for the Footscray Football Club between 1951 and 1970...
of 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...
(321), Dick ReynoldsDick ReynoldsRichard Sylvannus 'Dick' Reynolds was an Australian rules footballer and coach who represented Essendon and Victoria with great distinction....
of EssendonEssendon Football ClubThe Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
(320), Jack DyerJack DyerJohn Raymond Dyer Sr. OAM , always known as Jack Dyer, was one of the colossal figures of Australian rules football during two distinct careers, firstly as a player and coach of the Richmond Football Club in the Victorian Football League between 1931 and 1952, and later in the broadcast media for...
of 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,...
(312), Gordon CoventryGordon CoventryGordon "Nuts" Coventry was an Australian rules footballer who played for Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League . With 1,299 goals over 18 seasons, Coventry remains one of the greatest full forwards the game has ever seen...
of CollingwoodCollingwood Football ClubThe Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
(302), Jack TitusJack TitusJack "Skinny" Titus was an Australian rules football player who played in the Victorian Football League between 1926 and 1943 for the Richmond Football Club. In the golden era of the 1930s, Titus was one of the great forwards who regularly thrilled the crowds with spectacular goalkicking feats...
of Richmond (294), Bill Hutchison of Essendon (290), Arthur OlliverArthur OlliverArthur Olliver was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League , and coached successfully in the then Western Australian National Football League ....
of Footscray (272), Percy BentleyPercy BentleyPercy Bentley was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League.Bentley was a strong ruckman and great tactician who was a key player and coach for the Richmond Football Club during his era...
of Richmond (263), Jack ClarkeJack E. ClarkeJack E. Clarke was an Australian rules footballer and coach in the VFL. An Essendon and Victorian champion, Clarke was one of the premier midfielders of the VFL for well over a decade, leading the mighty Dons to the flag in 1962 when captain and also playing in the victorious 1965 side...
of Essendon (263), Vic ThorpVic ThorpVictor Charles Thorp was an Australian rules footballer for the Richmond Football Club in the Victorian Football League between 1910 and 1925....
of Richmond (262), Jock McHaleJock McHaleJames Francis "Jock" McHale, was an Australian rules football player and coach for the Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League in a marathon career that extended from 1903 to 1949....
of Collingwood (261), Harry CollierHarry CollierHarry Collier was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League.-Playing career:Originally from Ivanhoe, Victoria, Collier played for the Collingwood Football Club, debuting in 1926...
of Collingwood (253), and Lou RichardsLou RichardsLewis Thomas Charles "Lou" Richards is a retired Australian rules footballer, who played 250 games with the Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League between 1941 and 1955...
of Collingwood (250).
- Ted Whitten
- By 1968, due to the shorter home-and-away seasons, the influences of the two World Wars on the VFL competition, and the effects of war service on player availability, only thirteen VFL players had reached 250 games in the 72 seasons since the VFL began in 1897:
- For the first and to date only time in VFL history, the premiership team kicks fewer goals than the runners-up in the Grand Final.