1969 VFL season
Encyclopedia
Premiership season
In 1969, 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 1969 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...
10.17 (77) defeated Melbourne
Melbourne Football Club
The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....
9.18 (72).
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... |
2.1 | 2.4 | 3.6 | 7.7 (49) |
| Richmond Richmond 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,... |
8.3 | 14.7 | 20.11 | 25.17 (167) |
| Attendance: 101,233 | ||||
Second Semi-Final
| Team | 1 Qtr | 2 Qtr | 3 Qtr | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collingwood Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League... |
2.4 | 5.5 | 6.6 | 10.11 (71) |
| 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... |
1.4 | 5.8 | 11.10 | 16.11 (107) |
| Attendance: 108,544 | ||||
Preliminary Final
| Team | 1 Qtr | 2 Qtr | 3 Qtr | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collingwood Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League... |
4.2 | 7.6 | 8.8 | 12.9 (81) |
| Richmond Richmond 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,... |
3.2 | 6.12 | 13.14 | 15.17 (107) |
| Attendance: 101,279 | ||||
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... |
1.4 | 2.7 | 8.10 | 8.12 (60) |
| Richmond Richmond 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,... |
2.2 | 6.5 | 8.6 | 12.13 (85) |
| Attendance: 119,165 | ||||
Awards
- The 1969 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 Doug WadeDoug WadeDouglas Graeme Wade is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club and North Melbourne Football Club....
of 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...
who kicked 127 goals (including 5 goals in the final series). - The winner of the 1969 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 Kevin Murray of 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...
with 19 votes. - MelbourneMelbourne Football ClubThe Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....
took the "wooden spoon" in 1969.
Notable events
- The VFL introduce a "kicking out of bounds on the full" rule; and, as a consequence, three full-forwards stood out during the season: Doug WadeDoug WadeDouglas Graeme Wade is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club and North Melbourne Football Club....
of 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...
with 127 goals, 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...
with 120 goals, and 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...
with 98 goals.- In round 5, Peter Hudson kicked 16 goals straight before his first miss; he kicked 16.1 for the match.
- In round 19, Peter McKenna kicked 16 of Collingwood's 19 goals; he kicked 16.4 for the match (most of his four behinds were easy shots and could well have been goals).
- In Round 2, 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...
set the record for highest score in a game, scoring 30.30 (210) against 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...
. This beat 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,...
's 38 year old record, set in the 1931 VFL season1931 VFL seasonResults and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1931.-Premiership season:In 1931, the VFL competition consisted of twelve teams of 18 on-the-field players each, plus one substitute player, known as the 19th man...
, by eleven points. This Carlton record stood for another 9 years, remained unbeaten until the 1978 VFL season1978 VFL seasonResults and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1978.-Grand final:Hawthorn defeated North Melbourne 18.13 to 15.13 , in front of a crowd of 101704 people...
. - The combination of an unusually warm and dry winter and the "out of bounds on the full" rule meant that the lowest score of the season was as high as 6.9 (45). The previous record high lowest score was 42 points in 1943.
- For the first time, no team kicked five or fewer goals in a match. This has since been repeated only in 1973.
- 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...
, with 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...
now retired as a player, lost its round 4 match against CollingwoodCollingwood Football ClubThe Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
at Princes ParkMC Labour ParkPrinces Park is an Australian rules football ground located at Princes Park in the inner Melbourne suburb of Carlton North, Victoria....
, by 64 points, despite being 5 points ahead at half-time. Collingwood had scored 71 points to Carlton's 2 in the third quarter. It was a tough, spiteful, and vicious match with many brawls. "Percy" JonesPeter Jones (Australian rules footballer)Peter Kevin "Percy" Jones , the son of Kevin and Mollie Jones , is a former Australian rules footballer who played 249 games for the Carlton Blues in the VFL...
of Carlton, was reported for deliberately striking both Terry WatersTerry WatersTerry Waters is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Collingwood in the VFL.Waters was a versatile player who was originally used as a forward before moving into defense later on in his career...
and "Jerker" JenkinGraeme JenkinGraeme 'Jerker' Jenkin is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Collingwood and Essendon in the VFL during the 1960s and 1970s....
of Collingwood during the first quarter. Carlton's Ricky McLeanRicky McLeanRoderick 'Ricky' McLean is a former Australian rules football player who played in the VFL between 1966 and 1971 for the Carlton Football Club and between 1972 and 1974 and again in 1976 for the Richmond Football Club.- References :...
was reported for deliberately striking Collingwood's Len ThompsonLen ThompsonLen Thompson was an Australian rules footballer, who played for most of his career at Collingwood.-Collingwood:...
during the first quarter. Ted PotterTed PotterTed Potter is a former Australian rules footballer. A key defender, he was a regular in the Collingwood Magpies side throughout the 1960s....
was reported for deliberately striking Carlton's John Nicholls during the last quarter (Nicholls had to leave the field with an eye injury). Ricky McLean was reported for deliberately striking Collingwood's Brian McKenzie during the last quarter.Len Thompson was reported for deliberately striking 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....
(Carlton's 19th man, who substituted for the injured Nicholls) during the last quarter. Whilst the field umpire (Ray Sleeth) was writing out the match reports he had an extended, heated clash with the Carlton delegate. The reason for this extended clash was later evident when all of the charges against all of the players were dismissed on a technicality: the umpires had taken too long to inform the club officials of the charges after the final siren had sounded. - On 27 July 1969, 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...
turns 36. The round 16 (26 July) 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...
team of twenty contains 10 players who had not even been born when Whitten played his first game for Footscray in 1951. - In the First Semi-Final 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,...
thrashes 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...
by a VFL semi-final record margin, 25.17 (167) to 7.7 (49) in front of a record crowd of 101,233 spectators. - In the 1969 Grand Final, Ian OwenIan OwenIan Owen is a former Australian rules football player who played in the VFL between 1969 and 1972 for the Richmond Football Club.Owen played in the 1966 senior premiership side for Echuca East, three premiership sides at Richmond and in three senior premiership teams for Port Melbourne in the...
's Richmond guernsey carried the number 52. There is no record of any Grand Final player carrying a larger number. (Owen played the entire match with a depressed fracture of the cheekbone that he had sustained in the Preliminary Final against CollingwoodCollingwood Football ClubThe Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
a week earlier.)