1975 VFL grand final

Grand final of the 1975 Victorian Football League season December 2017 December 2017 1975 VFL 50px 19.8 (122) 50px 9.13 (67) NM HAW 4.2 (26) 9.2 (56) 12.6 (78) 19.8 (122) 2.2 (14) 5.6 (36) 7.7 (49) 9.13 (67) 27 September 1975 Melbourne Cricket Ground 110,551 Kevin Smith North Melbourne Seven Network, ABC-TV Mike WilliamsonLou Richards 1974 1976 The 1975 VFL grand final was an Australian rules football game contested between the North Melbourne Football Club and the Hawthorn Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 27 September 1975. It was the 78th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1975 VFL season. The match, attended 110,551 spectators, was won by North Melbourne by a margin of 55 points, marking that club's first premiership victory and becoming the last of the 12 VFL teams to win a flag, 50 years after its debut season. Background 1975 VFL season North Melbourne had finished runners up the previous season, having been defeated by Richmond in the 1974 VFL grand final, and were the only team never to have won a premiership. It was Hawthorn's first appearance in a grand final since defeating St Kilda in 1971. North Melbourne lost six of the first nine games of the season before a form recovery which saw it win eleven of the next thirteen games. At the conclusion of the regular home-and-away season, Hawthorn finished first on the ladder with 17 wins and 5 losses, and North Melbourne had finished third (behind Carlton) with 14 wins and 8 losses. In the finals series leading up to the grand final, North Melbourne defeated Carlton by 20 points in the qualifying final before being beaten by Hawthorn by 11 points in the second semi-final. They then met Richmond in the preliminary final which they won by 17 points to advance to the grand final. Hawthorn advanced straight to the grand final from their win in the second semi-final. Hawthorn captain Peter Crimmins was not included Hawthorn's grand final team, having suffered testicular cancer through the year. He had not played a senior game since round 7, but declared himself fit having played after playing five reserves games, including one final. Both the selection committee and Hawthorn's supporters were divided over whether he should play, and ultimately the match committee decided against playing him, with coach John Kennedy admitting they were fearful a knock could affect him. As he explained later: "It was very hard, it was a unique situation ... Peter wanted to play. The committee was divided. He didn't play. We'll never know what might have happened if he had played."http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/jk-still-a-grand-master/story-0-1111118306757 Hawthorn great John Kennedy still a grand master 14 December 2008 28 April 2012 McFarlane, Glenn The Herald Sun Teams _brown_stripes_copia _goldsides _hoops_gold FBBF15 823F00 823F00 Hawthorn _3stripesonwhite _bluesides 000099 000099 North Melbourne #4D2004 Hawthorn Hawthorn Football Club #FBBF15 12 Peter Welsh 15 Kelvin Moore 6 Michael Moncrieff 1 Bohdan Jaworskyj 24 Peter Knights 20 Ian Bremner 28 Stuart Trott 4 Kelvin Matthews 2 Geoff Ablett 32 Shane Murphy 14 Alan Martello 25 John Hendrie 31 Bernie Jones 48 Michael Cooke 22 Barry Rowlings 23 Don Scott (a/c) 17 Michael Tuck 3 Leigh Matthews 13 Leon Rice 30 Des Meagher John Kennedy, Sr. #FFFFFF North Melbourne North Melbourne Football Club #013B9F 34 Ross Henshaw 23 David Dench (vc) 38 Frank Gumbleton 8 Brent Crosswell 15 Malcolm Blight 5 John Rantall 27 Keith Greig 11 John Burns 40 Peter Chisnall 20 Wayne Schimmelbusch 6 Arnold Briedis 4 Sam Kekovich 28 Gary Farrant 2 Doug Wade 18 Paul Feltham 22 Mick Nolan 32 Barry Davis (c) 44 Barry Cable 10 Barry Goodingham (dvc) 13 Gary Cowton Ron Barassi Umpireshttps://aflua.com.au/statistics/grand-finals/ Grand finals – AFLUA 13 June 2013 24 September 2021 25 October 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20211025170411/https://aflua.com.au/statistics/grand-finals/ dead The umpiring panel for the match, comprising one field umpire, two boundary umpires and two goal umpires is given below. This was the last grand final with one field umpire officiating. + 1975 VFL Grand Final umpires Position Emergency Field: Kevin Smith (1) Boundary: Kevin Mitchell (5) Geoffrey Willcox (2) Goal: Leslie Robinson (3) Richard Sankey (5) Numbers in brackets represent the number of grand finals umpired, including 1975. Match summary thumb|right|220px|The 1975 VFL premiership trophy North Melbourne was on top from the beginning of the game, accumulating nine goals by half time to Hawthorn's five. After half time, North Melbourne dominated, with its last six goals of the match extending the margin from 24 points to 61. The final winning margin of 55 points was the greatest in a grand final since 1957. Contributing strongly for North Melbourne were Brent Crosswell, John Rantall, Keith Greig, John Burns, David Dench, Mick Nolan, Sam Kekovich and Doug Wade. Arnold Briedis was North Melbourne's leading goalkicker, kicking five goals. Peter Knights stood out for Hawthorn. The selection of full-forward Michael Cooke proved to be disastrous for Hawthorn. He had made his senior debut in the second semi-final, kicking four goals for which he kept his spot in the side.http://afltables.com/afl/stats/players/M/Michael_Cooke.html Michael Cooke AFL Tables However, Cooke struggled in the grand final and was replaced without managing a kick. He never played another senior game. Aftermath For North Melbourne, it was the final league game for captain Barry Davis, full-forward Wade and the versatile Gary Farrant.It was also the last time John Rantall played with North Melbourne as he returned to South Melbourne the following season. Trailing by 20 points at half time, Hawthorn coach John Kennedy's famously delivered his "Don't think, do" speech, an impassioned plea to his players before the second half. As he recalled, "It was born out of desperation. We had some academics in the team who did a lot of thinking, so I, more or less in exasperation, said 'Don't think, do!" Although the speech failed to rouse his team to victory, it remains one of the most famous events in Kennedy's coaching career. The 1975 match was the first of three grand finals played between Hawthorn and North Melbourne over a four year period, the others played in 1976 and 1978. Scorecard Grand final Saturday, 27 September (2:30 pm) 2.2 (14) 5.6 (36) 7.7 (49) 9.13 (67) Martello, Moncrieff 2Rowlings, K Matthews, Trott, Meagher, Scott '1 Knights, Martello, Bremner, Moore, Jaworskyj, Scott Moore (ankle) Welsh (striking) A 4.2 (26) 9.2 (56) 12.6 (78) 19.8 (122) 5 Briedis4 Burns, Wade2 Schimmelbusch1 Kekovich, Crosswell, Blight, Feltham Rantall, Crosswell, Greig, Burns, Dench, Cable, Henshaw, Chisnall, Kekovich Nil Chisnall (striking) Melbourne Cricket Ground 110,551 Report Smith Seven Network, ABC TV * Gate takings: $308,172 (record)Atkinson & Atkinson (2009), p. 320 References Bibliography Atkinson Graeme Brant Atkinson 2009 The Complete Book of AFL Finals 4th The Five Mile Press Scoresby, Victoria 9781742112756 Hutchinson, G. & Ross, J. (eds), The Clubs: The Complete History of Every Club in the VFL/AFL, Viking, (Ringwood), 1998. 0 670 87858 8 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. 0-670-86814-0 External links http://afltables.com/afl/stats/games/1975/101219750927.html AFL Tables 1975 VFL Grand Final statistics Victorian Football League State Library of Victoria The Football Record 27 September 1975 1975 VFL Grand Final souvenir edition 64 32 http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/125875 Games you may have missed: State Library of Victoria Australian Rules research guide 9rqZ_Jroouw 1975 VFL Grand Final – Hawthorn Vs North Melbourne (Extended Highlights) See also 1975 VFL season Grand final Category:VFL/AFL Grand Finals Category:North Melbourne Football Club Category:Hawthorn Football Club