1983 VFL grand final

Grand final of the 1983 Victorian Football League season December 2017 December 2017 1983 VFL 50px 20.20 (140) 50px 8.9 (57) HAW ESS 5.6 (36) 12.10 (82) 16.18 (114) 20.20 (140) 3.0 (18) 4.1 (25) 4.3 (27) 8.9 (57) 24 September 1983 Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia 110,332 Nash & Smith Glenn Shorrock Colin Robertson (Haw) Allan Jeans Seven Network Lou Richards (commentator)Peter Landy (commentator)Bob Skilton (expert commentator)Stephen Phillips (boundary reporter) 1982 1984 The 1983 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Hawthorn Football Club and Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 24 September 1983. It was the 87th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1983 VFL season. The match, attended by 110,332 spectators, was won by Hawthorn by a margin of 83 points, marking that club's fifth premiership victory. This VFL Grand Final was the first of seven consecutive VFL Grand Final appearances for Hawthorn, continuing all the way to 1989. Background 1983 VFL season It was Essendon's first Grand Final appearance since losing the 1968 VFL Grand Final, while it was Hawthorn's first appearance since winning the 1978 VFL Grand Final. The Bombers had not won a flag since winning the 1965 VFL Grand Final. At the conclusion of the home and away season, Hawthorn had finished second on the VFL ladder (one game behind North Melbourne) with 15 wins and 7 losses. Essendon had finished fourth, also with 15 wins and 7 losses, but with an inferior percentage. In the finals series leading up to the Grand Final, the Bombers defeated Carlton by 33 points in the Elimination Final before defeating Fitzroy in the First Semi-Final by 23 points. They advanced to the Grand Final after comfortably beating North Melbourne by 86 points in the Preliminary Final. The Hawks defeated Fitzroy in the Qualifying Final by just 4 points and then defeated North Melbourne by 40 points to progress to the Grand Final. Teams _brown_stripes_copia _goldsides _hoops_gold FBBF15 823f00 823f00 Hawthorn _redrightsash _blacksides _hoops_black 000000 ffffff FB0000 Essendon #4D2004 Hawthorn Hawthorn Football Club #FBBF15 7 Gary Ayres 46 Chris Mew 8 David O'Halloran 29 Russell Greene 20 Michael McCarthy 34 John Kennedy 30 Peter Schwab 16 Terry Wallace 26 Rodney Eade 11 Gary Buckenara 23 Dermott Brereton 24 Peter Knights 3 Leigh Matthews (c) 21 Michael Byrne 22 Richard Loveridge 12 Ian Paton 17 Michael Tuck 32 Colin Robertson 9 Robert DiPierdomenico 1 Ken Judge Allan Jeans #CC2031 Essendon Essendon Football Club #000000 9 Shane Heard 28 Paul Weston 17 Stephen Carey 10 Garry Foulds 30 Kevin Walsh 36 Peter Bradbury 33 Glenn Hawker 1 Merv Neagle 2 Bryan Wood 23 Rene Kink 25 Roger Merrett 43 Alan Ezard 42 Darren Williams 5 Terry Daniher (c) 18 Paul Van Der Haar 27 Simon Madden 32 Tim Watson 20 Tony Buhagiar 24 Stephen Copping 12 Cameron Clayton Kevin Sheedy Match summary Despite losing Gary Buckenara to a knee injury in the opening minutes, Hawthorn asserted their strength early leading by 18 points at quarter time. They then completely dominated the rest of the game, scoring seven goals to one in the second quarter and holding the Bombers goalless in the third quarter, whilst adding four goals of their own. Captain Leigh Matthews kicked six goals and the Hawks had nine other goal kickers. The Norm Smith Medal was awarded to Hawthorn's Colin Robertson for being judged the best player afield. The margin of victory was at the time the biggest in Grand Final history, beating the record which had been set by Richmond in the 1980 VFL Grand Final, and stood until it was broken by Hawthorn in the 1988 VFL Grand Final. This match was the first in what was to be an all-time record run of seven consecutive Grand Final appearances by the Hawks. It was also the first of three consecutive Grand Finals to be contested between these teams, with the Bombers winning the 1984 VFL Grand Final and 1985 VFL Grand Final. Scoreboard 1983 VFL Grand Final Saturday, 24 September (14:30 (UTC+10)) Haw 5.6 (36) 12.10 (82) 16.18 (114) 20.20 (140) Matthews 6, Byrne 3, Greene 2, Judge 2, Loveridge 2, Kennedy, Knights, O'Halloran, Tuck, Wallace Robertson, Mew, Tuck, Matthews, Kennedy, Greene, Knights, Ayres, Wallace, Eade Buckenara (knee) Judge (striking), Byrne (striking) H Ess 3.0 (18) 4.1 (25) 4.3 (27) 8.9 (57) Daniher 2, Copping, Ezard, Kink, Madden, Walsh, Wood Daniher, Foulds, Madden, Heard Carey (shoulder) Merrett (striking – two incidents) MCG, Melbourne 110,332 ReportSiren scores https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/12863688 25 February 2025 Canberra Times 25 September 1983 Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 28 (Sport 6) N. Nash & K. Smith Norm Smith Medal Colin Robertson (Hawthorn) Seven Network Glenn Shorrock The match was broadcast live on ESPN in the USA, with Ron Barrassi hosting the broadcast for US viewers.Grand final telecast live to US https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/116405961 25 February 2025 Canberra Times 11 September 1983 Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 24Gill Shannon 'Exactly what we need': How Aussie Rules helped make ESPN a live sport juggernaught https://www.espn.com.au/afl/story/_/id/43772164/australian-rules-footballl-espn-link-vfl-afl-1980s espn.com.au 26 February 2025 26 February 2025 Hawthorn's 83 point winning margin was a then VFL Grand Final record, beating the previous record of 81 points (1980).Too easy for the Hawks https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/12863683 25 February 2025 Canberra Times 25 September 1983 Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 23 (Sport 1) Tribunal Merrett (Essendon) by field umpire Nash for striking Wallace (Hawthorn) with a fist to the stomach in the third quarter. Merrett was suspended for two matches.More troubles for Essendon https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/116408941 25 February 2025 Canberra Times 27 September 1983 Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 20 Merrett (Essendon) by field umpire Smith for allegedly striking Matthews (Hawthorn) with a right hand to the face in the third quarter. Charge not sustained. Judge (Hawthorn) by field umpire Smith for allegedly striking Hawker (Essendon) with a right fist to the hear in the second quarter. Charge not sustained. Byrne (Hawthorn) by field umpire Nash for allegedly striking Van Der Haar (Essendon) with both hands to the face in the second quarter. Charge not sustained. References Bibliography The Official statistical history of the AFL 2004 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 Hawks Headquarters page on the 1983 Grand Final See also 1983 VFL season Grand final Category:VFL/AFL Grand Finals Category:Hawthorn Football Club Category:Essendon Football Club