1968 VFL Grand Final

Carlton	Essendon
7.14 (56)	8.5 (53)

	1	2	3	4
CAR	2.2 (14)	6.8 (44)	7.9 (51)	7.14 (56)
ESS	2.1 (13)	5.1 (31)	6.4 (40)	8.5 (53)

Date

28 September 1968

Stadium

Melbourne Cricket Ground

Attendance

116,828

← 1967

VFL Grand Final

1969 →

The 1968 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on Saturday, 28 September 1968.^[1]^[2]^[3] It was the 72nd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1968 VFL season. The match, attended by a record crowd of 116,828 spectators, was won by Carlton ("The Blues") by a margin of 3 points, making it that club's tenth premiership victory, but its first since winning the 1947 VFL Grand Final.

The Blues emerged victorious despite Essendon kicking more goals, the only time that happened in a VFL Grand Final. There was a strong wind blowing during the whole game, which did not help it as a spectacle and possibly contributed to Carlton's inaccuracy. Garry Crane starred on the wing for the Blues with 30 possessions.

Essendon came within a point of Carlton at the 20 minute mark of the final term after a goal to Geoff Blethyn. Despite being goal-less in the final quarter, Carlton managed to keep their lead, thanks largely to 20th man Neil Chandler, who took some crucial marks in the dying stages.

Aided by the opening during the year of the ground's new Western Stand, the attendance of 116,828 was the highest at a VFL premiership decider up to that time, breaking the record of 115,902 spectators who witnessed the 1956 VFL Grand Final.^[4] The new record was broken at the 1969 VFL Grand Final, and that record was broken in turn at the 1970 VFL Grand Final.

Teams

Carlton
B:	19 Ian Collins	20 Wes Lofts	42 Robert Walls
HB:	21 Barry Gill	11 John Goold	3 Kevin Hall
C:	34 Ian Robertson	17 Brent Crosswell	6 Garry Crane
HF:	25 Alex Jesaulenko	12 Bill Bennett	32 Bryan Quirk
F:	28 Peter Jones	16 Brian Kekovich	8 Dennis Munari
Foll:	2 John Nicholls (c)	1 Sergio Silvagni	10 Adrian Gallagher
Reserve(s):	36 Peter McLean	47 Neil Chandler
Coach:	Ron Barassi

Essendon
B:	17 Darryl Gerlach	35 Geoff Pryor	36 Neil Evans
HB:	28 Alec Epis	22 John Williams	32 Barry Davis
C:	21 Ken Fletcher	30 John Ellis	14 Russell Blew
HF:	19 Robin Close	10 Alan Noonan	5 David Shaw
F:	10 Ted Fordham	11 Geoff Blethyn	26 Paul Sproule
Foll:	24 Don McKenzie (c)	7 Charlie Payne	6 Geoff Gosper
Reserve(s):	16 Bruce Lake	15 Don Gross
Coach:	Jack Clarke

Scorecard

Carlton vs Essendon
2:30PM AEST
Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Final
Carlton	2.2 (14)	6.8 (44)	7.9 (51)	7.14 (56)
Essendon	2.1 (13)	5.1 (31)	6.4 (40)	8.5 (53)

Venue:		Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
Date and time:		28 September 1968
Attendance:		116,828
Umpires:		Jeff Crouch (central)
Goal scorers:	Carlton	4: Kekovich 1: Crane, Crosswell, Quirk
Goal scorers:	Essendon	4: Blethyn 1: Close, Lake, Noonan, Sproule
Best:	Carlton
Best:	Essendon
Reports:		nil
Injuries:		nil

References

↑ Australian Football.com - Carlton v Essendon
↑ AFL Tables: Carlton v Essendon
↑ Blueseum: Grand Final, 1968
↑ "Attendance alterations from 1908" (PDF). Australian Football League. Retrieved 19 December 2015.

Victorian/Australian Football League Grand Finals

VFL Grand Finals	1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989

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Carlton Football Club 1968 VFL premiers

Carlton 7.14 (56) defeated Essendon 8.5 (53), at the Melbourne Cricket Ground

1. Silvagni 2. Nicholls (c) 3. Hall 6. Crane 8. Munari 10. Gallagher 11. Goold 12. Bennett 16. Kekovich 17. Crosswell 19. Collins 20. Lofts 21. Gill 25. Jesaulenko 28. Jones 32. Quirk 34. Robertson 36. McLean 42. Walls 47. Chandler

Coach: Barassi

Carlton Football Club

History Premierships and records Players Captains Coaches Awards John Nicholls Medal Leading goalkickers Captain: Marc Murphy Coach: Brendon Bolton Nickname: Blues

Stadiums	Melbourne Cricket Ground Etihad Stadium Princes Park

Premierships	1871 1873 1874 1875 1877 1887 1906 1907 1908 1914 1915 1938 1945 1947 1968 1970 1972 1979 1981 1982 1987 1995

Seasons	1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Related articles	Carlton–Collingwood AFL rivalry Carlton–Essendon AFL rivalry 2002 salary cap breach

Essendon Football Club

History Premierships and records Players Captains Coaches Awards W. S. Crichton Medal Leading goalkickers Captain: Jobe Watson Coach: John Worsfold Nickname: Bombers

Home grounds	East Melbourne Cricket Ground (1897–1921) Windy Hill (1922–91) Melbourne Cricket Ground (1992–present) Docklands Stadium (2000–present)

Premierships (16)	1897 1901 1911 1912 1923 1924 1942 1946 1949 1950 1962 1965 1984 1985 1993 2000

Seasons	1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Related articles	Anzac Day clash Carlton–Essendon AFL rivalry Dreamtime at the 'G Archer–Hird Medal Line in the sand match Round 16, 2001 comeback vs. North Melbourne Supplements saga

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