The 1968 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

 game contested between the Carlton Football Club

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...

 and Essendon Football Club

Essendon Football Club

The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...

, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground

Melbourne Cricket Ground

The 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...

 in Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

 on 28 September 1968. It was the 72nd annual Grand Final

AFL Grand Final

The AFL Grand Final is an annual Australian rules football match, traditionally held on the final Saturday in September at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia to determine the Australian Football League premiership champions for that year...

 of the Victorian Football League

Australian Football League

The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...

, staged to determine the premiers for the 1968 VFL season

1968 VFL season

Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League 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...

. The match, attended by a record crowd of 116,828 spectators, was won by Carlton by a margin of 3 points, marking that club's tenth premiership victory and first since winning the 1947 VFL Grand Final

1947 VFL Grand Final

The 1947 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 on 27 September 1947. It was the 51st annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for...

.

The Blues emerged victorious despite Essendon kicking more goals. There was a strong wind gust throughout the game which kept Carlton inaccurate. Garry Crane

Garry Crane

Garry Crane is a former Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League.Crane made his debut for the Carlton Football Club in Round 17, 1964. He retired at the end of the 1976 season.- External links :* at...

 starred on the wing for the Blues with 30 possessions.

Essendon came to within a point of Carlton in the 20 minute mark of the final term after a goal to Geoff Blethyn

Geoff Blethyn

Geoff Blethyn was an Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon in the VFL.A full-forward, Blethyn had a slim frame and was easy to spot on the field because he wore glasses. He kicked 4 goals in their 1968 Grand Final loss to Carlton and had his most prolific game up forward when he...

. Despite a goalless last quarter, Carlton managed to keep their lead, thanks largely to 20th man Neil Chandler

Neil Chandler

Neil Chandler is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Carlton and St Kilda in the VFL.Chandler played with Carlton during a successful era for the club and was a member of three premiership teams. He was a reserve in their 1968 and 1970 flags but earned a starting spot in 1972,...

, who took some crucial marks in the dying stages.

The game's attendance of 116,828 at the time represented the most spectators to have witnessed a premiership decider in VFL Grand Final history, breaking the record of 115,803 spectators who witnessed the 1956 VFL Grand Final

1956 VFL Grand Final

The 1956 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Melbourne Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 15 September 1956. It was the 60th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the...

. The record was subsequently broken again in the 1969 VFL Grand Final

1969 VFL Grand Final

The 1969 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and Richmond Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 27 September 1969. It was the 73rd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine...

 and 1970 VFL Grand Final

1970 VFL Grand Final

The 1970 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 26 September 1970. It was the 74th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine...

.

Teams

Scorecard

External links

• Blueseum page on the Grand Final

See also

• 1968 VFL season
  1968 VFL season
  Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League 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...