1965 VFL grand final

Grand final of the 1965 Victorian Football League season

1965 VFL Grand Final

St Kilda

Essendon
9.16 (70) 14.21 (105)
1 2 3 4
STK 1.6 (12) 4.8 (32) 5.11 (41) 9.16 (70)
ESS 2.7 (19) 5.10 (40) 10.18 (78) 14.21 (105)
Date25 September 1965
StadiumMelbourne Cricket Ground
Attendance104,846
FavouriteSt Kilda
← 1964 VFL Grand Final 1966 →

The 1965 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Essendon Football Club and St Kilda Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 25 September 1965. It was the 68th annual grand final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1965 VFL season. The match, attended by 104,846 spectators, was won by Essendon by a margin of 35 points, marking that club's 12th premiership victory.

St Kilda were minor premiers for the first time in their history and, after beating Collingwood by a point in the semi-final, found themselves competing in just their second-ever grand final and first since 1913, which they lost to Fitzroy. Essendon, on the other hand, last won a premiership three years previously.

The Bombers set up their win in the third quarter, scoring five goals to just one by the Saints. Ted Fordham kicked seven goals for Essendon.

The game was considered lost media for many years. However, the ABC was able to locate an archived copy of the game decades after.[1]

Teams

St Kilda
Essendon
St Kilda
B: 1 Rodger Head 6 Bob Murray 18 Kevin Neale
HB: 17 Brian Sierakowski 9 Ian Synman 25 Daryl Griffiths
C: 7 Jim Read 5 Ian Stewart 36 Bruce McMaster-Smith
HF: 15 Ian Cooper 4 Darrel Baldock (c) 17 Ray Cross
F: 8 Alan Morrow 16 Verdun Howell 3 Ross Smith
Foll: 10 Carl Ditterich 20 Des Kennedy 26 Ian Rowland
Res: 14 Bob Morton 24 Kevin Roberts
Coach: Allan Jeans
Essendon
B: 2 Darryl Gerlach 18 Greg Brown 8 Charlie Payne
HB: 32 Barry Davis 10 Ian Shelton 21 Geoff Pryor
C: 28 Alec Epis 1 Jack Clarke 14 Russell Blew
HF: 16 Graeme Johnston 23 Ken Fraser (c) 6 Geoff Gosper
F: 34 Brian Sampson 20 Ted Fordham 4 David Shaw
Foll: 24 Don McKenzie 31 Hugh Mitchell 11 John Birt
Res: 27 Bruce Waite 43 Kevin Egan
Coach: John Coleman

Statistics

Goalkickers

Essendon:

  • Fordham 7
  • Gosper 2
  • Sampson 2
  • Birt 1
  • Fraser 1
  • Mitchell 1

St Kilda:

  • Howell 3
  • Baldock 2
  • Rowland 2
  • Roberts 1
  • Smith 1

Attendance

  • MCG crowd – 104,846

References

  1. ^ 1965 VFL Grand Final Essendon V St Kilda, retrieved 12 May 2022

External links

  • Summary of the 1965 season including finals
  • Essendon's premiership team

See also

  • v
  • t
  • e
Essendon Football Club 1965 VFL premiers
Essendon 14.21 (105) defeated St Kilda 9.6 (70), at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
Coach: Coleman
  • v
  • t
  • e
St Kilda Football Club
  • Nickname: Saints
  • History
  • Club honours
  • Individual honours
  • Players
  • Captains
  • Coaches
  • Records and statistics
  • Trevor Barker Award
  • AFLW best and fairest
  • Leading goalkickers
  • AFL coach: Ross Lyon
  • AFL captains: Jack Steele
  • AFLW coach: Nick Dal Santo
  • AFLW captain: Hannah Priest
VFL/AFL home grounds
AFLW home grounds
Premierships (1)
Runner-up (6)
Seasons (139)
(non-club articles in italics)
Related articles
St Kilda did not participate in the 1916 and 1917 VFL seasons due to the First World War (indicated in grey)
  • v
  • t
  • e
Essendon Football Club
  • Nickname: Bombers
  • History
  • Premierships
  • Records
  • Players
  • Captains
  • Coaches
  • Honours
  • Crichton Medal
  • Leading goalkickers
  • AFL coach: Brad Scott
  • AFL captain: Dyson Heppell
  • AFLW coach: Natalie Wood
  • AFLW co-captains: Stephanie Cain & Bonnie Toogood
VFL/AFL home grounds
VFA premierships (4)
VFL/AFL premierships (16)
Runner-up (14)
VFA/VFL/AFL seasons (144)
AFLW home grounds
AFLW seasons (2)
Related articles
Essendon did not participate in the 1916 and 1917 VFL seasons due to World War I (indicated in grey)
  • v
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  • e
Australian Football League
Clubs
Current
Future
Former
Seasons
Grand finals
Venues
Awards
Major recurring
events
Second-tier and
junior competitions
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Related articles
Known as the Victorian Football League from 1897–1989; no grand finals were held in 1897 and 1924