1973 VFL season

The 1973 VFL season was the 77th season of the Victorian Football League, the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 7 April until 29 September, and comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top five clubs.
The premiership was won by the Richmond Football Club for the eighth time, after it defeated by 30 points in the 1973 VFL Grand Final.

Background

One of the most significant innovations that came into force in 1973 was the implementation of a painted centre diamond area with 45-metre long sides, with a maximum of four players from each team permitted to stand within the diamond at centre bounces. Following a long period of lobbying by the VFL to the Australian Football Council for its introduction, the centre diamond was initially subject to a 12-month trial period. The purpose of this innovation was to try and solve the problem of congestion at centre bounces, as well as giving skilled players more space to benefit their teams.
The home-and-away season consisted of 22 rounds, with teams facing each other twice; matches 12 to 22 were the "home-and-away reverse" of matches 1 to 11. At the conclusion of the home-and-away fixtures, the 1973 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the "McIntyre final five system".

Home-and-away season

Round 8

Round 16

Ladder

Season notes

The VFL introduced a new clearance system, "10-year rule", in order to render the VFL immune from the sorts of "restraint of trade" difficulties that were being experienced, at the time, in New South Wales in relation to Rugby League footballers, whereby any VFL player who had played ten years with a single club was eligible for a free transfer to the club of his choice.
*Although twenty-two VFL players were eligible to do so, only six players, George Bisset, Barry Davis, Carl Ditterich, Adrian Gallagher, John Rantall, and Doug Wade took advantage of the new rule. The rule was rescinded in May 1973.
*The new North Melbourne coach Ron Barassi recruited champion half-backs Barry Davis, John Rantall, and champion full-forward Doug Wade. North Melbourne improved from last place in 1972 to sixth in 1973.
In Round 11 Kevin Murray played his 300th game for Fitzroy.
In Round 21, Hawthorn full-forward Peter Hudson, who had been injured in Round 1 of 1972, returned to the VFL. He beat four opponents and kicked 8 goals.
In Round 22, Hawthorn hosted its last senior VFL football match at Glenferrie Oval. The ground was notable for its temperamental playing surface and narrow flanks. The venue had long been described by football fans as "the sardine can." Hawthorn subsequently played its home games at Princes Park for the next eighteen seasons.
The Richmond Football Club won the premiership in all grades in 1973: its Senior Team, Reserves Team and Under-19 team all won their Grand Finals at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Grand Final Day; and the Essex Heights Football Club, which served as Richmond's Under-17 team, won the South-East Suburban League premiership.

Awards

The 1973 VFL Premiership team was Richmond.
The VFL's leading goalkicker was Peter McKenna of Collingwood who kicked 84 goals.
The winner of the 1973 Brownlow Medal was Keith Greig of North Melbourne with 27 votes.
South Melbourne took the "wooden spoon" in 1973.
The reserves premiership was won by. Richmond 17.18 defeated 8.12 in the grand final, held as a curtain-raiser to the seniors Grand Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 29 September.