1968 VFL Season: Essendon
These are the details of the premiership results of Essendon for the 1968 VFL season. The team finished the regular season in first place, securing the minor premiership, and in turn, a place in the finals series. After being defeated by Carlton in a semi final and defeating Geelong in the preliminary final, Essendon were defeated by Carlton in the grand final, resulting in becoming the runners-up.
Season Team Details
Competition:
1968 VFL Season
Team:
Essendon
Home Ground:
Windy Hill
Team Results
Ladder Position:
1st (W-D-L: 16-1-3, P%: 130.3)
Finals Performance:
Runners-Up
Team Leaders
Captain:
Ken Fraser
Vice-Captain:
Don McKenzie
Player Results
| Player | Guernseys | Matches | Goals | Rounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson, Ian | #25 | 7 | 15 | R01-07 |
| Blethyn, Geoff | #11 | 3 | 4 | R03-04, GF |
| Blew, Russell | #14 | 23 | 6 | R01-20, SF, PF, GF |
| Brown, Greg | #18 | 6 | 0 | R01, R07-10, PF |
| Buhaj, Wally | #2 | 8 | 2 | R03-05, R08, R13-14, R16, R18 |
| Close, Robin | #19 | 13 | 25 | R09-13, R15-18, R20, SF, PF, GF |
| Crowley, Ian | #34 | 1 | 0 | R10 |
| Daniel, Peter | #45 | 6 | 0 | R02, R05, R07-10 |
| Davis, Barry | #32 | 22 | 1 | R01-11, R13-20, SF, PF, GF |
| Egan, Kevin | #29 | 12 | 4 | R01, R05-06, R09, R11-12, R16-20, SF |
| Ellis, John | #30 | 23 | 23 | R01-20, SF, PF, GF |
| Epis, Alec | #28 | 22 | 0 | R01-04, R06-20, SF, PF, GF |
| Evans, Neil | #36 | 2 | 0 | PF, GF |
| Fanning, John | #27 | 4 | 0 | R15, R17-18, R20 |
| Fletcher, Ken | #21 | 12 | 1 | R02, R09-13, R15, R19-20, SF, PF, GF |
| Fordham, Ted | #20 | 22 | 22 | R01-06, R08-20, SF, PF, GF |
| Fraser, Ken | #23 | 21 | 15 | R01-04, R06-20, SF, PF |
| Gerlach, Darryl | #17 | 19 | 1 | R01-08, R12-18, R20, SF, PF, GF |
| Gosper, Geoff | #6 | 23 | 13 | R01-20, SF, PF, GF |
| Greenwood, Bob | #8 | 12 | 13 | R01-08, R14-17 |
| Gross, Don | #15 | 14 | 15 | R05-07, R10-18, SF, GF |
| Lake, Bruce | #16 | 11 | 18 | R05-13, PF, GF |
| Lake, Eddie | #42 | 7 | 5 | R09, R11-15, R19 |
| McGie, Lindsay | #4 | 14 | 1 | R01-06, R12, R15-20, SF |
| McKenzie, Don | #24 | 23 | 8 | R01-20, SF, PF, GF |
| Noonan, Alan | #10 | 18 | 51 | R01-02, R04, R07-11, R14-20, SF, PF, GF |
| Papp, Vic | #46 | 1 | 0 | R20 |
| Payne, Charlie | #7 | 19 | 14 | R01-09, R11-14, R18-20, SF, PF, GF |
| Pryor, Geoff | #35 | 23 | 0 | R01-20, SF, PF, GF |
| Shaw, David | #5 | 20 | 5 | R01-14, R17-19, SF, PF, GF |
| Sproule, Paul | #26 | 9 | 11 | R01-07, PF, GF |
| Stillman, Les | #43 | 1 | 0 | R19 |
| Thompson, Bill | #12 | 3 | 0 | R14, R16, R19 |
| Thompson, Robert | #47 | 1 | 0 | R10 |
| Waite, Bruce | #9 | 13 | 16 | R03, R08, R11-20, SF |
| Williams, John | #22 | 22 | 0 | R01-17, R19-20, SF, PF, GF |
Coach Results
| Coach | Matches (W-D-L) | Rounds | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clarke, Jack | 23 | 17 | -1- | 5 | R01-20, SF, PF, GF |
Match Results
| Date | Round | Opponent | H/A | Result | Coach | Captain (Nominated) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15/04/1968 | Round 1 | Hawthorn | HOME | WIN | ESSE by 73 | Jack Clarke | Ken Fraser |
| 20/04/1968 | Round 2 | North Melbourne | AWAY | WIN | ESSE by 19 | Jack Clarke | Ken Fraser |
| 25/04/1968 | Round 3 | Carlton | AWAY | WIN | ESSE by 33 | Jack Clarke | Ken Fraser |
| 04/05/1968 | Round 4 | South Melbourne | HOME | WIN | ESSE by 40 | Jack Clarke | Ken Fraser |
| 11/05/1968 | Round 5 | Fitzroy | HOME | WIN | ESSE by 31 | Jack Clarke | Don McKenzie |
| 18/05/1968 | Round 6 | Collingwood | AWAY | LOSS | COLL by 26 | Jack Clarke | Ken Fraser |
| 25/05/1968 | Round 7 | Richmond | HOME | WIN | ESSE by 2 | Jack Clarke | Ken Fraser |
| 10/06/1968 | Round 8 | St Kilda | AWAY | LOSS | STKL by 56 | Jack Clarke | Ken Fraser |
| 15/06/1968 | Round 9 | Footscray | HOME | WIN | ESSE by 42 | Jack Clarke | Ken Fraser |
| 22/06/1968 | Round 10 | Melbourne | AWAY | WIN | ESSE by 28 | Jack Clarke | Ken Fraser |
| 29/06/1968 | Round 11 | Geelong | HOME | WIN | ESSE by 23 | Jack Clarke | Ken Fraser |
| 06/07/1968 | Round 12 | Hawthorn | AWAY | WIN | ESSE by 29 | Jack Clarke | Ken Fraser |
| 13/07/1968 | Round 13 | North Melbourne | HOME | WIN | ESSE by 52 | Jack Clarke | Ken Fraser |
| 20/07/1968 | Round 14 | Carlton | HOME | WIN | ESSE by 6 | Jack Clarke | Ken Fraser |
| 27/07/1968 | Round 15 | South Melbourne | AWAY | WIN | ESSE by 43 | Jack Clarke | Ken Fraser |
| 03/08/1968 | Round 16 | Fitzroy | AWAY | WIN | ESSE by 1 | Jack Clarke | Ken Fraser |
| 10/08/1968 | Round 17 | Collingwood | HOME | WIN | ESSE by 85 | Jack Clarke | Ken Fraser |
| 17/08/1968 | Round 18 | Richmond | AWAY | LOSS | RICH by 20 | Jack Clarke | Ken Fraser |
| 24/08/1968 | Round 19 | St Kilda | HOME | DRAW | drawn | Jack Clarke | Ken Fraser |
| 31/08/1968 | Round 20 | Footscray | AWAY | WIN | ESSE by 27 | Jack Clarke | Ken Fraser |
| 14/09/1968 | Semi Final | Carlton | HOME | LOSS | CARL by 36 | Jack Clarke | Ken Fraser |
| 21/09/1968 | Preliminary Final | Geelong | HOME | WIN | ESSE by 24 | Jack Clarke | Ken Fraser |
| 28/09/1968 | Grand Final | Carlton | AWAY | LOSS | CARL by 3 | Jack Clarke | Don McKenzie |
Ladder Chart
This chart is based on the nominal round, i.e. only one result (win, loss, draw, bye) per round, which may result in not being accurate from a chronological perspective. The positions during the finals series is determined via bespoke logic.