1971 VFL Season: Essendon
These are the details of the premiership results for Essendon for the 1971 season of the Victorian Football League (currently known as the Australian Football League). The team used Windy Hill as their home ground, playing ten matches there (ten as hosts). The team finished the regular season in eleventh place.
Team Details
Competition:
1971 VFL Season
Team:
Essendon
Club:
Essendon
Home Ground:
Windy Hill
Team Results
Ladder Position:
11th (W-D-L: 4-1-17, P%: 75.7)
Finals Performance:
Did not qualify for finals
Team Leaders
Captain:
Barry Davis
Vice-Captain:
John Williams
Deputy Vice-Captain:
Charlie Payne
Player Results
| Player | Guernseys | Matches | Goals | Rounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson, Ian | #25 | 6 | 13 | R08-11, R13-14 |
| Barclay, Stuart | #37 | 12 | 1 | R02, R10-18, R20-21 |
| Bates, Mick | #49 | 2 | 1 | R19-20 |
| Blethyn, Geoff | #11 | 15 | 21 | R01-06, R08-16 |
| Cassin, John | #42 | 9 | 4 | R12-13, R15-17, R19-22 |
| Close, Robin | #19 | 3 | 5 | R16-18 |
| Daniel, Peter | #28 | 20 | 16 | R01, R03-20, R22 |
| Davis, Barry | #32 | 19 | 11 | R01-13, R17-22 |
| Delahunty, Hugh | #40 | 14 | 4 | R03-13, R19-20, R22 |
| Dodson, Bruce | #41 | 11 | 3 | R02-09, R15, R21-22 |
| Ellis, John | #30 | 1 | 0 | R01 |
| Fields, Neville | #1 | 12 | 6 | R01-02, R07, R12, R14-19, R21-22 |
| Fletcher, Ken | #21 | 22 | 1 | R01-22 |
| Gerlach, Darryl | #17 | 19 | 1 | R01-03, R05-17, R20-22 |
| Graco, Allan | #52 | 8 | 2 | R15-22 |
| Grainger, Gary | #4 | 11 | 6 | R01-05, R07, R14-18 |
| Greenwood, Bob | #2 | 7 | 9 | R03-04, R07-08, R18, R21-22 |
| Grinter, Barry | #18 | 6 | 1 | R03-06, R12-13 |
| Gross, Don | #15 | 19 | 22 | R01-15, R19-22 |
| Halley, Len | #44 | 5 | 1 | R05-07, R19-20 |
| Hampson, Roger | #36 | 2 | 0 | R05-06 |
| Headlam, Wayne | #14 | 22 | 3 | R01-22 |
| Heath, Trevor | #58 | 1 | 0 | R14 |
| Hogan, Ken | #29 | 8 | 5 | R02, R04-05, R13-17 |
| Lake, Eddie | #38 | 12 | 5 | R09-20 |
| McFarlane, Rod | #20 | 4 | 3 | R01-02, R09, R12 |
| McKenzie, Don | #24 | 19 | 2 | R01-04, R08-22 |
| Moloney, Laurie | #34 | 2 | 2 | R21-22 |
| Neish, Bruce | #8 | 7 | 5 | R09, R17-22 |
| Noonan, Alan | #10 | 18 | 31 | R01-08, R10-11, R13-18, R21-22 |
| Parkes, Gary | #5 | 8 | 1 | R06-07, R16, R18-22 |
| Payne, Charlie | #7 | 17 | 9 | R01-08, R10-16, R21-22 |
| Payne, Ian | #3 | 12 | 2 | R01-03, R06-10, R16-19 |
| Pirouet, Bryan | #9 | 3 | 0 | R01-02, R14 |
| Roberts, Ken | #45 | 1 | 0 | R18 |
| Schultz, Graeme | #12 | 16 | 29 | R01-06, R08-11, R15-18, R20-21 |
| Smith, Ray | #35 | 11 | 0 | R07-15, R19-20 |
| Sproule, Paul | #26 | 13 | 10 | R01, R03-14 |
| Starbuck, David | #39 | 6 | 2 | R17-22 |
| Talbot, Sandy | #27 | 11 | 0 | R01-11 |
| Thompson, Robert | #43 | 1 | 0 | R04 |
| Williams, John | #22 | 22 | 1 | R01-22 |
| Wilson, Andy | #33 | 3 | 1 | R11-12, R19 |
Coach Results
| Coach | Matches (W-D-L) | Rounds | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birt, Johnny | 22 | 4 | -1- | 17 | R01-22 |
Match Results
| Date | Round | Opponent | H/A | Result | Coach | Captain (Nominated) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03/04/1971 | Round 1 | Hawthorn | HOME | LOSS | HWTH by 24 | Johnny Birt | Barry Davis |
| 10/04/1971 | Round 2 | Carlton | AWAY | LOSS | CARL by 60 | Johnny Birt | Barry Davis |
| 17/04/1971 | Round 3 | Collingwood | HOME | DRAW | drawn | Johnny Birt | Barry Davis |
| 24/04/1971 | Round 4 | Melbourne | AWAY | LOSS | MELB by 35 | Johnny Birt | Barry Davis |
| 01/05/1971 | Round 5 | Geelong | HOME | WIN | ESSE by 33 | Johnny Birt | Barry Davis |
| 08/05/1971 | Round 6 | St Kilda | AWAY | LOSS | STKL by 44 | Johnny Birt | Barry Davis |
| 15/05/1971 | Round 7 | South Melbourne | HOME | LOSS | SMLB by 16 | Johnny Birt | Barry Davis |
| 22/05/1971 | Round 8 | Footscray | AWAY | LOSS | FOOT by 40 | Johnny Birt | Barry Davis |
| 29/05/1971 | Round 9 | Richmond | HOME | LOSS | RICH by 24 | Johnny Birt | Barry Davis |
| 05/06/1971 | Round 10 | North Melbourne | HOME | WIN | ESSE by 33 | Johnny Birt | Barry Davis |
| 14/06/1971 | Round 11 | Fitzroy | AWAY | LOSS | FITZ by 58 | Johnny Birt | Barry Davis |
| 19/06/1971 | Round 12 | Hawthorn | AWAY | LOSS | HWTH by 33 | Johnny Birt | Barry Davis |
| 26/06/1971 | Round 13 | Carlton | HOME | LOSS | CARL by 14 | Johnny Birt | Barry Davis |
| 03/07/1971 | Round 14 | Collingwood | AWAY | LOSS | COLL by 147 | Johnny Birt | John Williams |
| 10/07/1971 | Round 15 | Melbourne | HOME | LOSS | MELB by 11 | Johnny Birt | John Williams |
| 17/07/1971 | Round 16 | Geelong | AWAY | WIN | ESSE by 29 | Johnny Birt | John Williams |
| 24/07/1971 | Round 17 | St Kilda | HOME | LOSS | STKL by 49 | Johnny Birt | Barry Davis |
| 31/07/1971 | Round 18 | South Melbourne | AWAY | WIN | ESSE by 10 | Johnny Birt | Barry Davis |
| 07/08/1971 | Round 19 | Footscray | HOME | LOSS | FOOT by 1 | Johnny Birt | Barry Davis |
| 14/08/1971 | Round 20 | Richmond | AWAY | LOSS | RICH by 54 | Johnny Birt | Barry Davis |
| 21/08/1971 | Round 21 | North Melbourne | AWAY | LOSS | NMLB by 31 | Johnny Birt | Barry Davis |
| 28/08/1971 | Round 22 | Fitzroy | HOME | LOSS | FITZ by 11 | Johnny Birt | Barry Davis |