The 1965 VFL season was the 69th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 17 April until 25 September, and comprised an 18-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top four clubs.

1965 VFL premiership season
Teams12
PremiersEssendon
12th premiership
Minor premiersSt Kilda
1st minor premiership
Consolation seriesNorth Melbourne
1st Consolation series win
Brownlow MedallistIan Stewart (St Kilda)
Noel Teasdale (North Melbourne)
Coleman MedallistJohn Peck (Hawthorn)
Matches played112
Highest104,846
← 1964
1966 →

The premiership was won by the Essendon Football Club for the twelfth time, after it defeated St Kilda by 35 points in the 1965 VFL Grand Final.

Background

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In 1965, 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. A player could be substituted for any reason; however, once substituted, a player could not return to the field of play under any circumstances. Teams played each other in a home-and-away season of 18 rounds; matches 12 to 18 were the "home-and-way reverse" of matches 1 to 7. Once the 18 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1965 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the Page–McIntyre system.

North Melbourne Football Club moved its playing and training base from the Arden Street Oval to Coburg City Oval.[1] The move was intended to be permanent, with some initial negotiations seeking long-term leases for up to 40 years,[2] but it was ultimately cancelled after only eight months, and North Melbourne returned to the Arden Street Oval in 1966.[3][4]

Home-and-away season

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Round 1

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Fitzroy 8.16 (64) Essendon 11.18 (84) Brunswick Street Oval 17,500 17 April 1965
St Kilda 8.12 (60) Collingwood 8.6 (54) Moorabbin Oval 51,370 17 April 1965
Hawthorn 8.6 (54) Carlton 12.19 (91) Glenferrie Oval 36,000 17 April 1965
North Melbourne 4.12 (36) South Melbourne 6.10 (46) City of Coburg Oval 13,774 19 April 1965
Richmond 6.5 (41) Melbourne 7.5 (47) MCG 36,283 19 April 1965
Geelong 5.5 (35) Footscray 5.3 (33) Kardinia Park 23,233 19 April 1965

Round 2

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Melbourne 11.14 (80) North Melbourne 10.12 (72) MCG 21,744 24 April 1965
Essendon 20.18 (138) Hawthorn 6.8 (44) Windy Hill 20,500 24 April 1965
Collingwood 11.13 (79) Richmond 9.10 (64) Victoria Park 31,370 24 April 1965
Carlton 8.11 (59) Geelong 9.11 (65) Princes Park 34,945 24 April 1965
South Melbourne 7.9 (51) St Kilda 12.12 (84) Lake Oval 23,979 24 April 1965
Footscray 8.6 (54) Fitzroy 9.4 (58) Western Oval 16,998 24 April 1965

Round 3

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Richmond 12.13 (85) St Kilda 14.12 (96) MCG 43,412 1 May 1965
Fitzroy 9.4 (58) Melbourne 14.25 (109) Brunswick Street Oval 15,890 1 May 1965
Collingwood 19.16 (130) Hawthorn 10.9 (69) Victoria Park 25,733 1 May 1965
North Melbourne 7.13 (55) Geelong 14.14 (98) City of Coburg Oval 17,408 1 May 1965
Footscray 6.12 (48) Essendon 18.18 (126) Western Oval 24,365 1 May 1965
South Melbourne 12.14 (86) Carlton 10.11 (71) Lake Oval 23,100 1 May 1965

Round 4

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Melbourne 12.8 (80) South Melbourne 11.11 (77) MCG 27,404 8 May 1965
Essendon 10.9 (69) Richmond 14.9 (93) Windy Hill 14,500 8 May 1965
Carlton 16.11 (107) North Melbourne 6.8 (44) Princes Park 12,728 8 May 1965
St Kilda 14.7 (91) Footscray 7.8 (50) Moorabbin Oval 14,454 8 May 1965
Hawthorn 14.14 (98) Fitzroy 9.7 (61) Glenferrie Oval 9,000 8 May 1965
Geelong 7.8 (50) Collingwood 6.9 (45) Kardinia Park 21,525 8 May 1965

Round 5

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Geelong 8.7 (55) Melbourne 10.9 (69) Kardinia Park 37,774 15 May 1965
Footscray 11.11 (77) South Melbourne 11.10 (76) Western Oval 11,253 15 May 1965
Fitzroy 12.9 (81) North Melbourne 16.13 (109) Brunswick Street Oval 10,561 15 May 1965
Richmond 14.21 (105) Hawthorn 8.12 (60) MCG 32,104 15 May 1965
St Kilda 7.14 (56) Essendon 14.9 (93) Moorabbin Oval 39,765 15 May 1965
Collingwood 9.11 (65) Carlton 13.7 (85) Victoria Park 37,223 15 May 1965

Round 6

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
North Melbourne 8.10 (58) St Kilda 14.12 (96) City of Coburg Oval 13,291 22 May 1965
Fitzroy 8.8 (56) Geelong 11.21 (87) Brunswick Street Oval 11,925 22 May 1965
Carlton 8.13 (61) Richmond 6.9 (45) Princes Park 29,949 22 May 1965
Hawthorn 12.9 (81) Footscray 10.14 (74) Glenferrie Oval 11,800 22 May 1965
South Melbourne 14.12 (96) Essendon 12.16 (88) Lake Oval 24,200 22 May 1965
Melbourne 6.13 (49) Collingwood 7.5 (47) MCG 56,808 22 May 1965

Round 7

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Geelong 18.14 (122) Hawthorn 6.9 (45) Kardinia Park 19,004 29 May 1965
Footscray 9.11 (65) Melbourne 10.9 (69) Western Oval 18,380 29 May 1965
Collingwood 15.11 (101) South Melbourne 10.12 (72) Victoria Park 33,452 29 May 1965
Richmond 21.16 (142) North Melbourne 6.12 (48) MCG 24,602 29 May 1965
St Kilda 11.18 (84) Fitzroy 5.5 (35) Moorabbin Oval 18,670 29 May 1965
Essendon 5.23 (53) Carlton 10.9 (69) Windy Hill 35,500 29 May 1965

Round 8

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Geelong 8.14 (62) St Kilda 6.7 (43) Kardinia Park 27,584 5 June 1965
Collingwood 14.12 (96) Footscray 11.12 (78) Victoria Park 25,250 5 June 1965
Carlton 6.22 (58) Melbourne 13.17 (95) Princes Park 41,561 5 June 1965
South Melbourne 13.24 (102) Hawthorn 12.19 (91) Lake Oval 17,400 5 June 1965
Richmond 21.17 (143) Fitzroy 10.15 (75) MCG 20,649 5 June 1965
North Melbourne 11.15 (81) Essendon 13.10 (88) City of Coburg Oval 12,828 5 June 1965

Round 9

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Hawthorn 14.10 (94) North Melbourne 14.13 (97) Glenferrie Oval 11,000 12 June 1965
South Melbourne 20.9 (129) Geelong 17.13 (115) Lake Oval 32,260 12 June 1965
Essendon 7.12 (54) Collingwood 12.14 (86) Windy Hill 34,900 12 June 1965
Melbourne 9.7 (61) St Kilda 18.14 (122) MCG 72,114 14 June 1965
Footscray 9.11 (65) Richmond 9.17 (71) Western Oval 25,345 14 June 1965
Fitzroy 9.7 (61) Carlton 14.18 (102) Brunswick Street Oval 20,140 14 June 1965

Round 10

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Geelong 12.9 (81) Richmond 9.11 (65) Kardinia Park 25,350 26 June 1965
Fitzroy 14.16 (100) South Melbourne 14.10 (94) Brunswick Street Oval 12,626 26 June 1965
Carlton 12.10 (82) Footscray 8.10 (58) Princes Park 19,680 26 June 1965
St Kilda 24.12 (156) Hawthorn 11.9 (75) Moorabbin Oval 20,010 26 June 1965
Melbourne 6.6 (42) Essendon 10.11 (71) MCG 51,420 26 June 1965
North Melbourne 12.11 (83) Collingwood 13.12 (90) City of Coburg Oval 21,626 26 June 1965

Round 11

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Hawthorn 9.13 (67) Melbourne 19.11 (125) Glenferrie Oval 14,900 3 July 1965
Footscray 7.10 (52) North Melbourne 5.10 (40) Western Oval 14,150 3 July 1965
St Kilda 12.8 (80) Carlton 10.14 (74) Moorabbin Oval 35,794 3 July 1965
Richmond 23.20 (158) South Melbourne 12.10 (82) MCG 35,200 10 July 1965
Essendon 12.16 (88) Geelong 6.9 (45) Windy Hill 27,000 10 July 1965
Collingwood 10.14 (74) Fitzroy 4.6 (30) Victoria Park 20,657 10 July 1965

Round 12

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Melbourne 9.6 (60) Richmond 9.12 (66) MCG 36,830 17 July 1965
Footscray 1.8 (14) Geelong 5.13 (43) Western Oval 13,395 17 July 1965
Essendon 12.12 (84) Fitzroy 3.8 (26) Windy Hill 10,650 17 July 1965
Collingwood 8.13 (61) St Kilda 7.5 (47) Victoria Park 29,357 17 July 1965
Carlton 8.19 (67) Hawthorn 8.4 (52) Princes Park 12,791 17 July 1965
South Melbourne 8.8 (56) North Melbourne 6.17 (53) Lake Oval 9,520 17 July 1965

Round 13

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
St Kilda 18.9 (117) South Melbourne 6.12 (48) Moorabbin Oval 18,709 24 July 1965
Fitzroy 7.13 (55) Footscray 6.6 (42) Brunswick Street Oval 7,456 24 July 1965
North Melbourne 11.15 (81) Melbourne 9.6 (60) City of Coburg Oval 8,312 24 July 1965
Hawthorn 7.5 (47) Essendon 10.11 (71) Glenferrie Oval 11,400 24 July 1965
Richmond 8.8 (56) Collingwood 12.7 (79) MCG 56,360 24 July 1965
Geelong 5.9 (39) Carlton 9.12 (66) Kardinia Park 19,568 24 July 1965

Round 14

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Geelong 10.17 (77) North Melbourne 5.4 (34) Kardinia Park 19,658 31 July 1965
Essendon 13.18 (96) Footscray 6.11 (47) Windy Hill 16,800 31 July 1965
Carlton 9.19 (73) South Melbourne 13.12 (90) Princes Park 20,744 31 July 1965
St Kilda 14.12 (96) Richmond 11.17 (83) Moorabbin Oval 34,076 31 July 1965
Melbourne 12.11 (83) Fitzroy 11.15 (81) MCG 30,381 31 July 1965
Hawthorn 8.12 (60) Collingwood 12.22 (94) Glenferrie Oval 18,500 31 July 1965

Round 15

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Footscray 6.9 (45) St Kilda 9.15 (69) Western Oval 11,313 7 August 1965
Fitzroy 4.12 (36) Hawthorn 8.6 (54) Brunswick Street Oval 7,463 7 August 1965
Collingwood 14.9 (93) Geelong 7.4 (46) Victoria Park 26,915 7 August 1965
South Melbourne 11.12 (78) Melbourne 5.9 (39) Lake Oval 15,130 7 August 1965
Richmond 14.10 (94) Essendon 5.6 (36) MCG 32,031 7 August 1965
North Melbourne 6.8 (44) Carlton 5.2 (32) City of Coburg Oval 11,474 7 August 1965

Round 16

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Hawthorn 9.14 (68) Richmond 16.14 (110) Glenferrie Oval 15,000 14 August 1965
Essendon 9.15 (69) St Kilda 9.10 (64) Windy Hill 28,700 14 August 1965
Carlton 11.16 (82) Collingwood 16.11 (107) Princes Park 36,730 14 August 1965
Melbourne 11.7 (73) Geelong 16.11 (107) MCG 44,753 14 August 1965
South Melbourne 10.18 (78) Footscray 13.14 (92) Lake Oval 13,600 14 August 1965
North Melbourne 12.10 (82) Fitzroy 12.11 (83) City of Coburg Oval 7,788 14 August 1965

Round 17

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Footscray 4.17 (41) Hawthorn 11.6 (72) Western Oval 10,496 21 August 1965
Essendon 14.13 (97) South Melbourne 4.7 (31) Windy Hill 18,950 21 August 1965
Collingwood 14.10 (94) Melbourne 7.10 (52) Victoria Park 33,318 21 August 1965
St Kilda 12.13 (85) North Melbourne 6.12 (48) Moorabbin Oval 18,704 21 August 1965
Geelong 9.16 (70) Fitzroy 8.4 (52) Kardinia Park 15,651 21 August 1965
Richmond 14.8 (92) Carlton 10.9 (69) MCG 40,576 21 August 1965

Round 18

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
North Melbourne 11.12 (78) Richmond 6.12 (48) City of Coburg Oval 11,867 28 August 1965
Fitzroy 16.6 (102) St Kilda 19.13 (127) Brunswick Street Oval 15,782 28 August 1965
Carlton 10.9 (69) Essendon 9.6 (60) Princes Park 26,267 28 August 1965
Hawthorn 10.9 (69) Geelong 17.20 (122) Glenferrie Oval 15,106 28 August 1965
Melbourne 10.12 (72) Footscray 10.15 (75) MCG 19,532 28 August 1965
South Melbourne 13.16 (94) Collingwood 12.6 (78) Lake Oval 28,860 28 August 1965

Ladder

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(P) Premiers
Qualified for finals
# Team P W L D PF PA % Pts
1 St Kilda 18 14 4 0 1573 1154 136.3 56
2 Collingwood 18 13 5 0 1473 1131 130.2 52
3 Geelong 18 13 5 0 1319 1088 121.2 52
4 Essendon (P) 18 12 6 0 1465 1102 132.9 48
5 Richmond 18 10 8 0 1561 1249 125.0 40
6 Carlton 18 10 8 0 1317 1190 110.7 40
7 Melbourne 18 10 8 0 1265 1315 96.2 40
8 South Melbourne 18 9 9 0 1386 1550 89.4 36
9 North Melbourne 18 5 13 0 1143 1415 80.8 20
10 Footscray 18 4 14 0 1010 1310 77.1 16
11 Fitzroy 18 4 14 0 1114 1580 70.5 16
12 Hawthorn 18 4 14 0 1200 1742 68.9 16

Rules for classification: 1. premiership points; 2. percentage; 3. points for
Average score: 73.3
Source: AFL Tables

Finals series

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Semi-finals

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Team 1 Qtr 2 Qtr 3 Qtr Final
Geelong 2.0 4.3 6.8 7.9 (51)
Essendon 3.5 8.14 10.16 14.19 (103)
Attendance: 89,833
Team 1 Qtr 2 Qtr 3 Qtr Final
St Kilda 2.7 6.14 11.22 13.24 (102)
Collingwood 5.5 8.7 11.10 14.17 (101)
Attendance: 98,385

Preliminary final

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Team 1 Qtr 2 Qtr 3 Qtr Final
Collingwood 1.0 3.0 4.4 6.6 (42)
Essendon 3.6 5.9 10.10 14.13 (97)
Attendance: 95,386

Grand final

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Team 1 Qtr 2 Qtr 3 Qtr Final
St Kilda 1.6 4.8 5.11 9.16 (70)
Essendon 2.7 5.10 10.18 14.21 (105)
Attendance: 104,846

Night Series Competition

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The night series were held under the floodlights at Lake Oval, South Melbourne, for the teams (5th to 12th on ladder) out of the finals at the end of the season.

Final: North Melbourne 14.13 (97) defeated Carlton 9.3 (57).

Season notes

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  • Melbourne's 1964 premiership captain Ron Barassi was cleared to Carlton as captain/coach, one of the most significant player transfers in the Coulter Law era.
  • Three teams moved their home grounds in 1965:
  • In the Round 2 match against Essendon, Hawthorn forward Garry Young sustained a painful injury from a hard knock. Hawthorn captain Graham Arthur stood over him and said "Get up you weak bastard", and Young returned to the play and did his best to continue. Eventually he left the ground and went to hospital where it was discovered that he had a perforated bowel and peritonitis, both of which are life-threatening conditions. He never played again.
  • In Round 6, Essendon forward Geoff Gosper was the first VFL player to play with a mouthguard.
  • Victoria played two interstate matches against South Australia during the season. On Saturday 19 June, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Victoria won 19.17 (131) to 9.18 (72); on 10 July, in Adelaide, South Australia won 12.11 (83) to 3.1 (19).
  • After opening the season with eight consecutive wins, Melbourne fell to 9–3 after Round 12, then sacked coach Norm Smith. He was reinstated before Round 14, but Smith had also been unhappy about his lack of support from the Melbourne Football Club in the libel case that had been brought against him by VFL umpire Don Blew in the late 1964. The sacking is said to have given rise to a sports curse, which saw Melbourne miss the finals for the first time since 1953 (after a twelve-year period under Smith which had netted six premierships), fail to reach another finals series until 1987, and fail to win another premiership until 2021.
  • St Kilda played in a Grand Final for the first time since 1913.
  • Essendon's half-forward flanker John Somerville was felled behind play in first 10 minutes of the 1965 Preliminary Final. His opponent for the day, Collingwood's Duncan Wright, was never selected to play for Collingwood again. The field umpire, Ron Brophy, was never selected to umpire a VFL match again. (See Duncan Wright and John Somerville.)

Awards

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  • The 1965 VFL Premiership team was Essendon.
  • Hawthorn won the "wooden spoon" for 1965. As of 2024, this remains the club's latest wooden spoon.
  • The VFL's leading goalkicker was John Peck of Hawthorn who kicked 56 goals; he was the third player to win the goalkicking when his team won the "wooden spoon", the first since Roy Park of University in 1913 and the last until Brendan Fevola in 2006.[6]
  • The winner of the 1965 Brownlow Medal was Ian Stewart of St Kilda with 20 votes; he won on a count-back from Noel Teasdale of North Melbourne.
    • As a consequence of its 1981 decision to change its rules relating to tied Brownlow Medal contests, the AFL awarded a retrospective medal to Teasdale in 1989.
  • The reserves premiership was won by Collingwood. Collingwood 16.9 (105) defeated Geelong 10.20 (80) in the Grand Final, held as a curtain-raiser to the seniors Grand Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 25 September.[7]

References

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  1. ^ "North gets lease". The Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne. 30 March 1965. p. 51.
  2. ^ "North can have a new oval". The Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne. 3 November 1964. p. 34.
  3. ^ "Coburg to drop stand?". The Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne. 28 September 1965. p. 51.
  4. ^ "North to quit Coburg". The Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne. 29 September 1965. p. 52.
  5. ^ "New den for the Tigers". The Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne. 4 November 1964. p. 64.
  6. ^ Dampney, James (21 August 2013). "King of the Kids". Greater Western Sydney Giants. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  7. ^ Rex Pullen (27 September 1965). "Magpies in clear win". The Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne. p. 42.

Sources

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