1975 VFL grand final

Background

Main article: 1975 VFL season

North Melbourne had finished runners up the previous season, having been defeated by Richmond in the 1974 VFL grand final, and were the only team never to have won a premiership. It was Hawthorn's first appearance in a grand final since defeating St Kilda in 1971.

North Melbourne lost six of the first nine games of the season before a form recovery which saw it win eleven of the next thirteen games. At the conclusion of the regular home-and-away season, Hawthorn finished first on the ladder with 17 wins and 5 losses, and North Melbourne had finished third (behind Carlton) with 14 wins and 8 losses.

In the finals series leading up to the grand final, North Melbourne defeated Carlton by 20 points in the qualifying final before being beaten by Hawthorn by 11 points in the second semi-final. They then met Richmond in the preliminary final which they won by 17 points to advance to the grand final. Hawthorn advanced straight to the grand final from their win in the second semi-final.

Hawthorn captain Peter Crimmins was not included Hawthorn's grand final team, having suffered testicular cancer through the year. He had not played a senior game since round 7, but declared himself fit having played after playing five reserves games, including one final. Both the selection committee and Hawthorn's supporters were divided over whether he should play, and ultimately the match committee decided against playing him, with coach John Kennedy admitting they were fearful a knock could affect him. As he explained later: "It was very hard, it was a unique situation ... Peter wanted to play. The committee was divided. He didn't play. We'll never know what might have happened if he had played."

Teams

;Umpires The umpiring panel for the match, comprising one field umpire, two boundary umpires and two goal umpires is given below. This was the last grand final with one field umpire officiating.

Numbers in brackets represent the number of grand finals umpired, including 1975.

Match summary

North Melbourne was on top from the beginning of the game, accumulating nine goals by half time to Hawthorn's five. After half time, North Melbourne dominated, with its last six goals of the match extending the margin from 24 points to 61. The final winning margin of 55 points was the greatest in a grand final since 1957.

Contributing strongly for North Melbourne were Brent Crosswell, John Rantall, Keith Greig, John Burns, David Dench, Mick Nolan, Sam Kekovich and Doug Wade. Arnold Briedis was North Melbourne's leading goalkicker, kicking five goals. Peter Knights stood out for Hawthorn.

The selection of full-forward Michael Cooke proved to be disastrous for Hawthorn. He had made his senior debut in the second semi-final, kicking four goals for which he kept his spot in the side. However, Cooke struggled in the grand final and was replaced without managing a kick. He never played another senior game.

Aftermath

For North Melbourne, it was the final league game for captain Barry Davis, full-forward Wade and the versatile Gary Farrant. It was also the last time John Rantall played with North Melbourne as he returned to South Melbourne the following season.

Trailing by 20 points at half time, Hawthorn coach John Kennedy's famously delivered his "Don't think, do" speech, an impassioned plea to his players before the second half. As he recalled, "It was born out of desperation. We had some academics in the team who did a lot of thinking, so I, more or less in exasperation, said 'Don't think, do!" Although the speech failed to rouse his team to victory, it remains one of the most famous events in Kennedy's coaching career.

The 1975 match was the first of three grand finals played between Hawthorn and North Melbourne over a four year period, the others played in 1976 and 1978.

Scorecard

Rowlings, K Matthews, Trott, Meagher, Scott '1 4 Burns, Wade 2 Schimmelbusch 1 Kekovich, Crosswell, Blight, Feltham

References

Bibliography

• Hutchinson, G. & Ross, J. (eds), The Clubs: The Complete History of Every Club in the VFL/AFL, Viking, (Ringwood), 1998.
• Ross, J. (ed), 100 Years of Australian Football 1897–1996: The Complete Story of the AFL, All the Big Stories, All the Great Pictures, All the Champions, Every AFL Season Reported, Viking, (Ringwood), 1996.

References

1. McFarlane, Glenn. (14 December 2008). "Hawthorn great John Kennedy still a grand master". The Herald Sun.
2. (13 June 2013). "Grand finals – AFLUA".
3. "Michael Cooke". AFL Tables.
4. Atkinson & Atkinson (2009), p. 320