| 1951 VFL Grand Final | ||||||||||||||||
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| Date | 29 September 1951 | |||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Melbourne Cricket Ground | |||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 84,109 | |||||||||||||||
The1951 VFL Grand Final was anAustralian rules football game contested between theGeelong Football Club andEssendon Football Club, held at theMelbourne Cricket Ground on 29 September 1951. It was the 54th annualGrand Final of theVictorian Football League, staged to determine thepremiers for the1951 VFL season.
The match, attended by 84,109 spectators, was won by Geelong by 11 points (the club's fourth premiership). The win by Geelong — its first since winning the1937 VFL Grand Final — capped off a brilliant season; the team won the Minor Premiership, its back-pocket,Bernie Smith, won theBrownlow Medal, and its full-forward,George Goninon, was the league's leading goalkicker.
Essendon went into the match without star full-forwardJohn Coleman who had been suspended in controversial circumstances for four matches. On the day of the match, champion ruckmanJohn Gill had a heavy cold and declared himself unfit to play. At the last minute, the Essendon coach,Dick Reynolds, who had retired the year before, was re-registered as a player;Fred Payne replaced Gill in the run-on team, and Reynolds became 19th Man.[1]
     Geelong |   Essendon |
| Team | 1 Qtr | 2 Qtr | 3 Qtr | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geelong | 3.8 (26) | 4.10 (34) | 9.13 (67) | 11.15 (81) |
| Essendon | 1.0 (6) | 6.2 (38) | 6.4 (40) | 10.10 (70) |
| Attendance: 85,795 |
Geelong:
| Essendon:
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