The1973 VFL season was the 77th season of theVictorian Football League (VFL), the highest level seniorAustralian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 7 April until 29 September, and comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top five clubs.

The premiership was won by theRichmond Football Club for the eighth time, after it defeatedCarlton by 30 points in the1973 VFL Grand Final.

One of the most significant innovations that came into force in 1973 was the implementation of a painted centre diamond area with 45-metre long sides, with a maximum of four players from each team permitted to stand within the diamond at centre bounces.^[1] Following a long period of lobbying by the VFL to theAustralian Football Council for its introduction, the centre diamond was initially subject to a 12-month trial period. The purpose of this innovation was to try and solve the problem of congestion at centre bounces, as well as giving skilled players more space to benefit their teams.^[2]

The home-and-away season consisted of 22 rounds, with teams facing each other twice; matches 12 to 22 were the "home-and-away reverse" of matches 1 to 11. At the conclusion of the home-and-away fixtures, the 1973 VFLPremiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the"McIntyre final five system".

Rules for classification: 1. premiership points; 2. percentage; 3. points for
Average score: 95.5
Source:AFL Tables

• The VFL introduced a new clearance system, "10-year rule", in order to render the VFL immune from the sorts of "restraint of trade" difficulties that were being experienced, at the time, in New South Wales in relation to Rugby League footballers, whereby any VFL player who had played ten years with a single club was eligible for a free transfer to the club of his choice.
  • Although twenty-two VFL players were eligible to do so, only six players,George Bisset (Footscray to Collingwood),Barry Davis (Essendon to North Melbourne),Carl Ditterich (St Kilda to Melbourne),Adrian Gallagher (Carlton to Footscray),John Rantall (South Melbourne to North Melbourne), andDoug Wade (Geelong to North Melbourne) took advantage of the new rule. The rule was rescinded in May 1973.
  • The newNorth Melbourne coachRon Barassi recruited champion half-backsBarry Davis (who had already played 218 games forEssendon),John Rantall (who had already played 174 games forSouth Melbourne), and champion full-forwardDoug Wade (who had already played 208 games forGeelong). North Melbourne improved from last place in 1972 to sixth in 1973.
• In Round 11Kevin Murray played his 300th game forFitzroy.
• In Round 21,Hawthorn full-forwardPeter Hudson, who had been injured in Round 1 of1972, returned to the VFL. He beat four opponents and kicked 8 goals.
• In Round 22,Hawthorn hosted its last seniorVFL football match atGlenferrie Oval. The ground was notable for its temperamental playing surface and narrow flanks (wedged between the railway line on the one side and houses on the other). The venue had long been described by football fans as "the sardine can."Hawthorn subsequently played its home games atPrinces Park for the next eighteen seasons.
• TheRichmond Football Club won the premiership in all grades in 1973: its Senior Team, Reserves Team and Under-19 team all won their Grand Finals at theMelbourne Cricket Ground on Grand Final Day; and the Essex Heights Football Club, which served as Richmond's Under-17 team, won the South-East Suburban League premiership.^[4]

• The 1973 VFL Premiership team wasRichmond.
• TheVFL's leading goalkicker wasPeter McKenna ofCollingwood who kicked 84 goals (including 2 goals in the finals).
• The winner of the 1973Brownlow Medal wasKeith Greig ofNorth Melbourne with 27 votes.
• South Melbourne took the "wooden spoon" in 1973.
• The reserves premiership was won byRichmond. Richmond 17.18 (120) defeatedGeelong 8.12 (60) in the grand final, held as a curtain-raiser to the seniors Grand Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 29 September.^[5]

• Hogan, P.,The Tigers of Old, The Richmond Football Club, (Richmond), 1996.ISBN 0-646-18748-1
• Maplestone, M.,Flying Higher: History of the Essendon Football Club 1872–1996, Essendon Football Club, (Melbourne), 1996.ISBN 0-9591740-2-8
• Rogers, S. & Brown, A.,Every Game Ever Played: VFL/AFL Results 1897–1997 (Sixth Edition), Viking Books, (Ringwood), 1998.ISBN 0-670-90809-6
• 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.ISBN 0-670-86814-0

• 1973 VFL season at AFL Tables
• 1973 VFL season at Australian Football

• 1973 VFL season
• Australian Football League seasons
• 1973 in Australian men's sport
• 1973 in Australian rules football

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