Grand Final, 1973
| Venue: M.C.G. | Date: Saturday September 29, 1973 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Result: Lose by 30 points | Umpire: Ian Robinson | Crowd: 116,956 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Goalkickers: K. Hall 2, G.Crane 2, D.Dickson 2, R.Walls 2, D.McKay 2, J.Nicholls, N.Chandler. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Best: G.Crane, R.Walls, D.McKay, K.Hall, J.Waite, B.Doull, P.Pinnell, A.Jesaulenko. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Reports: | Injuries: J.Nicholls, G. Southby (concussion). | |||||||||||||||||||
Game Review
Richmond were bent on revenge for their '72 Grand Final loss, and achieved it after a sometimes brutal physical assault. In the first minutes, John Nicholls was hit in a heavy shirt-front by Richmond's Laurie Fowler, while Geoff Southby was felled in the second quarter by a swinging right arm to the head from Neil Balme - a blow that was later found to have broken Southby's jaw. Both Blues were heavily concussed, and took little further part in the match. Vinny Catoggio, Kevin Hall and Alex Jesaulenko also came in for some heavy physical punishment.
Even so, Carlton - inspired by the courage and determination of wingman Garry Crane, battled to within 18 points of Richmond in the last term, but couldn't bridge the gap which blew out to five goals on the siren.
Team
| B: | 26 Ray Byrne | 20 Geoff Southby | 30 Vin Waite |
| HB: | 3 Kevin Hall | 11 Bruce Doull | 15 Phil Pinnell |
| C: | 17 Brent Crosswell | 19 John O'Connell | 6 Garry Crane |
| HF: | 27 David Dickson | 42 Robert Walls (vc) | 25 Alex Jesaulenko (dvc) |
| F: | 2 John Nicholls (cc) | 23 Craig Davis | 4 Vin Catoggio |
| Ruck: | 28 Peter Jones | 43 David McKay | 18 Brian Walsh |
| Res: | 32 Bryan Quirk | 22 Neil Chandler | |
| Coach: | John Nicholls | ||
Milestones
Last game: Kevin Hall
Losing Streaks: This loss marked the beginning of a record equalling run of 5 consecutive finals losses for the Blues
Video
Gallery
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1973 GF - A concussed Big Nick. -
1973 GF - A groggy Geoff Southby. -
1973 GF - Alex Jesaulenko. -
1973 GF - Big Nick at the coin toss. -
1973 GF - Brian Walsh fumbles ball with Big Nick holding back the tide. -
1973 GF - Craig Davis takes a strong mark. -
1973 GF - Craig Davis. -
1973 GF - David McKay in ruck duel. -
1973 GF - David McKay spoils Brian Roberts. -
1973 GF - David McKay spoils from behind. -
1973 GF - Davis fights for the ball with Dickson in support. -
1973 GF - Footy Record Cover. -
1973 GF - Garry Crane: Carlton's best player. -
1973 GF - Geoff Southby spoils a marking contest. -
1973 GF - Jezza pressuring Michael Green. -
1973 GF - John Nicholls is hit by Lawrie Fowler. -
1973 GF - Match Preview Vs Richmond. -
1973 GF - Nicholls knocks the ball towards Catoggio & Davis. -
1973 GF - Percy Jones. -
1973 GF - Player Performance Review. -
1973 GF - Player Profiles. -
1973 GF - Southby & Waite spoil the pack. -
1973 GF - Team List & Selections (pg 1 of 2). -
1973 GF - Team List & Selections (pg 2 of 2). -
1973 GF - The Earth Moved (Big Nick KO'd). -
1973 GF - Tigers get revenge. -
1973 GF - Vin Catoggio. -
1973 GF - Vin Waite.Pic: Inside Football. -
1973 GF - Vin Waite. -
1973 GF Heartbreak - Trevor Keogh. -
1973 Grand Final Brent Crosswell -
1973 Grand Final Ray Byrne With Kevin Bartlett -
1973 Grand Final WEG PosterSam Docherty 2025 -
1973 Grand Final - Aerial shot of the ground. -
1973 Grand Final - Aerial shot of the MCG. -
1973 Grand Final - Alex Jesaulenko flies for a big mark. -
1973 Grand Final - Brian Walsh. -
1973 Grand Final - David McKay wins hit out watched by David Walls. -
1973 Grand Final - Geoff Southby flies for a mark. -
1973 Grand Final - Geoff Southby spoils the pack. -
1973 Grand Final - John Nicholls bump. -
1973 Grand Final - John Nicholls with the trainers. -
1973 Grand Final - John Nicholls. -
1973 Grand Final - John O'Connell. -
1973 Grand Final - Kevin Hall. -
1973 Grand Final - man by man ratings. -
1973 Grand Final - Match Report. -
1973 Grand Final - Phil Pinnell & Kevin Sheedy. -
1973 Grand Final - Vin Waite and Phil Pinnell. -
1973 Grand Final Match Review.
