1923 VFL Grand Final

1923 VFL Grand Final
8.15 (63)	6.10 (46)
Date	20 October 1923
Stadium	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Attendance	46,566
Umpires	Alec Mutch

The 1923 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Essendon Football Club and Fitzroy Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 20 October 1923. It was the 27th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1923 VFL season. The match, attended by 46,566 spectators, was won by Essendon by a margin of 17 points, marking that club's fifth premiership victory.

The match was scheduled to take place a week earlier but was postponed as the ground had been flooded after heavy rain. As a result, this Grand Final coincided with the Caulfield Cup.

Fitzroy were the reigning premiers, while Essendon had not won a premiership since 1912. Essendon were known at this time as the "Mosquito Fleet" due to their large number of small and pacey players such as Charlie Hardy and George Shorten.

George Rawle made his VFL debut in the Grand Final.

Score

Team	1	2	3	Final
Essendon	3.2	4.10	6.13	8.15 (63)
Fitzroy	3.3	5.5	5.9	6.10 (46)

Teams

Essendon

Fitzroy

Essendon
B:	Vince Irwin	Fred Baring	Clyde Donaldson
HB:	Joe Harrison	Tom Fitzmaurice	Roy Laing
C:	Jack Garden	Charlie May	Rowley Watt
HF:	Tommy Jenkins	Justin McCarthy	George Shorten
F:	Syd Barker (c)	Greg Stockdale	Charlie Hardy
Foll:	Norm Beckton	George Rawle	Frank Maher
Res:
Coach:	Syd Barker

Fitzroy
B:	Jim Atkinson	Horrie Jenkin	Len Wigraft
HB:	Jim Tarbotton	Stan Molan	Ern Elliot
C:	Arch Dickens	Tommy Corrigan	Clarrie Sherry
HF:	Percy Parratt	Norm Cockram	Gordon Rattray (c)
F:	Les Bryant	Jimmy Freake	Harold Carter
Foll:	Gordon McCracken	Goldie Collins	Clive Fergie
Res:
Coach:	Vic Belcher

Umpire – Alec Mutch

Statistics

Essendon FC, Premier team

Goalkickers

Essendon:

Maher 2
McCarthy 2
Stockdale 2
Jenkins 1
Shorten 1

Fitzroy:

Freake 4
Carter 1
Rattray 1

Attendance

MCG crowd – 46,566

References

1923 VFL Grand Final statistics
The Official statistical history of the AFL 2004
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

Essendon Football Club 1923 VFL premiers
Essendon 8.15 (63) defeated Fitzroy 6.10 (46), at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
1. Barker (c) 2. Donaldson 3. Beckton 5. Baring 6. Fitzmaurice 6. Rawle 10. Watt 13. Harrison 14. May 15. Laing 16. McCarthy 18. Irwin 21. Jenkins 24. Maher 25. Stockdale 28. Garden 30. Shorten 33. Hardy
Coach: Barker

Essendon Football Club
Nickname: Bombers History Premierships Records Players Captains Coaches Honours W. S. Crichton Medal Leading goalkickers AFL coach: Ben Rutten AFL captain: Dyson Heppell
VFL/AFL home grounds	East Melbourne Cricket Ground (1897–1921) Windy Hill (1922–1991) Melbourne Cricket Ground (1992–) Docklands Stadium (2000–)
VFL/AFL premierships (16)	1897 1901 1911 1912 1923 1924 1942 1946 1949 1950 1962 1965 1984 1985 1993 2000
Seasons (140)	1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Related articles	Anzac Day match Archer–Hird Medal Carlton–Essendon rivalry Dreamtime at the 'G Line in the sand match Round 16, 2001 comeback vs. North Melbourne Supplements saga The Hangar
Essendon did not participate in the 1916 and 1917 VFL seasons due to the First World War (indicated in grey)

Fitzroy Football Club
History Records Players Captains Coaches Honour roll Team of the Century Mitchell Medal Leading goalkickers
Home grounds	Brunswick Street Oval (1884–1966) Princes Park (1967–1969, 1987–1993) Junction Oval (1970–1984) Victoria Park (1985–1986) Western Oval (1994–1996)
Premierships (9)	1895 1898 1899 1904 1905 1913 1916 1922 1944
Seasons (113)	1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996
Related articles	Brisbane Lions Fitzroy Bulldogs North Fitzroy Kangaroos Proposed mergers and relocations of the Fitzroy Football Club
Fitzroy Football Club merged with the Brisbane Bears in 1996 to form the Brisbane Lions

Australian Football League
Clubs	Adelaide Brisbane Lions Carlton Collingwood Essendon Fremantle Geelong Gold Coast Greater Western Sydney Hawthorn Melbourne North Melbourne Port Adelaide Richmond St Kilda Sydney West Coast Western Bulldogs
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Grand finals	1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
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Major recurring events	AFL finals series AFL Grand Final Anzac Day Eve match Anzac Day match Dreamtime at the 'G Easter Monday clash E. J. Whitten Legends Game Len Hall Tribute game Opening game QClash Queen's Birthday match Showdown Sydney Derby Western Derby
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Related articles	AFL Coaches Association AFL Commission AFL Players Association AFL Record AFL Umpires Association AFL Women's AFLX Carlton salary cap breach Current coaches Essendon supplements saga First kick/first goal kickers Grand Final location debate History Individual match awards International Rules Series Kennett curse Melbourne tanking scandal Minor premiers Premiers Premiership captains/coaches Premiership/grand final statistics Proposed clubs Tasmanian AFL bid Records Reserves affiliations Rivalries Television shows Video games Wooden spoons 200-game players for one club 300-game players 500-goal players
Known as the Victorian Football League from 1897–1989; no grand finals were held in 1897 and 1924