1953 VFL grand final

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

The 1953 VFL Grand Final was played on 26 September at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, with 89,149 fans watching Geelong play Collingwood. Collingwood won by 12 points, 11.11 (77) to Geelong’s 8.17 (65), earning their 12th premiership.

Geelong were aiming for three straight flags after winning in 1951 and 1952, but Collingwood had prevented Geelong’s 23-game winning streak earlier in the season (Round 14) and beat Geelong again in both the Semi Final and the Grand Final.

Geelong had the better final quarter, but struggled to convert their chances. Injuries hurt both sides: Collingwood’s full-back Jack Hamilton and Geelong’s Russell Middlemiss did not play. In the game, Collingwood started strong and led at quarter time. The second quarter saw Collingwood, thanks to accurate kicking from Batchelor and Rose, take a solid lead. In the third quarter Collingwood widened the margin after Geelong’s ruckman Bill McMaster was injured and replaced by Renfrey, creating a hole in Geelong’s attack. Geelong pressed in the final term but could not close the gap, and a late goal by Rose sealed the win for Collingwood.