Grand Finals Vol II: 1939-1978

There is no greater prize in Australian team sport than the VFL/AFL premiership flag. Premiership players are forever recognised and the deeds of their teams long celebrated. This book, the second in a three-volume series, recounts in detail the stories surrounding players, coaches and matches between 1939 and 1978, and explores key events that helped shape premiership teams during those years. The Grand Finals themselves are also recounted in great detail and key season statistics are also featured at the end of each chapter. Chapters include: an analysis of Melbourne's historic three in-a-row win in 1941 against the backdrop of World War II; Fitzroy's eighth and last premiership in 1944; the thrillingly close Carlton versus Essendon Grand Final of 1947; Geelong's rise to supremacy in 1952; the 1958 season when Collingwood came from nowhere to claim the premiership; coach John Kennedy's reign at Hawthorn, which saw 5000 supporters celebrate the club's first premiership at Glenferrie Oval in 1961; a look at the new and improved Carlton team who, under the guidance of Ron Barassi, hung on to win in 1968; the controversial 1973 final between Richmond and Carlton; and North Melbourne's fight through five consecutive finals to claim the flag in 1977.