Lake Oval · Sat 31 Jul 1971 · 7,938 in attendance
| Team | QT | HT | 3QT | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SydneySYD | 4.4 | 6.4 | 9.5 | 86 |
| EssendonESS | 1.2 | 8.10 | 9.12 | 96 |
Quarter figures cumulative · goals.behinds. Final = 86 and 96.
Essendon won by 10 points.
13.8 (86) — 13.18 (96)
Full listed players, ordered by disposals then goals.
| Player | K | H | D | M | T | G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Pitura | 22 | 4 | 26 | 6 | — | 2 |
| Bob Skilton | 24 | 2 | 26 | 3 | — | 0 |
| Steve Hoffman | 17 | 4 | 21 | 1 | — |
| 3 |
| David Droscher | 12 | 6 | 18 | 1 | — | 2 |
| John Rantall | 15 | 3 | 18 | 5 | — | 0 |
| Wayne Walsh | 16 | 2 | 18 | 8 | — | 0 |
| Russell McHenry | 14 | 4 | 18 | 1 | — | 0 |
| Reg Gleeson | 13 | 3 | 16 | 10 | — | 0 |
| Robert Hay | 15 | 1 | 16 | 5 | — | 0 |
| Bruce Davis | 13 | 3 | 16 | 3 | — | 0 |
| John Murphy | 11 | 3 | 14 | 1 | — | 0 |
| Robert Doyle | 12 | 2 | 14 | 5 | — | 0 |
| Peter Bedford | 10 | 3 | 13 | 3 | — | 4 |
| Tony Haenen | 7 | 4 | 11 | 0 | — | 1 |
| Peter Brown | 10 | 0 | 10 | 4 | — | 0 |
| Ray Ball | 8 | 1 | 9 | 2 | — | 0 |
| Fred Way | 6 | 2 | 8 | 1 | — | 0 |
| Jim Prentice | 6 | 0 | 6 | 1 | — | 1 |
| Peter McCracken | 5 | 0 | 5 | 1 | — | 0 |
| Mick Pavone | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| Player | K | H | D | M | T | G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Williams | 24 | 2 | 26 | 9 | — | 0 |
| Bob Greenwood | 21 | 3 | 24 | 6 | — | 1 |
| Neville Fields | 21 | 1 | 22 | 4 | — | 0 |
| Barry Davis | 16 | 4 | 20 | 5 | — | 2 |
| Ken Fletcher | 18 | 0 | 18 | 4 | — | 0 |
| Robin Close | 10 | 6 | 16 | 6 | — | 2 |
| Eddie Lake | 12 | 4 | 16 | 3 | — | 0 |
| David Starbuck | 15 | 1 | 16 | 4 | — | 0 |
| Ian Payne | 14 | 2 | 16 | 5 | — | 0 |
| Allan Graco | 14 | 0 | 14 | 4 | — | 0 |
| Bruce Neish | 12 | 1 | 13 | 6 | — | 3 |
| Don McKenzie | 13 | 0 | 13 | 5 | — | 0 |
| Ken Roberts | 10 | 3 | 13 | 2 | — | 0 |
| Graeme Schultz | 7 | 4 | 11 | 2 | — | 2 |
| Stuart Barclay | 11 | 0 | 11 | 2 | — | 0 |
| Wayne Headlam | 9 | 2 | 11 | 6 | — | 0 |
| Alan Noonan | 8 | 2 | 10 | 3 | — | 3 |
| Gary Grainger | 3 | 5 | 8 | 4 | — | 0 |
| Peter Daniel | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 |
| Gary Parkes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |