Lake Oval · Sat 1 Jul 1972 · 12,984 in attendance
| Team | QT | HT | 3QT | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SydneySYD | 3.1 | 6.5 | 9.8 | 84 |
| EssendonESS | 6.3 | 6.6 | 11.7 | 87 |
Quarter figures cumulative · goals.behinds. Final = 84 and 87.
Essendon won by 3 points.
12.12 (84) — 13.9 (87)
Full listed players, ordered by disposals then goals.
| Player | K | H | D | M | T | G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norm Goss | 21 | 3 | 24 | 2 | — | 3 |
| John Rantall | 21 | 0 | 21 | 7 | — | 0 |
| Reg Gleeson | 21 | 0 | 21 | 7 | — |
| 0 |
| Shane McKew | 18 | 2 | 20 | 5 | — | 0 |
| Peter Bedford | 13 | 5 | 18 | 1 | — | 2 |
| Steve Hoffman | 11 | 5 | 16 | 3 | — | 3 |
| Eric Moore | 16 | 0 | 16 | 4 | — | 2 |
| Ricky Quade | 14 | 1 | 15 | 3 | — | 0 |
| John Murphy | 12 | 2 | 14 | 1 | — | 0 |
| John Pitura | 14 | 0 | 14 | 5 | — | 0 |
| Garry Robertson | 12 | 2 | 14 | 2 | — | 0 |
| Russell Cook | 13 | 0 | 13 | 11 | — | 0 |
| Jim Prentice | 11 | 1 | 12 | 4 | — | 0 |
| George Lakes | 10 | 1 | 11 | 2 | — | 1 |
| Robert Doyle | 8 | 0 | 8 | 3 | — | 0 |
| Gary Brice | 5 | 2 | 7 | 0 | — | 1 |
| Stephen Officer | 7 | 0 | 7 | 4 | — | 0 |
| Ray Ball | 7 | 0 | 7 | 2 | — | 0 |
| Bruce Davis | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 0 |
| Neville Miller | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 0 |
| Player | K | H | D | M | T | G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Len Halley | 19 | 5 | 24 | 5 | — | 0 |
| Neville Fields | 21 | 2 | 23 | 2 | — | 1 |
| Des Tuddenham | 16 | 2 | 18 | 5 | — | 1 |
| John Williams | 14 | 4 | 18 | 4 | — | 0 |
| Graeme Schultz | 15 | 2 | 17 | 3 | — | 2 |
| Ken Fletcher | 17 | 0 | 17 | 3 | — | 0 |
| Barry Grinter | 13 | 4 | 17 | 6 | — | 0 |
| Alan Noonan | 10 | 6 | 16 | 2 | — | 1 |
| Darryl Gerlach | 13 | 1 | 14 | 6 | — | 0 |
| Ken Roberts | 11 | 3 | 14 | 5 | — | 0 |
| Greg Perry | 12 | 1 | 13 | 4 | — | 2 |
| Laurie Moloney | 12 | 1 | 13 | 3 | — | 0 |
| Gary Parkes | 11 | 1 | 12 | 2 | — | 1 |
| Barry Davis | 10 | 2 | 12 | 3 | — | 0 |
| Don McKenzie | 10 | 2 | 12 | 1 | — | 0 |
| Geoff Blethyn | 8 | 0 | 8 | 5 | — | 3 |
| Robin Close | 7 | 1 | 8 | 4 | — | 2 |
| Peter Daniel | 8 | 0 | 8 | 4 | — | 0 |
| Andrew Wilson | 7 | 0 | 7 | 1 | — | 0 |
| Charlie Payne | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |