| 1968 VFL premiership season | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 12 |
| Premiers | Carlton 9th premiership |
| Minor premiers | Essendon 10th minor premiership |
| Consolation series | Hawthorn 1st Consolation series win |
| Brownlow Medallist | Bob Skilton (South Melbourne) |
| Coleman Medallist | Peter Hudson (Hawthorn) |
| Matches played | 124 |
| Highest | 116,828 |
The 1968 VFL season was the 72nd season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 15 April until 28 September, and comprised a 20-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top four clubs.
The premiership was won by the Carlton Football Club for the ninth time, after it defeated Essendon by three points in the 1968 VFL Grand Final.
In 1968, the VFL competition consisted of twelve teams of 18 on-the-field players each, plus two substitute players, known as the 19th man and the 20th man. A player could be substituted for any reason; however, once substituted, a player could not return to the field of play under any circumstances.
Teams played each other in a home-and-away season of 20 rounds; matches 12 to 20 were the "home-and-way reverse" of matches 1 to 9.
Once the 20 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1968 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the Page–McIntyre system.
| (P) | Premiers |
| Qualified for finals |
| # | Team | P | W | L | D | PF | PA | % | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Essendon | 20 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 1860 | 1428 | 130.3 | 66 |
| 2 | Carlton (P) | 20 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 1751 | 1343 | 130.4 | 60 |
| 3 | Geelong | 20 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 1528 | 1431 | 106.8 | 60 |
| 4 | St Kilda | 20 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 1718 | 1263 | 136.0 | 58 |
| 5 | Richmond | 20 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 1889 | 1536 | 123.0 | 56 |
| 6 | Hawthorn | 20 | 9 | 10 | 1 | 1934 | 1869 | 103.5 | 38 |
| 7 | Collingwood | 20 | 9 | 11 | 0 | 1623 | 1717 | 94.5 | 36 |
| 8 | Melbourne | 20 | 8 | 12 | 0 | 1434 | 1709 | 83.9 | 32 |
| 9 | South Melbourne | 20 | 6 | 13 | 1 | 1639 | 1954 | 83.9 | 26 |
| 10 | Footscray | 20 | 5 | 15 | 0 | 1413 | 1710 | 82.6 | 20 |
| 11 | Fitzroy | 20 | 4 | 16 | 0 | 1643 | 2035 | 80.7 | 16 |
| 12 | North Melbourne | 20 | 3 | 17 | 0 | 1266 | 1703 | 74.3 | 12 |
Rules for classification: 1. premiership points; 2. percentage; 3. points for
Average score: 82.1
Source: AFL Tables
| Team | 1 Qtr | 2 Qtr | 3 Qtr | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geelong | 4.4 | 9.7 | 14.10 | 19.13 (127) |
| St Kilda | 2.4 | 4.10 | 8.13 | 11.17 (83) |
| Attendance: 98,885 | ||||
| Team | 1 Qtr | 2 Qtr | 3 Qtr | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essendon | 1.2 | 7.6 | 7.8 | 8.11 (59) |
| Carlton | 5.8 | 6.9 | 11.12 | 13.17 (95) |
| Attendance: 106,365 | ||||
| Team | 1 Qtr | 2 Qtr | 3 Qtr | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essendon | 3.6 | 7.10 | 10.18 | 11.25 (91) |
| Geelong | 5.3 | 8.6 | 8.10 | 9.13 (67) |
| Attendance: 103,549 | ||||
| Team | 1 Qtr | 2 Qtr | 3 Qtr | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlton | 2.2 | 6.8 | 7.9 | 7.14 (56) |
| Essendon | 2.1 | 5.1 | 6.4 | 8.5 (53) |
| Attendance: 116,917 | ||||
The consolation night series were held under the floodlights at Lake Oval, South Melbourne, for the teams (5th to 12th on ladder) out of the finals at the end of the home and away rounds.
Final: Hawthorn 16.15 (111) defeated North Melbourne 6.14 (50).