The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 26 March until 24 September, and comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top five clubs.
Before the season, the South Melbourne Football Club, which had played its home games in Sydney, New South Wales, in 1982, formally relocated its operations to Sydney and was renamed the Sydney Swans.
North Melbourne broke the record for their highest League score in front of over 15,000 supporters at Arden Street Oval. After going into the main break with a 39-point lead and coach Barry Cable urging them be more ruthless, they piled on 12 goals in the third quarter to extend the lead to over 100 points. The play of brothers Jim and Phil Krakouer was a particular highlight, combining with Kym Hodgeman to kick 13 goals between them.[1]
Playing in the forward pocket due to knee difficulties, Fitzroy captain Garry Wilson kicked six goals to help the Lions pull away to a 39-point win over Melbourne, who had stayed in the game for three-quarters despite missing a number of senior players and losing key forward Kelvin Templeton as a late withdrawal.[2]
In Round 4, St Kilda played Paul Morwood, Jack Lynch and Silvio Foschini without their clearances from the Sydney Swans being finalised. Had they beaten Geelong, they would have forfeited the points under the laws at the time.
North Melbourne's 150-point loss to Fitzroy in Round 13 more than doubled the previous biggest loss by a minor premier of 69 points, which had occurred in 1952 and 1974.
In Fitzroy's Round 17 game with St Kilda, a record quarter aggregate of 19.7 (121) – Fitzroy 12.6 (78), St. Kilda 7.1 (43) – was kicked during the second quarter.
In Round 19, Kevin Bartlett became the first player to play 400 VFL games, after having in Round 11 of 1981 become the first to reach 350 games.
The reserves premiership was won by Essendon. Essendon 19.14 (128) defeated Collingwood 15.9 (99) in the grand final, held as a curtain-raiser to the seniors Grand Final on 24 September.[3]
References
^"Roos run up record score". The Canberra Times. Vol. 57, no. 17, 395. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 15 May 1983. p. 6 (SPORT). Retrieved 1 June 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Captain inspires Lions". The Canberra Times. Vol. 57, no. 17, 395. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 15 May 1983. p. 6 (SPORT). Retrieved 1 June 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Grand final scores". The Age. Melbourne. 26 September 1983. p. 25.
Stephen Rodgers: Every Game Ever Played VFL/AFL Results 1897–1991 3rd Edition 1992. Penguin Books Australia ISBN0-670-90526-7.
