The 1948 VFA season was the 67th season of the Victorian Football Association (VFA), an Australian rules football competition played in the state of Victoria.
| 1948 VFA premiership season | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 12 |
| Premiers | Brighton 1st premiership |
| Minor premiers | Williamstown 3rd minor premiership |
Brighton won the VFA premiership for the first and only time, defeating Williamstown by nine points in the 1948 VFA Grand Final.
Ladder
editThe home-and-home season was played over twenty matches, before the top four clubs contested a finals series under the Page–McIntyre system to determine the premiers for the season.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | PF | PA | PP | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Williamstown | 20 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 2133 | 1543 | 138.2 | 64 |
| 2 | Brunswick | 20 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 2217 | 1712 | 129.5 | 64 |
| 3 | Brighton (P) | 20 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 2313 | 2037 | 113.5 | 52 |
| 4 | Northcote | 20 | 12 | 8 | 0 | 1925 | 1724 | 111.7 | 48 |
| 5 | Oakleigh | 20 | 12 | 8 | 0 | 2167 | 1972 | 109.9 | 48 |
| 6 | Preston | 20 | 12 | 8 | 0 | 2146 | 1971 | 108.9 | 48 |
| 7 | Camberwell | 20 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 1957 | 2052 | 95.4 | 40 |
| 8 | Sandringham | 19 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 1900 | 2240 | 84.8 | 28 |
| 9 | Coburg | 19 | 6 | 13 | 0 | 1939 | 2128 | 91.1 | 24 |
| 10 | Prahran | 20 | 6 | 14 | 0 | 2005 | 2339 | 85.7 | 24 |
| 11 | Port Melbourne | 20 | 5 | 15 | 0 | 1968 | 2412 | 81.6 | 20 |
| 12 | Yarraville | 20 | 4 | 16 | 0 | 1850 | 2390 | 77.4 | 16 |
Finals
editSemi-finals
edit| Semifinals | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 18 September | Brighton 17.23 (125) | def. | Northcote 12.13 (85) | St Kilda Cricket Ground (crowd: 12,000) | [2] |
| Saturday, 25 September | Williamstown 17.13 (115) | def. | Brunswick 9.20 (74) | St Kilda Cricket Ground (crowd: 15,000) | [3] |
Preliminary final
edit| Preliminary final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 2 October | Brunswick 12.14 (86) | def. by | Brighton 14.16 (100) | St Kilda Cricket Ground (crowd: 11,000) | [4] |
Grand Final
edit| 1948 VFA Grand Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 9 October | Williamstown | def. by | Brighton | St Kilda Cricket Ground (crowd: 18,000[5]) | [6] |
| 4.3 (27) 7.4 (46) 9.6 (60) 13.7 (85) |
Q1 Q2 Q3 Final |
2.4 (16) 7.7 (49) 10.10 (70) 13.16 (94) |
Umpires: Merrington | ||
| MacPherson 3, Redmond 3, Salvas 3, Matthews 2, Peacock, Todd | Goals | Douglas 4, Warburton 3, Burke 2, Heims 2, Adamson, McIndoe | |||
Awards
edit- The leading goalkicker for the home-and-home season was Ray Potter (Preston), who kicked 84 goals in the season.[1]
- The J. J. Liston Trophy was won by Rus McIndoe (Brighton), who polled 44 votes. Jack Blackman (Preston) was second with 38 votes and Reg Shaw (Brunswick) was third with 28 votes.[7]
- Williamstown won the seconds premiership. Williamstown 15.16 (106) defeated Oakleigh 14.18 (102) in the Grand Final, played as a curtain raiser to the firsts Grand Final on 9 October.[6]
Notable events
edit- On 26 June, Sandringham 11.11 (77) defeated Coburg 9.20 (74); but, Coburg protested the result due to a timekeeping error which had resulted in the final quarter being played five minutes short. The Association quashed the result of the match, and determined that a replay should be played if the match were to have an influence on the final four. Both teams were ultimately well out of finals contention, so the replay was not held, and the teams are credited with playing only nineteen matches for the season.[8]
- Prahran played most of its home matches at Elsternwick Park during the year, sharing the ground with Brighton, because Toorak Park was unavailable due to top-dressing after the first few weeks of the season.[9]
- Preston missed the finals on percentage, after losing its last home-and-home match to wooden-spooner Yarraville by one point, 16.10 (106) def. by 15.17 (107).[1]
- The 1948 VFL Grand Final was drawn, so the Association Grand Final was played on the same day as the League Grand Final Replay. The Association considered postponing its Grand Final by a week to avoid competing for the gate, but the motion was defeated 12–8.[10]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c Follower (13 September 1948). "Yarraville's win lets Northcote into four". The Age. Melbourne. p. 8.
- ^ Follower (20 September 1948). "Brighton's last-term runaway". The Age. Melbourne. p. 8.
- ^ Follower (27 September 1948). "Greater dash wins for Williamstown". The Age. Melbourne. p. 8.
- ^ Follower (4 October 1948). "Brighton's pennant chance". The Age. Melbourne. p. 8.
- ^ "Brighton wins first VFA premiership". The Argus. Melbourne. 11 October 1948. p. 15.
- ^ a b Follower (11 October 1948). "Courage and stamina gave Brighton win". The Age. Melbourne. p. 8.
- ^ "Brighton rover is best and fairest in VFA". The Argus. Melbourne. 14 September 1948. p. 12.
- ^ "Replay in V.F.A. game if needed". The Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne. 13 July 1948. p. 12.
- ^ "Elsternwick Park for Prahran FC". The Argus. Melbourne. 6 March 1948. p. 24.
- ^ Follower (5 October 1948). "No postponement of V.F.A. Grand Final". The Age. Melbourne. p. 8.