1965 VFA season

none December 2017 December 2017 1965 170 432,000The Age Melbourne Marc Fiddian 23 25 June 1976 Crowds up at VFA 10 Waverley 1 Dandenong 1 9 Preston 2 Preston 2 white 1964 VFA season 1964 white 1966 VFA season 1966 The 1965 VFA season was the 84th season of the top division of the Victorian Football Association (VFA), and the fifth season of second division competition. The Division 1 premiership was won by the Waverley Football Club, after it defeated Port Melbourne in the Grand Final on 26 September by twelve points; it was the first and only premiership ever won by Waverley in either division in its time in the Association, and it came in only its second season in Division 1. The Division 2 premiership was won by Preston; it was the club's second Division 2 premiership in three years, having competed in and been relegated from Division 1 in the intervening year. Grounds In the early 1960s, several Victorian Football League clubs were interested in leaving their traditional home grounds, and many were looking at Association grounds as possible new homes. The first successful move occurred in 1964, when League club StK brokered a deal with the Moorabbin Council to move its playing and training base to the Moorabbin Football Club's home ground, Moorabbin Oval; it had sought a new ground which it could manage free from the direction of a district cricket club and in a growing suburb whence it could attract new fans.The Age Melbourne 25 Ron Carter 25 March 1964 St. Kilda moving to Moorabbin next year The move was a success for St Kilda, but resulted in Moorabbin being suspended from the Association.The Age Melbourne 20 Peter Stone 4 April 1964 V.F.A. suspends Moorabbin for season St Kilda's success motivated other League clubs to seek new grounds, and in 1965 there were two plays by League clubs for Association grounds: moved to Coburg Oval, a move which ultimately lasted less than one year, but nearly cost Coburg its place in the Association; and, attempted unsuccessfully to move to Skinner Reserve, Sunshine's newly developed ground. North Melbourne's move to Coburg Oval On 25 June 1964, three months after St Kilda's move to Moorabbin was first announced, it was revealed that the Coburg Council had approached the North Melbourne Football Club, and that they were discussing terms for the club to relocate its operations to Coburg Oval on a long-term lease. The ground was one of the best in the Association at the time, and the Coburg Council had ambitions of seeing League football played on it.The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 56, 54 Scot Palmer 25 June 1964 Coburg in big to get North North Melbourne was keen to leave the North Melbourne Cricket Ground in Arden Street, which had been its home since the 19th century, because low population density in the surrounding industrial area and isolation from public transport were stifling its ability to attract fans, and a relocation to Coburg offered advantages in both of these areas.The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 56 24 November 1964 "Yes" for North The loss of its ground would have meant expulsion from the Association, so from the time the move was first announced, the Coburg Football Club was staunchly opposed to the council's actions, and vowed to fight the move.The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 53 Scot Palmer 2 July 1964 Coburg to "resist" switch Coburg examined a number of legal options, and appealed unsuccessfully to force a referendum of ratepayers.The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 34 Scot Palmer 3 November 1964 Coburg to seek vote Coburg had many allies: the Association did not want to see another of its best grounds lost to the League; the Australian National Football Council did not want to see a newly vacant North Melbourne ground lost to another code; and the League's Carlton Football Club was opposed to the invasion of its territoryThe Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 45 Scot Palmer 29 July 1964 Coburg to ask ANFC for aid – most of Coburg, including the ground itself, was in Carlton's recruiting zone (only West Coburg was in North Melbourne's territory), and 25% of Carlton's members lived in the area.The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 66 Rex Pullen 5 November 1964 North move to Coburg under fire In November 1964, the council and club began working on terms for a 40-year lease, under which the council would spend £80,000 to bring the venue to League standards, and North Melbourne would serve as ground manager, pay £4,000 per year in rent, and £50,000 for upgrades over thirty years.The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 34 3 November 1964 North can have a new ovalThe Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 47 16 February 1965 North holds ground The council sought to formalise the deal through a controversial request for tender which effectively precluded anybody but North Melbourne from applying by stipulating that applicants "must play Australian rules football within the framework of the Victorian Football League";The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 63 Scot Palmer 13 November 1964 VFL and VFA should get together it dropped the requirement that applicants play in the League after it was criticised as unethical, but the point was moot as Coburg Football Club's rent offer of £200 per year had no chance of competing with North Melbourne's £4,000 per year.The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 62 19 November 1964 Ground tender by CFC The council gave its formal approval for a lease by a narrow 6–5 majority on 11 January 1965,The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 40, 38 Scot Palmer 12 January 1965 North gets lease of Coburg Oval and North Melbourne took occupancy on a week-to-week basis from 1 February, while the lease was finalized. Over the following months, the terms of the lease were renegotiated, and when the lease was formally signed on 2 April 1965, it was for a term of only seven years, much shorter than the forty-year terms which had initially been discussed.The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 70 Rex Pullen 1 April 1965 North officials sign tomorrowThe Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 51 30 March 1965 North gets lease The League itself leased the North Melbourne Cricket Ground for £1,500 during 1965, and used it junior football, umpire training, school programs, and from June it was used as a central ground for the Essendon District Football League game-of-the-week.The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 51 Jack Dunn 26 June 1965 Around the packs Proposed amalgamation between North Melbourne and Coburg By December 1964, it looked unlikely that Coburg would be able to continue in the Association. The council offered the club Morris Reserve to use as a home ground, but it was not up to Association standards, and the Association would not allow the club to share Coburg Oval with North Melbourne, leaving the club without a ground; and, money spent on legal costs from fighting the move, coupled with a lack of support from the public, had the club in a poor financial situation. Because of the bleak outlook, the club began to discuss the possibility of amalgamating with North MelbourneThe Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 66 Scot Palmer 3 December 1964 Coburg may join forces with North – a move which the Association warned would likely result in its suspension, as had occurred to Moorabbin eight months earlier.The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 48 Scot Palmer 7 December 1964 Coburg urged: "Think" On 8 December, Coburg and North Melbourne agreed to terms for an amalgamation. Under the agreement:The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 63–64 Scot Palmer 9 December 1964 Coburg, North merger Five Coburg committeemen would join the main North Melbourne committee, with two taking their places immediately; other Coburg committeemen would run the North Melbourne reserves and social club Three Coburg committeemen would join the North Melbourne committee in charge of ground control, with some key Coburg Football Club memorabilia such as honour boards and pennants to be preserved and maintained at the ground Coburg life members would receive North Melbourne season tickets All Coburg players would be invited to North Melbourne pre-season training for the opportunity to win places on the club's senior list One week later, North Melbourne agreed to amend its constitution to facilitate the amalgamation.The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 63 Kevin Hogan 17 December 1964 Coburg to get three on c'ttee Fourteen Coburg committeemen transferred to North Melbourne over the following months, and all were suspended from the Association.The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 56 6 February 1965 Coburg to stay in Association The Coburg committee had been divided on the decision to amalgamate with North Melbourne, and on 17 December, the Association executive helped to facilitate the formation of a new Coburg committee from ten committeemen and fourteen life members who were opposed to the amalgamation.The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 51 18 December 1964 Committee will oppose merger The new committee and the Association both refused to recognise the amalgamation, and worked to keep Coburg in the Association for the 1965 season. It was unclear in December whether or not they would succeed in fielding a team, and the Association did not include Coburg in its initial 1965 fixture, released on 18 December;The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 44 19 December 1964 VFA draw for 1965 but, by February the club and the Association had confirmed that Coburg would field a team in 1965. In March, arrangements were made for Coburg to share North Port Oval with Port Melbourne for senior games during 1965, with the seconds to play at Lagoon Reserve, Port Melbourne.The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 58 25 March 1965 Coburg has new ground Through the season, there was a political struggle between the two Coburg committees, each rejecting the other's legitimacy, and the office-bearers of the former committee refused to turn club documents over to the new committee.The Coburg Courier Coburg, VIC 1 Coburg Football Records 18 May 1965 End of the lease Under the terms of the lease, the Coburg Council was committed to building a grandstand for at least £75,000 prior to 1966; but by the end of 1965, the council was deterred by its weak financial position, negative sentiment towards the investment amongst ratepayers, poorer financial returns from North Melbourne matches during the season than expected, and the fact that the seven-year lease provided less certainty of a return on any infrastructure investment than the 40-year lease which was initially negotiated.The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 51 28 September 1965 Coburg to drop stand? After discussions, both the council and the football club decided that it was in neither's best interests to continue the arrangement, and on 28 September 1965 the lease was terminated by mutual agreement after only eight months of the seven-year term.The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 52 29 September 1965 North to quit Coburg The Coburg Football Club, which had been making an effort to find a new permanent home ground and had suffered on-field and financially during its season at Port Melbourne,The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 63 4 September 1965 VFA not to share oval was able to return to Coburg Oval from the 1966 season. North Melbourne returned to the North Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1966,North goes back home The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 56 Rex Pullen 26 November 1965 turning down an offer from the St Kilda Cricket Club to move to the St Kilda Cricket Ground;Saints make North offer over ground The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 60 Rex Pullen 25 November 1965 the terms of its new agreement with the Melbourne City Council were less favourable for the club than its previous agreement.The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 66 John Hill 28 October 1965 North nearly back home. Footscray's attempted move to Skinner Reserve In 1964, the Sunshine Council agreed to lease Sunshine's home ground, Selwyn Park, to the George Cross soccer club. To secure agreement from the football club to end its existing lease early, the Sunshine Council committed to developing a new Association standard venue at Skinner Reserve in Braybrook.The Age Melbourne Sunshine likely to move in 1966 7 July 1964 10 The venue was built during the 1965 season, with the football club signing a seven-year lease to begin from 1966.The Sun News-Pictorial 28 September 1965 Oval for Sunshine Melbourne In July 1965, before the venue was finished, the League's Footscray Football Club made an application to the Sunshine Council to permanently move its playing and administrative base from Western Oval to Skinner Reserve, and to develop it further to a League standard venue. As had been the case for Coburg and Moorabbin, Sunshine's place in the Association would have been in jeopardy if Footscray had made the move; but, in September the council formally decided to honour its existing agreement with the Sunshine, and rejected Footscray's application. Sunshine began playing at the new venue in 1966. While Footscray's application at Braybrook was under consideration, Yarraville made an opportunistic application to the Footscray Council to replace Footscray at the Western Oval; this was also rejected once Footscray was confirmed to be staying.The Sporting Globe Melbourne 4 6 October 1965 'Yarra' after F'cray Oval Relationship with the League St Kilda's and North Melbourne's moves into Association grounds damaged the relationship between the Association and the League. The Association was upset by what it had viewed as League takeovers at Moorabbin and Coburg; it also held the view that, under the reciprocity agreements between the two competitions, the League was compelled to recognise the suspensions meted out by the Association to Coburg committeemen who had moved to North Melbourne, but the League took no action against those men. As a result of this, on 9 April, the Association Board of Management voted by 27–9 majority to cease reciprocal recognition of League clearances, opening the door for League players to cross to the Association without a clearance.The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 64 10 April 1965 VFA shock: war on clearances This state of affairs existed until June 1966, when the Australian National Football Council intervened; up until this time, only Eddie Melai, who transferred from to Dandenong, took the opportunity.The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 55 Kevin Hogan 18 June 1966 Transfer rule averts "war" However, disputes over clearances began again with the Association's imposition of transfer fees from 1967, and the disputes eventually culminated in the Association's expulsion from the Australian National Football Council in 1970. Association membership In October 1964, the Association Board of Management voted to admit the Werribee Football Club to Division 2 of the Association. Werribee was a newly established senior club, formed from an amalgamation of four Werribee-based clubs which had competed in the Werribee District Football League: Werribee South, Irish National Foresters, Services and Metro Farm. The new club played its games at Chirnside Park.The Full Points Footy Encyclopedia of Australian Football Clubs Full Points Publications John Devaney UK 2008 Five other clubs had applied: Boronia, Chelsea, Frankston, Keilor and Ringwood.The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 55 Scot Palmer 3 October 1964 VFA decides to keep 16-men teams The Association had also been in favour of admitting Frankston, but the club failed to get a clearance from the Mornington Peninsula Football League, so was unable to make the move.The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 43 13 July 1965 Frankston for VFA Immediately prior to the season, Brighton–Caulfield changed its name to Caulfield. The club stated that it wanted to appeal to and better represent its adopted home area at Caulfield, and that most of the former Brighton members and supporters had already drifted away from the club; but that under its hyphenated name its identity was still considered more strongly associated with Brighton.The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 57 Jeff Penberthy 9 April 1965 Old club becomes extinct The club further severed its connection with Brighton's identity by adopting a new guernsey of white with navy blue hoops, and adopting Bears as a new nickname.Southern Cross Caulfield, VIC 16 21 April 1965 Caulfield downed by four points at home Division 1 The Division 1 home-and-home season was played over 18 rounds; the top four then contested the finals under the Page–McIntyre system. Finals were held at North Port Oval; the preliminary and Grand Finals for Division 1 were both held on Sunday for the first time; the semi-finals, which were played while Division 2 was still playing, remained on Saturdays. Ladder main WDL Q 1965 VFA Division 1 Ladder true points y 4 2 DAN Dandenong WAV Waverley PMB Port Melbourne SAN Sandringham BRU Brunswick YAR Yarraville WIL Williamstown OAK Oakleigh COB Coburg GLW Geelong West 13 5 0 1553 1189 13 5 0 1523 1222 P 12 6 0 1816 1118 12 6 0 1735 1347 12 6 0 1387 1324 9 9 0 1540 1659 7 11 0 1209 1384 6 12 0 1204 1429 3 15 0 1208 1821 3 15 0 1159 1809 #CCFFCC A A A A Premiers #FFCCCC R 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for. complete The Sun News-Pictorial 30 August 1965 "Dandy" has a berth in final 40 Melbourne Bob Crimeen Finals Semi-finals Saturday, 4 September Port Melbourne 15.17 (107) H Sandringham 8.12 (60) North Port Oval 8,500 The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 52 Bob Crimeen 6 September 1965 Milner sparked Port to win Saturday, 11 September Dandenong 8.10 (58) A Waverley 8.17 (65) North Port Oval 7,200 The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 44 Bob Crimeen 13 September 1965 Dandy put up a poor effort Preliminary Final Sunday, 19 September Dandenong 8.19 (67) A Port Melbourne 16.19 (115) North Port Oval 14,000 The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 41 Bob Crimeen 20 September 1965 Laurie gives 'Dandy' a lesson in football 1965 VFA Division 1 Grand Final Sunday, 26 September Waverley 1.4 (10) 4.8 (32) 10.10 (70) 14.13 (97) Lawson 4, Merrett 3, Brenchley 2, Brewster 2, Petzke 2, Lockwood H Port Melbourne 4.9 (33) 5.15 (45) 8.18 (66) 10.25 (85) Howell 4, Perry 3, Brownhill, Carlile, Milner North Port Oval 25,000 The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 41 Bob Crimeen 27 September 1965 Waverley flag: game of incidents Jim McMaster Awards The leading goalkicker for the season was Denis Oakley (Sandringham), who kicked 77 goals during the season. The J. J. Liston Trophy was won by Alan Poore (Waverley), who polled 28 votes. Ron Warwick (Yarraville) and Fred Robinson (Brunswick) were equal-second with 23 votes.The Sun News-Pictorial 2 September 1965 Poore wins the Liston 60, 58 Melbourne Bob Crimeen Port Melbourne won the seconds premiership for the second year in a row. Port Melbourne 19.16 (130) defeated Brunswick 10.6 (66) in the Grand Final, played as a curtain-raiser to the firsts Grand Final on 26 September. Division 2 The Division 2 home-and-home season was played over 18 rounds, with each team playing 16 games and having two byes; the top four then contested the finals under the Page–McIntyre system. All finals were played on Sundays at Toorak Park. Ladder main WDL Q 1965 VFA Division 2 Ladder true points y 4 2 PRE Preston MOR Mordialloc NOR Northcote SUN Sunshine PRA Prahran BOX Box Hill WER Werribee CAM Camberwell CAU Caulfield 13 3 0 1927 982 P 11 5 0 1593 1158 11 5 0 1182 1155 10 6 0 1443 1269 8 7 1 1412 1381 6 8 2 1204 1434 5 10 1 1169 1589 3 12 1 1124 1535 2 13 1 1099 1653 -10 10 points deducted Premiers #CCFFCC A A A A 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for. complete The Sun News-Pictorial 16 August 1965 'Dandy' returns to favouritism 45 Melbourne Bob Crimeen Finals Semi-finals Sunday, 22 August Northcote 14.15 (99) H Sunshine 11.21 (87) Toorak Park 5,000 The Sun News-Pictorial 23 August 1965 Dandenong puts the seal on the VFA four 48 Melbourne Bob Crimeen Sunday, 29 August Preston 13.18 (96) H Mordialloc 12.9 (81) Toorak Park 5,000 Preliminary Final Sunday, 5 September Mordialloc 18.19 (127) H Northcote 11.11 (77) Toorak Park 4,500 The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 52 Bob Crimeen 6 September 1965 Mordialloc races its way to final 1965 VFA Division 2 Grand Final Sunday, 12 September Preston 2.1 (13) 6.4 (40) 12.6 (78) 15.12 (102) Peterson 5, Walker 5, Cameron 2, McArthur 2, Jenkins Jenkins (leg), Peterson (ankle) H Mordialloc 4.4 (28) 5.5 (35) 8.7 (55) 9.10 (64) Morrison 4, Hynes 2, Baxter, O'Brien, Power Toorak Park 10,000 The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 44 Bob Crimeen 13 September 1965 Pennant for Preston O'Neil Awards The leading goalkicker for Division 2 was Johnny Walker (Preston), who kicked 108 goals in the home-and-home season and 116 goals overall. The Division 2 Best and Fairest was won by John Bradbury (Mordialloc), who polled 37 votes. Ray Murnane (Preston) was second with 26 votes, and Ian Cameron (Preston) and Hank Verwoert (Prahran) were equal-third with 22 votes.The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 52 19 August 1965 John was best Prahran won the seconds premiership. Prahran 13.13 (91) defeated Preston 6.11 (47) in the Grand Final, played as a stand-alone match on Saturday, 4 September at Selwyn Park. Notable events Interstate matches The Association played two interstate matches during 1965, against Western Australia in Perth and against Tasmania in Melbourne. As in 1964, Williamstown's Gerry Callahan coached the team, and Sunshine's Shaun Crosbie was captain.The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 40 7 June 1965 VFA team surprise 1965 Interstate matches Saturday, 12 June Western Australia 12.17 (89) H Victoria (VFA) 12.8 (80) Subiaco Oval 24,595 The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 33 14 June 1965 VFA close to beating West Sunday, 18 July Victoria (VFA) 12.11 (83) H Tasmania 11.10 (76) Toorak Park 12,000 The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 53 Bob Crimeen 19 July 1965 VFA battled home in final quarterThe Age Melbourne 20 Marc Fiddian 19 July 1965 VFA fights on to down Tasmania Other notable events In an inauspicious start to its premiership season, Waverley was held scoreless in the first, second and final quarters of its first match of the season, ultimately losing 2.2 (14) def. by 12.7 (79) to Dandenong.The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 48 Jeff Penberthy 20 April 1965 "Dandy" liked the weather Preston became the first club to have a player kick more than 100 goals in the season in each of the three grades of competition: Johnny Walker in the firsts, Des McDonald in the seconds and Ian Baggott in the thirds.The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 59 Jack Dunn 2 September 1965 Preston kicks goals in hundreds See also List of VFA/VFL premiers References 2 Category:Victorian Football League seasons VFL