1926 VFA season

48th season of the Victorian Football Association December 2017 December 2017 1926 10 1 1 white 1925 VFA season 1925 white 1927 VFA season 1927 The 1926 VFA season was the 48th season of the Victorian Football Association, an Australian rules football competition played in the state of Victoria. The premiership was won by the Coburg Football Club, after it defeated Brighton by 16 points in the final on 18 September. It was the club's first VFA premiership, achieved in only its second season of senior competition. For the second time in six seasons, the association was disrupted by the mid-season withdrawal of one of its clubs: Brunswick withdrawing after sixteen rounds in protest at suspensions given to two of its players. Association membership After having been reduced from ten clubs to eight in 1925, the association sought to admit two clubs into its senior ranks to return to ten. In January 1925, the association decided to admit Camberwell from the Sub-district Association and Preston from the Victorian Junior Football Association.The Argus Melbourne 7 January 1926 11 Football – New Association clubs Camberwell had been one of the leading sub-district clubs for years, and had previously applied to join the association on several occasions.The Argus Melbourne Football – increasing Association clubs 4 4 December 1924The Australasian Melbourne 28 January 1922 Football – Victorian Association clubs J.W. 158 The town of Preston had previously been represented in the association from 1903 until 1911 by a senior Preston Football Club, but this club had ceased to exist de jure, having amalgamated with Northcote prior to 1912. During the same time period, there was a separate junior-level Preston Football Club (once known as Preston Districts) competing in the Victorian Junior Football Association, and it was this Preston club which was now being admitted to the association. However, when Northcote and the former Preston amalgamated, much of Preston's personnel and assets – including its trophies and pennants – were transferred to the junior club, providing a continuity between the two senior Preston clubs. As such, the Preston club admitted to the association in 1926 was considered a de facto continuation of the previous club.Membrey, Brian Where We Come From – the History of the Preston Football Club , Vols 1 and 2, 2002 Geelong was struggling off-field, and moved from its original home of Kardinia Park to the West Geelong ground to seek greater support. It had almost folded at the administrative level during the 1925 season, with the proposal at the time being that a new administration take over and continue to field the same team under a different identity, but this did not occur.The Argus Melbourne 26 February 1926 5 Football – Association meeting The Victorian Junior Football Association, which had been affiliated with the V.F.A. since 1924,The Argus Melbourne Victorian Association – Affiliation with junior body 25 March 1924 6 took a step towards becoming a dedicated seconds competition for the V.F.A. in 1926 through a re-alignment of its divisions. Under the realignment: the "V.F.A. section" of the V.J.F.A. consisted solely of junior clubs which were effectively seconds teams for the V.F.A. senior clubs (except Geelong); and the "V.J.F.A. section" consisted solely of stand-alone junior clubs with no V.F.A. connection.The Argus Melbourne Victorian Juniors 26 March 1926 5 The transition was ultimately completed in 1928 when the "V.J.F.A. section" was abolished.The Argus Melbourne V.J.F.A. annual meeting 8 March 1928 5 Withdrawal of Brunswick Following a match against Northcote on 3 July, Brunswick captain Wally Raleigh and teammate T. Hassett reported to the club secretary that a boundary umpire had used abusive language towards them during the match. It took almost two months to resolve the charges, and on 18 August, the association found the boundary umpire not guilty; and, it found Raleigh and Hassett guilty of having made a false charge against the boundary umpire, and deregistered both players until 31 May 1927.The Argus Melbourne Brunswick players suspended 19 August 1926 12 At a special meeting on 20 August, the committee and members of the Brunswick Football Club decided to withdraw the club immediately from the association in protest at the suspensions.The Argus Melbourne Football sensation – club leaves Association 21 August 1926 32 Its final two matches for the year, against Camberwell on 21 August and against Preston on 28 August, were awarded to its opponents by forfeit, and Brunswick was expelled from the association as punishment.The Argus Melbourne Association discipline – Brunswick excluded 3 September 1926 5 Onlooker Several clubs submitted applications to replace Brunswick in the association, including Carnegie, Kew, Werribee and Yarraville.Four Clubs Seek Admittance https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/3807387 The Argus 28 July 2024 7 September 1926The Argus Melbourne Football Association – readmitting Brunswick 14 December 1926 11 The Brunswick Council, keen to see football played on the venue which it had spent significant money to upgrade, applied for the re-admission of Brunswick to the association on the club's behalf. The association advised that it was in favour of re-admitting Brunswick, provided an entirely new committee be appointed;The Argus Melbourne Brunswick Football Club – readmission sought 18 November 1926 5 and, in January 1927, after the former committee resigned, Brunswick was formally re-admitted. Brunswick had requested that Raleigh and Hassett be permitted to appeal their suspensions, but the association rejected this request;The Argus Melbourne Brunswick's position 18 January 1927 7 Raleigh retired, and Hassett left to coach in Dimboola.The Argus Melbourne Football – Brunswick players meet 22 February 1927 12 Ladder The home-and-away season was played over eighteen rounds, with each club playing the others twice; then, the top four clubs contested a finals series under the amended Argus system to determine the premiers for the season. main WDL Q true points y 4 2 COB Coburg NOR Northcote PMB Port Melbourne BRI Brighton BRU Brunswick PRE Preston PRA Prahran GEE Geelong CAM Camberwell WIL Williamstown 15 3 0 1777 1036 P 14 4 0 1221 1054 13 5 0 1445 1037 12 6 0 1432 1309 9 7 0 1007 981 8 9 0 1305 1326 6 12 0 1330 1477 4 14 0 1007 1330 3 14 0 1046 1411 4 14 0 916 1535 4 Following Brunswick's withdrawal, Brunswick forfeited two remaining matches, and Preston and Camberwell were awarded an additional 4 points each for winning the forfeited matches. 4 PRE Premiers #CCFFCC A A A A 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for. complete The Argus 6 September 1926 Football – premiership struggle Melbourne Old Boy Finals Semi-finals Semi-finals Saturday, 4 September Northcote 6.6 (42) A Brighton 8.6 (54) Motordrome 10,000 The Argus Melbourne The Association – Brighton forge ahead 6 September 1926 Onlooker Saturday, 11 September Coburg 9.14 (68) H Port Melbourne 5.11 (41) Motordrome 12,500 The Argus Melbourne The Association – Coburg's superiority 13 September 1926 6 Onlooker Final 1926 VFA Final Saturday, 18 September Coburg 5.3 (33) 6.3 (39) 10.7 (67) 12.9 (81) Gardiner 4, Harris 2, Huntington 2, Kerley 2, Plant 2 H Brighton 2.2 (14) 6.4 (40) 7.6 (48) 9.11 (65) Walsh 5, Boyd, Carroll, Hunt, Rattray Hunt (fractured skull, concussion) Motordrome 15,000 The Argus Melbourne The Association – Coburg premiers 20 September 1926 6 Onlooker Had Brighton won, minor premiers Coburg would have been entitled to a rematch the following Saturday to decide the premiership. Awards Jim Walsh (Brighton) was the association's leading goalkicker, with 81 goals in the home-and-home season, and 91 goals overall. William Summers (Preston) won the Recorder Cup as the association's best and fairest.The Argus 6 September 1926 8 "Recorder" Cup Melbourne Onlooker References Category:Victorian Football League seasons VFA