1983 VFA season

none December 2017 December 2017 1983 VFA Premiership Season Teams 24 Division 1 Teams 12 Premiers Preston(3rd premiership) Minor premiers Preston(5th minor premiership) Division 2 Teams 12 Premiers Springvale(1st D2 premiership) Minor premiers Brunswick(2nd D2 minor premiership) left ← 1982 right 1984 → The 1983 Victorian Football Association season was the 102nd season of the top division of the Australian rules football competition, and the 23rd season of second division competition. The Division 1 premiership was won by the Preston Football Club, after it defeated Geelong West in the Grand Final on 18 September by seven points; it was Preston's third Division 1 premiership. The Division 2 premiership was won by Springvale; it was the club's first Association premiership, won in only its second season of competition. Association membership Two new clubs joined Division 2 for the 1983 season, increasing the size of the lower division to twelve teams. The new clubs were Moorabbin and Berwick. They were the last new clubs to join the competition during the Association era: it was not until the competition had become the Victorian Football League in the 1990s that another new club was admitted. Their admissions brought the total size of the Association to twenty-four clubs for the 1983 season. Moorabbin The Moorabbin Football Club had been formed in 1979 after the neighbouring McKinnon and Bentleigh Football Clubs in the Federal League merged; the amalgamated club had been based at McKinnon, but was known as Moorabbin. It took its name and colours from the former Moorabbin Football Club, which had established itself as one of the Association's dominant clubs from 1951 until 1963, before being expelled prior to the 1964 season for its role in the St Kilda Football Club's move to its home ground, Moorabbin Oval.The Age Melbourne 31 Marc Fiddian 22 May 1982 Moorabbin seeks opening The newly merged club competed in the Federal League until 1981, after which the league folded, and then played in the South East Suburban Football League in 1982,Moorabbin-Glen Eira Leader http://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/south-east/cheltenham-football-club-hosts-reunion-of-federal-league/story-fngnvoeu-1226933124774 Cheltenham Football Club hosts reunion of Federal League 28 May 2014 15 June 2014 before being admitted as the second division's eleventh club on 5 October 1982.The Age Melbourne Moorabbin in VFA 29 Marc Fiddian 6 October 1982 Although the new club was distinct from the former Moorabbin Football Club, the two clubs shared many personnel and officials, and at its first home game the new club unfurled the former club's 1963 premiership flag – which was never able to be unfurled at a home game due to the club's expulsion.Our new clubs in the VFA VFA Recorder 10 April 1983 8 Blackburn, VIC Hall's Sporting Publicity Berwick A successful club in the South West Gippsland Football League, Berwick had played finals for the previous eleven seasons, and was admitted to the second division as the twelfth club on 19 November 1982.The Age Melbourne Marc Fiddian 23 November 1982 30 VFA teams? 42 The SWGFL did not want to lose Berwick, which was one of its more successful and higher drawing clubs, so it refused to grant its players clearances to join the Association; there was a stand-off between the two competitions, and both the Association and the SWGFL included Berwick in their 1983 fixtures. The Victorian Country Football League, to which the SWGFL belonged, was one of the only football bodies with which the Association still had a valid transfer agreement,The Age Melbourne Marc Fiddian 29 2 April 1983 Request to govt and the Association did not wish to jeopardise the relationship, so it refused to issue playing permits to the Berwick playing list in the lead-up to the season.The Age Melbourne 24 25 March 1983 Berwick goes to court Berwick consequently took action in the Supreme Court of Victoria, seeking clearance to the Association, and claiming that the VCFL's impedance was an illegal restraint of trade. It was not the only such court action taking place at the time: the landmark case in which Silvio Foschini successfully had the Victorian Football League's zoning and clearance system declared an illegal restraint of trade was going through the courts at the same time.The Age Melbourne 22 Prue Innes 31 March 1983 Football may need govt control: judge On 30 March – only four days before the season commenced – the court found that the agreement between the Association and the VCFL was valid specifically for cases where a player was transferring from a VCFL club to an Association club, or vice versa; but, it did not cover cases where a player remained at the same club, and the club itself was transferring from the VCFL to the Association. Berwick's playing list was registered by the Association the same day. Association structure No clubs were promoted or relegated between the two divisions for 1983, after the Association had abandoned automatic promotion and relegation in 1981. However, in July 1983, the Association decided to reverse this change, and automatic promotion for the Division 2 premier and relegation for the Division 1 wooden spooner was reintroduced, starting from the end of the season.The Age Melbourne Marc Fiddian 29 16 July 1983 Panthers head for record and relegation The Association executive had expressed an interest in expanding the competition to as many as 30 teams, and splitting the second division into two lower divisions of equal status, but this motion did not proceed to the vote; as a consequence, the size of the Association in 1983, at twenty-four teams, was the largest ever in the Association's history.The Age Melbourne Marc Fiddian 24 5 August 1983 Lions still clear of fourth place Division 1 The Division 1 home-and-away season was played over eighteen rounds; the top four then contested the finals under the Page–McIntyre system. The finals were played at the Junction Oval. Ladder main WDL 5 Q 1983 VFA Division 1 Ladder true points y 4 2 NBU Preston GLW Geelong West PMB Port Melbourne SAN Sandringham COB Coburg FRA Frankston WER Werribee PRA Prahran CAM Camberwell DAN Dandenong WIL Williamstown WAV Waverley 15 3 0 2479 1584 P 14 4 0 2332 1670 13 4 1 2411 1980 12 6 0 2292 1968 10 7 1 2388 1733 10 7 1 2164 2255 8 10 0 2034 2273 7 10 1 1885 2191 7 11 0 2029 2224 6 12 0 1938 2052 4 14 0 1960 2156 0 18 0 1479 3282 Premiers #CCFFCC QF QF QF QF #FFCCCC R 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for. complete The Age 22 August 1983 Final four unchanged as Cobras end drought 28 Melbourne Marc Fiddian Finals Semi-finals Sunday, 28 August Port Melbourne 28.12 (180) H Sandringham 20.14 (134) Junction Oval 9,228 The Age 28 Marc Fiddian Port finds flag form 29 August 1983 Melbourne Sunday, 4 September Preston 18.15 (123) H Geelong West 15.14 (104) Junction Oval 6,651 The Age 26 Marc Fiddian 5 September 1983 Bullants hope for third time lucky Melbourne Preliminary Final Sunday, 11 September Geelong West 14.12 (96) H Port Melbourne 6.11 (47) Junction Oval 5,256 The Age 25 Marc Fiddian Roosters end Port's reign 12 September 1983 Melbourne 1983 VFA Division 1 Grand Final Sunday, 18 September Preston 3.4 (22) 6.7 (43) 12.8 (80) 14.10 (94) Bourke 6, Halas 3, Marcon 2, Brine, Dyseon, Osborne H Geelong West 2.6 (18) 5.10 (40) 9.11 (65) 12.15 (87) Radojevic 5, Murphy 2, Eddy, Gibson, McDowell, Sells, Watt Junction Oval 14,719 Bullants rally for first flag in 14 years Marc Fiddian 19 September 1983 The Age 23 Melbourne Maurie Stabb, Frank Vergona Norm Goss Memorial Medal Geoff Austen (Preston) Awards The leading goalkicker for the season was Mark Fotheringham (Williamstown), who kicked 108 goals during the home-and-away season and did not participate in finals. The J. J. Liston Trophy was won by Bill Swan (Port Melbourne), who polled 19 votes. At the time, it was Swan's first Liston Trophy, having finished second on countback the previous year; but it is now recognized as Swan's second consecutive Liston Trophy, after he was jointly awarded the 1982 Liston Trophy following a decision in 1989 to retrospectively eliminate the countback.The Sun News-Pictorial 83 Amanda Buivids 21 September 1989 Champs rewarded at last Melbourne Swan finished ahead of Fraser Murphy (Geelong West), who polled 16 votes, and Neil Gibson (Geelong West) and Kevin Sait (Williamstown), who polled 13 votes.The Age Melbourne Gerry Carmen 28 25 August 1983 Swan wins Liston Preston won the seconds premiership. Preston 14.20 (104) drew Frankston 16.8 (104) in the Grand Final, played as a curtain-raiser to the seniors Grand Final on 18 September; then, Preston 18.15 (123) defeated Frankston 12.13 (85) in the Grand Final Replay,The Age Melbourne 23 26 September 1983 In brief held on 25 September at Frankston Park.The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne 48 24 September 1983 It's grand, finally Preston also won the thirds Premiership, giving it the premiership in all three grades for the season. It was the first time any club had achieved the feat in the top division. Division 2 Division 2 expanded from ten clubs to twelve clubs in 1983; as had occurred in Division 1 the previous year, the home-and-away season continued to be played over 18 rounds, rather than being expanded to 22 rounds. This meant that not all pairs of teams played both home and away against each other.The Age Melbourne Marc Fiddian 35 27 November 1981 VFA retains 18 rounds 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 5 1983 VFA Division 2 Ladder true points y 4 2 BRU Brunswick MOR Mordialloc SPR Springvale OAK Oakleigh BOX Box Hill CAU Caulfield NOR Northcote MOO Moorabbin BER Berwick KIL Kilsyth SUN Sunshine YAR Yarraville 15 3 0 2896 1498 14 3 1 2270 1416 13 5 0 2648 1716 P 13 5 0 2357 1619 11 6 1 2457 1695 11 6 1 2292 1616 11 6 1 2378 1760 7 11 0 2041 2053 5 13 0 1477 2088 3 15 0 1423 2743 2 16 0 1261 3264 1 17 0 1250 3284 Premiers #CCFFCC QF QF QF QF 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for. complete The Age Melbourne Marc Fiddian 24 15 August 1983 Lions miss out on finals berth Finals Semi-finals Sunday, 21 August Springvale 20.13 (133) H Oakleigh 18.10 (118) Toorak Park Sunday, 28 August Brunswick 25.15 (165) H Mordialloc 12.8 (80) Toorak Park Preliminary Final Sunday, 4 September Mordialloc 12.15 (87) A Springvale 29.14 (188) Toorak Park 3,000 1983 VFA Division 2 Grand Final Sunday, 11 September Brunswick 5.3 (33) 6.7 (43) 11.9 (75) 13.16 (94) Gumbleton 2, Lawson 2, Radchenko 2, Thornton 2, Toy 2, Judge, Nolan, Sahlberg Judge, for striking Steel in the second quarterHamilton, for attempting to strike Holden in the third quarterRadchenko, for striking Fowler in the third quarterRobertson, for striking Smith in the third quarterThornton, for striking McComb in the third quarterThornton, for misconduct that he threatened umpire Stabb in the third quarter A Springvale 5.3 (33) 10.4 (64) 15.6 (96) 17.9 (111) Carroll 4, Anderson 3, Holden 3, Fotiniotis 2, Woodman 2, Brand, Dempster, Dickson Toorak Park 4,000 The Age Melbourne Marc Fiddian 25 12 September 1983 Vale wins promotion Phillips, Maurie Stabb Awards The leading goalkicker for the Division 2 was Peter Neville (Mordialloc), who kicked 129 goals in the home-and-away season and 135 goals overall. The J. Field Medal was won by Terry Walsh (Mordialloc). Matthew Johnson (Berwick) finished second, and Peter Jurgenstein (Northcote) finished third. Brunswick won the seconds premiership. Brunswick 10.6 (66) defeated Oakleigh 7.12 (54) in the Grand Final, played as a curtain-raiser to the senior Grand Final on 11 September.The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne Peter Martin 71 12 September 1983 West upsets Port's flag hopes Notable events Interleague matches The Association's Division 1 and Division 2 teams each played one interleague match during the season. Ray Shaw (Preston) captained the Division 1 team and Gary Brice (Port Melbourne) was coach.The Age Melbourne Marc Fiddian 30 20 May 1983 Shaw in charge of VFA team Colin Hobbs (Northcote) was coach of Division 2.The Age Melbourne Marc Fiddian 35 28 April 1984 Time for an appeals board 1983 Interleague Matches Sunday, 22 May (C-R) V.F.A. Second Division 17.19 (131) H S.A.F.A. 8.14 (62) Beach Oval The Age Melbourne 24 23 May 1983 Amateurs do it again Sunday, 22 May V.F.A. First Division 16.17 (113) A V.A.F.A. 18.16 (124) Beach Oval Association Thirds Williamstown vs Geelong West (1983 VFA season) In 1983, the Association reduced the age eligibility of the thirds competition, changing it from an Under-19s competition to an Under-18s competition. The change was intended to encourage young players into the firsts competition at an earlier age, but it had unforeseen detrimental impacts on the thirds competition itself. Neil Bencraft, who had coached the Sandringham Thirds to five premierships in eleven seasons while it was an Under-19s competition, was so dissatisfied with the switch to an Under-18s competition that he retired after only one season of it. Chief among Bencraft's complaints were that the younger players were less disciplined, and due to school commitments were less willing or able to commit to training. Away games were also a particular problem for many clubs, as the younger-aged players generally preferred to play in local junior competitions than travel the often long distances to play an Association away game, particularly as none were old enough to hold driver's licences. Bencraft admitted that he had fielded unregistered players several times during 1983 simply to field a full team, and said that he believed many other clubs had done likewise.The Age Melbourne Marc Fiddian 39 7 April 1984 Coach calls it a day, with regrets No club was worse affected by the changes to the competition than Geelong West, whose travelling distances for away games exceeded those of any other club. It seldom attracted more than fifteen players to training, and forfeited two games early in the season simply through lack of players.Geelong Advertiser Geelong, VIC 22 Lindsay Toulmin 27 July 1983 West withdraws its under 19 side The team's plight reached farcical proportions on 23 July against Williamstown: only twelve players took the field – one fewer and it would have been forced to forfeit – and four had suffered injuries by half time; the match was still played to its full length, and Geelong West lost by 675 points; Williamstown 110.27 (687) d. Geelong West 2.0 (12).Geelong Advertiser Geelong, VIC 16 Lindsay Toulmin 25 July 1983 'Too fast' West grabs second spot It remains the highest score ever recorded in game of Australian rules football, in any league and at any grade.http://footystats.freeservers.com/Footystats/Mosts.html The *most* – the all-embracing James Hothersall 28 January 2006 26 June 2014 Footystats https://web.archive.org/web/20141006071042/http://footystats.freeservers.com/Footystats/Mosts.html 6 October 2014 dead The team had fared little better the previous week, conceding 88.23 (551) against Coburg.The Age Melbourne Marc Fiddian 25 18 July 1983 Preston takes over Following these two losses, Geelong West withdrew its Thirds team for the rest of the season. This event highlighted one of the key problems associated with the Association's two-division structure as it applied to the thirds: a club like Geelong West was playing in Division 1 in all three grades based on the strong performances of its Seniors, yet was uncompetitive in the top division at Thirds level due to an inherently different socioeconomic hurdle. To correct for this, the Association abandoned divisions in the thirds competition from 1984: all Thirds teams competed together in the same division at the start of the season, and were later divided based on results during the year.The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne Peter Martin 71 27 July 1983 VFA plan to even up comp Other notable events Two Association clubs were given permission to use Victorian Football League venues as home grounds in 1983: Moorabbin, which had its training and administrative base at McKinnon Reserve, played at Moorabbin Oval, sharing it with StK;The Sun News-Pictorial Melbourne Peter Martin 52 2 April 1983 Wells leads way and Yarraville, which had previously played at Yarraville Oval, played its games at the Western Oval, sharing it with .The Age Melbourne Marc Fiddian 27 26 March 1983 Dullard, Towns join Seagulls It was the first time since 1913, when and Melbourne City shared the East Melbourne Cricket Ground, that League and Association clubs had played on the same ground. Both deals lasted only for this season: in 1984, Moorabbin moved to McKinnonSanto Caruso Marc Fiddian Jim Main Football Grounds of Melbourne Pennon Publishing 2002 Essendon North, VIC 96 and Yarraville was expelled from the Association prior to the season.The Age Melbourne Marc Fiddian 26 26 January 1984 Yarraville axed On June 19, Oakleigh lost its first game at the Oakleigh Cricket Ground since 1981, ending a 22-game home winning streak.The Age Melbourne Marc Fiddian 22 20 June 1983 Frankston hits back to draw During the year, long-time Port Melbourne and Association administrator Norm Goss Sr. died. In his honour, the Association struck the Norm Goss Memorial Medal, to be awarded each year to the best player on the ground in the Division 1 Grand Final.The Age Melbourne Marc Fiddian 35 17 September 1983 Finally, Preston for premiers In the final round of Division 2 home-and-away games, Oakleigh 26.14 (170) d. Box Hill 20.12 (132) in a match which directly determined which of the two clubs finished fourth and qualified for the finals. Port Melbourne qualified for its eleventh consecutive finals series, breaking the record of ten consecutive finals series set by Williamstown from 1953 until 1962. Waverley was the first Division 1 club to be held winless in a season since the competition was partitioned in 1961. At one stage during the third quarter of the Division 2 Grand Final, Brunswick was reduced to thirteen men on the field after having three players ordered off; five Brunswick players were reported on six charges altogether during the game. One player, Ron Thornton, was ordered off for striking McComb of Springvale; upon being ordered off, he threateningly raised his right fist at field umpire Maurie Stabb, and was reported again. At his VFA honorary commission hearing, Thornton was cleared of striking McComb, but suspended for ten weeks for his misconduct charge.The Age Melbourne Marc Fiddian 30 14 September 1983 VFA player outed for 10 See also List of VFA/VFL premiers References Category:Victorian Football League seasons VFL