1973 VFA season

92nd season of the Victorian Football Association top division December 2017 December 2017 1973 10 Prahran 4 Dandenong 3 10 Caulfield 1 Caulfield 2 white 1972 VFA season 1972 white 1974 VFA season 1974 The 1973 VFA season was the 92nd season of the top division of the Victorian Football Association, an Australian rules football competition played in the state of Victoria, and the 13th season of second division competition. The Division 1 premiership was won by the Prahran Football Club, after it came from fourth on the ladder to defeat Oakleigh in the Grand Final on 23 September by 35 points; it was Prahran's fourth Division 1 premiership. The Division 2 premiership was won by Caulfield; it was the first and only premiership in either division won by the club after its move from Brighton to Caulfield in 1962. Division 1 The Division 1 home-and-away season was played over 18 rounds; the top four then contested the finals under the Page–McIntyre system. The finals were played at the St Kilda Cricket Ground. Ladder main WDL Q 1973 VFA Division 1 Ladder true points y 4 2 DAN Dandenong OAK Oakleigh PMB Port Melbourne PRA Prahran GLW Geelong West WIL Williamstown SAN Sandringham SUN Sunshine PRE Preston COB Coburg 12 5 1 2144 1834 12 6 0 2048 1819 11 7 0 2186 2074 10 7 1 2203 1997 P 10 8 0 1986 1912 8 10 0 1867 1919 7 11 0 1861 2236 7 11 0 1820 2191 6 12 0 2118 2151 5 11 2 1942 2026 #CCFFCC A A A A Premiers #FFCCCC R 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for. complete The Age 27 August 1973 Preston stays in top division 22 Melbourne John Holland Finals Semi-finals Sunday, 2 September Port Melbourne 10.17 (77) A Prahran 18.21 (129) St Kilda Cricket Ground 8,000 The Age 31 John Holland Prahran sinks Port 3 September 1973 Melbourne Sunday, 9 September Dandenong 13.23 (101) A Oakleigh 17.14 (116) St Kilda Cricket Ground 14,000 The Age 27 John Holland 10 September 1973 Oakleigh wins on the post Melbourne Preliminary Final Sunday, 16 September Dandenong 12.9 (81) A Prahran 16.14 (110) St Kilda Cricket Ground 13,600 The Age 25 John Holland Prahran step closer to flag 17 September 1973 Melbourne 1973 VFA Division 1 Grand Final Sunday, 23 September Oakleigh 2.5 (17) 5.7 (37) 7.15 (57) 10.18 (78) Cloke 3, Halliday 2, Ford, Forster, O'Kane, Robbins, Taylor Quinn, for striking Rippon in the third quarter A Prahran 2.4 (16) 8.11 (59) 12.17 (89) 15.23 (113) Appleton 4, Weekes 3, Anderson 2, Smith 2, Emselle, Payne, Sinclair, Townsend Rippon, for striking Quinn in the third quarterRippon, for striking Nesbit in the fourth quarter St Kilda Cricket Ground 21,200 Prahran by 35 points John Holland 24 September 1973 The Age 22 Melbourne Stirling Awards The leading goalkicker for the home-and-away season was Ian Cooper (Sandringham), who kicked 104 goals in the home-and-away season, but did not participate in finals. The leading goalkicker for the whole season including finals was Jim Miller (Dandenong); he kicked 94 goals in the home-and-away season to be third behind Cooper and Graeme McLean (Geelong West, 99 goals), then kicked fourteen goals in the finals to finish with 108 goals for the season. The J. J. Liston Trophy was won by Ray Shaw (Preston), who polled 39 votes. Shaw finished ahead of Ricky Browne (Geelong West), who finished second with 38 votes, and Les Stillman (Williamstown), who finished third with 28 votes.The Age 30 August 1973 Rookie wins award 30 Melbourne John Holland Port Melbourne won the seconds premiership for the second consecutive season. Port Melbourne 14.23 (107) defeated Preston 12.16 (88) in the Grand Final, played as a stand-alone match on Saturday 15 September at Skinner Reserve. Geelong West won the lightning premiership. Geelong West 8.3 (51) defeated Preston 2.9 (21) in the Grand Final, played as a curtain-raiser to the senior Grand Final on Sunday 23 September. Division 2 The Division 2 home-and-away season was played over eighteen 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 1973 VFA Division 2 ladder true points y 4 2 CAU Caulfield WAV Waverley BRU Brunswick CAM Camberwell FRA Frankston NOR Northcote WER Werribee YAR Yarraville MOR Mordialloc BOX Box Hill 15 3 0 2514 1611 P 14 4 0 2570 1516 12 5 1 1987 1722 10 7 1 1881 1761 10 7 1 2094 1989 8 10 0 1745 2196 7 11 0 1787 2040 6 11 1 1729 1994 6 12 0 1692 2077 0 18 0 1475 2568 Premiers #CCFFCC A A A A 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for. complete The Age 28 John Holland Cooper first VFA man to kick 100 this year 13 August 1973 Melbourne Finals Semi-finals Sunday, 19 August Brunswick 18.14 (122) H Camberwell 10.18 (78) Toorak Park 4,500 The Age 20 John Holland Last VFA round vital 20 August 1973 Melbourne Sunday, 26 August Caulfield 19.14 (128) H Waverley 14.9 (93) Toorak Park 7,000 Preliminary Final Sunday, 2 September Waverley 14.7 (91) A Brunswick 17.18 (120) Toorak Park 4,000 1973 VFA Division 2 Grand Final Sunday, 9 September Caulfield 4.4 (28) 10.6 (66) 12.10 (82) 18.20 (128) Logan 6, Hocking 4, Cliff 3, Jewell 3, Baker, Guinane H Brunswick 4.11 (35) 6.13 (49) 10.21 (81) 14.22 (106) Hadzilias 3, Allen 2, Dimattina 2, Hobbs 2, Baird, Egan, Gutterson, Hanton, Liakaureas Horsington (concussion) Toorak Park 8,000 John Gambetta Scores were level in time-on in the final quarter before Caulfield kicked four late goals. Awards The leading goalkicker for Division 2 was Doug Baird (Brunswick) who kicked 90 goals in the home-and-away season,The Sun News-Pictorial 59 Results in the VFA 13 August 1973 First Melbourne and 94 goals overall. The J. Field Medal was won by Geoff Bryant (Box Hill); Bryant polled 57 votes, at a very high average of 3.2 votes per game, despite his club failing to win a single game for the year. He was a comfortable winner over Ron Allen (Waverley), who polled 45 votes, and Mick Martin (Yarraville), who polled 41 votes.The Age 31 John Holland Bruant takes VFA award 16 August 1973 Melbourne Caulfield won the seconds premiership. Caulfield 11.14 (80) drew Brunswick 10.20 (80) in the Grand Final at Northcote Park on Saturday, 8 September; in the Grand Final Replay at Toorak Park on Saturday, 15 September, Caulfield 18.11 (119) d. Brunswick 13.20 (98). Caulfield also won the thirds premiership to be premiers in all three grades; as was the case in the seconds, the Grand Final was drawn; Caulfield 18.19 (127) defeated Waverley 16.10 (106) in the Grand Final Replay, held as a curtain-raiser to the seconds Grand Final Replay. It was the second time a club had won all three grades in the same season. Notable events On 22 April, Dandenong defeated Geelong West by five points, ending Geelong West's 22-game winning streak which dated back to 1971.The Age Melbourne 19 John Holland 23 April 1973 Substitutes clinch Oaks' win On 29 April, Waverley 36.20 (236) defeated Box Hill 11.13 (81); at the time, it was the equal-third highest score in Association history.The Age Melbourne 28 John Holland 30 April 1973 Let-down as VFA sides tie On 13 May, only two weeks later, Waverley matched this score again; Waverley 35.26 (236) d. Werribee 7.4 (46).The Age Melbourne 29 John Holland 14 May 1973 10 goals in a quarter and still beaten In the final round of the Division 1 home-and-away season, the bottom two teams Coburg and Preston played off against each other at Coburg City Oval in a match which directly determined which of the two clubs was relegated. Despite their respective positions on the ladder, the match attracted between 13,000 and 15,000 spectators, the highest crowd of the home-and-away season. Preston 27.9 (171) defeated Coburg 22.22 (154) in a high scoring game, to hold its place in the top division.The Sun News-Pictorial 54 Stephen Phillips Melbourne 27 August 1973 West waits, but in vain Coburg was relegated despite a win–loss record 5–12–2 and a high percentage of 95.8, setting a new record as the best performance by a wooden spooner in Association history.This reference shows Geelong West credited with the best record bya wooden spooner in 1971. By comparison, Coburg's in 1974 improves upon Geelong West's by virtue of its percentage. The Age 21 Terry O'Halloran Roosters win, but relegated 30 August 1971 Melbourne In addition to its two draws, Coburg lost four matches by less than a goal.The Age Melbourne 17 John Holland 30 July 1973 Coburg causes VFA surprise Camberwell qualified for the finals for the first time since 1961, clinching its finals position with a one-point win against Waverley in the final round of the season; Camberwell 15.17 (107) d. Waverley 15.16 (106). Box Hill was the first club to finish a season winless since Brighton in 1961; however, the club did go on to win its first two matches in the lightning premiership. The Division 2 Grand Final was held up for four minutes during the final quarter when all of the match footballs were lost; a replacement ball was eventually found in the Toorak Park club rooms. See also List of VFA/VFL premiers References 2 Category:Victorian Football League seasons VFL