1934 VFA season

none December 2017 April 2026 VFA Premiership season 1934 VFA 12 Northcote 4 Northcote 4 1933 1935 The 1934 VFA season was the 56th season of the Victorian Football Association (VFA), an Australian rules football competition played in the state of Victoria. The premiership was won by the Northcote Football Club, after it defeated Coburg by 61 points in the Grand Final on 6 October. It was the club's fourth VFA premiership, and the third in a sequence of three premierships won consecutively from 1932 until 1934; Coburg was defeated in all three Grand Finals in the sequence. The season was threatened by a dispute in the off-season between the Association and the local councils which controlled many of the suburban home venues relating to the use of Olympic Park as a central ground; there were ultimately no disruptions after the dispute was resolved shortly before the start of the season. Central ground dispute Lease of the Motordrome/Olympic Park In late 1932, the Association began negotiating with Melbourne Carnivals Limited to lease the Motordrome to use as a central ground. The Association intended that one match would be played on the Motordrome each Saturday during the home-and-away season, with each club expected to play one or two of its home games at the central ground instead of at its suburban home venue – the same way that the Victorian Football League would later utilise VFL Park in the 1970s and 1980s; all finals would also be played at the Motordrome.Barrier Miner Broken Hill, NSW 7 January 1933 6 Central ground for Victorian Assn. An eight-year deal was signed in May 1933, securing the venue until the end of 1940.The Argus Melbourne 9 May 1933 12 Association – Motordrome agreement Under the arrangement, the Association would play one of its two leading games each round at the venue, and Melbourne Carnivals Limited would upgrade facilities such as grandstands, change rooms and fencing.The Argus Melbourne 29 April 1933 23 Association Sporadic home-and-home matches were played at the venue in 1933, the first taking place in June, and all 1933 finals were held there;The Argus Melbourne 26 June 1933 13 Onlooker Central ground the intention was that the full arrangement would come into effect in 1934. The Motordrome itself underwent significant upgrades during 1933. The banked concrete motor racing circuit was demolished and replaced with a flat dirt track; this was not required by the agreement with the Association, and was simply because the surface, built in 1924, was no longer suitable for the higher powered vehicles which raced on it.The Argus Melbourne 6 April 1933 9 Motordrome obsoleteThe Argus Melbourne 11 May 1933 13 Changes at Motordrome In June 1933, the venue was renamed Olympic Park.The Argus Melbourne 24 June 1933 21 Amateur Sports Ground Dispute with the Grounds Management Association The push to use Olympic Park as a central ground was strongly opposed by the Grounds Management Association, a body made up of delegates representing the local councils which owned and maintained the suburban football grounds. The Grounds Management Association had several complaints: Football on the local grounds was a major source of revenue for the councils The councils had spent many thousands of pounds to upgrade the venues during the 1920s, including fencing and grandstands, and it expected its ratepayers to get value for that investment by playing games on those grounds The councils were concerned about the loss of earnings by local traders on game daysThe Argus Melbourne 8 December 1933 11 Grounds Management – Dispute over Olympic Park The councils were keen for good quality football to be staged in their municipalities, and did not want to see the best games shifted away.The Argus Melbourne 16 February 1934 12 The grounds dispute The Association increased admission fees in 1933, to which the Grounds Management Association also objected.The Argus Melbourne 28 March 1933 12 Association Meeting – Question of central ground The councils held a strong position, as they controlled the use of their grounds, and could ban clubs from using them should they have so wished; some councils made threats to that effect during 1933.The Argus Melbourne 20 April 1933 11 Association – Central ground opposed The Association guaranteed financial compensation to the affected councils – with offers including up to 15% of the Olympic Park gate and the right to sublet the ground on the day of any games which were moved – and while some of the councils accepted these offers, many others stood firm. In November 1933, with full enactment of the central ground agreement looming for the 1934 season, the Grounds Management Association issued an ultimatum that it would ban Association clubs from all of its grounds if the agreement with Melbourne Carnivals Limited was not rescinded by 21 December;The Argus Melbourne 1 December 1933 14 Football – Ultimatum to Association the clubs stood firm, and the councils followed through, banning seven clubs – Coburg, Preston, Northcote, Brunswick, Williamstown, Port Melbourne and Camberwell – from using their grounds for training or matches until further notice. Resolution After the ultimatum was enacted, planning for the 1934 VFA season was severely disrupted. The Grounds Management Association put forward a proposal for the seven teams whose grounds it controlled to secede from the Association and start a new competition which was not tied to a lease at Olympic Park;The Argus Melbourne 27 March 1934 8 Grounds management – secession suggestions and, it tried to entice the Association to rescind the agreement by offering its own venues for finals rent-free for two years, and thereafter at a generous charge of 6% of the gate, cf. the charge of 10% specified in the agreement with Olympic Park.The Argus Melbourne 7 March 1934 12 Grounds dispute The Association made contingency plans to provide alternative venues, not controlled by the Grounds Management Association, for its clubs to move to if required; some clubs such as Coburg were expected to be unwilling or unable to move, so the Association looked for junior clubs able to replace them.Sunshine Advocate Sunshine, VIC 16 February 1934 1 Senior football squabble may help Sunshine The Victorian Football League also took a keen interest in the dispute. The Association grounds were of good quality and high capacity in suburbs with strong population growth, and the League feared that the councils would lease the grounds to other sports, such as rugby and soccer, giving those sports a fillip which would be detrimental to football's long-term popularity in Melbourne. The Preston council, for example, already had a better offer to lease its ground to the local soccer club. As such, the League expressed a willingness to intervene, and potentially play some of its own games at Olympic Park, or even take over the Association's lease, as a means of providing some financial incentive or compensation to Melbourne Carnivals Limited should it allow the Association to break its lease.The Argus Melbourne 22 December 1933 12 Football – Grounds Management The dispute finally ended on 27 March 1934. It was agreed that Olympic Park would continue to be used for all finals matches, but that the suburban grounds would host all home-and-away matches; and, one delegate from the Grounds Management Association was given a position on the Victorian Football Association committee. Melbourne Carnivals Ltd agreed to amend the agreement, and went on to lease the ground to the Hakoah soccer club on Saturdays. All clubs were allowed back onto their grounds, and a full fixture featuring all twelve teams was released that same night.The Argus Melbourne 27 March 1934 8 Grounds dispute ended Had no compromise been reached, it is likely that Coburg, Preston, Port Melbourne and Northcote would all have transferred to other competitions or disbanded entirely. Aftermath Ironically, the 1934 Grand Final was played at neither Olympic Park, nor any of the suburban grounds. The match was originally scheduled for Olympic Park on 29 September, but was postponed due to inclement weather; however, Olympic Park was unavailable on the following Saturday afternoon. The Association made a request to the League to play its Grand Final as a curtain raiser to the VFL Firsts Preliminary Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, but the League Seconds were not prepared to move to another venue; all of the suburban Association grounds were unavailable as they had already been topdressed for the cricket season; and, a proposal to play the match at Olympic Park on the Saturday night was abandoned because the floodlights were too dim. As such, the match was moved to the only suitable venue remaining in Melbourne, the arena at the Royal Melbourne Showgrounds.The Argus Melbourne 3 October 1934 10 Association final – Ground for matchThe Argus Melbourne 4 October 1934 11 Football – Association Grand Final The Showgrounds arena was not usually used football, and arrangements were decidedly makeshift: short goalposts, a faintly-marked boundary line, and inadequate dressing rooms. Due to the remoteness of the location, and yet more inclement weather on the rescheduled day, an extremely meagre crowd of only 2,300 attended the match.The Age Northcote's triumph 6 8 October 1934 Melbourne As of 2025, this remains the lowest crowd for a VFA/VFL grand final ever. In 1935, the Association abandoned its arrangement at Olympic Park entirely, and returned to playing finals at suburban Association grounds.The Argus Melbourne 30 April 1935 11 Association finals – play on own grounds Premiership The home-and-home season was played over eighteen matches, a reduction from the twenty-two matches played in 1933, before the top four clubs contested a finals series under the Page–McIntyre system to determine the premiers for the season. Ladder main WDL Q 1934 VFA ladder true points y 4 2 NOR Northcote NBU Preston PRA Prahran COB Coburg OAK Oakleigh YAR Yarraville CAM Camberwell SAN Sandringham BRI Brighton PMB Port Melbourne BRU Brunswick WIL Williamstown 14 4 0 1916 1387 P 14 4 0 1750 1377 13 5 0 1966 1568 11 6 1 1457 1422 11 7 0 1659 1498 8 10 0 1542 1485 8 10 0 1487 1508 7 10 1 1570 1707 7 10 1 1499 1739 6 12 0 1387 1618 5 13 0 1436 1806 2 15 1 1379 1933 Premiers #CCFFCC A A A A 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for. complete The Argus 3 September 1934 ATwo leading association teams lose 14 Melbourne Finals Semi-finals Saturday, 8 September Prahran 14.7 (91) A Coburg 14.11 (95) Olympic Park 5,000 The Argus Melbourne Coburg wins first semi-final 10 September 1934 14 Saturday, 15 September Northcote 15.13 (103) H Preston 5.12 (42) Olympic Park 3,200 The Argus Melbourne Northcote not extended 17 September 1934 16 Preliminary Final Saturday, 22 September Preston 9.4 (58) A Coburg 8.14 (62) Olympic Park 4,000 The Argus Melbourne Preston unlucky to lose 24 September 1934 14 Grand Final Saturday, 29 September (postponed) Northcote V Coburg Olympic Park The Argus Melbourne Grand Final postponed 1 October 1934 14 1934 VFA Grand Final Saturday, 6 October (2:50pm) Northcote 4.5 (29) 10.10 (70) 17.12 (114) 19.16 (130) Seymour 6, Goullet 3, Gray 3, Ludlow 3, Ackland, Byrne, Clarke, Ross Ackland, for kicking DuncanHaskett, for kicking Duncan H Coburg 1.1 (7) 4.2 (26) 4.8 (32) 10.9 (69) Duncan 8, Brown, Nash Royal Melbourne Showgrounds Arena 2,300 The Argus Melbourne Northcote wins 8 October 1934 13 Hassett Awards Frank Seymour (Northcote) was the leading goalkicker for the season; he kicked 122 goals in the home-and-home season and 130 goals overall. His tally broke his own record of 122 goals for the full season, set in 1932. In the two parallel Association best-and-fairest awards: Danny Warr (Preston) won the Recorder Cup, polling five votes; Jim Dowling (Brunswick) and Edward Hyde (Prahran) finished equal second with four votes apiece.Dunstan A. E. RECORDER CUP https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/243108225 The Herald 7 September 2026 https://web.archive.org/web/20260907112004/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/243108225 7 September 2026 4 8 September 1934 Jim Dowling (Brunswick) won the Association Medal, polling 37 votes. G. Smith (Preston) was second with 23 votes and R. Williams (Camberwell) was third with 22 votes.The Argus Melbourne 6 September 1934 14 Dowling Best and Fairest Coburg won the seconds premiership after going through the season undefeated. Coburg 14.20 (104) defeated Brunswick 12.12 (84) in the Grand Final on Saturday 29 September at Heidelberg. Northcote became the permanent holder of the Grant Hay Shield for winning the premiership three seasons in a row. The Shield had been inaugurated as a semi-perpetual premiership trophy in 1932, to be presented permanently to the first club to win it three times;The Herald Melbourne, VIC News and gossip from the clubs 17 June 1932 4 by virtue of its three premierships in a row, Northcote was the only team ever to win it. See also List of VFA/VFL Premiers References 2 Category:Victorian Football League seasons VFL