1972 VFA season

none December 2017 December 2017 1972 10 Oakleigh 6 Oakleigh 4 10 Geelong West 3 Geelong West 1 white 1971 VFA season 1971 white 1973 VFA season 1973 The 1972 Victorian Football Association season was the 91st season of the top division of the Australian rules football competition, and the twelfth season of second division competition. The Division 1 premiership was won by the Oakleigh Football Club, after it defeated Dandenong in the Grand Final on 24 September by 44 points; it was Oakleigh's sixth and final Division 1 premiership. The Division 2 premiership was won by Geelong West, which went undefeated through the season with an overall record of 20–0, becoming the first team since in 1918 to complete a perfect season; overall, it was the club's third Division 2 premiership. 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 1972 VFA Division 1 Ladder TEAM P W L D PF PA Pct PTS 1 Oakleigh (P) 18 13 5 0 2315 1942 119.2 52 2 Dandenong 18 11 6 1 2039 1963 103.8 46 3 Williamstown 18 11 7 0 2022 1821 111.0 44 4 Preston 18 11 7 0 2050 1929 106.2 44 5 Port Melbourne 18 10 7 1 2076 1902 109.1 42 6 Sunshine 18 8 10 0 2051 1969 104.2 32 7 Sandringham 18 8 10 0 1941 2043 95.0 32 8 Coburg 18 6 12 0 1895 2082 91.0 24 9 Prahran 18 6 12 0 1849 2134 86.6 24 10 Waverley 18 5 13 0 1764 2217 79.5 20 Key: P = Played, W = Won, L = Lost, D = Drawn, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, Pct = Percentage; (P) = Premiers, PTS = Premiership points SourceThe Age 28 August 1972 And Port Melbourne misses 'four' 21 Melbourne Geoffrey Fithall Finals Semi-finals Sunday, 3 September Williamstown 22.19 (151) H Preston 19.17 (131) St Kilda Cricket Ground 15,000 The Age 17 Geoffrey Fithall Seagulls take sting out of Preston 4 September 1972 Melbourne Sunday, 10 September Oakleigh 27.15 (177) H Dandenong 16.19 (115) St Kilda Cricket Ground 13,000 The Age 22 Geoffrey Fithall 11 September 1972 Oakleigh beats Dandenong by 62 points Melbourne Preliminary Final Sunday, 17 September Dandenong 22.14 (146) H Williamstown 11.16 (82) St Kilda Cricket Ground 10,000 The Age 25 Geoffrey Fithall Seagulls not in the race 18 September 1972 Melbourne 1972 VFA Division 1 Grand Final Sunday, 24 September Oakleigh 4.6 (30) 11.12 (78) 15.13 (103) 25.17 (167) Murnane 7, Johnson 5, Taylor 4, Barrot 2, Carr 2, J. Lilley 2, Colcott, Ford, Robbins Wenn, for striking Miller in the first quarterWest, for striking Miller in the first quarterWest, for striking Ellis in the third quarter H Dandenong 2.6 (18) 8.8 (56) 13.14 (92) 18.15 (123) Miller 9, Flaherty 4, Hibbert 2, Davies, Ellis, Shinners Miller, for striking Wenn in the first quarter St Kilda Cricket Ground 22,400 'Big Bob' retires as player Geoffrey Fithall 25 September 1972 The Age 25 Melbourne Hayes Awards The leading goalkicker for the season was Len Clark (Preston), who kicked 100 goals in the home-and-away season and 107 goals overall. The J. J. Liston Trophy was won by Don McKenzie (Sunshine), who polled 34 votes. McKenzie finished ahead of Brian Ford (Oakleigh), who finished second with 31 votes, and Bob Skilton (Port Melbourne), who finished third with 28 votes.The Age 31 August 1972 Sunshine captain shock Liston winner 25 Melbourne Jim Robb Port Melbourne won the seconds premiership. Port Melbourne 14.18 (102) defeated Prahran 9.12 (66) in the Grand Final, played as a stand-alone match on Saturday 16 September. Coburg won the lightning premiership. Coburg 6.2 (38) defeated Port Melbourne 3.8 (26) in the Grand Final, played as a curtain-raiser to the senior Grand Final on Sunday 24 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 1972 VFA Division 2 Ladder TEAM P W L D PF PA Pct PTS 1 Geelong West (P) 18 18 0 0 2696 1517 177.7 72 2 Caulfield 18 15 3 0 2377 1694 140.3 60 3 Brunswick 18 11 7 0 1940 1938 100.1 44 4 Yarraville 18 9 8 1 2087 1989 104.9 38 5 Northcote 18 9 9 0 1846 1973 93.5 36 6 Camberwell 18 7 11 0 2081 2197 94.7 36 7 Box Hill 18 6 12 0 1969 2099 93.8 24 8 Mordialloc 18 6 12 0 1547 2371 65.2 24 9 Frankston 18 5 13 0 2018 2141 94.2 20 10 Werribee 18 3 14 1 1783 2425 73.5 12 Key: P = Played, W = Won, L = Lost, D = Drawn, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, Pct = Percentage; (P) = Premiers, PTS = Premiership points SourceThe Age 23 Geoffrey Fithall 10 reports: umpires get tough 14 August 1972 Melbourne Finals Semi-finals Sunday, 20 August Brunswick 14.19 (103) A Yarraville 15.16 (106) Toorak Park The Age 17 Geoffrey Fithall Loss keeps Port out of four once more 21 August 1972 Melbourne Sunday, 27 August Geelong West 17.18 (120) H Caulfield 17.13 (115) Toorak Park 9,000 Preliminary Final Sunday, 3 September Caulfield 31.23 (209) H Yarraville 16.11 (107) Toorak Park 5,000 1972 VFA Division 2 Grand Final Sunday, 10 September Geelong West 4.1 (25) 7.10 (52) 10.13 (73) 14.16 (100) McLean 3, M. Browne 2, R. Browne 2, Harris 2, Colley, Gilles, Irvin, Linke, Manson H Caulfield 2.5 (17) 3.5 (23) 13.7 (85) 14.10 (94) Williams 5, R. Brown 2, Guinane 2, Baker, Cliff, Hamblin, Hocking, Logan Renownden, for striking Manson in the first quarterHocking, for striking Deeath in the second quarter Toorak Park 10,000 Torney Awards The leading goalkicker for Division 2 was Graeme McLean (Geelong West) who kicked 129 goals in the home-and-away season,The Age 28 Geoffrey Fithall All eyes on Geelong West clash 12 August 1972 Melbourne and 137 goals overall. McLean's total was the highest by any player in a season since Ron Todd kicked 188 goals in 1945. The J. Field Medal was won by Wayne Schimmelbusch (Brunswick), who polled 39 votes. Schimmelbusch finished ahead of Ron Brown (Yarraville), who finished second with 36 votes, and John Knott (Yarraville), who finished third with 27 votes.The Age 28 Award to Brunswick 17 August 1972 Melbourne Brunswick won the seconds premiership for the second consecutive season. Brunswick 19.14 (128) defeated Frankston 12.16 (88) in the Grand Final,The Sun News-Pictorial 50 Stephen Phillips Record kicked in semi 11 September 1972 Melbourne held as a stand-alone match on Saturday 9 September at Northcote Park. Notable events Geelong West's perfect season Geelong West won all twenty games it played during the 1972 season, becoming the third team to complete a perfect season in Association history. It was the first time the feat had been achieved since in 1918, and the last time it was achieved until Port Melbourne in 2011. Geelong West entered the season after being relegated from Division 1 at the end of 1971, although it was not disgraced during that season, as its win–loss record of 6–12 was at the time the best ever for a wooden-spooner.The Age 21 Terry O'Halloran Roosters win, but relegated 30 August 1971 Melbourne Geelong West's Thirds team was also unbeaten during the 1972 season.Geelong Advertiser Melbourne 12 12 June 1972 "Recruit" wins it for West Geelong West's unbeaten record hides the fact that it was very evenly matched with runners-up Caulfield; three of Geelong West's four wins against Caulfield, including both finals, were by a goal or less: In the home-and-away match on 11 June, which attracted a ground record crowd estimated to be between 10,000 and 12,000 to West Oval, Geelong West defeated Caulfield, 17.10 (112) to 15.18 (108), after Brown for Caulfield missed a set shot for goal on or after the final siren.Southern Cross 27 Caulfield go down by four 14 June 1972 Caulfield, VICGeelong Advertiser Melbourne 12 11 September 1972 Quarter fightback gives West a double In the second semi-final, Caulfield led Geelong West by one point at the very end of the game. Geelong West ruckman Alex Andjelkovic, who had come on in the final quarter as the 17th man, marked 25-35 yards from goal with seconds remaining; his kick after the siren, an ugly kick with which he also accidentally took a divot out of the ground, just went through for a goal to give Geelong West a five-point victory, Geelong West 17.18 (120) d. Caulfield 17.13 (115).Geelong Advertiser Geelong, VIC West sneaks into final 12 28 August 1972 In the Grand Final, Geelong West led by 29 points at half time. Caulfield came from behind, scored ten goals to three in the third quarter, with John Williams kicking the first four of those from his first four kicks of the quarter, to lead by 12 points at three-quarter time, but Geelong West fought back in the final quarter to take a six-point lead. Ernie Baker had the chance to tie the game for Caulfield and force a replay, when he was awarded a free kick from 35yds out on an angle in the 32nd minute; his kick was accurate but fell short to be marked in the goal-square, and the siren sounded soon after; Geelong West 14.16 (100) d. Caulfield 14.10 (94). Lightning premiership In 1972, the Association established a post-season lightning premiership, contested by the twelve teams which did not reach the finals (six from each division). Matches were played as curtain-raisers to senior finals matches on Sundays, and were played at half the length of a normal match over two periods of play. The format of the competition was knock-out, and was arranged such that the Division 1 teams competed separately to the Division 2 teams up to the semi-final stage; then, the semi-final stage was contested by three Division 1 teams and one Division 2 team. The post-season lightning premiership was contested from 1972 until 1979.https://www.hardballget.net/vfa-vfl-npm-lightning-premierships.html VFA Lightning Premierships 15 March 2014 David Eastman 2013 20 November 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20181120095526/https://www.hardballget.net/vfa-vfl-npm-lightning-premierships.html dead Other notable events Prior to the season, Port Melbourne recruited two of the greatest players in the history of Australian rules football: Bob Skilton and Ron Barassi.The Age 26 Zunneberg quits Lions to play with Preston 21 April 1972 Melbourne Both players were later among the twelve inaugural Legends inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 1996, and Skilton was a three-time Brownlow Medallist in the Victorian Football League; so that both were playing alongside each other at Port Melbourne was a substantial recruiting coup for the Association. The two recruits had very different experiences at Port Melbourne: Skilton, 33 years old and recruited from , was still a top class player, and he finished third in the J. J. Liston Trophy voting, only six votes short of victory, despite playing only 11 of Port Melbourne's 18 games due to business commitments; conversely, Barassi was 36 years old and had been a non-playing coach at for the previous 2½ years, and he managed only four games before a hamstring injury forced his retirement.The Age 27 Geoffrey Fithall Still hope for Port 1 July 1972 Melbourne On 9 July, Lyall Henriksen (Dandenong) was reported for assaulting field umpire Andrew Craig, striking him first in the back, then in the stomach as Craig approached to report him. He was suspended until the start of the 1974 season for the incident.The Sun News-Pictorial 80 Stephen Phillips Player outed until 1974... 12 July 1972 Melbourne Early in the final quarter of the game between Oakleigh and Port Melbourne on 20 August, Phil Fryer (Oakleigh) ran into the behind post and snapped it at its base. After a five-minute delay in which no viable repair strategy was developed, an Oakleigh official was assigned to stand on the boundary line and hold the broken post in position for the rest of the game. See also List of VFA/VFL Premiers References 2 Category:Victorian Football League seasons VFL