1945 VFA season

none December 2017 December 2017 VFA Premiership season 1945 VFA Williamstown fc 1945.jpg 250px Williamstown FC, premier team 12 Williamstown 4 Coburg 4 1944 1946 The 1945 Victorian Football Association season was the 64th season of the Australian rules football competition, and it was the first season played since the Association went into recess during World War II. The premiership was won by the Williamstown Football Club, which defeated Port Melbourne by 37 points in the Grand Final on 6 October. It was the club's fourth VFA premiership. Minor premiers Coburg went through the home-and-home season unbeaten, before losing both finals to finish third. Resumption of play World War II commenced in Europe in September 1939, and had spread to the Pacific in December 1942. The Association had continued contesting the premiership in 1940 and 1941, but cancelled the 1942, 1943 and 1944 seasons when it became clear that the competition would distract from the war effort.The Argus Melbourne No Association football 23 February 1943 9 On 12 June 1944, the Association decided that it would resume the premiership in 1945, even though the Pacific War would ultimately not end until late 1945.The Argus Melbourne VFA to play next season 13 June 1944 13 Two clubs – Brighton and Port Melbourne – both had obstacles to overcome to resume playing in the Association. Brighton had practically ceased to exist in either a playing or administrative capacity during the war, but upon it being confirmed that the Association was to resume, the club was able to assemble a football committee and make preparations for the season.The Argus Melbourne Brighton to play 21 July 1944 12 Port Melbourne was unable to use North Port Oval as a home venue during the season as its surface was in need of repairs after having been commandeered and used as a vegetable garden as part of the war effort,The Argus Melbourne Todd stays with Association 21 March 1945 13Santo Caruso Marc Fiddian Jim Main Football Grounds of Melbourne Pennon Publishing 2002 Essendon North, VIC 119 so it secured Olympic Park as a home venue; but, unhappy with the arrangement, the club ultimately moved many of its games in the second half of the year to other Association grounds.The Argus Melbourne Port changes ground 3 July 1945 13 The Victorian Football League (VFL) had continued playing throughout the war, and approximately 200 VFA players had crossed to the rival competition. The Association delegates ruled that any players who did not return to the Association now that it had resumed competition would be suspended from the VFA for five years.http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1097821 VFA Players who stay with League The Argus Melbourne 10 April 1945 20 November 2014 13 National Library of Australia Premiership The home-and-home season was played over twenty matches, 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 1945 VFA ladder true points y 4 2 COB Coburg WIL Williamstown PMB Port Melbourne CAM Camberwell NBU Preston PRA Prahran NOR Northcote BRU Brunswick BRI Brighton YAR Yarraville SAN Sandringham OAK Oakleigh 20 0 0 2506 1355 17 3 0 2448 1522 P 15 5 0 2294 1606 12 8 0 1948 1890 11 9 0 1753 1751 10 10 0 2116 2018 10 10 0 1753 1815 8 12 0 1807 1697 8 12 0 1598 2109 5 15 0 1796 2085 2 18 0 1476 2444 2 18 0 1292 2493 Premiers #CCFFCC A A A A 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for. complete The Argus 10 September 1945 VFA final four – no alterations 11 Melbourne Roy Shaw Finals Semifinals Saturday, 15 September Port Melbourne 23.17 (155) H Camberwell 15.11 (101) St Kilda Cricket Ground 16,000 The Argus Melbourne VFA semi to Port 17 September 1945 15 Roy Shaw Saturday, 22 September Coburg 8.23 (71) A Williamstown 12.16 (88) St Kilda Cricket Ground 17,000 The Argus Melbourne Coburg lose semi 24 September 1945 15 Roy Shaw Preliminary Final Saturday, 29 September Coburg 13.11 (89) A Port Melbourne 13.13 (91) St Kilda Cricket Ground 16,000 The Argus Melbourne VFA final won by Port Melbourne 1 October 1945 8 Roy Shaw 1945 VFA Grand Final Saturday, 6 October Williamstown 6.4 (40) 10.10 (70) 10.13 (73) 16.21 (117) Todd 6, Harris 3, Spring 3, Cockburn, Glass, Hearne, Matthews H Port Melbourne 3.8 (26) 5.14 (44) 8.18 (66) 10.20 (80) Culph 4, Freyer 2, Houston, Kelly, Livingstone, Taylor St Kilda Cricket Ground 39,000 The Argus Melbourne Poor display in VFA final 8 October 1945 14 Roy Shaw Merrington Awards Ron Todd (Williamstown) was the leading goalkicker for the season, kicking 179 goals in the home-and-away season and 188 goals overall. Todd broke Bob Pratt's Association record of 183 goals, achieved in 1941; his record also exceeded Western Australian forward George Doig's national record of 152 goals in a season, but it was not recognised as a national record because the Association was not playing under ANFC rules at the time. As of 2019 this remains the record for most goals in an Association season. The Recorder Cup and V.F.A. Medal, which had been awarded to the best and fairest player in the Association, were replaced in 1945 by a single award known as the J. J. Liston Trophy, named after former Association president J. J. Liston who had died in 1944.Williamstown Chronicle Williamstown, VIC 29 June 1945 2 Wind spoils game Eric Beard (Oakleigh) won the award in 1945, polling 51 votes. Col Bencraft (Sandringham) finished second with 36 votes, and J. Baker (Brunswick) finished third with 32 votes.The Argus Melbourne Beard wins Association award 13 September 1945 16 Yarraville won the seconds premiership for the first time. Yarraville 12.24 (96) defeated Port Melbourne 11.13 (79) in the Grand Final, played as a curtain raiser to the seniors Grand Final on Saturday 6 October at the St Kilda Cricket Ground. Notable events On 28 April, Sandringham suffered its thirty-seventh consecutive loss, breaking the record of thirty-six set by Melbourne City in 1912–1913. Sandringham ultimately suffered forty-four consecutive defeats before defeating Oakleigh on 23 June, 10.12 (72) d. 7.10 (52).Atkinson, Graeme and Hanlon, Michael; 3AW Book of Footy Records: All the Great Players, Matches, Goals, Kicks, Brawls and Sensations from More Than 100 Years of Aussie Rules in Australia; p. 138. 1863210091 The club's last win had been on 25 May 1940 against Camberwell. On 9 June, a crowd of 21,000 attended the match between Coburg and Williamstown at Coburg, setting a new record for the highest crowd ever at an Association home-and-home match.Williamstown Chronicle Williamstown, VIC 15 June 1945 2 Second quarter lapse fatal In July, Brighton changed its colours from red and white to maroon and gold – in large part because their red and white guernseys were unusable after having shrunk in repeated washes.The Argus Melbourne Brighton's new colours 17 July 1945 12 A carnival was held at the St Kilda Cricket Ground on Sunday 2 September, with an attendance of 12,000 raising £426 for Prince Henry's Hospital. As part of the entertainment, a team of VFA umpires 8.9 (57) defeated a team of VFL umpires 4.15 (39) for the Ken Luke Challenge Cup; the match was played under League rules in the first half, and Association rules in the second half, with 's Jack Dyer and Coburg's Bob Atkinson serving as umpires for their respective codes.The Argus Melbourne Umpires to play match 28 August 1945 12The Argus Melbourne Graham kicks 76 yards 3 September 1945 11 Percy Taylor Williamstown and Coburg visited Broken Hill in mid-October. On Saturday 20 October, Coburg 16.18 (114) defeated Williamstown 12.8 (80) in an exhibition match under Association rules; and on Sunday 21 October, a combined Coburg/Williamstown team 14.15 (99) defeated a combined Broken Hill Football League team 12.12 (84) under the League rules which were used in Broken Hill at the time. Both matches attracted large crowds.The Argus Melbourne VFA teams excel at Broken Hill 24 October 1945 15 See also List of VFA premiers References 2 Category:Victorian Football League seasons VFL