1878 VFA season

2nd season of the Victorian Football Association December 2017 December 2017 1878 1 George Coulthard( – 18 goals) white 1877 VFA season 1877 white 1879 VFA season 1879 The 1878 VFA season was the second season of the Victorian Football Association (VFA), the highest-level Australian rules football competition in the colony of Victoria.Mark FOOTBALL NOTES https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/220452873 Weekly Times 1 June 2025 5 4 May 1878FOOTBALL https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/270716694 Williamstown Advertiser 1 June 2025 3 20 July 1878 Like the 1877 season, the existence of the VFA was effectively an administrative change only, and there was no significant change to the manner in which matches were scheduled and played – or the premiership decided – compared to the unaffiliated 1876 season.FOOTBALL https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/210369626 The Ballarat Courier 1 June 2025 4 9 August 1878 The premiership was won by the Geelong Football Club, after it defeated in a playoff match on 5 October. It was the club's first VFA premiership, and the first in a sequence of three consecutive premierships won from 1878 to 1880. Geelong was unbeaten during the year. Association membership The number of senior metropolitan clubs in the Association increased from five to seven in 1878, with and West Melbourne being newly promoted to senior ranks for 1878, having been leading junior teams in 1877. Additionally, several provincial teams, including premiers , competed as senior clubs affiliated with the Association. Metropolitan Among the metropolitan clubs, had the best record, finishing with eleven wins and five draws from its twenty-three matches, ahead of , whose record was seventeen wins and one draw from twenty-four matches. Despite Carlton having a superior record, at the time, Melbourne and Carlton were considered to be by far the strongest of the metropolitan clubs, with Melbourne's position as the top club based almost entirely on the head-to-head matches between the two clubs,The Argus (Supplement) 3 October 1878 Outdoor Sports Melbourne, VIC 2 of which Melbourne won all four.The Argus 30 September 1878 Football - Melbourne v. Carlton Melbourne, VIC 6 Among the provincial clubs, was by far the strongest, having gone through the season undefeated with fifteen wins and one draw from sixteen matches.Power Thomas P. The Footballer 1878 R.P. Hurren Melbourne, Australia 88 1878. Volume 4. However, Geelong had played only three games against metropolitan clubs (wins against West Melbourne, Carlton and Hotham), while its provincial opponents were not considered as strong as the metropolitan competition. To resolve the matter of the premiership, Melbourne and Geelong scheduled a premiership play-off match — the first in Association history — for 5 October, the week after the season was to have finished, at the MCG. Geelong won the play-off match by four goals to win the premiership. Club records The below table details the playing records of the seven senior metropolitan clubs and in all matches during the 1878 season. Two sets of results are given: Senior results: based only upon games played against VFA senior metropolitan clubs Total results: including senior games, and games against intercolonial, up-country and junior clubs. The clubs are listed in the order in which they were ranked in The Australasian. The VFA had no formal process by which the clubs were ranked, so the below order should be considered indicative only, particularly since the fixturing of matches was not standardised; however, the top three placings were later acknowledged in publications including the Football Record and are considered official. The senior records include the premiership playoff match.Wilson Caroline History of the AFL could be turned on its head https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/history-of-the-afl-could-be-turned-on-its-head-20140620-zsglu.html The Age 12 April 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20230929215206/https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/history-of-the-afl-could-be-turned-on-its-head-20140620-zsglu.html 29 September 2023 20 June 2014 + Pos Position on ladder Team Senior results Total results Qualification Pld Games played W Won L Lost D Drawn Pld Games played W Won L Lost D Drawn GF Goals for GA Goals against 1 (P) 4 4 0 0 17 16 0 1 75 11 Playoff match 2 16 6 5 5 23 11 7 5 34 30 3 13 8 5 0 24 17 6 1 69 23 – 10 4 4 2 19 9 4 3 20 8 – 10 3 3 4 18 8 3 7 28 11 – 10 2 5 3 18 6 5 7 18 12 – 13 2 5 6 17 5 6 6 12 18 – 6 1 3 2 11 2 6 3 6 30 Source:Pindar Peter The Football Season of 1878 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/143001713 The Australasian 14 April 2025 13 12 October 1878 (P) Premiers Playoff match 1878 VFA premiership playoff match |- | Saturday, 5 October (3:30 pm) | align=right | | align=center| def. by | style="font-weight: bold;" | | style="font-size: 100%"| Melbourne Cricket Ground (Crowd: 7,000–8,000) | The Australasian 12 October 1878 Football Gossip Peter Pindar 461 654 XXV Melbourne, VIC |- | | align=right | 1.11.4 | align=center style="font-weight: bold;" | HalfFinal |1.75.12 | valign=top style="font-size: 85%" colspan=2 | Umpires: Graham () |- | colspan=2 align=right valign=top style="font-size: 85%" | C. Baker | align=center valign=top | Goals | colspan=2 valign=top style="font-size: 85%"| Booth 3, Christie, Douglass |- Notable events and each hosted intercolonial clubs during the season – in both cases, the same clubs they had visited in 1877: Carlton hosted the Waratah club from New South Wales, playing one match under the rugby rules prevalent in New South Wales and one match under the Victorian rules, as they had done the previous year during Carlton's visit to Sydney. The result of the rugby game on 29 June was disputed between the two clubs: both clubs claimed one goal and one touch-down, but the Carlton and Waratah umpires disagreed about whether or not Carlton's shot for goal had hit the post; consequently, Carlton claimed a 1–1 draw and Waratah claimed a 1–0 victory.The Sydney Morning Herald Sydney, NSW 5 Carlton v. Waratah 4 July 1878 In the Victorian rules game on 1 June, Carlton 2.13 defeated Waratah 1.2.Launceston Examiner Launceston, TAS 3 6 July 1878 Intercolonial football match Both clubs were lauded for their proficiency in their non-preferred code. Melbourne hosted the Victorians club from South Australia. Both matches were played under Victorian rules, which were in use in both Victoria and South Australia at the time. Melbourne won both games: on 17 August, Melbourne 1.23 d. Victorians 0.1; and, on 19 August, Melbourne 2.13 d. Victorians 0.4.The Australasian Melbourne, VIC Football Gossip Peter Pindar 236 24 August 1878 XXV 647 The leading goalkickers for the season were Christie () and Coulthard (), who both kicked 15 goals. References Category:Victorian Football League seasons VFA