Episodes - Grand Final History

Episode 35: 1931 Almost an Exhibition

September 22, 2023 admin-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2--2 0 Comments

Games at the Exhibition Oval, next to the Exhibition Buildings? The VFL was negotiating with Cricket Clubs to get a fair share of revenue for football on grounds controlled by Cricket Clubs and released the 1931 fixture with games at the Exhibition Oval and the Motordrome, opposite the MCG. Football clubs were threatened with eviction. It was going to get tense before an agreement was struck. Collingwood were trying for their fifth premiership in a row but lost a champion player who moved to Tasmania to coach and get a job rather than be unemployed in Melbourne. A Tiger Immortal made their debut but did not get a touch. And the finals get a shake up with the traditional Right of Challenge dismissed for all time.

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Episode 34: 1930 Harry waits 59 Years to Meet Charlie

August 31, 2023 admin-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2--2 0 Comments

Collingwood are looking for their fourth premiership in a row but with three time premiership captain Syd Coventry appointed Captain Coach of Footscray how will the Magpies cope? Harry Collier finally gets to meet Charlie, it only took 59 years! Geelong supporters wonder if the You Yang mountains are cursed. 1930 was a tough time for many people but footy provided relief for many. And though the rain fell heavily at times some wanted to make Victoria a dry state.

**Collingwood before the 1930 Grand FInal**

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Episode 33A Supplementary: Colden Harrison The Father of Football

June 2, 2023 admin-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2--2 0 Comments

The Rum Rebellion, the tragedy of Australia’s frontier wars and the birth of our own game, all of this will be explored as we look at the Henry Colden Antil Harrison, the Father of Football and the forgetting and remembering of his cousin Tom Wills. Colden Harrison may not have been at the very birth of the game, unlike cousin and brother in law Tom, but his impact was pivotal in the growth and establishment of the native game. And the establishment would recognise him in his own life, even if, in recent times, we have lost focus on the role he played in the making of our great game, Australian Football.

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Episode 33: Coventry’s Ton and the Father of Football Dies

May 25, 2023 admin-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2--2 0 Comments

Coventry kicks a ton, the Father of Football dies and the Victorian team rescue a stowaway and there is talk of the VFL killing the VFA, again! The VFL and the world were changing in 1929, not always for the better but one thing that could be counted on was the Collingwood Machine and their quest for a premiership hat trick. The Saints would make a late run for the finals and the premiership game would have a familiar look to it.

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Episode 32A Supplementary: 1928 VFL VFA AN Olive Branch Extended?

April 23, 2023 admin-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2--2 0 Comments

Affiliation between the VFA and VFL was a hot topic in 1928. Could these two feuding organisations put their history behind them and cooperate for the good of football in Victoria. Many meetings, detailed proposals and a preview of an arrangement that was implemented many decades later.

An episode for those interested in the fractious relationship between the VFL and the VFA.

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Episode 32: 1928 A Lot Depends On You Today

April 20, 2023 admin-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2--2 0 Comments

Collingwood players threatening to go on strike over pay cuts, the VFA looking to affiliate with the VFL, a Brownlow winner off to the USA to teach American footballers to kick and meet Hollywood stars and Geelong’s grandstand burns down so the players get new boots. 1928 was a busy season as the economy started to look tougher clubs looked to save money. But how could the Magpies defend their premiership if they went on strike? And how did Fitzroy have three more scoring shots than the Cats but lose by 76 points? The Bulldog makes an appearance at Footscray but not everyone is pleased. The VFL gets its first draw in a finals series then in the Grand Final one player sets a goal kicking record that still stands today.

Syd Coventry and Donald Don Grand Final Captains 1928

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Episode 31: 1927 The Uncertainty Principle

March 2, 2023 admin-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2--2 0 Comments

One champion footballer killed in a car crash and Geelong nearly lose three premiership players in another accident on the Geelong Road. The popularity of cars is increasing and the road toll is growing. 1927 was not short of drama and incident. Collingwood dumped their captain before the season started with never ending rumours of bribery and corruption. At the National Football Championship a tactic used by the VFL causes an immediate rule change for all future championships. Meanwhile violence on the ground and by spectators reaches new heights. The season ends in a Grand Final that sets records that have not been matched since.

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Episode 30A Supplementary: The Third 10 years: 1917-1926

January 14, 2023 admin-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2--2 0 Comments

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Ten years in one episode, the third decade of the VFL. From a time of war and global pandemic a six team competition grows to 12 clubs and the game is faster, with higher scores, but not everybody is happy. The first radio broadcasts and growing number of newspapers feed a never ending hunger for news about footy. Gambling and bribery scandals target premiership teams. There is even discussion of privately owned clubs and night football, decades before their time. And will Collingwood be allowed to play their home games at Victoria Park?

Episode 30: 1926 Six Wonderful Minutes

December 22, 2022 admin-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2--2 0 Comments

Tragedy strikes on and off the field as bushfires burn the state. A VFL player dies due to a tetnus infection after breaking his arm in a game. 1926 had its challenges. There were also highlights, the game was faster, the scores were higher and a Grand Final was won with six wonderful minutes sealing the game. It was also the year where two men coached at one club but played for another in the same season. And, if you think that’s odd, wait until you hear about the Geelong business owners who want the reigning premiers to leave the VFL.

Episode 29: 1925 Now we are 12

November 8, 2022 admin-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2--2 0 Comments

The VFL becomes a 12 team competition, Hawthorn, North Melbourne and Footscray leave the VFA. Threats of legal action, suspensions and accusations of dishonourable conduct. But then proposals for two new privately run teams, playing under lights on Saturday and Sunday decades before night football was established. And Grand Final players bashed after training by a gang of supporters from the other club. It was all happening in 1925. New clubs, new rules and host of new coaches across the league, all looking for their place in Grand Final History.