Tag: MCG

Episode 40A: The Fourth Decade of the VFL 1927-1936

New rules, night football, new finals system, new club mascots, goal kicking master classes and the dominant Magpie Machine, the Fourth Decade of the VFL provided a welcome relief for supporters struggling through the Great Depression. This special, supplementary episode provides an overview of the Fourth Decade of VFL football. The teams that did well, the teams that struggled, the players that made a name for themselves and how the League started to flex its economic and political muscle as the game continued to grow in popularity.

Episode 39: 1935 Watch out for that Truck

Collingwood and South Melbourne play each other seven times, but only one can win the 1935 VFL premiership. It was a year that saw the first night game between VFL clubs and beer came in cans for the first time, two pivotal moments in history. Footscray made their bid for worst jumper of all time and the Magpies almost forfeited a game. North Melbourne and Hawthorn struggled while the league promised to help Rugby Union. Meanwhile Richmond was looking for alternatives to Punt Road for a home ground. And a truck played its part in Grand Final History.

Episode 38: 1934 The First Centenary Premiership

It was the centenary of white settlement in Victoria and every major event became a Centenary event. The Age said the “The Victorian Football League’s Centenary pennant, regarded by everyone as the most coveted prize ever offered in the history of the sport in Victoria”. It was the season where Bob Prat kicked 150 goals for South Melbourne, when Carlton and Collingwood had one of their most violent and controversial games ever and a maybe the most lop sided season ever. Teams at the bottom of the ladder had trouble winning a single game, teams at the top were competing desperately with each other. Off the field some players found themselves facing the courts because of the way they drove their cars while another club got into trouble with the police on a trip away. Some League traditions have a long history.

Episode 37: 1933 Every Team Needs a Mascot

It was the year a cartoonist bestowed a mascot onto a VFL club, it was the year Australian Rules and Rugby League tried to invent Universal Football and it was the year St Kilda and North had a game that they both recall very differently. The VFL experimented with a new pricing model for finals, the crowds might have been lower but the league considered it a success. Has the League ever regretted a price rise?

The cartoon that gave birth to the Swans Mascot for South Melbourne/Sydney. Alex Gurney The Herald 15 Sept 1933 (Trove)
The first South Melbourne Life Membership Medalion with the Swans Mascot The Hearald 22 January 1934
1933 National Football Carnival in Sydney Follow link for rare footage of Syd Coventry, Ken Farmer and Haydn Bunton, all Australian Football Hall of Fame Membershttps://www.nfsa.gov.au/latest/afl-1933-wave-two-flags

Episode 36: 1932 Ninth Time is a Charm

Australians struggle with the Depression, unemployment and the death of Phar Lap but there is always footy to look forward to. South Melbourne bring in a new jumper, new management and new players but will it be enough? The Tigers have been runners up four times in five years, their coach Checker Hughes has led teams into eight Grand Finals and been runners up eight times, will it change in 1932?

Episode 34: 1930 Harry waits 59 Years to Meet Charlie

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.

1930 Grand Final Table Talk (Trove)
The Coventries of Collingwood (Trove)

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

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.

Episode 32: 1928 A Lot Depends On You Today

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.

Collingwood 1928 Grand FInal Team

Episode 30: 1926 Six Wonderful Minutes

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

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.