1973 VFA season

1973 VFA Premiership Season
Teams 20
Division 1
Teams 10
Premiers Prahran
(4th premiership)
Minor premiers Dandenong
(3rd minor premiership)
Division 2
Teams 10
Premiers Caulfield
(1st D2 premiership)
Minor premiers Caulfield
(2nd D2 minor premiership)
1972
1974

The 1973 Victorian Football Association season was the 92nd season of the top division of the Australian rules football competition, and the 13th season of second division competition. The Division 1 premiership was won by the Prahran Football Club, after it came from fourth on the ladder to defeat Oakleigh in the Grand Final on 23 September by 35 points; it was Prahran's fourth Division 1 premiership. The Division 2 premiership was won by Caulfield; it was the first and only premiership in either division won by the club after its move from Brighton to Caulfield in 1962.

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

1973 VFA Division 1 Ladder
TEAM P W L D PF PA Pct PTS
1 Dandenong 18 12 5 1 2144 1834 116.9 50
2 Oakleigh 18 12 6 0 2048 1819 112.5 48
3 Port Melbourne 18 11 7 0 2186 2074 105.4 44
4 Prahran (P) 18 10 7 1 2203 1997 111.3 42
5 Geelong West 18 10 8 0 1986 1912 103.9 40
6 Williamstown 18 8 10 0 1867 1919 97.3 32
7 Sandringham 18 7 11 0 1861 2236 83.2 28
8 Sunshine 18 7 11 0 1820 2191 83.0 28
9 Preston 18 6 12 0 2118 2151 98.4 24
10 Coburg 18 5 12 2 1942 2026 95.8 24
Key: P = Played, W = Won, L = Lost, D = Drawn, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, Pct = Percentage; (P) = Premiers, PTS = Premiership points Source[1]

Finals

Semi Finals
Sunday, 2 September Port Melbourne 10.17 (77) def. by Prahran 18.21 (129) St Kilda Cricket Ground (crowd: 8,000) [2]
Sunday, 9 September Dandenong 13.23 (101) def. by Oakleigh 17.14 (116) St Kilda Cricket Ground (crowd: 14,000) [3]
Preliminary Final
Sunday, 16 September Dandenong 12.9 (81) def. by Prahran 16.14 (110) St Kilda Cricket Ground (crowd: 13,600) [4]
1973 VFA Division 1 Grand Final
Sunday, 23 September Oakleigh def. by Prahran St Kilda Cricket Ground (Crowd: 21,200) [5]
2.5 (17)
5.7 (37)
7.15 (57)
10.18 (78)
Q1
Q2
Q3
Final
2.4 (16)
8.11 (59)
12.17 (89)
15.23 (113)
Umpires: Stirling
Cloke 3, Halliday 2, Ford, Forster, O'Kane, Robbins, Taylor Goals Appleton 4, Weekes 3, Anderson 2, Smith 2, Emselle, Payne, Sinclair, Townsend
Quinn, for striking Rippon in the third quarter Reports Rippon, for striking Quinn in the third quarter
Rippon, for striking Nesbit in the fourth quarter

Awards

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

1973 VFA Division 2 Ladder
TEAM P W L D PF PA Pct PTS
1 Caulfield (P) 18 15 3 0 2514 1611 156.0 60
2 Waverley 18 14 4 0 2570 1516 169.5 56
3 Brunswick 18 12 5 1 1987 1722 115.4 50
4 Camberwell 18 10 7 1 1881 1761 106.8 42
5 Frankston 18 10 7 1 2094 1989 105.2 42
6 Northcote 18 8 10 0 1745 2196 79.4 32
7 Werribee 18 7 11 0 1787 2040 87.5 28
8 Yarraville 18 6 11 1 1729 1994 86.7 26
9 Mordialloc 18 6 12 0 1692 2077 81.4 24
10 Box Hill 18 0 18 0 1475 2568 57.4 0
Key: P = Played, W = Won, L = Lost, D = Drawn, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, Pct = Percentage; (P) = Premiers, PTS = Premiership points Source[7]

Finals

Semi Finals
Sunday, 19 August Brunswick 18.14 (122) def. Camberwell 10.18 (78) Toorak Park (crowd: 4,500) [8]
Sunday, 26 August Caulfield 19.14 (128) def. Waverley 14.9 (93) Toorak Park (crowd: 7,000) [1]
Preliminary Final
Sunday, 2 September Waverley 14.7 (91) def. by Brunswick 17.18 (120) Toorak Park (crowd: 4,000) [2]
1973 VFA Division 2 Grand Final
Sunday, 9 September Caulfield def. Brunswick Toorak Park (Crowd: 8,000) [3]
4.4 (28)
10.6 (66)
12.10 (82)
18.20 (128)
Q1
Q2
Q3
Final
4.11 (35)
6.13 (49)
10.21 (81)
14.22 (106)
Umpires: John Gambetta
Logan 6, Hocking 4, Cliff 3, Jewell 3, Baker, Guinane Goals Hadzilias 3, Allen 2, Dimattina 2, Hobbs 2, Baird, Egan, Gutterson, Hanton, Liakaureas
Injuries Horsington (concussion)

Scores were level in time-on in the final quarter before Caulfield kicked four late goals.

Awards

Notable events

External links

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 John Holland (27 August 1973). "Preston stays in top division". The Age (Melbourne, VIC). p. 22.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 John Holland (3 September 1973). "Prahran sinks Port". The Age (Melbourne, VIC). p. 31.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 John Holland (10 September 1973). "Oakleigh wins on the post". The Age (Melbourne, VIC). p. 27.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 John Holland (17 September 1973). "Prahran step closer to flag". The Age (Melbourne, VIC). p. 25.
  5. 5.0 5.1 John Holland (24 September 1973). "Prahran by 35 points". The Age (Melbourne, VIC). p. 22.
  6. John Holland (30 August 1973). "Rookie wins award". The Age (Melbourne, VIC). p. 30.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 John Holland (13 August 1973). "Cooper first VFA man to kick 100 this year". The Age (Melbourne, VIC). p. 28.
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 John Holland (20 August 1973). "Last VFA round vital". The Age (Melbourne, VIC). p. 20.
  9. "Reuslts in the VFA". The Sun News-Pictorial (First ed.) (Melbourne, VIC). 13 August 1973. p. 59.
  10. John Holland (16 August 1973). "Bruant takes VFA award". The Age (Melbourne, VIC). p. 31.
  11. John Holland (23 April 1973). "Substitutes clinch Oaks' win". The Age (Melbourne, VIC). p. 19.
  12. John Holland (30 April 1973). "Let-down as VFA sides tie". The Age (Melbourne, VIC). p. 28.
  13. John Holland (14 May 1973). "10 goals in a quarter and still beaten". The Age (Melbourne, VIC). p. 29.
  14. Stephen Phillips (27 August 1973). "West waits, but in vain". The Sun News-Pictorial (Melbourne, VIC). p. 54.
  15. This reference shows Geelong West credited with the best record bya wooden spooner in 1971. By comparison, Coburg's in 1974 improves upon Geelong West's by virtue of its percentage. Terry O'Halloran (30 August 1971). "Roosters win, but relegated". The Age (Melbourne, VIC). p. 21.
  16. John Holland (30 July 1973). "Coburg causes VFA surprise". The Age (Melbourne, VIC). p. 17.