1946 VFL season
1946 VFL premiership season | |
---|---|
![]() Essendon Football Club team, premiers | |
Teams | 12 |
Premiers | Essendon 8th premiership |
Minor premiers | Essendon 8th minor premiership |
Brownlow Medallist | Don Cordner (Melbourne) |
Leading goalkicker medallist | Des Fothergill (Collingwood) |
Matches played | 119 |
Highest | 77,370 |
The 1946 VFL season was the 50th season of the
The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 20 April until 5 October, and comprised a 19-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top four clubs. The league's thirds/under-19s competition played its inaugural season.
The premiership was won by the
Background
In 1946, the VFL competition consisted of twelve teams of 18 on-the-field players each, plus two substitute players, known as the 19th man and the 20th man. A player could be substituted for any reason; however, once substituted, a player could not return to the field of play under any circumstances.
Teams played each other in a home-and-away season of 19 rounds; matches 12 to 19 were the "home-and-away reverse" of matches 1 to 8.
The determination of the 1946 season's fixtures were complicated by the fact that both the
Once the 19 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1946 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the
Home-and-away season
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
Round 8
Round 9
Round 10
Round 11
Round 12
Round 13
Round 14
Round 15
Round 16
Round 17
Round 18
Round 19
Ladder
(P) | Premiers |
Qualified for finals |
# | Team | P | W | L | D | PF | PA | % | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Essendon (P) | 19 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 1980 | 1407 | 140.7 | 60 |
2 | Collingwood | 19 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 1849 | 1477 | 125.2 | 52 |
3 | Footscray | 19 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 1917 | 1628 | 117.8 | 52 |
4 | Melbourne | 19 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 1700 | 1622 | 104.8 | 52 |
5 | Richmond | 19 | 11 | 8 | 0 | 1921 | 1659 | 115.8 | 44 |
6 | Carlton | 19 | 11 | 8 | 0 | 1724 | 1688 | 102.1 | 44 |
7 | South Melbourne | 19 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 1627 | 1528 | 106.5 | 40 |
8 | Fitzroy | 19 | 9 | 10 | 0 | 1589 | 1339 | 118.7 | 36 |
9 | North Melbourne | 19 | 8 | 11 | 0 | 1536 | 1685 | 91.2 | 32 |
10 | Geelong | 19 | 4 | 15 | 0 | 1505 | 2124 | 70.9 | 16 |
11 | St Kilda | 19 | 4 | 15 | 0 | 1332 | 1902 | 70.0 | 16 |
12 | Hawthorn | 19 | 3 | 16 | 0 | 1487 | 2108 | 70.5 | 12 |
Rules for classification: 1. premiership points; 2. percentage; 3. points for
Average score: 88.5
Source: AFL Tables
Finals series
Semi-finals
Preliminary final
Grand final
Season notes
- The ANFC introduced a second substitute player, known as the 20th man; this meant that a team was now composed of 18 "run on" players, and two "reserves" on the bench. A player could be substituted for any reason (not just if he was injured and unable to continue). Once substituted, a player could not return to the field of play under any circumstances. As with the 19th man, the 20th man was paid a match fee only in the event that he took the field.
- The ANFC rejected a joint proposal from New South Wales and Tasmania to introduce an "order off" rule for foul play.
- The VFL introduced a new Under-19 competition; the teams are referred to as the Third Eighteens.
- The VFL resumes the Brownlow Medal award.
- In Round 1, 33-year-old former champion full-forward Coburg (1940–1941) and serving in the Royal Australian Air Force(1942–1945). He kicked two goals before badly injuring a leg, and never played again.
- In Round 2, North Melbourne won its first ever VFL away match against Richmond, having lost the previous 15 meetings.
- From ninth position on the ladder at the end of Round 8, Melbourne won 13 of its next 14 matches and play in the Grand Final.
- At half time in the closely contested Grand Final, a straighter-kicking Melbourne 10.4 (64) was three points in front of Essendon 9.7 (61); in the third quarter Essendon kicked 11.8 (74) to Melbourne's 1.1 (7).
Awards
- The 1946 VFL Premiership team was Essendon.
- The VFL's leading goalkicker was Bill Brittingham of Essendon with 66 goals, including 8 goals in the finals series. Des Fothergill of Collingwood was the leading goal-kicker in the home-and-home season, with 63 goals.
- The winner of the 1946 Footscray's John Schultzin 1960.
- Hawthorn took the "wooden spoon" in 1946.
- The seconds premiership was won by Richmond. Richmond 7.15 (57) defeated Fitzroy 7.14 (56) in the Grand Final, played as a curtain-raiser to the senior preliminary final on Saturday 28 September at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.[1]
- The inaugural thirds premiership was won by North Melbourne (main: 1946 VFL thirds season)
References
- ^ "Rough play in seconds final:Richmond win". The Argus. Melbourne. 30 September 1946. p. 16.
- Maplestone, M., Flying Higher: History of the Essendon Football Club 1872–1996, Essendon Football Club, (Melbourne), 1996. ISBN 0-9591740-2-8
- Rogers, S. & Brown, A., Every Game Ever Played: VFL/AFL Results 1897–1997 (Sixth Edition), Viking Books, (Ringwood), 1998. ISBN 0-670-90809-6
- Ross, J. (ed), 100 Years of Australian Football 1897–1996: The Complete Story of the AFL, All the Big Stories, All the Great Pictures, All the Champions, Every AFL Season Reported, Viking, (Ringwood), 1996. ISBN 0-670-86814-0
Sources
- 1946 VFL season at AFL Tables
- 1946 VFL season at Australian Football