Grand Final History

Episode 20A Supplementary The Second 10 Years

Ten years in one episode! The leage expands and contracts, players become professional but gambling and bribery allegations cast a cloud. Collingwood tries doping in a semi final yet lose the game anyway. Violence rears its ugly head involving players, crowds, police and the courts. Coaches are sacked, comittees dumped and players go on strike. The game is captured on film and the first exhibition match is played in London in front of the future King. And the spectre of WWI casts doubt on whether the game can continue, as spectators and players enlist, some never to return. 

Episode 20. Then There Was Four

How do you run a league and a season of football when more than half the clubs refuse to play? 1916 was the year when a majority of VFL clubs said football was a distraction from the war effort and others argued that it provided a welcome relief and entertainment for the working man. And it would be an opportunity to raise money for the Patriotic Funds. It was a season like no other. Four clubs playing each other four times in a shortened season before the finals. Where every team made the Final Four!
In London there was the first exhibition game of Australian Rules, played by Australian Servicemen from the VFL, VFA, SA and WA football leagues and more. Attended by thousands of spectators including the future King of England. A moment of respite in a year that would claim the lives of many footballers and people from all walks of life.

Episode 19 1915 Then there was nine

1915, The season starts the day before the Gallipoli landings, with only nine clubs now that University has departed. But many people are asking why footballers are being paid to play a game while soldiers are needed to defend the empire. There is a vote to shorten the season and a majority of clubs agree.  A charity game between VFA premiers North Melbourne and St Kilda is played, the purpose is to raise finds for wounded soldiers. But there is not much charity on the field, and why were North using "ring ins" from other VFA clubs? It was a tough season with attendance down due to the war but the finals bought the crowds back. Team selection for the Grand final caused a sensation, two players bought back from army training to play in the Premiership match. Pity about that 16km route march in the morning. 

Episode 18 1914 The Storm Begins

Carlton undertake one of the most successful rebuilding efforts of any VFL/AFL team, making the Grand Final with 9 first year players.  Can they go all the way?
And what happens when a player is reported for striking a spectator who punched him first, what ruling will the tribunal bring down? In a season that was marked by the start of the WWI the VFL had one of its most even seasons ever. But it would be the final year for University, competing against professionals was challenging, putting a team on the field when the majority of players enlist was impossible. This was one of many impacts on the VFL with the start of the war, in a year that was the beginning of the storm. 

Episode 17 1913 The Calm

Melbourne players threaten to go on strike, a deadly virus causes a club to change travel plans, players form thier first union and St Kilda makes a barnstorming entrance into the finals. With record crowds squeezed into the MCG, can St Kilda pull off one of the biggest upsets yet in the VFL's history. In other matters there is an outbreak of peace and goodwill between the VFL and VFA but it won't last. 

Episode 16 1912 Footy Record

It was the year of the Olympics and the Titanic's maiden voyage. But in Melbourne the focus was on the footy. Players now had numbers on their jumpers and the Footy Record was on sale before the game. Could Essendon go back to back under super coach Jack Worrall? One club would mourn the loss of an iconic leader with a shock death before the season began. Another club would have the honour of being the last team to be beaten by University as the students endured another tough year. 

Episode 15 1911The Professionals

The era of amateurism (or shamateurism) is over, the VFL changes to a professional league but not all clubs agree. And a potential amalgamation is explored with the VFA. Essendon employ the original super coach Jack Worrall to move them to the next level. Meanwhile St Kilda players go on strike and the club uses more than 60 players in a season. A record that will never be broken

Episode 14 1910 Season of Scandal

A year unlike any other. Committee room coups, on field violence, players arrested and charged in court, umpires assaulted at the tribunal hearings and bribery allegations during the final series. It has to be a bumper episode to fit all this in, so put your headphones on and find out what happened in the most controversial season of all time. 
And on a positive note, the New York Times publishes an article claiming the Australian game is the best football anywhere on the planet. Wouldn't the AFL like to see that happen this year. 

Episode 13 1909 One Day in October

The Grand Final is held in October for the first time. This year also saw a visit from a touring American team playing Australian rules, would they help grow the game in the USA? Carlton have to deal with dissent and disunity as they chase their fourth premiership in a row, St Kilda select a suspended player and lose one of their few victories for the year. And with the introduction of Half Day Trading on Saturday in the retail trade, many more people can now attend the games. All that extra money will not cause any problems in this most amateur of sports, surely?

Episode 12 1908 And Then There Were Ten

The first two expansion clubs, Richmond and University, join the VFL to make a ten team competition. Victoria wins the International Football Jubilee held at the MCG to celebrate the 50th year of the Australian Game. 
During the 1908 season St Kilda was caught up in two separate dramas. Were committee members and players caught up in gambling? Was there a game lost deliberately against a less established team? Could any of the allegations be proven? Then during the finals, were St Kilda players under the influence of alcohol, how much did they drink at half time? 
And who would win the premiership in 1908? Could Carlton make it three in a row or would another club rise to the occasion.