1974 VFA season

The 1974 Victorian Football Association season was the 93rd season of the top division of the Australian rules football competition, and the 14th season of second division competition. The Division 1 premiership was won by the Port Melbourne Football Club, after it defeated Oakleigh in the Grand Final on 22 September by 69 points; it was Port Melbourne's tenth Division 1 premiership, drawing it level with Williamstown for the most Division 1 premierships in VFA history, and the first of six premierships won in nine seasons between 1974 and 1982. The Division 2 premiership was won by Coburg in its first season after being relegated from Division 1; it was Coburg's second Division 2 premiership.

1974 VFA premiership season
Division 1
Teams10
PremiersPort Melbourne
10th premiership
Minor premiersPort Melbourne
9th minor premiership
Division 2
Teams10
PremiersCoburg
2nd D2 premiership
Minor premiersCoburg
2nd D2 minor premiership

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

1974 VFA Division 1 Ladder
TEAMPWLDPFPAPctPTS
1 Port Melbourne (P) 18 13 5 0 2028 1592 127.3 52
2 Geelong West 18 13 5 0 1888 1512 124.8 52
3 Dandenong 18 12 6 0 1924 1500 128.2 48
4 Oakleigh 18 11 7 0 1948 1760 110.6 48
5 Prahran 18 11 7 0 1855 1747 106.1 44
6 Preston 18 9 9 0 1673 1793 93.3 36
7 Williamstown 18 9 9 0 1607 1873 85.7 36
8 Sandringham 18 5 13 0 1495 1912 78.1 20
9 Caulfield 18 4 14 0 1722 2010 85.6 16
10 Sunshine 18 3 15 0 1561 2002 77.9 12
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, 1 September Dandenong 13.18 (96) def. by Oakleigh 13.19 (97) St Kilda Cricket Ground (crowd: 13,500) [2]
Sunday, 8 September Port Melbourne 16.14 (110) def. Geelong West 11.21 (87) St Kilda Cricket Ground (crowd: 15,520) [3]
Preliminary Final
Sunday, 15 September Geelong West 13.9 (87) def. by Oakleigh 16.16 (112) St Kilda Cricket Ground (crowd: 12,100) [4]
1974 VFA Division 1 Grand Final
Sunday, 22 September Port Melbourne def. Oakleigh St Kilda Cricket Ground (crowd: 23,936) [5]
5.4 (34)
10.10 (70)
17.15 (117)
 22.20 (152)
Q1
Q2
Q3
 Final
3.3 (21)
6.7 (43)
8.13 (61)
 11.17 (83)
Umpires: John Gambetta
Cook 10, Brown 4, Holt 3, Anderson, Behan, Buckley, Harland, P. Goss Goals Moore 4, Cloke 3, J. Lilley, Quinn, Ritterman, Tessoriero
Herrod (bruised kidneys); Holt (ankle); Lockhart (cut eye); Critch (compound fracture of finger) Injuries
Reports Quinn, for striking Lockhart

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

1974 VFA Division 2 Ladder
TEAMPWLDPFPAPctPTS
1 Coburg (P) 18 17 1 0 2591 1431 181.0 68
2 Waverley 18 15 3 0 2143 1631 131.3 60
3 Brunswick 18 14 4 0 2156 1660 134.2 56
4 Camberwell 18 10 8 0 1874 1752 112.0 40
5 Northcote 18 9 9 0 1863 1958 95.1 36
6 Frankston 18 8 10 0 1867 2276 82.0 32
7 Mordialloc 18 6 12 0 1833 2039 89.9 24
8 Box Hill 18 4 14 0 1640 2190 66.6 16
9 Werribee 18 4 14 0 1631 2185 74.1 16
10 Yarraville 18 3 15 0 1601 2032 78.7 12
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, 18 August Brunswick 12.8 (80) def. Camberwell 11.12 (78) Toorak Park (crowd: 8,000) [8]
Sunday, 25 August Coburg 19.19 (133) def. Waverley 8.9 (57) Toorak Park (crowd: 10,000) [1]
Preliminary Final
Sunday, 1 September Waverley 16.13 (109) def. by Brunswick 16.22 (118) Toorak Park (crowd: 6,000) [2]
1974 VFA Division 2 Grand Final
Sunday, 8 September Coburg def. Brunswick Toorak Park (crowd: 11,000) [3]
4.3 (27)
8.7 (55)
13.12 (90)
 18.17 (125)
Q1
Q2
Q3
 Final
3.5 (23)
6.10 (46)
9.13 (67)
 9.15 (69)
Umpires: John Gambetta
Smith 8, Breen 3, Paul 3, Hobbs 2, Morrison, Gait Goals Orton 3, Baird 2, Wrout 2, Joseph, Stilo
Gale (leg) Injuries Ford (arm)

Awards

  • The leading goalkicker for Division 2 was Peter Smith (Coburg) who kicked 101 goals in the home-and-away season,[7] and 121 goals overall.[3]
  • The J. Field Medal was won by Ron Allen (Waverley), who polled 45 votes. Allen finished ahead of Jim Johnstone (Mordialloc), who polled 30 votes, and Mick Martin (Yarraville), who polled 30 votes and finished third on countback.[9]
  • Coburg won the seconds premiership. Coburg 24.13 (157) defeated Camberwell 14.18 (102) in the Grand Final[3] at Northcote Park on Saturday, 7 September.[2]

Notable events

  • On 14 April, Box Hill defeated Mordialloc by 13 points, ending a 25-game losing streak which dated back to 1972.[10]
  • On 4 August, 64-year-old Sandringham trainer Ray Patmore abused and then struck field umpire Graeme Huggins during a match. He was fined $50 for the abusive language, and suspended for ten years for the striking charge.[11]
  • In the final round of the home-and-away season, Caulfield and Sunshine played off in a match which directly determined which club was relegated. Caulfield 20.21 (141) defeated Sunshine 13.10 (88) to hold its place in the top division.[1]

References

  1. Tom Jacob (26 August 1974). "Port, Geelong West gain double chance". The Age. Melbourne. p. 21.
  2. Tom Jacob (2 September 1974). "Oakleigh by one point". The Age. Melbourne. p. 21.
  3. Tom Jacob (9 September 1974). "Port is crowing!". The Age. Melbourne. p. 23.
  4. Tom Jacob (16 September 1974). "Oakleigh in Grand Final". The Age. Melbourne. p. 27.
  5. Tom Jacob (13 September 1974). "Vintage Port – here's cheers". The Age. Melbourne. p. 21.
  6. Tom Jacob; Marc Fiddian (29 August 1974). "Outsider shocks in Liston". The Age. Melbourne. p. 26.
  7. Tom Jacob (12 August 1974). "Smith tops the ton". The Age. Melbourne. p. 25.
  8. Tom Jacob (19 August 1974). "Five in it – last round thriller". The Age. Melbourne. p. 21.
  9. "Ron Allen wins Field Medal". The Age. Melbourne. 29 August 1974. p. 25.
  10. Tom Jacob (15 April 1974). "Mustangs ride again". The Age. Melbourne. p. 19.
  11. Tom Jacob (14 August 1974). "VFA trainer out for 10 years". The Age. Melbourne. p. 26.
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