A new football power emerges - 1896 VFA Premiership Play-Off: Collingwood vs. South Melbourne
[Principal source: 'The Argus', Monday 5 October 1896]
In October 1896, as eight of the VFA's leading clubs prepared to secede and form a new, rival organisation, the VFL, the Association haplessly shot itself further in the foot by giving the renegades a parting gift of quite inordinate generosity. The 1896 VFA season had ended with two clubs, South Melbourne and Collingwood, sharing identical records at the top of the list, and the rules of the Association decreed that, in such circumstances, the winner of the premiership should be determined by means of a single play-off match. This encounter was scheduled for Saturday 3 October, at the East Melbourne Cricket Ground. The previous evening had seen a meeting involving representatives of six leading clubs - Essendon, Collingwood, Melbourne, Geelong, South Melbourne and Fitzroy - with a view to establishing a new, breakaway competition from the following year. It was strongly rumoured that both St Kilda and Carlton (the latter on condition that it was able to procure a ground of the requisite standard) would also be invited to join the fledgling league, which would involve all clubs playing one another both home and away, with the top four then playing off for the flag on a knock-out basis. In this context, the game between South Melbourne and Collingwood was very much regarded as a blueprint, or template, for the shape of football in years to come. Moreover, the fact that it attracted a healthy attendance of approximately 12,000¹, and proved to be a riveting and at times extremely spectacular advertisement for the game, arguably constituted - or could at least be regarded as constituting - a vindication and endorsement of the renegade clubs' intentions.
The Ladder
At the risk of offending purists, this ladder is presented exactly as it appeared in 'The Argus', with results presented 'soccer style', W-D-L, rather than the now accepted Australian football format of W-L-D. One possible reason for this is the fact that, in the era before behinds were included in the score, draws were comparatively much more common than they would become.
1896 VFA Premiership Ladder
W | D | L | |
---|---|---|---|
Collingwood | 14 | 1 | 3 |
South Melbourne | 14 | 1 | 3 |
Essendon | 14 | 0 | 4 |
Melbourne | 12 | 0 | 6 |
Fitzroy | 12 | 0 | 6 |
North Melbourne | 8 | 1 | 9 |
Port Melbourne | 7 | 3 | 8 |
Williamstown | 7 | 3 | 8 |
St Kilda | 6 | 1 | 11 |
Footscray | 5 | 3 | 10 |
Geelong | 4 | 3 | 11 |
Carlton | 2 | 2 | 14 |
Richmond | 3 | 0 | 15 |
1st Quarter
South Melbourne won the toss, but elected to kick against the slight breeze, which was favouring the grandstand end of the ground, in the hope that it would stiffen later in the afternoon. It was a hot day, and the ground was hard, twin facts which most observers believed would favour the fitter of the two teams. This, in most people's estimation, was likely to be Collingwood, whose trainer Wal Lee was almost universally acknowledged as the most effective in the business.
The opening minutes were scrappy and inconclusive, with most of the play occurring between the two teams' half back lines, where 'Mick' Pleass (left) and Bill 'Marked' Windley for South, and 'Rhoda' McDonald and Jack Monohan (right) for the Woods, were in imposing form. Collingwood, courtesy of a typically explosive dash from Bill Strickland, were the first to mount a concerted attack. Strickland's kick found George Calleson well within goal kicking range, but the sturdy forward's shot screwed narrowly wide to an enormous collective groan from the Collingwood supporters behind the goal.
The black and whites continued to attack, however, and when Wal Gillard picked out Jim Gregory with a neat pass a couple of minutes later the normally reliable rover did not let his team mates down, and the two flags were waved for the first time in the game.
Another Collingwood goal to Collins followed shortly afterwards, and South seemed in danger of being swamped. However, to their credit they began playing with much greater purpose and cohesion, and after Mick Minahan² was slightly off target with their first shot of the afternoon, McKay made amends with the best goal of the match so far, from a considerable distance out.
The Southerners clearly had their tails up at this point, and the goal glut continued when long serving rover Harry Purdy found Pleass, who kicked truly with a clever angled snapshot.
Scores were now level, and both teams missed a succession of scoring opportunities as the play, in marked contrast to the early stages of the quarter, flowed freely from end to end. The next goal, when it came, was Collingwood's. Dick Condon (left), comprehensively outpointed on his wing so far by Herbie Howson, finally managed to pick up a clean possession and was able to run in, unencumbered, towards goal, and split the centre with a classically executed drop kick.
Now it was Collingwood's turn to produce a flurry of brilliant, eye-catching football. For the last five minutes of the term, with Bill Proudfoot and Charlie Pannam (right) to the fore, they continued to attack, and when the bell rang the ball was nestling safely in the arms of Jim Dowdall, within easy goal kicking range. Dowdall, ironically a former South Melbourne player, made no mistake to give the Woods a handy two goal cushion at the first break.
Quarter Time: Collingwood 4.2; South Melbourne 2.1 (behinds recorded, but only goals counting towards a team's score)
2nd Quarter
South Melbourne dominated the early exchanges of the second quarter, but were unable to convert. McKay came closest, twice just failing to make the distance with long place kicks. After several minutes of even play, South resumed the pressure, with first Bill Fraser and then Minahan coming very close with long range efforts. Minihan then had the ill fortune to hit the post with a snapshot, whereupon the Woods promptly relayed the ball to the other end of the ground only for Danny Flaherty to endure precisely the same fate. On the whole, the red and whites were playing the better football this term, and they were certainly enjoying a monopoly of possession. As the half time interval loomed, South forward Jack Adamson had two kicks for goal in quick succession, missing badly with the first, but kicking truly with the second to leave the deficit at just a single goal at the long break.
Half Time: Collingwood 4.4; South Melbourne 3.6
3rd Quarter
Anyone asked to forecast the result at this stage would have tipped South Melbourne, who were playing the more clever game; and early in the third quarter their superiority seemed so pronounced that the game was apparently all over. "Collingwood are done," shouted scores of onlookers, but they were not aware that before leaving the dressing room, the 'cute Collingwood captain had implored his men to take it easy in the third quarter. "Our condition is better than theirs," he said, "and we must outlast them in the end. "
This report, if true, helps explain why Collingwood seemed content to sit back and allow wave after wave of South Melbourne attacks to rain down on goal. Had the southerners managed to kick accurately in this quarter the match would have been over by the last change. As it was, despite goals from Windley (right) and McKay, they missed a succession of comparatively easy chances, with Minahan, reputedly their most reliable forward, the most frequent culprit. Had Collingwood managed to convert with either of their goal scoring opportunities during the quarter things might have been even worse from the red and white viewpoint, but as it was a lead of just a solitary goal was scant reward for their dominance.
Three Quarter Time: South Melbourne 5.9; Collingwood 4.6
4th Quarter
South Melbourne still seemed much the better team during the early stages of the final term, but they were unable to add to their score. At about the ten minute mark, Collingwood captain Strickland "reshuffled his pack", sending Monohan and Arthur Gibbs into attack, and throwing Calleson, Smith and Stock, who had spent the entire third quarter resting - quite literally, as they had been stationed in the forward lines - onto the ball. The impact of these changes was noticeable straight away, although they did not have an immediate impact on the scoreboard. For the first time in over a quarter, the Woods began to play intelligently, as well as with drive and purpose, and South's defenders seemed visibly rocked. Three times in as many minutes, Monohan rose high to bring down the spectacular kind of marks for which he was noted. Each time, he was well within range of goal, but each time he kicked poorly, and the red and whites were let off the hook. After the game, however, Strickland claimed that these three marks, "one of them truly remarkable", provided his team with the inspiration they needed to go on and win.
Midway through the quarter Collingwood follower Frank Hailwood, resting in a forward pocket, found himself in possession of the ball with sufficient time to take a calculated shot at goal. Despite being arguably the most awkward and uncoordinated looking player on the field, his careful punt kick was executed to perfection, and the scores were suddenly deadlocked.
Strickland chose this moment to up the ante, demanding one final, unrelenting push from his side in order to capitalise on their alleged superiority in fitness. "Make it faster" Collingwood players could be overheard demanding, conscious that some of their opponents were on their last legs. Nevertheless, although the Woods attacked with great conviction and resolve, the South defence, which in truth had not been severely tested since the opening quarter, stood firm, and as time ticked away spectators were beginning, not perhaps all that unhappily, to anticipate an extra twenty minutes of action.³
Play, hardly surprisingly, was vigorous in the extreme, with scant regard being paid to the rules, but umpire Trait gave both teams a fair amount of leeway. One of the most sickening clashes involved two players from the same side, Hailwood and Callaghan of Collingwood, who collided heavily, head first, as they both stooped to collect the ball.
Just when spectators might have been forgiven for imagining the umpire had lost his whistle, Danny Flaherty was slung out of the way by a South Melbourne opponent when not in possession of the ball, and Trait promptly blew for a free. From less than thirty yards out, directly in front, the Collingwood half forward posted what proved to be the winning goal of the match.
In the remaining couple of minutes, South tried desperately to get back into the game, but the Woods had little trouble in bottling up the play. Moments before the bell rang, Windley marked on the wing for South, and although he would have had to break every kicking record known to register a goal, there was nevertheless a modicum of tension for a minute or so as he placed the ball and steeled himself for the attempt, but no-one was surprised when his kick fell well short. After less than a decade of existence, and only five years at football's top level, Collingwood had secured arguably the most dramatic premiership in the VFA's twenty season history.
Final Score: Collingwood 6.9; South Melbourne 5.10
Match Summary
SCORES
Collingwood: | 4.2 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 6.9 |
South Melbourne: | 2.1 | 3.6 | 5.9 | 5.10 |
BEST
Collingwood: Proudfoot, Pannam, Smith, Calleson, Strickland, Monohan, McDonald
South Melbourne: McKay, Windley, Fraser, Adamson, Pleass, McArthur
GOALS
Collingwood: Collins, Condon, Dowdall, Flaherty, Gregory, Hailwood
South Melbourne: McKay 2; Adamson, Pleass, Windley
Postscript
When the VFL got underway in 1897 it introduced a number of new rules, the most significant of which was undoubtedly the implementation of a long mooted alteration to the scoring system, whereby goals became worth six points, and behinds - hitherto recorded on the score sheet, but not actually counted - were given a value of one point. The VFL also introduced the first ever finals system as a means of determining the season's premiership club: after all eight clubs had played one another home and away, the leading four would contest a round robin series, playing each other once, in order to decide the premier.
Such changes were unquestionably significant. Nevertheless, contemporary perception was not that football had re-invented itself, but merely that it had evolved - as indeed, it had been doing continuously for almost forty years, and would carry on doing for many years more. At the end of the 1897 season Essendon won the premiership - not, as latter-day wisdom has tended to suggest, for the first ever time (or the first meaningful time), but for the fifth time in the 1890s. Similarly, the majority of the footballers who participated in VFL matches in 1897 were, at the time, perceived as continuing their careers, and not, as most modern football historians appear to contend, beginning them. As late as the First World War, major Melbourne newspapers such as 'The Leader' would publish lists of previous premiers that made no distinction whatsoever between those won pre- and post-1897. The idea that 1897 heralded a new era for the game is a modern, subjective, and wholly spurious one, which needlessly undermines (indeed, almost invalidates) the many important achievements and landmarks in the game that occurred before that date.
For most of the fledgling VFL clubs, the 1897 season was a case of business as usual. Essendon, as has been mentioned, improved slightly on their 1896 showing to take out the premiership, while Melbourne, Collingwood and South Melbourne continued to perform creditably. The big improvers were Geelong, who won the minor premiership with 11 wins and 3 defeats, and ultimately finished second, while the largest fall from grace was Fitzroy's, who managed just folur wins and a draw to end up in sixth position.
South Melbourne enjoyed a measure of revenge over Collingwood in 1897, beating them both at home, 5.11 (41) to 5.3 (33) in round 4, and away, 2.15 (27) to 0.8 (8), in round 11. Nevertheless, it was the Woods, with one win more overall, who qualified for the finals, while the southerners were left ruing a round 7 draw with Fitzroy that ultimately proved the difference between 5th and 4th places on the ladder.
Collingwood managed only one win (over Melbourne) in the round robin finals series, and would have to wait until the early years of the twentieth century before re-emerging as a force. When they did so, names like Proudfoot (left), Pannam, Condon and Hailwood would still feature prominently in dispatches. South Melbourne meanwhile would reach a grand final in 1899, losing by a point to Fitzroy (match reviewed here), and another in 1907, but would not win their first flag under the new order, and their sixth in all, until 1909, by which time a whole new generation of players was representing the club.
Historians inevitably attribute special significance to certain dates, typically doing so only many years later when such significance has been exposed by subsequent developments. The establishment of the VFL makes 1897 one such date, but 1896 is arguably equally significant in that it heralded the coming of age of the club that has arguably elicited more raw emotion - both positive and negative - than any other in the history of the game.
Footnotes
- This was in spite of the fact that the Association decided to charge increased admission prices for the match.
- Mick Minahan's real name was Michael O'Gorman.
- Had the scores been tied at the end of normal time the rules decreed that play should continue, in single periods of twenty minutes each, until such time as a winner could be determined.
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