Australian Football

The greatest Grand Final of all - 1937 Geelong v Collingwood

The 1937 VFL grand final between Geelong and Collingwood was one of the most avidly anticipated for several years, not least because opinion appeared to be fairly evenly divided as to which team would prevail. The Cats, with 15 wins and just 3 losses to top the ladder, had shown the superior home and away form, but their display against Melbourne in the 2nd semi final had not been wholly convincing. The Magpies, on the other hand, had lost 2 of their last 3 home and away matches to finish third going into the finals, but their performances against Richmond in the 1st semi final and Melbourne in the preliminary final had recalled the halcyon 1927-30 era when the club had won four successive premierships. Gordon Coventry (left), who had played in those flag-winning sides, and was now in his swansong year as Collingwood full forward, had so far booted a total of 13 goals in the 1937 major round, while at the other end of the ground, the 'prince of full backs', Jack Regan, had been at his indefatigable best. Add to that the imposing form of centreman Marcus Whelan, the brilliance of Des Fothergill and Alby Pannam, the resolute defence of Harold Rumney and Marcus Boyall, and the irrepressible first ruck combination of Percy Bowyer plus the Collier brothers, Albert and Harry, and it was obvious why many people had jumped on the Collingwood bandwagon.

Not that Geelong was bereft of star players; a poor team simply does not win 16 out of 19 matches in the toughest competition in the land, and even though the side had been somewhat below par against the Redlegs in the 2nd semi final, it had nevertheless emerged victorious. It would probably need to be at its best to topple Collingwood, but the best of players like fiery wingman Angie Muller, effervescent roving duo Tom Quinn and Jack Metherell, burly but brilliant ruckman Jack 'Copper' Evans (left), inspirational veteran skipper Reg Hickey (top right), and the Hardiman brothers, the hefty and powerful Harold (always known as 'Peter'), and the mercurial Les, was arguably matchless.

An added incentive for the Magpies, in the unlikely event that they needed one, was that they were aiming for a third successive flag, having beaten South Melbourne in both of the previous grand finals. The Cats meanwhile had finished 9th in 1935 and 5th in 1936, meaning that they had far fewer players with finals experience than the Woods. Nevertheless, in the grand final of 1937 they would be pursuing their 14th win in succession, with their last loss having occurred at Punt Road in round 6 against Richmond.

The teams had met on two occasions during 1937. At Victoria Park in the opening round, Collingwood had pulled away after a close opening term to win by 16 points, while in the round 12 return at Corio Oval affairs had been tight until the final change after which the Cats had eased to a 23 point victory.

For once all the pre-match hype and anticipation were not misplaced as, in front of a then record grand final crowd of 88,530 - some of whom were perched, half a dozen deep, inside the perimeter fencing - Geelong and Collingwood served up a sumptuous feast of exhilarating, spectacular, attacking football, played in an excellent if not quite cordial spirit. Press acclaim for the match was universal, with many critics proclaiming it 'the greatest VFL grand final ever'.

The Cats' 1937 grand final line-up pose for the cameras just prior to the start of the game.

1st Quarter

After Collingwood skipper Harry Collier won the toss and elected to kick with the aid of a meagre breeze his team did him proud by leading the Cats to the ball all over the ground, as well as winning in the air, to move out to a 3 goal lead at the first change. Young Magpie centre half forward Ron Todd was leading his opponent, Joe Sellwood (right) the proverbial 'merry dance', marking virtually everything that came his way, while on the last line of defence Jack Regan was in characteristically magisterial form against the normally damaging Les 'Splinter' Hardiman. The Collingwood half backs, particularly Fred Froude and Jack Ross, were also in irrepressible touch, leaving Geelong captain-coach Reg Hickey with a multitude of problems to consider as the teams headed to the quarter time huddle.

QUARTER TIME: Collingwood 6.3 (39); Geelong 3.3 (21)

2nd Quarter

Hickey made four key changes at the start of the 2nd term, shifting Les Hardiman from full forward to centre half back, Jack Hardiman from the ruck to full forward, Sellwood to centre half forward from centre half back, and centre half forward Gordon Abbott into the ruck. During the first ten minutes or so of the quarter, however, the Magpies resumed almost precisely where they had left off, with the only difference being their inability to finish things off. Nevertheless, it was Collingwood ruckman Phonse Kyne who snagged the first major of the term to put his team 27 points to the good, and many of the Magpie fans were already beginning to celebrate a third consecutive flag.

The Cats, however, had other ideas, and with Quinn and Muller particularly prominent they began to attack in a sustained manner for the first time in the game. Goals to Coles, Evans and Metherell quickly followed, bringing the margin back to less than 2 kicks. Collingwood rallied briefly, courtesy of a goal to Todd (left), but it was Geelong which finished the term the stronger, and further goals to Coles and Evans produced a half time scoreboard which emphasised that the 1937 premiership was once again very much up for grabs.

HALF TIME: Collingwood 8.10 (58); Geelong 8.5 (53)

3rd Quarter

It was obvious from soon after the opening bounce of the 3rd quarter that the confidence of the Geelong players had increased significantly. Soon after the resumption, Jack Evans goaled to snatch the lead for his side, and although Fothergill replied moments later for the Woods, it was the Cats who dominated the next quarter of an hour or so as major scores to Metherell and Coles put them firmly in the box seat for the first time in the match.

Geelong continued to attack incessantly, but a sequence of near misses was their only reward. Finally, however, makeshift full forward Evans managed to steer the ball home and the margin was 13 points. You write off Collingwood at your peril, though. Straight from the restart, the Magpies forced the ball forward in a move which culminated in Coventry nabbing his second goal of the game; then, deep in timeon, the same player added another to reduce the margin to a single point. Seconds before the lemon time bell, Albert Collier marked within range, and as the crowd noise drained to a hush his slightly wayward place kick levelled the scores.

THREE QUARTER TIME: Geelong 12.8 (80); Collingwood 11.14 (80)

4th Quarter

As Geelong surged into attack straight from the opening bounce of the final term, inappropriately named wingman Laurie Slack managed to find Jack Metherell, who weaved and dodged his way around a forest of bodies before snapping truly to restore his side's lead. Shortly afterwards big Gordon Abbott got on the end of some fine interplay between Metherell and Bernie Hore to nab another six pointer, and after both teams had squandered a succession of scoring opportunities, it was the Cats who broke the deadlock, courtesy of Jim Wills.

Sensing that the game was now slipping away from them, the Magpies threw everything at Geelong, but another swift Cats breakaway culminated in Abbott goaling to stretch the margin to 26 points. Another major to Evans followed shortly afterwards, and although Pannam quickly replied for Collingwood, the roar of encouragement emanating from the throats of the black and white segment of the crowd was stymied almost at source as Reg Hickey initiated a drive that led to Geelong's 18th goal of the game, off the boot of Metherell. After three closely fought quarters, the Cats had tapped into their richest vein of form just when it mattered most.

FINAL SCORE: Geelong 18.14 (122); Collingwood 12.18 (90)

Player Statistics

GEELONG

COLLINGWOOD

Full match statistics can be found here.

Match Summary

BEST
Geelong: Quinn, Muller, L.Hardiman, Metherell, Coles, Everett, Evans, Sellwood
Collingwood: Froude, Regan, Ross, Todd, A.Collier, Woods, Dowling Carmody

SCORERS
Geelong: Evans 6.1; Coles 4.3; Metherell 4.1; Abbott 2.1; Sellwood 1.1; Wills 1.0; Dougherty 0.3; Quinn 0.2; rushed 0.2
Collingwood: Todd 4.1; Coventry 3.7; Pannam 2.1; Fothergill 1.3; Doherty 1.2; Kyne 1.1; Bowyer, A.Collier 0.1; rushed 0.1

Postscript

Needless to say, the response back home in Geelong to the Cats' magnificent win was one of unbridled, uproarious delight:

To the accompaniment of cheers from thousands of people, the hooting of motor car horns, the whistles of three railways engines, the explosions of detonators on the lines and the strains of music played by the St Augustine's Boys' Band, the Geelong Football Club which won the 1937 league premiership by defeating Collingwood at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, returned to Geelong by train on Saturday night.¹

However, it would be a long time between drinks for these ecstatic Geelong fans. Indeed, the Cats would only manage to qualify for the September action on three occasions over the next dozen seasons before finally breaking through for another flag in 1951, with 1937 captain-coach Reg Hickey back at the helm once more, this time in a non-playing capacity.

Collingwood meanwhile would, in some respects, endure an even more frustrating time, for despite reaching the finals much more often than not, it would be 1953 before a premiership pennant again adorned the Victoria Park clubrooms. The club would also endure the anguish of losing several of its better players to ostensibly 'weaker' competitions: Ron Todd would head for the VFA, and Williamstown, where he would enjoy considerable success; Des Fothergill likewise would venture to the Seagulls, winning the 1941 Recorder Cup; and Marcus Boyall would transfer to South Australia, where he would land the 1941 Magarey Medal. Throughout these tumultuous times, however, the perennial presence at the tiller of arguably the greatest figure in the club's history, the legendary Jock McHale, would afford a sense of continuity and reassurance.

McHale, however, would have been replaced as coach by a member of the 1937 Collingwood team, Phonse Kyne, by the time of the club's next premiership. It would be a premiership containing elements of both déja vu and revenge for, just as in 1937, the teams involved would be Collingwood and Geelong, and, just as in 1937, one of the combatants would be chasing a third successive flag. In 1953, however, that team would be Geelong, and it would be the Magpies' turn to put a spoke in the wheels - and the wheel analogy is well chosen, for football, like life itself, is inherently cyclical, success following failure as summer follows winter.

Or so most twenty-first century Geelong and Collingwood fans would like to believe.