1959 VFL NIGHT PREMIERSHIP
|
*Fitzroy's drought-breakers - the 'Roys broke through for their first flag at senior level since winning the 1944 VFL premiership. It was a brief moment of joy for Fitzroy fans who would not taste premiership success again until the 1978 Night Series.
*Stormy weather - the 1959 series was plagued by rain and heavy winds which kept fans away in droves: - the Round 1 Fitzroy-Richmond match was played in atrocious weather, drawing a record-low Night Series crowd for this era of just 2,600 people. - the Grand Final was played in similar conditions, drawing a crowd of only 9,300 fans; a total that still stands as the lowest-ever Night Series/Pre-Season Grand Final crowd (the second lowest was 15,650 in 1968). |
The Age announces Fitzroy's first senior premiership since the 1944 VFL Grand Final [29-9-1959]
|
*Prizemoney - increased from £400 to £500 for the winning team, and from £200 to £250 for the runner-up.
*Records Broken - in the midst of such a low scoring era in Australian football, the 1959 series produced Night Series records for the biggest winning margin and for most goals in a match:
- Fitzroy's 85-point victory in the first round set a record that remained unsurpassed until 1979;
- North Melbourne's Peter Schofield kicked 10 goals in the series-opener against the Swans (a record for most goals in a Night Series match that would stand until New Year's Eve 1999 when Carlton's Brendan Fevola kicked 12 goals).
*Dividend sharing - in 1958 all 12 league clubs had received a share of gate receipts from both the Night Series and the VFL Finals, with clubs playing the most games in each of the respective series receiving the most revenue.
A new dividend-sharing scheme was introduced in 1959 that saw only the bottom eight clubs receive a share of Night Series gate receipts. To offset this (and avoid a repeat of 1956 when the top four received less than the bottom eight), the League also set aside £1000 to be divided equally between the four clubs competing in the VFL finals. [Football Record 3-9-1959]
|
ROUND 1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
DATE |
TEAMS |
1/4 |
1/2 |
3/4 |
FINAL |
MARGIN |
VENUE |
DAY/TIME |
CROWD |
|
Sep-03 |
South Melbourne (9) |
5.2 (32) |
8.5 (53) |
14.6 (90) |
17.10 (112) |
20 |
Lake Oval, South Melbourne |
Thu (8:00pm) |
15,800 |
|
North Melbourne (6) |
4.1 (25) |
4.5 (29) |
9.11 (65) |
13.14 (92) |
|||||
|
Sep-07 |
Hawthorn (7) |
5.5 (35) |
5.8 (38) |
8.13 (61) |
11.17 (83) |
52 |
Lake Oval, South Melbourne |
Mon (8:00pm) |
12,400 |
|
St Kilda (8) |
2.1 (13) |
3.3 (21) |
4.6 (30) |
4.7 (31) |
|||||
|
Sep-10 |
Geelong (10) |
2.2 (14) |
6.9 (45) |
7.13 (55) |
9.16 (70) |
5 |
Lake Oval, South Melbourne |
Thu (8:00pm) |
12,000 |
|
Footscray (12) |
3.5 (23) |
4.6 (30) |
5.10 (40) |
9.11 (65) |
|||||
|
Sep-14 |
Fitzroy (5) |
3.5 (23) |
9.7 (61) |
15.11 (101) |
19.18 (132) |
85 |
Lake Oval, South Melbourne |
Mon (8:00pm) |
2,600 |
|
Richmond (11) |
1.0 (6) |
2.6 (18) |
4.9 (33) |
6.11 (47) |
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SEMI FINALS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
DATE |
TEAMS |
1/4 |
1/2 |
3/4 |
FINAL |
MARGIN |
VENUE |
DAY/TIME |
CROWD |
|
Sep-17 |
Hawthorn (7) |
4.2 (26) |
9.8 (62) |
10.11 (71) |
13.14 (92) |
4 |
Lake Oval, South Melbourne |
Thu (8:00pm) |
16,100 |
|
South Melbourne (9) |
5.3 (33) |
8.5 (53) |
11.9 (75) |
13.10 (88) |
|||||
|
Sep-21 |
Geelong v
Fitzroy moved to Sept.22nd due to torrential rain |
||||||||
|
Sep-22 |
Fitzroy (5) |
1.4 (10) |
2.7 (19) |
6.11 (47) |
10.16 (76) |
26 |
Lake Oval, South Melbourne |
Tue (8:00pm) |
8,100 |
|
Geelong (10) |
0.3 (3) |
3.8 (26) |
4.11 (35) |
6.14 (50) |
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
GRAND FINAL |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
DATE |
TEAMS |
1/4 |
1/2 |
3/4 |
FINAL |
MARGIN |
VENUE |
DAY/TIME |
CROWD |
|
Sep-28 |
Fitzroy (5) |
6.1 (37) |
7.5 (47) |
9.10 (64) |
10.10 (70) |
30 |
Lake Oval, South Melbourne |
Mon (8:00pm) |
9,300 |
|
Hawthorn (7) |
0.1 (1) |
1.7 (13) |
2.9 (21) |
4.16 (40) |
|||||
MATCH REPORTS
Unless otherwise noted the information was sourced from The Football Record and The Age newspaper.
|
ROUND
1 |
|||||||||||||
|
Match
1 - Thursday, September 3 |
|||||||||||||
|
SOUTH
MELBOURNE |
5.2
(32) |
8.5
(53) |
14.6
(90) |
17.10
(112) |
|||||||||
|
NORTH
MELBOURNE |
4.1
(25) |
4.5
(29) |
9.11
(65) |
13.14
(92) |
|||||||||
|
BEST
PLAYERS: |
|||||||||||||
|
South
Melbourne |
McCormack,
Boyd, Landorf, Svenson,
McGowan, Skilton |
||||||||||||
|
North
Melbourne |
Schofield,
Cooke, K. Dean, O’Brien, Taggart, Poole |
||||||||||||
|
GOALKICKERS: |
|||||||||||||
|
South
Melbourne |
Skilton 5, McGowan 3, Oaten 3, Power 2,
Burke 2, McCormack, Munn |
||||||||||||
|
North
Melbourne |
Schofield
10, Taggert 2, Jenkins |
||||||||||||
|
REPLACEMENTS: |
|||||||||||||
|
South
Melbourne |
unknown |
||||||||||||
|
North
Melbourne |
unknown |
||||||||||||
|
UMPIRE: |
Mance |
||||||||||||
|
CROWD: |
15,800* |
||||||||||||
|
SOURCE: |
AGE/SUN/Football
Record |
||||||||||||
|
CROWD
DISCREPANCY: |
|||||||||||||
|
The
Football Record (7-9-1959) has a crowd of 15,000, The Age
(4-9-1959) has 15,800 |
|||||||||||||
|
Series
attendance totals published in later editions of the Football Record
are based on a crowd of 15,800 for this match. |
|||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Match
2 - Monday, September 7 |
|||||||||||||
|
HAWTHORN |
5.5
(35) |
5.8
(38) |
8.13
(61) |
11.17
(83) |
|||||||||
|
ST
KILDA |
2.1
(13) |
3.3
(21) |
4.6
(30) |
4.7
(31) |
|||||||||
|
BEST
PLAYERS: |
|||||||||||||
|
Hawthorn |
Hughes,
Arthur, Peck, Nalder, Youren,
Yeoman |
||||||||||||
|
St
Kilda |
Howell,
Guy, W. Stephenson, Jeans, Synman, Morrow |
||||||||||||
|
GOALKICKERS: |
|||||||||||||
|
Hawthorn |
Arthur
4, Peck 3, Voigt 2, Nisbett, O’Mahony |
||||||||||||
|
St
Kilda |
W.
Stephenson 3, Burgess |
||||||||||||
|
REPLACEMENTS: |
|||||||||||||
|
Hawthorn |
unknown |
||||||||||||
|
St
Kilda |
unknown |
||||||||||||
|
UMPIRE: |
Nash |
||||||||||||
|
CROWD: |
12,400 |
||||||||||||
|
SOURCE: |
AGE/SUN/Football
Record |
||||||||||||
|
NOTES: |
- |
||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Match
3 - Thursday, September 10 |
|||||||||||||
|
GEELONG |
2.2
(14) |
6.9
(45) |
7.13
(55) |
9.16
(70) |
|||||||||
|
FOOTSCRAY |
3.5
(23) |
4.6
(30)* |
5.10
(40) |
9.11
(65) |
|||||||||
|
BEST
PLAYERS: |
|||||||||||||
|
Geelong |
Tresize, Long, Goodland, Rice, W. Goggin, McGrath |
||||||||||||
|
Footscray |
Gardiner,
Baxter, Lee, Ion, Spargo, A. Edwards |
||||||||||||
|
GOALKICKERS: |
|||||||||||||
|
Geelong |
Long
4, Tresize 2, Goodland, Webb, Yeates |
||||||||||||
|
Footscray |
Gardiner
3, Baxter 3, Westacott, Devery,
Prior |
||||||||||||
|
REPLACEMENTS: |
|||||||||||||
|
Geelong |
(none) |
||||||||||||
|
Footscray |
Westacott replaced Whitten (selected side) |
||||||||||||
|
Howard
replaced Maloney (third quarter) |
|||||||||||||
|
UMPIRE: |
Woolfe |
||||||||||||
|
CROWD: |
12,000 |
||||||||||||
|
SOURCE: |
AGE/SUN/Football
Record |
||||||||||||
|
SCORE
DISCREPANCY: |
Footscray's 1/2 time score in The Football
Record = 4.6 (The Age has 4.8) |
||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Match
4 - Monday, September 14 |
|||||||||||||
|
FITZROY |
3.5
(23) |
9.7
(61) |
15.11
(101) |
19.18
(132) |
|||||||||
|
RICHMOND |
1.0
(6) |
2.6
(18) |
4.9
(33) |
6.11
(47) |
|||||||||
|
BEST
PLAYERS: |
|||||||||||||
|
Fitzroy |
Aston,
Henderson, Furness, Barclay, Slocum, Abrahams |
||||||||||||
|
Richmond |
Dean,
Patterson, Rees, O’Toole, Cuzens, Branton |
||||||||||||
|
GOALKICKERS: |
|||||||||||||
|
Fitzroy |
Gotch 5, Slocum 3, Barclay 2, Abrahams 2,
Wright 2, Clark 2, Aston 2, Wiegard |
||||||||||||
|
Richmond |
O’Toole
2, Wilson, Allsopp, Langridge,
Gardner |
||||||||||||
|
REPLACEMENTS: |
|||||||||||||
|
Fitzroy |
(none) |
||||||||||||
|
Richmond |
Jacobs
replaced Williams (quarter unknown) |
||||||||||||
|
Holt
replaced Langridge (quarter unknown) |
|||||||||||||
|
UMPIRE: |
Barbour |
||||||||||||
|
CROWD: |
2,600 |
||||||||||||
|
SOURCE: |
AGE/SUN/Football
Record |
||||||||||||
|
NOTES: |
Low
crowd due to the match being played on an extremely cold and wet night. |
||||||||||||
|
Kevin
Murray (Fitzroy) was reported for charging – later found guilty but given a
reprimand by the tribunal. |
|||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SEMI-FINALS |
|||||||||||||
|
Match
5 - Thursday, September 17 |
|||||||||||||
|
HAWTHORN |
4.2
(26) |
9.8
(62) |
10.11
(71) |
13.14
(92) |
|||||||||
|
SOUTH
MELBOURNE |
5.3
(33) |
8.5
(53) |
11.9
(75) |
13.10
(88) |
|||||||||
|
BEST
PLAYERS: |
|||||||||||||
|
Hawthorn |
Edwards,
Arthur, Peck, Woodley, Wilson, O’Mahony |
||||||||||||
|
South
Melbourne |
Skilton, Heriot,
McGowan, Gunn, McCormack, Oaten |
||||||||||||
|
GOALKICKERS: |
|||||||||||||
|
Hawthorn |
Voigt
4, Peck 3, O’Mahony 3, Arthur 2, Edwards |
||||||||||||
|
South
Melbourne |
Skilton 4, McGowan 3, Oaten 3, Gunn 2, Taube |
||||||||||||
|
REPLACEMENTS: |
|||||||||||||
|
Hawthorn |
(none) |
||||||||||||
|
South
Melbourne |
Bourke
replaced Kelton (last quarter) |
||||||||||||
|
Dunn
replaced Gunn (last quarter) |
|||||||||||||
|
UMPIRE: |
Irving |
||||||||||||
|
CROWD: |
16,100 |
||||||||||||
|
SOURCE: |
AGE/SUN/Football
Record |
||||||||||||
|
NOTES: |
- |
||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Match
6 - Tuesday, September 22 |
|||||||||||||
|
FITZROY |
1.4
(10) |
2.7
(19) |
6.11
(47) |
10.16
(76) |
|||||||||
|
GEELONG |
0.3
(3) |
3.8
(26) |
4.11
(35) |
6.14
(50) |
|||||||||
|
BEST
PLAYERS: |
|||||||||||||
|
Fitzroy |
Henderson,
Gotch, Murray, Furness, Wright, Mackenzie |
||||||||||||
|
Geelong |
Long,
Tresize, Rice, Yeates, Helmer, Vinar |
||||||||||||
|
GOALKICKERS: |
|||||||||||||
|
Fitzroy |
Gotch 4, Wright 4, Clark, Campbell |
||||||||||||
|
Geelong |
Helmer 2, Yeates,
Webb, Borack, Long |
||||||||||||
|
REPLACEMENTS: |
|||||||||||||
|
Fitzroy |
Zorzi replaced Pert (selected team) |
||||||||||||
|
Pigot replaced Barclay (second quarter) |
|||||||||||||
|
Geelong |
O’Connell
replaced Yeates (last quarter) |
||||||||||||
|
UMPIRE: |
Schwab |
||||||||||||
|
CROWD: |
8,100 |
||||||||||||
|
SOURCE: |
AGE/SUN/Football
Record |
||||||||||||
|
NOTES: |
Originally
scheduled for Sept.21 but postponed due to torrential rain |
||||||||||||
1959 VFL NIGHT PREMIERSHIP - GRAND FINAL
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Match
7 - Monday, September 28 |
|||||||||||||
|
FITZROY |
6.1
(37) |
7.5
(47) |
9.10
(64) |
10.10
(70) |
|||||||||
|
HAWTHORN |
0.1
(1) |
1.7
(13) |
2.9
(21) |
4.16
(40) |
|||||||||
|
BEST
PLAYERS: |
|||||||||||||
|
Fitzroy |
Wright,
Clark, Aston, Furness, Murray, Ross |
||||||||||||
|
Hawthorn |
Nalder, Howells, Youren,
Arthur, Woodley, McVilly |
||||||||||||
|
GOALKICKERS: |
|||||||||||||
|
Fitzroy |
Wright
4, Campbell 2, Slocum 2, Clark, Abrahams |
||||||||||||
|
Hawthorn |
Fisher,
Edwards, McVilly, Youren |
||||||||||||
|
REPLACEMENTS: |
|||||||||||||
|
Fitzroy |
Powell
was promoted into the starting line-up, Hughson was demoted to 19th man |
||||||||||||
|
Hughson
replaced Slocum (last quarter) |
|||||||||||||
|
Bromage replaced Gotch
(last quarter) |
|||||||||||||
|
Hawthorn |
Howells
replaced McArthur (selected side) - P.Hay promoted
from emergency to 20th man |
||||||||||||
|
Fisher
replaced ??? (it's unknown when he entered the
game as 19th man or who he replaced) |
|||||||||||||
|
UMPIRE: |
Nash |
||||||||||||
|
CROWD: |
9,300* |
||||||||||||
|
SOURCE: |
AGE/SUN/Football
Record |
||||||||||||
|
NOTES: |
|||||||||||||
|
Like
most of the 1959 series the crowd was low due to bad weather. The final was
played on what The Age described as a "bitterly cold and wet
night". |
|||||||||||||
|
These
teams played a rematch under lights on Oct.10 at Shepparton;
Hawthorn winning by 23 points (10.13 to 7.8) in front of 12,000 local fans. |
|||||||||||||
|
CROWD
DISCREPANCY: |
|||||||||||||
|
Media
reports of the day (and current AFL records) have the crowd for this match as
9,200 |
|||||||||||||
|
Later
editions of the Football Record (1-9-1960 / 26-9-1960 / 2-9-1965 / 25-9-1967
/ 4-9-1968 / 28-9-1970) confirm it was actually 9,300 |
|||||||||||||
