NON-PREMIERSHIP MATCHES

1966 GOLDEN FLEECE NIGHT PREMIERSHIP

RESULTS
ABOUT
TEAMS / FORMAT
MATCH REPORTS
RESULTS

SUMMARY OF RESULTS

Date

Teams

1/4

1/2

3/4

Final

Margin

Venue

Day/Time

Crowd

ROUND 1

Sep-01

South Melbourne (8)

3.2 (20)

8.8 (56)

12.10 (82)

14.12 (96)

10

Lake Oval,

Thu

15,700

Footscray (10)

0.6 (6)

1.8 (14)

6.12 (48)

11.20 (86)

South Melbourne

(8:00pm)

Sep-06

North Melbourne (7)

4.2 (26)

9.4 (58)

11.8 (74)

14.12 (96)

20

Lake Oval,

Tue

10,200

Fitzroy (12)

3.3 (21)

4.5 (29)

8.8 (56)

11.10 (76)

South Melbourne

(8:00pm)

Sep-08

Richmond (5)

3.3 (21)

7.5 (47)

8.9 (57)

9.16 (70)

3

Lake Oval,

Thu

13,800

Melbourne (11)

2.6 (18)

2.10 (22)

8.12 (60)

10.13 (73)

South Melbourne

(8:00pm)

Sep-13

Carlton vs Hawthorn moved to Sept.15th due to torrential rain

Tue

 

Sep-15

Carlton (6)

2.1 (13)

4.3 (27)

5.4 (34)

9.5 (59)

9

Lake Oval,

Thu

9,100

Hawthorn (9)

4.4 (28)

4.6 (30)

7.9 (51)

9.14 (68)

South Melbourne

(8:00pm)

SEMI FINALS

Sep-19

South Melbourne (8)

2.1 (13)

7.6 (48)

8.9 (57)

12.15 (87)

3

Lake Oval,

Mon

14,200

North Melbourne (7)

3.7 (25)

7.7 (49)

13.9 (87)

13.12 (90)

South Melbourne

(8:00pm)

Sep-21

Melbourne (11)

3.3 (21)

6.6 (42)

8.8 (56)

8.12 (60)

28

Lake Oval,

Wed

10,100

Hawthorn (9)

1.1 (7)

6.4 (40)

9.6 (60)

13.10 (88)

South Melbourne

(8:00pm)

GRAND FINAL

Sep-26

North Melbourne (7)

5.5 (35)

10.7 (67)

15.10 (100)

20.12 (132)

53

Lake Oval,

Mon

21,800

Hawthorn (9)

2.0 (12)

6.0 (36)

8.4 (52)

12.7 (79)

South Melbourne

(8:00pm)

 

ABOUT

ABOUT THE 1966 SERIES

*North goes back-to-back - the Kangaroos' 1965 night premiership win was their first senior flag since entering the VFL in 1925. They quickly added more silverware to their trophy cabinet by winning the 1966 series, in the process joining South Melbourne (1956-57) and Footscray (1963-64) as the only clubs to win consecutive night premierships.


*Rule trials - at a meeting of VFL coaches late in the season it was proposed that three new rules be trialled in the 1966 series. All of these rules were later adopted for VFL premiership matches:
  • a free kick for the ball being kicked out of bounds on the full (adopted in 1969);
  • four boundary umpires (adopted in 2008);
  • a centre square of 50 yards marked on the field, with only four players from each team permitted in the square when the ball is bounced in the centre circle (adopted in a modified form in 1973).

*Prizemoney - during 1966 Australia switched from the imperial to metric system of measurement and as part of this change the national currency changed from pounds to dollars. This meant series prizemoney was converted from £1400 to $2800 for the winning team, and from £650 to $1300 for the runner-up. These values remained unchanged for the rest of this era of the night series.
Picture
1966 Night Series Grand Final programme (private collection)

*Crowd numbers crash - after setting a new seven-game series record of 153,365 spectators in 1965, crowd numbers in 1966 slumped to just 94,900; the third-lowest total in series history. This signalled the start of a steady decline with attendance totals dropping every year (except 1971) throughout the rest of this era.

*Leading Goalkicker of the Series - North Melbourne's John Dugdale led the scoring with 14 goals from three matches.

TEAMS / FORMAT

PARTICIPATING TEAMS

The series featured the eight teams that missed the VFL finals series:
5th - Richmond 
6th - Carlton
7th - North Melbourne
8th - South Melbourne
9th - Hawthorn
10th - Footscray
11th - Melbourne
12th - Fitzroy
They competed for the K.G. Luke Trophy (donated by VFL President Kenneth Luke) with the winning team receiving a $2800 cash prize.

SERIES FORMAT

The teams were randomly drawn in the opening round (5 vs 11 / 6 vs 9 / 7 vs 12 / 8 vs 10) with winning teams advancing to the next stage, and losing teams eliminated from the series.

MATCH REPORTS

MATCH REPORTS

Listed below are match reports for all 7 games played during the series. This is the first time these reports have been collated and published online or in print. Unless otherwise noted the information was sourced from The Football Record and The Age newspaper.

ROUND 1
SEMI FINALS
G.F. TEAMS
GRAND FINAL
ROUND 1

Match 1 - Thursday, September 1

SOUTH MELBOURNE

3.2 (20)

8.8 (56)

12.10 (82)

14.12 (96)

FOOTSCRAY

0.6 (6)

1.8 (14)

6.12 (48)

11.20 (86)

BEST PLAYERS:

South Melbourne

Heriot, Sarich, Harrison, Skilton, Haenen, Priest, Papley

Footscray

Schultz, Bisset, Spargo, Zeuschner, Stevens, Cook, Bradley

GOALKICKERS:

South Melbourne

Sarich 5, Skilton 3, Sudholz 2, Phillips 2, Robertson 2

Footscray

Bisset 3, Spargo 3, Jackman 2, Bradley, Prior, Dempsey

REPLACEMENTS:

South Melbourne

unknown

Footscray

unknown

UMPIRE:

Gaudion

CROWD:

15,700

SOURCE:

AGE/SUN/Football Record

NOTES:

-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Match 2 - Tuesday, September 6

NORTH MELBOURNE

4.2 (26)

9.4 (58)

11.8 (74)

14.12 (96)

FITZROY

3.3 (21)

4.5 (29)

8.8 (56)

11.10 (76)

BEST PLAYERS:

North Melbourne

Johnson, Dwyer, McCarthy, Dowdle, Gaudion, Dugdale

Fitzroy

Newnham, Lazarus, Aspinall, Cromarty, Hellings, Peoples

GOALKICKERS:

North Melbourne

Dugdale 5, Dowdle 4, McCarthy, Allan, Allison, Johnson, Ibrahim

Fitzroy

Cromarty 4, Lazarus 4, Booth 2, Drake

REPLACEMENTS:

North Melbourne

McGrath replaced Waddington in the selected side then replaced Gavin (second quarter)

Fitzroy

Slocum replaced McRae (last quarter)

UMPIRE:

Grant

CROWD:

10,200

SOURCE:

AGE/Football Record

NOTES:

-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Match 3 - Thursday, September 8

RICHMOND

3.3 (21)

7.5 (47)*

8.9 (57)

9.16 (70)

MELBOURNE

2.6 (18)

2.10 (22)

8.12 (60)

10.13 (73)

BEST PLAYERS:

Richmond

Campbell, Barrot, Bartlett, Patterson, Ronaldson, Dimattina

Melbourne

Mann, Williams, Osborne, Aitken, Alves, Groom, Massey

GOALKICKERS:

Richmond

Campbell 5, Clay 2, Patterson, A. Richardson

Melbourne

Smith 2, Aitken 2, Groom 2, Emselle, Mann, Feldmann, Stone

REPLACEMENTS:

Richmond

unknown

Melbourne

unknown

UMPIRE:

Jolley

CROWD:

13,800

SOURCE:

AGE/SUN/Football Record

SCORE DISCREPANCY:

Richmond's 1/2 time score in The Football Record = 7.5 (The Age has 7.4)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Match 4 - Thursday, September 15

CARLTON

2.1 (13)

4.3 (27)

5.4 (34)

9.5 (59)

HAWTHORN

4.4 (28)

4.6 (30)

7.9 (51)

9.14 (68)

BEST PLAYERS:

Carlton

Lofts, B. Gill, Stone, Nicholls, Robertson, Jones, Board

Hawthorn

Meagher, McLean, Parkin, Crimmins, Smith, Keddie, Arthur

GOALKICKERS:

Carlton

Quirk 3, Nicholls 2, Board, Robertson, Vincent, Jones

Hawthorn

Crimmins 2, Smith 2, Keddie 2, Arthur, Browne, Ferguson

REPLACEMENTS:

Carlton

Vincent replaced Hall (three-quarter time)

Hawthorn

(none)

UMPIRE:

Sheales

CROWD:

9,100

SOURCE:

AGE/SUN/Football Record

NOTES:

Originally scheduled for Sept.13 but postponed due to torrential rain.

 

SEMI FINALS

Match 5 - Monday, September 19

SOUTH MELBOURNE

2.1 (13)

7.6 (48)

8.9 (57)

12.15 (87)

NORTH MELBOURNE

3.7 (25)

7.7 (49)

13.9 (87)

13.12 (90)

BEST PLAYERS:

South Melbourne

Papley, Sudholz, Skilton, Cook, Keenan, Haenan, Magee,

North Melbourne

Dowdle, Dwyer, Johnson, Benton, O’Brien, Dugdale, McCarthy

GOALKICKERS:

South Melbourne

Sudholz 3, Robertson 2, Matthews, Magee, Dunn, Papley, Skilton, Pedrotti, Sarich

North Melbourne

Dowdle 4, Dugdale 3, Dean 2, Karanicolas 2, Allison, Dwyer

REPLACEMENTS:

South Melbourne

unknown

North Melbourne

unknown

UMPIRE:

Sleeth

CROWD:

14,200

SOURCE:

AGE/SUN/Football Record

NOTES:

Originally scheduled for Sept.15 but pushed back due to the postponement of Carlton v Hawthorn on Sept.13

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Match 6 - Wednesday, September 21

MELBOURNE

3.3 (21)

6.6 (42)

8.8 (56)

8.12 (60)

HAWTHORN

1.1 (7)

6.4 (40)

9.6 (60)

13.10 (88)

BEST PLAYERS:

Melbourne

Mann, Groom, Emselle, Dixon, Johnson, Feldman

Hawthorn

Gay, McLean, Crimmins, Parkin, Wilson, Johnson, Dickson

GOALKICKERS:

Melbourne

Mann 3, Feldman 2, Emselle, Groom, Aitken

Hawthorn

Gay 4, Keddie 2, Johnson 2, Browne 2, Law, Meagher, Smith

REPLACEMENTS:

Melbourne

unknown

Hawthorn

unknown

UMPIRE:

Grant

CROWD:

10,100

SOURCE:

AGE/SUN/Football Record

NOTES:

Originally scheduled for Sept.19 but pushed back due to the postponement of Carlton v Hawthorn on Sept.13

 

G.F. TEAMS

NORTH MELBOURNE

COACH

Alan 'Butch' Killigrew

 

BACKS

R. Goode

Waddington

Allan

HALF-BACKS

Benton

Davies

O’Brien

CENTRES

Johnson*

Dwyer

Gaudion

HALF-FORWARDS

Ibrahim

McCarthy

Allison

FORWARDS

Karanicolas

Dugdale

Rogers

FOLLOWERS

Teasdale (C)

Dean

ROVER

Dowdle

 

RESERVES

Wood*

Backhouse

EMERGENCIES

McKernan*

*Johnson was replaced in the selected North Melbourne side by Wood

(McKernan was promoted from emergency to reserve)

HAWTHORN

COACH

Peter O'Donohue

 

BACKS

Poole

Dunshea

Ferguson

HALF-BACKS

Lade

McLean

Parkin

CENTRES

Wilson

Meagher

Johnson

HALF-FORWARDS

Law

Gay

Keddie

FORWARDS

Smith

M. Browne

Arthur (C)

FOLLOWERS

Peck

Dickson

ROVER

Crimmins

 

RESERVES

Gardner

Robson

EMERGENCIES

Stafford

R. Browne

 

GRAND FINAL

1966 VFL NIGHT PREMIERSHIP - GRAND FINAL

Match 7 - Monday, September 26

NORTH MELBOURNE

5.5 (35)

10.7 (67)

15.10 (100)

20.12 (132)

HAWTHORN

2.0 (12)

6.0 (36)

8.4 (52)

12.7 (79)

BEST PLAYERS:

North Melbourne

Dowdle, Dugdale, McCarthy, Dwyer, Dean, Rogers, Gaudion

Hawthorn

Keddie, Browne, Peck, Meagher, Law, Ferguson

GOALKICKERS:

North Melbourne

Dugdale 6, Dean 3, Dowdle 3, Rogers 3, McCarthy 2, Ibrahim, Allison, Karanicolas

Hawthorn

Peck 4, Browne 2, Smith 2, Crimmins, Law, Gardner, Keddie

REPLACEMENTS:

North Melbourne

McKernan replaced Allan (last quarter)

Hawthorn

Gardner replaced Wilson (half-time)

Robson replaced Crimmins (last quarter)

UMPIRE:

Perkins

CROWD:

21,800*

SOURCE:

AGE/Football Record

NOTES:

These teams later played a rematch at York Park, Launceston on Oct.9th with North again victorious, this time by 34 points
(18.19 to 13.15). That exhibition match was also Peter Hudson's debut in Hawthorn colours.

CROWD DISCREPANCY:

Media reports of the day (and current AFL records) have the crowd for this match as 22,800.

Later editions of the Football Record (25-9-1967 / 4-9-1968 / 28-9-1970) confirm it was actually 21,800.

 

Written and researched by David Eastman
First published 15/2/2017
Last updated 30/4/2022