NON-PREMIERSHIP MATCHES

1970 RADIANT NIGHT PREMIERSHIP

RESULTS
ABOUT
TEAMS / FORMAT
EVENTS
MATCH REPORTS
RESULTS

SUMMARY OF RESULTS

Date

Teams

1/4

1/2

3/4

Final

Margin

Venue

Day/Time

Crowd

ROUND 1

Sep-03

Richmond (6)

8.2 (50)

8.5 (53)

11.6 (72)

14.9 (93)

13

Lake Oval,

Thu

10,591

Melbourne (10)

2.2 (14)

9.10 (64)

12.12 (84)

15.16 (106)

South Melbourne

(8:00pm)

Sep-08

Hawthorn (8)

5.4 (34)

7.9 (51)

13.14 (92)

16.25 (121)

69

Lake Oval,

Tue

6,656

Essendon (11)

1.4 (10)

4.6 (30)

5.8 (38)

7.10 (52)

South Melbourne

(8:00pm)

Sep-10

Footscray (7)

1.3 (9)

5.4 (34)

7.7 (49)

14.13 (97)

54

Lake Oval,

Thu

7,906

North Melbourne (12)

3.1 (19)

4.4 (28)

5.7 (37)

6.7 (43)

South Melbourne

(8:00pm)

Sep-15

Fitzroy (9)

3.4 (22)

7.11 (53)

8.13 (61)

11.19 (85)

1

Lake Oval,

Tue

6,035

Geelong (5)

4.4 (28)

6.5 (41)

10.12 (72)

12.12 (84)

South Melbourne

(8:00pm)

SEMI FINALS

Sep-17

Melbourne (10)

2.4 (16)

4.7 (31)

8.9 (57)

11.12 (78)

1

Lake Oval,

Thu

10,109

Hawthorn (8)

1.2 (8)

3.4 (22)

7.7 (49)

11.11 (77)

South Melbourne

(8:00pm)

Sep-22

Footscray v Fitzroy moved to Sept.23 due to a proposed strike by electricity workers

Tue

 

Sep-23

Footscray (7)

7.4 (46)

10.7 (67)

16.11 (107)

19.17 (131)

43

Lake Oval,

Wed

7,553

Fitzroy (9)

2.2 (14)

6.12 (48)

8.13 (61)

12.16 (88)

South Melbourne

(8:00pm)

GRAND FINAL

Sep-28

Melbourne (10)

2.4 (16)

8.8 (56)

9.12 (66)

13.15 (93)

2

Lake Oval,

Mon

23,882

Footscray (7)

3.4 (22)

6.4 (40)

11.11 (77)

13.17 (95)

South Melbourne

(8:00pm)

 

ABOUT

ABOUT THE 1970 SERIES

*Bulldogs win a thriller - Footscray fought back from a 16-point deficit at half-time of the Grand Final to lead by 11 at three-quarter time, courtesy of a burst of five goals to one in that term.

However they nearly squandered their chance by kicking 2.6 in the final quarter, with the Demons holding the lead late only to fall two points short at the finish.

Interestingly, The Age match report states that Footscray's final goal that won them the flag was "clearly a point". The win broke a deadlock with South Melbourne for the most titles, giving Footscray four night premierships to South's three.

The 1970 title was also Ted Whitten senior's third premiership as a coach, moving him into a tie with Alan Killigrew (St Kilda 1958, North Melbourne 1965/66) as the most successful coach in the night series.


*Heartstoppers aplenty - the previous series had four of its seven matches decided by a goal or less. In 1970 there were three tight finishes, this time by margins of 2 points or less.


*Leading Goalkicker of the Series - Footscray's Bernie Quinlan led all-scorers with 13 goals in his 3 matches.
Picture
1970 Night Series Grand Final programme (private collection)
*Crowds the lowest on record - night attendances had steadily declined since peaking at 153,365* in 1965. They reached their nadir in 1970 with just 72,732 fans attending, almost 4000 less than the rain-soaked 1959 series.

[*NOTE - the 1957 series drew more fans (187,200) but 11 games were played that year compared to 7 in all other series played from 1956 to 1971. The average crowd of both series is the true indicator, with 21,948 per game in 1965 compared to just 17,018 in 1957]
TEAMS / FORMAT

PARTICIPATING TEAMS

The series featured the eight teams that missed the VFL finals series:
5th - Geelong
6th - Richmond
7th - Footscray
8th - Hawthorn
9th - Fitzroy
10th - Melbourne
11th - Essendon
12th - North Melbourne
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 9 / 6 vs 10 / 7 vs 12 / 8 vs 11) with winning teams advancing to the next stage, and losing teams eliminated from the series.

EVENTS

NOTABLE EVENTS

*Lights out? - throughout this era a number of night series matches were postponed due to torrential rains or an unplayable surface in their aftermath. But the Footscray-Fitzroy second semi-final of 1970 stands alone... postponed due to electricity workers threatening to go on strike.


*Business before footy - in the era before billion-dollar TV rights deals players still had to combine footy with a full-time job. The Football Record [17-9-1970] reported that Fitzroy ruckman Russell Crow would miss all of their games in the 1970 night series due to shearing commitments in the outback.


*Hudson kicks another bag - Hawthorn's Peter Hudson continued his run of form in the night series, kicking 7 goals against Melbourne in the first semi-final.


*Magee captains the night premiers - Ted Whitten snr started the 1970 season as Footscray's captain-coach but retired from playing after Round 5 when he broke the VFL games record. Whitten remained as coach and veteran rover Stuart Magee took over the captaincy for the rest of the season, resulting in Magee leading the Bulldogs to the 1970 title while Whitten gave the orders from the sidelines.
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 3

RICHMOND

8.2 (50)

8.5 (53)

11.6 (72)

14.9 (93)

MELBOURNE

2.2 (14)

9.10 (64)

12.12 (84)

15.16 (106)

BEST PLAYERS:

Richmond

Bourke, Sheedy, Bartlett, Hart, Boyanich, Brown

Melbourne

Hardeman, Bourke, Davis, Keenan, Sullivan, Burgmann, Wells

GOALKICKERS:

Richmond

Clay 4, Hart 4, Brown 3, Bartlett, Bourke, Wilson

Melbourne

Wells 4, Burgmann 3, Keenan 2, Dillon 2, Payne, Bourke, Townsend, Parke

REPLACEMENTS:

Richmond

Wilson replaced Miels (selected side)

Melbourne

McKenzie replaced Alves (period of game unknown)

UMPIRE:

Sheales

CROWD:

10,591

SOURCE:

AGE/SUN/Football Record

NOTES:

-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Match 2 - Tuesday, September 8

HAWTHORN

5.4 (34)

7.9 (51)

13.14 (92)

16.25 (121)

ESSENDON

1.4 (10)

4.6 (30)

5.8 (38)

7.10 (52)

BEST PLAYERS:

Hawthorn

Crimmins, Wilson, Smith, Knights, Scott, Hawkin, Matthews

Essendon

Pirouet, Headlam, Talbot, E. Lake, Starbuck

GOALKICKERS:

Hawthorn

Crimmins 5, Keddie 2, Wilson 2, Heath, Porter, Bremner, Smith, Scott, Hudson, Stevenson

Essendon

E. Lake 2, Starbuck, Headlam, Blethyn, Neish, Sproule

REPLACEMENTS:

Hawthorn

Angus replaced Crimmins (last quarter)

Ferguson replaced Hawkin (last quarter)

Essendon

B. Lake replaced Fields (last quarter)

Thompson replaced Heath (last quarter)

UMPIRE:

Hayes

CROWD:

6,656

SOURCE:

AGE/SUN/Football Record

NOTES:

-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Match 3 - Thursday, September 10

FOOTSCRAY

1.3 (9)

5.4 (34)

7.7 (49)

14.13 (97)

NORTH MELBOURNE

3.1 (19)

4.4 (28)

5.7 (37)

6.7 (43)

BEST PLAYERS:

Footscray

Quinlan, Bartlett, Pagnoccolo, Round, Magee, Thorpe

North Melbourne

Steward, Montgomery, Bryant, Seltham, Peterson, Joseph

GOALKICKERS:

Footscray

Bartlett 4, Quinlan 4, Bisset 2, Spargo, Round, Magee, Pagnoccolo

North Melbourne

Bryant 2, Wood, Pretty, Seltham, Joseph

REPLACEMENTS:

Footscray

unknown

North Melbourne

unknown

UMPIRE:

Artso

CROWD:

7,906

SOURCE:

AGE/SUN/Football Record

NOTES:

-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Match 4 - Tuesday, September 15

FITZROY

3.4 (22)

7.11 (53)

8.13 (61)

11.19 (85)

GEELONG

4.4 (28)

6.5 (41)

10.12 (72)

12.12 (84)

BEST PLAYERS:

Fitzroy

Zunneberg, Irwin, Murphy, Lazarus, Wall

Geelong

Closter, Hampshire, I. Nankervis, Scarlett, Stevens

GOALKICKERS:

Fitzroy

Ruscuklic 3, Irwin 2, Dare, Andrews, Murphy, Thompson, Shanahan, Merrigan

Geelong

I. Nankervis 3, P. Smith 3, Stephenson 2, Newman 2, Wade, Strahan

REPLACEMENTS:

Fitzroy

unknown

Geelong

unknown

UMPIRE:

Marks

CROWD:

6,035

SOURCE:

AGE/SUN/Football Record

NOTES:

Fitzroy won with a rushed behind in the final minute of play.

 

SEMI FINALS

Match 5 - Thursday, September 17

MELBOURNE

2.4 (16)

4.7 (31)

8.9 (57)

11.12 (78)

HAWTHORN

1.2 (8)

3.4 (22)

7.7 (49)

11.11 (77)

BEST PLAYERS:

Melbourne

Davis, Wells, Bourke, Townsend, Campbell, Molloy

Hawthorn

Wilson, Bremner, Knights, Hudson, Matthews, Angus

GOALKICKERS:

Melbourne

Dillon 4, Burgmann 2, Keenan, Wells, Townsend, Alves, Parke

Hawthorn

Hudson 7, Matthews 2, Keddie, Porter

REPLACEMENTS:

Melbourne

(none)

Hawthorn

Chiron replaced Heath (last quarter)

Ferguson replaced Stevenson (last quarter)

UMPIRE:

Deller

CROWD:

10,109

SOURCE:

AGE/Football Record

NOTES:

Hawthorn were 15 points down at the 18 minute mark of the last quarter but levelled the scores three minutes into time-on;
Townsend of Melbourne then scored a behind a minute later to win the match.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Match 6 - Wednesday, September 23

FOOTSCRAY

7.4 (46)*

10.7 (67)

16.11 (107)

19.17 (131)

FITZROY

2.2 (14)

6.12 (48)

8.13 (61)

12.16 (88)

BEST PLAYERS:

Footscray

Dempsey, Quinlan, Round, D. McKenzie, Thorpe

Fitzroy

Murray, Zunneberg, Ruscuklic

GOALKICKERS:

Footscray

Quinlan 6, Dempsey 6, Round 5, Thorpe, D. McKenzie

Fitzroy

Ruscuklic 5, Irwin 3, Andrews, McKenzie, Lazarus, Padley

REPLACEMENTS:

Footscray

unknown

Fitzroy

unknown

UMPIRE:

Sutcliffe

CROWD:

7,553

SOURCE:

AGE/SUN/Football Record

NOTES:

Postponed from Sept.22 due to the possibility of a strike by electricity workers.

SCORE DISCREPANCY:

Footscray's 1/4 time score in The Football Record = 7.4 (The Age has 7.3)

 

G.F. TEAMS

FOOTSCRAY

COACH

E.J. Whitten

 

BACKS

Casey

McGhie

Rippon

HALF-BACKS

McGowan

Merrington

Joslin

CENTRES

Power

Magee (C)

Thorpe

HALF-FORWARDS

Sandilands

Bartlett

McKenzie

FORWARDS

Round

Quinlan

Spargo*

FOLLOWERS

Dempsey

Greenwood

ROVER

Bisset

 

RESERVES

Austin*

Radziminski

EMERGENCIES

Simmons*

Pokrovsky

Skreja

*Spargo was replaced in the selected Footscray side by Austin

(Simmons was promoted from emergency to reserve)

MELBOURNE

COACH

John Beckwith

 

BACKS

Davis (C)

Hodges

M. Walker

HALF-BACKS

Sullivan

Hardeman

Feldmann

CENTRES

Alves

Bourke

Rollinson

HALF-FORWARDS

Burgmann

Parke

McKenzie

FORWARDS

Payne

Dillon

Townsend

FOLLOWERS

Keenan

Lakes

ROVER

Wells

 

RESERVES

Sinclair

D. Clark

EMERGENCIES

Biffin

Carr

Weekes

 

GRAND FINAL

1970 VFL NIGHT PREMIERSHIP - GRAND FINAL

Match 7 - Monday, September 28

MELBOURNE

2.4 (16)

8.8 (56)

9.12 (66)

13.15 (93)

FOOTSCRAY

3.4 (22)

6.4 (40)

11.11 (77)

13.17 (95)

BEST PLAYERS:

Melbourne

Townsend, Davis, Lakes, Wells, Alves, Burgmann

Footscray

Dempsey, Quinlan, Bisset, Thorpe, Power, Greenwood

GOALKICKERS:

Melbourne

Burgmann 4, Parke 3, Bourke 2, McKenzie 2, Wells, Payne

Footscray

Quinlan 3, Bisset 2, Magee 2, Dempsey 2, Thorpe, Bartlett, Radziminski, McKenzie

REPLACEMENTS:

Melbourne

Clark replaced Keenan (last quarter)

Footscray

Simmons replaced Rippons (third quarter)

Radziminski replaced McKenzie (last quarter)

UMPIRE:

Crouch

CROWD:

23,882

SOURCE:

AGE/Football Record

NOTES:

Footscray’s last goal – kicked by Radziminski at the 25 minute mark – was a behind according to The Age match report:
"The goal umpire was probably the only person at the ground who thought it was a goal".

 

Written and researched by David Eastman
First published 15/2/2017
Last updated 2/5/2022