VFA-VFL FINALS RECORDS

GRAND FINALS

CONSECUTIVE PREMIERSHIPS

4 - Essendon (1891-92-93-94)

3 - Geelong (1878-79-80)
3 - Geelong (1882-83-84)
3 - South Melbourne (1888-89-90)
3 - Footscray (1898-99-00)
3 - North Melbourne (1914-15-19)
3 - Coburg (1926-27-28)
3 - Northcote (1932-33-34)
3 - Williamstown (1954-55-56)
3 - Port Melbourne (1980-81-82)
3 - Sandringham (2004-05-06)
3 - North Ballarat (2008-09-10)

2 - North Melbourne (1903-04)
2 - Essendon 'A' (1911-12)
2 - Footscray (1919-20)
2 - Footscray (1923-24)
2 - Port Melbourne (1940-41)
2 - Williamstown (1958-59)
2 - Preston (1968-69)
2 - Port Melbourne (1976-77)
2 - Preston (1983-84)
2 - Coburg (1988-89)
2 - Springvale (1995-96)
2 - Springvale (1998-99)

CONSECUTIVE GRAND FINALS

8 - Port Melbourne (1950-57), won 1 of 8

6 - Footscray (1919-24), won 4 of 6
6 - Northcote (1929-34), won 4 of 6

5 - North Melbourne (1913-19), won 3 of 5

4 - Brunswick (1908-11), won 1 of 4
4 - Port Melbourne (1964-67), won 2 of 4
4 - Preston (1981-84), won 2 of 4

3 - North Melbourne (1903-05), won 2 of 3
3 - Richmond (1903-05), won 1 of 3
3 - Footscray (1912-14), won 1 of 3
3 - Coburg (1926-28), won all three
3 - Coburg (1932-34), lost all three
3 - Brunswick (1937-39), won 1 of 3
3 - Williamstown (1954-56), won all three
3* - Moorabbin (1957-58), won 1 of 3
3* - Williamstown (1958-59), won 2 of 3
3 - Geelong West (1966-68), won promotion in 1968 (D2)
3 - Brunswick (1973-75), won promotion in 1975 (D2)
3 - Oakleigh (1973-74), won 1 of 3
3 - Port Melbourne (1980-82), won all three
3 - Williamstown (1988-90), won 1 of 3
3 - Sandringham (2004-06), won all three
3 - North Ballarat (2008-10), won all three
3 - Box Hill (2013-15), won 1 of 3

*includes a drawn Grand Final

MOST GOALS IN A VFA-VFL GRAND FINAL

GOALS

PLAYER

CLUB

YEAR

OPPONENT

12

Ted Freyer

Port Melbourne

1940

Prahran

Rino Pretto*

Oakleigh

1985 (D2)

Brunswick

10

Paddy Gardiner

Coburg

1927

Brighton

Fred Cook

Port Melbourne

1974

Oakleigh

Dale Carroll

Box Hill

1984 (D2)

Oakleigh

9

Tom Stevens

North Melbourne

1918

Prahran

Roy Lyons*

Prahran

1940

Port Melbourne

Jim 'Frosty' Miller*

Dandenong

1972

Oakleigh

Fred Cook

Port Melbourne

1977

Sandringham

8

Frank Seymour

Northcote

1932

Coburg

Peter Smith

Coburg

1974 (D2)

Brunswick

Peter Neville

Mordialloc

1977 (D2)

Yarraville

Fred Cook

Port Melbourne

1981

Preston

7

Jim Walsh*

Brighton

1927

Coburg

Alec Duncan*

Coburg

1934

Northcote

Don 'Mopsy' Fraser

Port Melbourne

1953

Yarraville

Jim 'Frosty' Miller*

Dandenong

1969

Preston

John Murnane

Oakleigh

1972

Dandenong

Greg Boxall

Williamstown

1976 (D2)

Mordialloc

Kim Smith

Prahran

1978

Preston

* indicates a player on the losing team

 

HIGHEST G.F. SCORES

32.23 (215) - 1984, Box Hill (D2)
32.19 (211) - 1981, Port Melbourne
25.18 (168) - 1985, Brunswick (D2)
25.17 (167) - 1972, Oakleigh
23.22 (160) - 1940, Port Melbourne
22.26 (158) - 1971, Sunshine (D2)
23.19 (157) - 1977, Port Melbourne
22.20 (152) - 1974, Port Melbourne

HIGHEST G.F. LOSING SCORES

22.12 (144) - 1985, Oakleigh (D2) - lost by 24 points
20.14 (134) - 1982, Preston - lost by 7 points
18.15 (123) - 1968, Williamstown (D2) - lost by 12 points
18.15 (123) - 1972, Dandenong - lost by 44 points
17.17 (119) - 1978, Preston - lost by 22 points

LOWEST G.F. SCORES

3.4 (22) - 1924, Williamstown
3.8 (26) - 1911, Brunswick
3.9 (27) - 1903, Richmond
3.10 (28) - 1915, Brunswick
3.10 (28) - 1918, Prahran
4.4 (28) - 1993, Port Melbourne
                     (lowest score of the modern era)
3.16 (34) - 1907, West Melbourne
4.10 (34) - 1911, Essendon 'A'
                      (lowest winning score, won by 8 points)
5.6 (36) - 1905, North Melbourne
5.8 (38) - 1923, Port Melbourne
5.9 (39) - 1906, Footscray
5.9 (39) - 1910, Brunswick
5.9 (39) - 1921, Footscray
6.7 (43) - 1919, North Melbourne
6.4 (40) - 1908, Brunswick
5.11 (41) - 1912, Footscray
5.14 (44) - 1997, Frankston
5.15 (45) - 1966, Geelong West (D2)
5.15 (45) - 1998, Werribee

LOWEST G.F. WINNING SCORES

4.10 (34) - 1911, Essendon 'A' def. Brunswick
7.6 (48) - 1903, North Melbourne def. Richmond
7.8 (50) - 1906, West Melbourne def. Footscray
7.10 (52) - 1907, Williamstown def. West Melbourne
7.10 (52) - 1923, Footscray def. Port Melbourne
8.9 (57) - 1921, Williamstown def. Footscray
8.10 (58) - 2019, Richmond Res. def. Williamstown
9.6 (60) - 1922, Port Melbourne def. Footscray
9.6 (60) - 1930, Oakleigh def. Northcote
9.7 (61) - 1905, Richmond def. North Melbourne
9.8 (62) - 1912, Essendon 'A' def. Footscray
9.10 (64) - 1908, Footscray def. Brunswick
8.17 (65) - 1919, Footscray def. North Melbourne
10.5 (65) - 1949, Williamstown def. Oakleigh
9.13 (67) - 2004, Sandringham def. Port Melbourne

GREATEST G.F. WINNING MARGIN

135 points - 1984, Box Hill def. Oakleigh (D2)
113 points - 1981, Port Melbourne def. Preston
100 points - 1977, Port Melbourne def. Sandringham
93 points - 1918, North Melbourne def. Prahran
74 points - 2007, Geelong def. Coburg
69 points - 1966, Prahran def. Geelong West (D2)
69 points - 1974, Port Melbourne def. Oakleigh
64 points - 1963, Moorabbin def. Sandringham
63 points - 1961, Yarraville def. Williamstown
61 points - 1934, Northcote def. Coburg
60 points - 1953, Port Melbourne def. Yarraville
60 points - 1960, Oakleigh def. Sandringham
60 points - 1962, Dandenong def. Prahran (D2)
60 points - 1999, Springvale def. North Ballarat

SMALLEST G.F. WINNING MARGIN

1 point - 1913, Footscray def. North Melbourne
1 point - 1962, Sandringham def. Moorabbin
2 points - 1922, Port Melbourne def. Footscray
2 points - 1937, Prahran def. Brunswick
2 points - 1990, Williamstown def. Springvale
3 points - 1920, Footscray def. Brunswick
3 points - 1931, Oakleigh def. Northcote
3 points - 1949, Williamstown def. Oakleigh
3 points - 1996, Springvale def. Frankston
3 points - 2019, Richmond Res. def. Williamstown
4 points - 2004, Sandringham def. Port Melbourne
4 points - 2017, Port Melbourne def. Richmond Reserves
5 points - 1982, Northcote def. Caulfield (D2)
6 points - 1971, Dandenong def. Preston
6 points - 1972, Geelong West def. Caulfield (D2)
6 points - 1985, Sandringham def. Williamstown
NOTE - the VFA-VFL's only drawn Grand Final occurred in 1958: Williamstown defeated Moorabbin by 32 points in the replay.

BIGGEST GRAND FINAL CROWDS

ALL-TIME

48,238*
1939, Williamstown vs Brunswick
44,000
1908, Footscray vs Brunswick
40,000
1945, Williamstown vs Port Melb.
40,000
1953, Port Melbourne vs Yarraville
39,500
1952, Port Melbourne vs Oakleigh
38,700
1949, Williamstown vs Oakleigh
38,000
1950, Port Melbourne vs Oakleigh
36,289
1941, Port Melbourne vs Coburg
32,500
1951, Port Melbourne vs Prahran

*most sources list this crowd as 47,098. The figure quoted above is from
two sources:
- The VFA: A History of the Victorian Football Association 1877-1995
by Marc Fiddian
- The Football Recorder
(1971 First Division GF edition, p.23)

POST-1970

32,317
1976, Port Melbourne vs Dandenong
30,569
1978, Preston vs Prahran
29,664
1977, Port Melbourne vs Sandringham
27,582
1975, Geelong West vs Dandenong
23,936
1974, Port Melbourne vs Oakleigh
23,816
2014, Footscray Bulldogs vs Box Hill
23,272
1989, Williamstown vs Coburg
22,400
1972, Oakleigh vs Dandenong
22,341
1985, Williamstown vs Sandringham
22,034
1988, Williamstown vs Coburg
22,010
1980, Port Melbourne vs Coburg

2ND DIVISION

12,921
1978, Camberwell vs Frankston
12,023
1979, Camberwell vs Oakleigh
11,897
1977, Mordialloc vs Yarraville
11,855
1976, Mordialloc vs Williamstown
11,328
1975, Camberwell vs Brunswick
10,736
1984, Box Hill vs Oakleigh

Only years with exact crowd figures are shown above. Some sources estimate other years as high as:

15,000 - 1963, Preston vs Waverley
15,000 - 1972, Geel. West vs Caulfield
12,000 - 1962, Dandenong vs Prahran
11,000 - 1974, Coburg vs Brunswick

SMALLEST G.F. CROWDS

2,300 - 1934, Coburg vs Northcote
5,504* - 1998, Werribee vs Springvale
6,000 - 2006, Sandringham vs Geelong
6,212 - 1999, North Ballarat vs Springvale
6,445 - 1995, Sandringham vs Springvale
7,000 - 1915, North Melbourne vs Brunswick
7,000 - 1918, North Melbourne vs Prahran
8,000 - 1930, Oakleigh vs Northcote
8,183 - 1996, Frankston vs Springvale
8,196 - 2004, Sandringham vs Port Melbourne
8,652 - 2000, Sandringham vs North Ballarat
9,000 - 1932, Coburg vs Northcote
9,000 - 1937, Prahran vs Brunswick
9,000 - 2005, Sandringham vs Werribee

*This total is taken from the Victorian Footballer matchday programme, newspaper match reports have a crowd of 8,672.

SMALLEST G.F. CROWDS
(2ND DIVISION)

3,500 - 1967, Geelong West vs Oakleigh
5,000 - 1969, Williamstown vs Sunshine
5,000 - 1983, Brunswick vs Springvale
5,243 - 1980, Brunswick vs Yarraville
6,000 - 1968, Geelong West vs Williamstown
6,000 - 1970, Box Hill vs Coburg
6,000 - 1973, Brunswick vs Caulfield
7,500 - 1965, Preston vs Mordialloc

FINALS

CONSECUTIVE FINALS SERIES

14 - Williamstown (2006-19)  [1 premiership]
11 - Port Melbourne (1973-83)  [6]
10 - Williamstown (1953-62)  [5]
9 - North Melbourne (1910-20)  [4]
9 - Port Melbourne (1950-58)  [1]
9 - Springvale/Casey (1993-2001)  [4]
8 - Northcote (1929-36)  [5]
8 - Port Melbourne (2007-14)  [1]
7 - Essendon 'A' (1908-14)  [2]
7 - Sandringham (1959-65)  [1]
7 - Preston (1981-86)  [2]
7 - Springvale/Casey (2007-13)  [0]
7 - Box Hill (2009-15)   [1]
6 - Brunswick (1908-13)  [1]
6 - Footscray (1919-24)  [4]
6 - Prahran (1934-41)  [1]
6 - Williamstown (1945-50)  [2]
6 - Dandenong (1971-76)  [1]
6 - Williamstown (1985-90)  [2]
6 - Box Hill (2000-05)  [1]
6 - Werribee (2001-06)  [0]
6 - North Ballarat (2006-11)  [3]
6 - Collingwood Reserves (2013-18)   [0]

(current finals streaks are shown in bold)

GOLDEN ERAS

Footscray (1903-24) - played 15 of 20 finals series  [6 premierships]
North Melbourne (1903-22) - played 14 of 18  [6]
Northcote (1924-39) - played 13 of 16  [5]
Port Melbourne (1940-58) - played 14 of 16  [4]
Williamstown (1945-64) - played 17 of 20  [7]
Sandringham (1959-71) - played 11 of 13  [1]
Port Melbourne (1964-83) - played 17 of 20  [8]
Dandenong (1965-78) - played 11 of 14  [2]
Preston (1981-90) - played 8 of 10  [2]
Williamstown (1985-92) - played 7 of 8  [2]
Springvale/Casey (1987-2003) - played 14 of 17  [5]
Werribee (1990-2015) - played 21 of 26  [1]
Box Hill (2000-19) - played 16 of 20  [3]
Williamstown (2000-19) - played 17 of 20  [2]
Port Melbourne (2002-19) - played 16 of 18   [2]
North Ballarat (2004-11) - played 7 of 8  [3]
Springvale/Casey (2007-18) - played 11 of 12  [0]
Written and researched by David Eastman
First published 4/5/2014
Page last updated 9/10/2019