VFA PRE-SEASON CUP

  • INTRODUCTION
  • SUMMARY OF RESULTS

INTRODUCTION

In 1993 the VFA played their inaugural pre-season competition, a format that had been successfully adopted by the AFL and a number of state leagues across Australia. The series ran for three seasons and the 1995 competition was radically restructured due to the reduced number of teams in the VFA that season.

The pre-season series did not survive beyond 1995 when a restructure of the VFA led to the VSFL assuming control and renaming it the VFL.

SUMMARY OF RESULTS

1993
1994
1995
1993

1993 FOSTER'S SPECIAL BITTER - VFA PRE-SEASON CUP

A twelve team competition meant only six winning teams would advance to the second round, two short of the numbers needed for a quarter final round. To counter this a "lucky loser" system was applied, which allowed the two teams with the lowest losing margin to join the winning teams in the quarter finals. Preston (lost by 14) and Springvale (lost by 20) were the beneficiaries of this system.

ROUND

WINNING TEAM

LOSING TEAM

MARGIN

1

Sandringham

22.13 (145)

Box Hill

11.16 (82)

63

Frankston

26.24 (180)

Oakleigh

20.12 (132)

48

Dandenong

18.21 (129)

Springvale

16.13 (109)

20

Werribee

21.20 (146)

Port Melbourne

11.9 (75)

71

Coburg

15.21 (111)

Preston

14.13 (97)

14

Williamstown

18.13 (121)

Prahran

10.18 (78)

43

QF

Sandringham

15.12 (102)

Springvale*

10.13 (73)

29

Dandenong

19.14 (128)

Frankston

15.12 (102)

26

Werribee

26.21 (177)

Coburg

11.10 (76)

101

Williamstown

13.13 (91)

Preston*

8.10 (58)

33

SF

Sandringham

21.8 (134)

Dandenong

16.14 (110)

24

Werribee

14.16 (100)

Williamstown

10.9 (69)

31

GF

Werribee

29.21 (195)

Sandringham

14.18 (102)

93

 

Picture
Werribee's acting-captain Cameron Wright holds the 1993 pre-season trophy aloft
1994

1994 FOSTER'S SPECIAL BITTER - VFA PRE-SEASON CUP

As with the 1993 competition, two losing teams from the first round advanced to the quarter final stage. However, it remains unclear how those teams were chosen. Preston had the lowest losing margin in the first round (4 points) so if a "lucky loser" system was used the other team to advance should have been Port Melbourne (lost by 5 points) yet it was Box Hill that advanced despite losing by 35 points.

If the teams to advance were chosen based on the previous season's ladder positions, Preston was the lowest-ranked losing team (10th) followed by Dandenong (8th) - on this basis Box Hill (6th) again should not have progressed to the next round.

ROUND

WINNING TEAM

LOSING TEAM

MARGIN

1

Frankston

23.10 (148)

Springvale

16.11 (107)

41

Oakleigh

21.18 (144)

Dandenong

13.13 (91)

53

Werribee

18.12 (120)

Prahran

15.14 (104)

16

Williamstown

13.8 (86)

Port Melbourne

11.15 (81)

5

Coburg

12.13 (85)

Preston

11.15 (81)

4

Sandringham

17.16 (118)

Box Hill

12.11 (83)

35

QF

Frankston

19.9 (123)

Box Hill*

13.11 (89)

34

Sandringham

19.19 (133)

Oakleigh

18.14 (122)

11

Williamstown

16.10 (106)

Preston*

8.7 (55)

51

Werribee

28.19 (187)

Coburg

6.14 (50)

137

SF

Frankston

26.17 (173)

Sandringham

14.12 (96)

77

Werribee

15.10 (100)

Williamstown

6.9 (45)

55

GF

Frankston

15.13 (103)

Werribee

15.4 (94)

9

 

1995

1995 VICTORIAN CREDIT UNION - VFA PRE-SEASON CUP

Following the 1994 season Dandenong, Oakleigh and Prahran all departed the VFA, leaving just nine clubs in the competition. This required the Association to adopt a new format for the pre-season tournament. The 9 teams were now split into three groups of three, with each group playing a round robin during the preliminary stages. The four highest-ranked teams then contested the semi-finals with the two winners advancing to the Grand Final.
GROUP 1
Sandringham
Springvale
Williamstown
GROUP 2
Box Hill
Preston
Werribee
GROUP 3
Coburg
Frankston
Port Melbourne

ROUND

GROUP

WINNING TEAM

LOSING TEAM

MARGIN

1

1

Sandringham

27.18 (180)

Williamstown

12.16 (88)

92

2

Box Hill

10.22 (82)

Werribee

10.9 (69)

13

3

Port Melbourne

23.5 (143)

Frankston

17.11 (113)

30

2

1

Springvale

19.12 (126)

Sandringham

11.9 (75)

51

2

Box Hill

17.14 (116)

Preston

8.10 (58)

58

3

Coburg

15.13 (103)

Port Melbourne

11.13 (79)

24

3

1

Springvale

17.18 (120)

Williamstown

11.12 (78)

42

2

Preston

16.11 (107)

Werribee

6.3 (39)

68

3

Frankston

15.14 (104)

Coburg

14.11 (95)

9

 

LADDER AFTER PRELIMINARY ROUND

POS.

TEAM

WINS

LOSSES

FOR

AGST

%

1

Springvale

2

-

246

153

160.78

2

Box Hill

2

-

198

127

155.90

3

Sandringham

1

1

255

214

119.15

4

Coburg

1

1

198

183

108.19

5

Preston

1

1

165

155

106.45

6

Port Melbourne

1

1

222

216

102.77

7

Frankston

1

1

217

238

91.17

8

Werribee

-

2

108

189

57.14

9

Williamstown

-

2

166

300

55.33

 

1995 VFA PRE-SEASON CUP FINALS

ROUND

WINNING TEAM

LOSING TEAM

MARGIN

SF

Springvale (1)

28.20 (188)

Coburg (4)

17.5 (107)

81

Box Hill (2)

11.17 (83)

Sandringham (3)

12.7 (79)

4

GF

Springvale (1)

9.9 (63)

Box Hill (2)

8.8 (56)

7

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT – the match results shown above were supplied by James Hothersall. His research is reproduced here with thanks.
Researched by James Hothersall
Written by David Eastman
First published 19/9/2014
Last updated 30/6/2019