VFA-VFL - RECORDS

The records listed below are correct to the end of the 2019 season.

GAMES (played)

GAMES (coached)

GOALS (career)

GOALS (season)

GOALS (match)

GOALS (GF)

GOALS (representative)

SCORES (highest)

SCORES (lowest)

GAMES (played)

MOST GAMES PLAYED

GAMES	PLAYER	CLUB(S)
302	Bill Swan	Port Melbourne, Williamstown
300	Fred Cook*	Yarraville, Port Melbourne, Moorabbin
294	William 'Ching' Harris	Footscray
279	Ben Jolley	Bendigo, Williamstown, Port Melbourne
277	John Benson	Sunshine, Werribee
270	William Lang	Mordialloc
260	Nick Sautner	Sandringham, Frankston, Northern Bullants
255	Mick Martin	Yarraville, Werribee
248	Frank Smith	Prahran
233	Damian Carroll	Springvale
231	Jason Caples	Springvale
230	Les White	Prahran
229	Bob Bonnett*	Port Melbourne
226	Arch Johnston	Port Melbourne, West Melbourne
221	Tommy Lahiff	Brighton, Port Melbourne
	Rino Pretto*	Coburg, Camberwell, Oakleigh, Dandenong
219	Len Gilder	Moorabbin
	Dave Starbuck	Coburg
217	Michael Deaton	Mordialloc
216	Henry Chase	Brunswick
215	Sam Pleming	Northern Bullants, Port Melbourne
213	John Einsiedel	Caulfield
212	Les Stanley	Brunswick
210	Lew Wright	Dandenong
209	Greg Dermott*	Port Melbourne
	Marc Greig	North Ballarat
208	Vin Taranto	Coburg
	Troy West	Williamstown
207	Tony Pastore	Williamstown, Springvale
206	Ray Harvey	Prahran
	Eddie Melai	Dandenong
	Ryan McMahon	Port Melbourne
	John Baird	Box Hill, Port Melbourne
205	Ray Smith	Williamstown
	Phil Cleary	Coburg
	Toby Pinwill	Port Melbourne
204	Billy Barfoot	Port Melbourne
	Saade Ghazi	Williamstown
203	Michael Owen	Oakleigh
	Simon Clark	Springvale
	Michael Jeffs	Springvale
	Daniel Clarke	Frankston
202	Jim Renouf	Port Melbourne, Frankston
	Sean Millane	Dandenong, Frankston
201	Frank Seymour	Northcote
200	Sid Hall	Preston
	Jim Jenkins	Coburg, Brunswick
	Ron Brown	Yarraville
	Tom Russell	Williamstown
	Wayne Squires	Werribee, Yarraville
	Warwick Yates	Geelong West
NOTE - active players are shown in bold print

 

*FRED COOK - PMFC records have Cook on 305 games, which includes 5 matches he played in the NFL Night Series (1977-78), but VFA records have Cook on 300 games. This discrepancy is due to Port Melbourne's long-serving club secretary, Norm Goss senior, insisting these extra games be included in Port's player records. The VFA does not include them in official records because the NFL Night Series was an independent competition played outside of the VFA premiership. 

*BOB BONNETT - his official total is 229 games but PMFC records have him playing 227 games.

*RINO PRETTO - his official total is 221 VFA games but Pretto also played a further two games (against Sunshine in 1989 and Brunswick-Broadmeadows in 1991) which were removed from official records after those teams folded during the season. 

*GREG DERMOTT - PMFC records: 211 games, VFA records: 209 games. As with Fred Cook, the PMFC continues to include Dermott's games in the NFL Night Series whereas the VFA excludes them.

GAMES (coached)

MOST GAMES COACHED

GAMES	COACH	CLUB(S)
345	Gerard FitzGerald	North Ballarat, Springvale, Port Melbourne
313	Bill Faul	Northcote, Prahran, Moorabbin
268	Brad Gotch	Dandenong, Springvale, Collingwood, Williamstown
264	Jim Cleary	Brunswick, Port Melbourne, Dandenong
245	Gary Ayres	Port Melbourne
	Andy Collins	Sandringham, Box Hill, Coburg, Williamstown
214	Gordon Ogden	Williamstown, Yarraville
207	Harold Martin	Preston, Sunshine, Coburg, Box Hill
202	Gerry Callahan	Williamstown
201	Donald McDonald	Werribee, Box Hill
NOTE - active coaches are shown in bold print

 

GOALS (career)

MOST GOALS - CAREER

GOALS	PLAYER	CLUB(S)	GAMES	AVG/GAME
1336	Fred Cook	Yarraville, Port Melbourne, Moorabbin	300	4.45
1070	Rino Pretto	Coburg, Camberwell, Oakleigh, Dandenong	221	4.84
933	Bob Bonnett	Port Melbourne	227	4.11
928	Mark Fotheringham	Yarraville, Williamstown	174	5.33
883	Jim 'Frosty' Miller	Dandenong	183	4.82
880	Frank Seymour	Northcote	201	4.37
873	Nick Sautner	Sandringham, Frankston, Northern Bullants	260	3.35
725	Peter Neville	Mordialloc	127	5.70
723	Joe Radojevic	Geelong West	158	4.57
698	Garry Hammond	Camberwell	162	4.30
673	Jamie Shaw	Preston	126	5.34
672	Ron Todd	Williamstown	141	4.76
657	George Hawkins	Prahran	151	4.35
627	Lew Wright	Dandenong	210	2.98
610	Kim Smith	Prahran	136	4.48

 

Confusion surrounds the career games/goals totals of Fred Cook and Rino Pretto. Many sources have varying totals for both players (some sources even list two different totals for each player in the same publication!). The problem is caused by the inclusion of a handful of non-premiership matches:

FRED COOK
1336 goals from 300 games - Cook's official total in premiership matches
1364 goals from 305 games - Cook's unofficial/PMFC total which includes 5 NFL Night Series matches played in 1977-78

As listed previously on this page, Port Melbourne's Norm Goss senior insisted the NFL matches be included in player records. The VFA initially agreed but later (correctly) changed their position. The VFA does not include these games in official records because the NFL Night Series was an independent competition played outside of the VFA premiership.

Adding to the confusion, during the 1977 season the VFA made an ad-hoc decision that matches played in the Centenary Cup competition should also be included in players' official career statistics (a decision which has created problems ever since and is now ignored by the VFA-VFL's statistical department). Thus, some sources list Cook's 1977 season total as 155 goals (125 in premiership matches plus 30 in the Centenary Cup), yet none of these sources include the 1977 Centenary Cup goals in Cook's career total.

The end result of all this is that Cook's career totals in print and online are a mess: some sources include the NFL and Centenary Cup games, others exclude them, and some even merge them or create new numbers to fit the supposed total!

RINO PRETTO
1070 goals from 221 games - Pretto's official total in premiership matches
1095 goals from 223 games - Pretto's unofficial total which includes 25 goals in two premiership matches that were later removed from VFA records:

Rd.4, 1989 - Pretto kicked 12 goals against Sunshine but they dropped out of the competition after Round 8;
Rd.4, 1991 - Pretto kicked 13 goals against Brunswick-Broadmeadows but they dropped out of the competition the following week.

GOALS (season)

MOST GOALS - SEASON

1st DIVISION					2nd DIVISION
GOALS	PLAYER	CLUB	YEAR		GOALS	PLAYER	CLUB	YEAR
188	Ron Todd	Williamstown	1945*		170	Rino Pretto	Oakleigh	1985
183	Bob Pratt	Coburg	1941*		151	Rino Pretto	Oakleigh	1986
164	George Hawkins	Prahran	1939*		137	Graeme McLean	Geelong West	1972
157	Ted Freyer	Port Melbourne	1940*		135	Peter Neville	Mordialloc	1983
145	Jamie Shaw	Preston	1986		134	Peter Neville	Mordialloc	1976
141	Laurie Nash	Camberwell	1941*			Hugh Litchfield	Sunshine	1986
140	Fred Cook	Port Melbourne	1982		132	Peter Neville	Mordialloc	1979
133	Harry 'Soapy' Vallence	Williamstown	1939*		129	Mark Fotheringham	Yarraville	1979
	Jack Lynch	Preston	1941*		128	Garry Hammond	Camberwell	1977
130	Frank Seymour	Northcote	1934		121	Peter Smith	Coburg	1974
125	Fred Cook	Port Melbourne	1977		120	Garry Hammond	Camberwell	1976
	Ian Rickman	Williamstown	1989		119	Peter Stevenson	Camberwell	1981
124	Fred Cook	Port Melbourne	1976		118	E. 'Ted' Carroll	Springvale	1982
122	Frank Seymour	Northcote	1932		116	Johnny Walker	Preston	1965
119	Jack Titus	Coburg	1945*		112	Garry Hammond	Camberwell	1975
	Denis Oakley	Sandringham	1959			Oscar Aertssen	Oakleigh	1982
	Joe Radojevic	Geelong West	1975		110	Dale Carroll	Box Hill	1984
116	Lance Collins	Coburg	1936			Hugh Litchfield	Sunshine	1985
115	Fred Cook	Port Melbourne	1978		105	Mark Fotheringham	Yarraville	1978
114	Ron Todd	Williamstown	1946*		104	Russell Bourne	Mordialloc	1981
	Mark Fotheringham	Williamstown	1984		100	Paul Angelis	Waverley	1980
112	Fred Cook	Port Melbourne	1980		Season leaders are shown in bold print
	Paul McCarty	Frankston	1986
111	Harry 'Soapy' Vallence	Williamstown	1940*
	Bob Bonnett	Port Melbourne	1961
110	Frank Seymour	Northcote	1930
	Rex Hunt	Sandringham	1981
109	Roy Lyons	Prahran	1941*
108	Lance Collins	Coburg	1939*
	Jim 'Frosty' Miller	Dandenong	1973
	Fred Cook	Port Melbourne	1975
	Mark Fotheringham	Williamstown	1983
	Ian Morrison	Sandringham	1985
107	Dave McNamara	Essendon 'A'	1912
	George Hawkins	Prahran	1934
	Bill Findlay	Port Melbourne	1947*
	Len Clark	Preston	1972
106	Bill Luff	Camberwell	1933
	Jim 'Frosty' Miller	Dandenong	1969
	Fred Cook	Port Melbourne	1981
	Jamie Shaw	Preston	1985
	Mark Fotheringham	Williamstown	1985
	Shayne Smith	Springvale	1997
105	Jamie Shaw	Preston	1988
104	Harold Jones	Brunswick	1939*
	Bruce Harper	Sandringham	1951
	Ian Cooper	Sandringham	1973
103	Johnny Walker	Williamstown	1952
	Rino Pretto	Oakleigh	1989
	Jamie Shaw	Preston	1990
101	Jack Douglas	Brighton	1947*
	Robert Smith	Coburg	1980
100	Laurie Nash	Camberwell	1939*
	Aaron Edwards	Frankston	2006
*indicates the throw-pass was permitted that season
Season leaders are shown in bold print

 

GOALS (match)

MOST GOALS - MATCH

GOALS	PLAYER	CLUB	YEAR	OPPONENT
25	George Gough	Northcote	1924	Prahran
23	Paul Angelis	Waverley	1981 (D2)	Sunshine
22	Bob Pratt	Coburg	1941	Sandringham
	Peter Schofield	Moorabbin	1954	Sandringham
	Andrew Gibson	Williamstown	1986	Camberwell
20	Harold Jones	Brunswick	1939	Oakleigh
	Harry 'Soapy' Vallence	Williamstown	1941	Sandringham
	Ron Todd	Williamstown	1945	Oakleigh
	Rino Pretto	Oakleigh	1986 (D2)	Mordialloc
	Hugh Litchfield	Sunshine	1986 (D2)	Mordialloc
19	Jamie Shaw*	Preston	1989	Sunshine
18	Dave McNamara	Essendon 'A'	1912	Melbourne City
	Harry 'Soapy' Vallence	Williamstown	1939	Oakleigh
	Ted Freyer	Port Melbourne	1940	Sandringham
	E. 'Ted' Carroll	Springvale	1982 (D2)	Yarraville
	Peter Jurgenstein	Northcote	1983 (D2)	Sunshine
	Jamie Shaw	Preston	1986	Camberwell
	Rino Pretto	Oakleigh	1986 (D2)	Mordialloc
	Brendan Griffiths*	Brunswick	1989	Sunshine
	Jamie Shaw	Preston	1989	Camberwell
*Not included in official records

 

*NOTE - Shaw's 19 goals and Griffith's 18 goals are not official because Sunshine withdrew from the VFA after Round 8, 1989.
​All match results involving Sunshine  that season were subsequently removed from VFA records.

GOALS (GF)

MOST GOALS - 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

 

Further details of VFA finals records can be found here

GOALS (representative)

MOST GOALS - REPRESENTATIVE MATCH

GOALS	PLAYER	CLUB	YEAR	REP. TEAM	OPPONENT
12	Rino Pretto	Oakleigh	1989	VFA	Australian Amateurs
10	Tom Clarke	Essendon 'A'	1913	VFA	Western District FA
	Geoff Brokenshire*	Sandringham	1947	Bendigo FA	VFA
	Eddie Szyska	Williamstown	1968	VFA	Canberra
	Fred Cook	Port Melbourne	1982	VFA	Greater Northern FL
9	George Taylor	Port Melbourne	1923	VFA	Goldfields FA
	Kevin Pritchard*	Preston	1947	VFA	Bendigo FA
	Bill Byron	Coburg	1960	VFA	Queensland
	Fred Cook	Port Melbourne	1977	VFA	Queensland
	Nick Sautner	Sandringham	2007	VFL	WAFL
8	Bruce Harper	Sandringham	1951	VFA	Tasmania
	Bill Byron	Coburg	1960	VFA	Australian Amateurs
	Mark Fotheringham	Williamstown	1983	VFA	Victorian Amateur FA
	Greg Doyle	Dandenong	1992	VFA	Victorian Country FL
7	Keith Warburton	Brighton	1950	VFA	Canberra (A.C.T.)
	Bruce Harper	Sandringham	1951	VFA	Australian Amateurs
	Fred Cook	Port Melbourne	1979	VFA	Queensland
	Kim Smith	Prahran	1979	VFA	Queensland
	Brett Weatherald	Coburg	1987	VFA	Queensland
	Matthew Little	Williamstown	2010	VFL	WAFL
* not included in official records

 

*Brokenshire kicked 10 goals while on loan to the Bendigo FA (Pritchard kicked 9 goals the same day for the VFA team).
The match is not included in official records as a number of VFA players took the field for Bendigo FA to even the contest.

Further details of VFA-VFL Combine representative football can be can be found here

SCORES (highest)

HIGHEST SCORES (1897-)

SCORE	TEAM	OPPONENT	SCORE	MARGIN	YEAR
55.17 (347)	Williamstown	Camberwell	4.8 (32)	315	1986
52.31 (343)	Waverley	Sunshine	8.5 (53)	290	1981 (D2)
53.15 (333)	Brunswick*	Sunshine	12.6 (78)	255	1989
49.21 (315)	Preston*	Sunshine	9.5 (59)	256	1989
48.21 (309)	Springvale	Sunshine	12.9 (81)	228	1983 (D2)
46.31 (307)	Brunswick	Sunshine	5.2 (32)	275	1983 (D2)
46.21 (297)	Coburg	Camberwell	8.9 (57)	240	1989
44.29 (293)	Dandenong*	Brunswick-Broadmeadows	6.7 (43)	250	1991
43.29 (287)	Port Melbourne	Sandringham	1.9 (15)	236	1941
44.22 (286)	Box Hill	Sunshine	6.12 (48)	238	1983 (D2)
44.20 (284)	Sandringham	Dandenong	17.7 (109)	175	1984
44.19 (283)	Brunswick	Kilsyth	9.10 (64)	219	1983 (D2)
43.22 (280)	Camberwell	Yarraville	13.9 (87)	193	1981 (D2)
42.23 (275)	Port Melbourne	Brunswick	13.10 (88)	187	1981
41.26 (272)	Brunswick	Yarraville	7.2 (44)	228	1983 (D2)
42.20 (272)	Port Melbourne	Camberwell	12.2 (74)	198	1986
42.18 (270)	Williamstown	Box Hill	13.16 (94)	176	1985
43.12 (270)	Preston	Camberwell	13.14 (92)	178	1989
39.34 (268)	Brunswick	Kilsyth	3.4 (22)	246	1984 (D2)
40.27 (267)	Port Melbourne	Dandenong	11.10 (76)	191	1984
39.33 (267)	Box Hill	Sunshine	2.1 (13)	254	1984 (D2)
39.30 (264)	Northcote	Sunshine	10.16 (76)	188	1982 (D2)
40.22 (262)	Oakleigh	Sunshine	10.14 (74)	188	1982 (D2)
40.22 (262)	Oakleigh	Sunshine	13.9 (87)	175	1984 (D2)
29.26 (260)	Springvale	Yarraville	9.13 (67)	193	1983 (D2)
38.29 (257)	Oakleigh	Yarraville	5.9 (39)	218	1983 (D2)
40.17 (257)	Dandenong	Mordialloc	12.12 (84)	173	1987 (D2)
39.22 (256)	Oakleigh	Sunshine	12.8 (80)	176	1981 (D2)
39.19 (253)	Williamstown	Camberwell	7.12 (54)	199	1989
38.24 (252)	Williamstown	Camberwell	9.9 (63)	189	1986
37.27 (249)	Coburg	Waverley	7.3 (45)	204	1983
37.27 (249)	Geelong West	Waverley	6.9 (45)	204	1983
38.21 (249)	Preston	Camberwell	6.9 (45)	204	1986
37.26 (248)	Sunshine	Caulfield	9.14 (68)	180	1987 (D2)
* not included in official records

 

*NOTE - Brunswick's score of 333 and Preston's score of 315 are not official because Sunshine withdrew from the VFA after Round 8, 1989. All match results involving Sunshine that season were subsequently removed from VFA records.

Dandenong's score of 293 is not official because Brunswick-Broadmeadows withdrew from the VFA after playing three matches of the 1991 season. All match results involving Brunswick-Broadmeadows that season were subsequently removed from VFA records.

SCORES (lowest)

LOWEST SCORES (1897-)

SCORE	TEAM	OPPONENT	SCORE	MARGIN	YEAR
0.0 (0)	Footscray	Port Melbourne	9.23 (77)	77	1902
0.1 (1)	Brunswick	Williamstown	6.7 (43)	42	1897
0.1 (1)	Brunswick	Footscray	3.5 (23)	22	1899
0.2 (2)	Brunswick	West Melbourne	7.20 (62)	60	1904
0.2 (2)	Port Melbourne	Prahran	3.12 (30)	28	1906
0.3 (3)	Williamstown	Footscray	8.4 (52)	49	1899
0.3 (3)	Brighton	Footscray	7.10 (52)	49	1909
0.4 (4)	Williamstown	Footscray	2.10 (22)	18	1897
0.4 (4)	Richmond	Footscray	9.19 (73)	69	1899
0.4 (4)	West Melbourne	Port Melbourne	3.7 (25)	21	1901
0.4 (4)	Preston	Brunswick	9.11 (65)	61	1905
0.4 (4)	Northcote	North Melbourne	7.11 (53)	49	1919
0.5 (5)	Richmond	Footscray	7.17 (59)	54	1897
0.5 (5)	Port Melbourne	Williamstown	4.7 (31)	26	1899
0.5 (5)	North Melbourne	Footscray	3.8 (26)	21	1900
0.5 (5)	Preston	Prahran	7.16 (58)	53	1904
0.5 (5)	Preston	Brighton	10.10 (70)	65	1908
0.5 (5)	Port Melbourne	Essendon 'A'	13.8 (86)	81	1909
0.6 (6)	North Melbourne	Richmond	3.7 (25)	19	1902
1.0 (6)	Brunswick	North Melbourne	5.13 (43)	37	1903
0.6 (6)	Essendon 'A'	Richmond	10.13 (73)	67	1903
0.6 (6)	Essendon 'A'	West Melbourne	9.11 (65)	59	1906
0.6 (6)	Brunswick	Essendon 'A'	12.11 (83)	77	1912
POST WWI (1918-)
0.4 (4)	Northcote	North Melbourne	7.11 (53)	49	1919
0.7 (7)	North Melbourne Res.	Casey	5.14 (44)	37	2018
1.2 (8)	Brighton	Northcote	27.16 (178)	170	1961 (D2)
1.2 (8)	Brighton	Preston	22.31 (163)	155	1961 (D2)
0.9 (9)	Sandringham	Williamstown	11.11 (77)	68	2018
1.4 (10)	Sandringham	Preston	18.22 (130)	120	1954
1.5 (11)	Geelong 'A'	Williamstown	7.14 (56)	45	1925
1.5 (11)	Dandenong	Box Hill	17.18 (120)	109	1958
1.5 (11)	Brighton	Northcote	15.23 (113)	102	1961 (D2)
1.5 (11)	Williamstown	Yarraville	4.8 (32)	21	1961
1.5 (11)	Northcote	Prahran	36.22 (238)	227	1986 (D2)
1.6 (12)	Werribee	Sunshine	8.12 (60)	48	1966 (D2)
2.1 (13)	Sunshine	Box Hill	39.33 (267)	254	1984 (D2)
1.7 (13)	Mordialloc	Waverley	18.21 (129)	116	1986 (D2)
1.8 (14)	Footscray	North Melbourne	7.6 (48)	34	1918
2.2 (14)	Hawthorn	Footscray	8.18 (66)	52	1919
1.8 (14)	Camberwell	Oakleigh	24.24 (168)	154	1959
2.2 (14)	Waverley	Dandenong	12.7 (79)	65	1965
2.2 (14)	Coburg	Waverley	13.10 (88)	74	1966
2.2 (14)	Berwick	Box Hill	34.32 (236)	222	1986 (D2)

 

NOTE - in the 1897-1915 period there were many incidences of teams scoring between 7 and 14 points; these are not shown above in order to focus on the post-war era when such low scoring is more uncommon.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT - the lowest scores section of this page was sourced from Andrew Robinson's VFA Tables website. His site also includes details of scoring records for the pre-1897 era when behinds were recorded but not included in a team's score.

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Written and researched by David Eastman

First published 19/9/2014
Last updated 29/02/2020

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