1908 VFL season

The 1908 VFL season was the twelfth season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria.

1908 VFL Premiership season
Carlton Football Club, Premiers
Teams10
PremiersCarlton
(3rd premiership)
Minor premiersCarlton
(3rd minor premiership)
Matches played93
Highest attendance50,261
Leading Goalkicker MedallistDick Lee (Collingwood)

The season featured ten clubs, with University (MJFA) and Richmond (VFA) newly admitted to increase the league's size for the first time since its inception. The season ran from 2 May until 26 September, and comprised an 18-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top four clubs.

The premiership was won by the Carlton Football Club for the third time and third time consecutively, after it defeated Essendon by nine points in the 1908 VFL Grand Final.

Premiership season

In 1908, the VFL competition consisted of ten teams of 18 on-the-field players each, with no "reserves", although any of the 18 players who had left the playing field for any reason could later resume their place on the field at any time during the match.

Each team played each other twice in a home-and-away season of 18 rounds.

Once the 18 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1908 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the amended "Argus system".

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

Round 8

Round 9

Round 10

Round 11

Round 12

Round 13

Round 14

Round 15

Round 16

Round 17

Round 18

Ladder
1908 VFL ladder
Pos Team Pld W L D PF PA PP Pts
1 Carlton (P) 18 17 1 0 1125 664 169.4 68 Semi finals
2 Essendon 18 14 4 0 1160 814 142.5 56
3 St Kilda 18 10 8 0 955 942 101.4 40
4 Collingwood 18 10 8 0 966 996 97.0 40
5 South Melbourne 18 9 9 0 975 962 101.4 36
6 University 18 8 10 0 1032 1075 96.0 32
7 Fitzroy 18 7 11 0 932 852 109.4 28
8 Melbourne 18 7 11 0 927 1065 87.0 28
9 Richmond 18 6 12 0 940 1275 73.7 24
10 Geelong 18 2 16 0 803 1170 68.6 8
Source: VFL ladder
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for.
(P) Premiers

Semi finals

First Semi Final

Second Semi Final

Grand final
Main article: 1908 VFL Grand Final

Carlton defeated Essendon 5.5 (35) to 3.8 (26). (For an explanation of scoring see Australian rules football).

Team 1 Qtr 2 Qtr 3 Qtr Final
Carlton 2.3 5.4 5.5 5.5 (35)
Essendon 1.1 2.4 3.5 3.8 (26)

Awards

Notable events
  • Richmond Football Club and University Football Club were admitted to the VFL competition.
  • With fiery former Collingwood coach Dick Condon as playing coach and former Collingwood champion Charlie Pannam as captain, Richmond won its first VFL match against Melbourne, 8.14 (62) to 7.9 (51). University had its first VFL victory in the second round of the season, beating Richmond 14.10 (94) to 12.4 (76).
  • In the first round match between Fitzroy and South Melbourne at the Brunswick Street Oval, an umpire was hit by a stone thrown by a spectator.
  • The sixth round match between Fitzroy and Essendon, also at the Brunswick Street Oval, was a fiery affair that resulted in a number of suspensions. A horde of Fitzroy supporters invaded the ground immediately the final bell had rung, kicking, punching and otherwise assaulting Essendon players as they tried to leave the playing field. Essendon fans also jumped the fence, in order to protect their players. A riot ensued.
  • A ten-day Carnival, the "Jubilee of Australasian Football (1858–1908)" was held in Melbourne in August 1908, involving teams from New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia.
  • At an official Carnival function, when proposing a toast to "The Australasian Game" the Prime Minister of Australia, the Melbourne-born Alfred Deakin (1856–1919) spoke of his youthful experiences of playing a rudimentary form of Australian football.

See also

References
    • Hogan, P., The Tigers Of Old, The Richmond Football Club, (Richmond), 1996. ISBN 0-646-18748-1
    • Maplestone, M., Flying Higher: History of the Essendon Football Club 1872–1996, Essendon Football Club, (Melbourne), 1996. ISBN 0-9591740-2-8
    • Rogers, S. & Brown, A., Every Game Ever Played: VFL/AFL Results 1897–1997 (Sixth Edition), Viking Books, (Ringwood), 1998. ISBN 0-670-90809-6
    • Ross, J. (ed), 100 Years of Australian Football 1897–1996: The Complete Story of the AFL, All the Big Stories, All the Great Pictures, All the Champions, Every AFL Season Reported, Viking, (Ringwood), 1996. ISBN 0-670-86814-0
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