Victorian Football Association
Season 1879
Season Notes
Senior clubs
Senior active clubs providing delegates to the Association in 1879 were:
== Albert Park (last season before amalgamation with South Melbourne)
== Carlton
== Essendon
== Geelong
== Hotham
== Melbourne
== South Melbourne (first season as a Senior club)
== St Kilda (which dropped out towards the end of the season)
== West Melbourne
Games included
Only games not played at odds between the affiliated senior Metropolitan clubs (plus Geelong) are listed here.
These are the games that effectively decided the Premiership and are the ones used in calculations of the Final Ladder.
It should be noted the VFA did not officially endorse a system of ranking the clubs until the 1888 season.
Ballarat
Ballarat only played two games against Metropolitan clubs during 1879, both on 24 May. One was the Ballarat club team (against West Melbourne) and the other a Ballarat city representative team (against South Melbourne).
A Ballarat city representative team also played Geelong once on September 6. Due to the inactivity of the Ballarat club their single club match against West Melbourne (possibly a weakened team) is not included in the results compiled here.
Rules governing the game in 1879
Games were played in two halves. Four quarters were introduced commencing with the 1886 season.
Behinds were occasionally reported in match reports during 1879, so for games with no records of behinds, only goal totals are listed in results below.
Behinds did not count towards the final score or in determining the result of matches until 1897.
Results
Round 1
|
17 May 1879 |
Melbourne |
0-4 |
2-6 |
Venue: MCG; Attendance: 2000 |
|
|
South Melbourne |
0-2 |
0-2 |
Result: Melbourne won by 2 goals |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Round 2
|
24 May 1879 |
Hotham |
0 |
0 |
Venue: EMCG; Attendance: Few spectators |
|
|
Geelong |
0 |
2 |
Result: Geelong won by 2 goals |
|
Argus: 'The ground was in a very sloppy condition, and the players found it difficult even to keep their feet.' Hotham played Geelong on the EMCG or MCG as an annual fixture every Queen's Birthday (May 24) from 1879 to 1893. |
||||
Round 3
|
31 May 1879 |
Melbourne |
0 |
1 |
Venue: MCG; Attendance: 6500 |
|
|
Hotham |
1 |
1 |
Result: DRAW |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
31 May 1879 |
St Kilda |
- |
1 |
Venue: St Kilda |
|
|
South Melbourne |
- |
3 |
Result: South Melbourne won by 2 goals |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
31 May 1879 |
Albert Park |
0-1 |
0- |
Venue: South Melbourne; Attendance: Large number |
|
|
Carlton |
1- |
4- |
Result: Carlton won by 4 goals |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
31 May 1879 |
West Melbourne |
0- |
1- |
Venue: Royal Park; Attendance: Large crowd |
|
|
Essendon |
0-0 |
0- |
Result: West Melbourne won by 1 goal |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Round 4
|
7 June 1879 |
Melbourne |
0 |
0 |
Venue: MCG; Attendance: 10000 |
|
|
Carlton |
2 |
4 |
Result: Carlton won by 4 goals |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
7 June 1879 |
Hotham |
0- |
0-9 |
Venue: EMCG; Attendance: Limited |
|
|
West Melbourne |
1- |
2-13 |
Result: West Melbourne won by 2 goals |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
7 June 1879 |
South Melbourne |
2 |
3 |
Venue: Albert Park; Attendance: Good number |
|
|
Essendon |
0 |
0 |
Result: South Melbourne won by 3 goals |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Round 5
|
14 June 1879 |
Carlton |
0-6 |
1-12 |
Venue: EMCG; Attendance: 13000 |
|
|
Geelong |
1-5 |
2-9 |
Result: Geelong won by 1 goal |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
14 June 1879 |
Albert Park |
- |
6-9 |
Venue: South Melbourne; Attendance: Large |
|
|
Melbourne |
- |
0-7 |
Result: Albert Park won by 6 goals |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
14 June 1879 |
South Melbourne |
0 |
2 |
Venue: Albert Park |
|
|
West Melbourne |
0 |
0 |
Result: South Melbourne won by 2 goals |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
14 June 1879 |
St Kilda |
1 |
1 |
Venue: St Kilda |
|
|
Essendon |
1 |
1 |
Result: DRAW |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Round 6
|
21 June 1879 |
Albert Park |
0 |
0 |
Venue: South Melbourne; Attendance: Large |
|
|
Hotham |
0 |
1 |
Result: Hotham won by 1 goal |
|
The first half was greatly in favour of Albert Park. |
|
|
|
|
|
21 June 1879 |
Melbourne |
1 |
2 |
Venue: MCG |
|
|
Essendon |
1 |
2 |
Result: DRAW |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Round 7
|
28 June 1879 |
Geelong |
2-15 |
2-18 |
Venue: Corio Oval |
|
|
Melbourne |
0-5 |
0-5 |
Result: Geelong won by 2 goals |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
28 June 1879 |
South Melbourne |
1 |
1 |
Venue: South Melbourne |
|
|
Carlton |
0 |
0 |
Result: South Melbourne won by 1 goal |
|
Both teams weakened by the absence of leading players representing Victoria |
||||
Round 8
|
5 July 1879 |
Geelong |
2- |
3-20 |
Venue: Corio Oval; Attendance: 1200 |
|
|
Essendon |
1- |
2-4 |
Result: Geelong won by 1 goal |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Round 9
|
12 July 1879 |
Carlton |
0-4 |
1-6 |
Venue: EMCG; Attendance: 7000 |
|
|
Melbourne |
1-5 |
1-17 |
Result: DRAW |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
12 July 1879 |
Essendon |
- |
0 |
Venue: Essendon |
|
|
South Melbourne |
- |
1 |
Result: South Melbourne won by 1 goal |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
12 July 1879 |
St Kilda |
- |
1 |
Venue: St Kilda |
|
|
West Melbourne |
- |
5 |
Result: West Melbourne won by 4 goals |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Round 10
|
19 July 1879 |
Carlton |
1 |
10 |
Venue: Prince's Oval; Attendance: 5000 |
|
|
Essendon |
1 |
1 |
Result: Carlton won by 9 goals |
|
An eleventh goal for Carlton was disallowed as time had been called. Carlton's total was the highest score to date between two senior clubs. |
||||
|
19 July 1879 |
Hotham |
0-5 |
1- |
Venue: Royal Park; Attendance: 1000 |
|
|
West Melbourne |
0-2 |
0- |
Result: Hotham won by 1 goal |
|
Age: 'The umpire gave a goal, but West Melbourne objected to the decision, as they alleged when the umpire was first appealed to, he declared no goal.' 'Just before time was called the spectators began encroaching very much on the playing space...' |
||||
Round 11
|
26 July 1879 |
Albert Park |
0 |
0 |
Venue: EMCG; Attendance: 2000 |
|
|
West Melbourne |
0 |
0 |
Result: DRAW |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Round 12
|
2 August 1879 |
Melbourne |
3-8 |
5- |
Venue: MCG; Attendance: 4500 |
|
|
Hotham |
1-1 |
2- |
Result: Melbourne won by 3 goals |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 August 1879 |
St Kilda |
0 |
0 |
Venue: St Kilda |
|
|
Carlton |
0 |
2 |
Result: Carlton won by 2 goals |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 August 1879 |
Geelong |
1-14 |
2-26 |
Venue: Corio Oval |
|
|
South Melbourne |
- |
0-3 |
Result: Geelong won by 2 goals |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 August 1879 |
Essendon |
0-5 |
1-8 |
Venue: Essendon |
|
|
West Melbourne |
1-1 |
1-3 |
Result: DRAW |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Round 13
|
9 August 1879 |
Melbourne |
0-5 |
1-7 |
Venue: MCG; Attendance: 12000 |
|
|
Geelong |
5-7 |
8-16 |
Result: Geelong won by 7 goals |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
9 August 1879 |
Carlton |
- |
6 |
Venue: Prince's Oval; Attendance: Large number |
|
|
West Melbourne |
- |
1 |
Result: Carlton won by 5 goals |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
9 August 1879 |
Essendon |
2 |
2 |
Venue: Essendon |
|
|
Hotham |
0 |
0 |
Result: Essendon won by 2 goals |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
9 August 1879 |
South Melbourne |
- |
- |
Venue: Albert Park |
|
|
St Kilda |
- |
- |
Result: Cancelled |
|
The game fell through as St Kilda failed to muster a team. |
|
|
|
|
Round 13a
|
13 August 1879 |
Melbourne |
0 |
0 |
Venue: MCG; Attendance: Very large |
|
|
Carlton |
2 |
3 |
Result: Carlton won by 3 goals |
|
Played under electric light, play commenced at nearly 8:30pm. This match not counted for the premiership. |
||||
Round 14
|
16 August 1879 |
Geelong |
1-12 |
1- |
Venue: Corio Oval |
|
|
West Melbourne |
0- |
0- |
Result: DRAW |
|
Rain stopped play at half-time. Argus: 'Five minutes before half-time West Melbourne left the ground, as they considered it too wet to play. It was arranged that the match should be considered a drawn one.' |
||||
|
16 August 1879 |
Essendon |
0-0 |
0-2 |
Venue: Essendon; Attendance: Good number |
|
|
Carlton |
3- |
3- |
Result: Carlton won by 3 goals |
|
Heavy rain set in at 3pm |
||||
Round 15
|
23 August 1879 |
Melbourne |
0-3 |
2-4 |
Venue: Melbourne Football Ground; Attendance: 10000 |
|
|
Carlton |
0-6 |
1-10 |
Result: Melbourne won by 1 goal |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
23 August 1879 |
Geelong |
2- |
7-17 |
Venue: Corio Oval |
|
|
Hotham |
0- |
0-4 |
Result: Geelong won by 7 goals |
|
Argus: 'Much ill-feeling was exhibited by the Hotham players because Geelong objected to a player named Shaw, belonging to the Melbourne club, taking part.' Geelong one goal disallowed. |
||||
|
23 August 1879 |
Essendon |
- |
- |
Venue: Essendon |
|
|
St Kilda |
- |
- |
Result: Cancelled |
|
Cancelled when St Kilda failed to field a team. |
|
|
|
|
Round 16
|
30 August 1879 |
Essendon |
- |
2 |
Venue: Essendon |
|
|
Melbourne |
- |
1 |
Result: Essendon won by 1 goal |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
30 August 1879 |
West Melbourne |
0-5 |
1-8 |
Venue: Royal Park; Attendance: Large crowd |
|
|
South Melbourne |
0-1 |
0-2 |
Result: West Melbourne won by 1 goal |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
30 August 1879 |
Hotham |
0 |
0 |
Venue: Royal Park; Attendance: 1500 |
|
|
Albert Park |
0 |
0 |
Result: DRAW |
|
Hotham had a goal disallowed by goal umpire. |
|
|
|
|
Round 17
|
6 September 1879 |
Melbourne |
3 |
5 |
Venue: Melbourne Football Ground; Attendance: 2500 |
|
|
West Melbourne |
- |
1 |
Result: Melbourne won by 4 goals |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
6 September 1879 |
Carlton |
1-4 |
1-12 |
Venue: Prince's Oval; Attendance: 5000 |
|
|
Albert Park |
0-5 |
0-6 |
Result: Carlton won by 1 goal |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
6 September 1879 |
South Melbourne |
1-3 |
1-6 |
Venue: Albert Park; Attendance: 1000 |
|
|
Hotham |
0-3 |
0-9 |
Result: South Melbourne won by 1 goal |
|
Hotham claimed a disputed goal which the goal umpire refused to allow. |
||||
Round 18
|
13 September 1879 |
Geelong |
2-4 |
5-12 |
Venue: Corio Oval; Attendance: 4000 |
|
|
Carlton |
0-4 |
1-11 |
Result: Geelong won by 4 goals |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
13 September 1879 |
Melbourne |
2 |
2 |
Venue: Melbourne Football Ground |
|
|
Albert Park |
0 |
3 |
Result: Albert Park won by 1 goal |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Round 19
|
20 September 1879 |
Melbourne |
5 |
7 |
Venue: Melbourne Football Ground |
|
|
Hotham |
2 |
3 |
Result: Melbourne won by 4 goals |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
20 September 1879 |
Carlton |
2-6 |
7-12 |
Venue: Prince's Oval; Attendance: 5000 |
|
|
South Melbourne |
0-0 |
0-0 |
Result: Carlton won by 7 goals |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Round 20
|
27 September 1879 |
Carlton |
- |
- |
Venue: Prince's Oval; Attendance: 8000 |
|
|
Melbourne |
- |
- |
Result: Cancelled |
|
Disputes from both clubs over player eligibility resulted in Melbourne refusing to play. |
||||
|
27 September 1879 |
West Melbourne |
- |
- |
Venue: Royal Park |
|
|
Albert Park |
- |
- |
Result: Cancelled |
|
Fell through on account of a number of players of Albert Park not appearing. |
||||
Round 21
|
4 October 1879 |
Carlton |
- |
8 |
Venue: Prince's Oval; Attendance: 2000 |
|
|
West Melbourne |
- |
1 |
Result: Carlton won by 7 goals |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ladder
|
|
Team |
P |
W |
L |
D |
F |
A |
Points |
Proportional Points |
% |
|
1 |
Geelong |
9 |
8 |
0 |
1 |
32 |
5 |
34 |
56.67 |
640.00 |
|
2 |
Carlton |
15 |
10 |
4 |
1 |
52 |
14 |
42 |
42.00 |
371.43 |
|
3 |
South Melbourne |
10 |
6 |
4 |
0 |
11 |
13 |
24 |
36.00 |
84.62 |
|
4 |
Melbourne |
15 |
5 |
7 |
3 |
29 |
39 |
26 |
26.00 |
74.36 |
|
5 |
Albert Park |
7 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
9 |
8 |
12 |
25.71 |
112.50 |
|
6 |
West Melbourne |
12 |
4 |
5 |
3 |
13 |
25 |
22 |
27.50 |
52.00 |
|
7 |
Essendon |
11 |
2 |
6 |
3 |
11 |
26 |
14 |
19.09 |
42.31 |
|
8 |
Hotham |
11 |
2 |
7 |
2 |
8 |
27 |
12 |
16.36 |
29.63 |
|
9 |
St Kilda |
4 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
11 |
2 |
7.50 |
27.27 |
|
|
Total |
94 |
39 |
39 |
16 |
168 |
168 |
188 |
|
|
Proportional Points system (officially used only from the 1888 VFA season onwards) has been used to rank teams.
Where two teams are close on Proportional Points (less than 4.00 points separate) then rankings are decided by head-to-head results between teams:
- Clubs are ranked: 4. Melbourne, 5. Albert Park, 6. West Melbourne based on:
------ Games played amongst the teams not decisive:
------------ Melbourne played West Melbourne once and won 5 goals to 1.
------------ Albert Park played Melbourne twice and won (6-0 and 3-2).
------------ West Melbourne had one draw and a walkover against Albert Park
------ As a further tie-break, matches against Carlton went as follows:
------------ Melbourne played Carlton 4 times (W1 D1 L1, one match cancelled) - the midweek night match Carlton vs Melbourne played 13 August 1879 is not included
------------ Albert Park played Carlton twice and lost 4-0 and 1-0
------------ West Melbourne played Carlton twice and lost 6-1 and 8-1
------ It should also be noted that Melbourne played South Melbourne once and won 2 goals to 0, while Albert Park did not play South Melbourne, and West Melbourne played South Melbourne twice for one win apiece.
- Clubs are ranked: 7. Essendon, 8. Hotham based on:
------ Essendon played Hotham once and won 2 goals to 0.
- St Kilda played too few games to attain a ranking.
- The following games were cancelled and not factored into the calculation of the ladder:
------ 9 August 1879 - South Melbourne vs St Kilda
------ 16 August 1879 - Essendon vs St Kilda
------ 27 September 1879 - Carlton vs Melbourne
------ 27 September 1879 - West Melbourne vs Albert Park
- The following experimental night game was not an official game and is not factored into the calculation of the ladder:
------ 13 August 1879 - Melbourne vs Carlton
- Rule requiring a minimum of 18 games to qualify for the Premiership not in force until 1888
- Behinds were only occasionally recorded during this season. Behinds did not count towards the final score or in determining the result of matches.
- The percentage column of goals for divided by goals against is included as an indication only.
1879 premiers: Geelong
Prepared and maintained by Andrew Robinson
Author: Andrew Robinson (contact:
andrew at elitetograssroots dot net)
First created: 21
July 2012
Last updated: 24 May 2022
(C) Copyright Andrew Robinson
You are free to copy this document in whole or part provided that proper
acknowledgement is given to the author. All rights reserved.
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