1937 VFL Grand Final | ||||||||||||||||
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Date | 25 September 1937 | |||||||||||||||
Stadium | Melbourne Cricket Ground | |||||||||||||||
Attendance | 88,540 | |||||||||||||||
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The 1937 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Geelong Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 25 September 1937. It was the 39th annual grand final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1937 VFL season. The match, attended by a then-record crowd of 88,540 spectators, was won by Geelong by a margin of 32 points, marking that club's third premiership victory and first since winning the 1931 VFL Grand Final.
Due to the excellent display of skills, as well as the vigorous but fair play, and the closeness of the contest that was not decided until late in the last quarter, this Grand Final was regarded by many contemporaries as the greatest ever played to that point. [1]
Geelong took out the minor premiership by finishing with 15 wins from 18 games. A 12-point win over Melbourne saw Geelong advance to the grand final against reigning premiers Collingwood. Collingwood were backed as "hot favourites". [2]
Geelong | Collingwood |
Collingwood captain Harry Collier won the toss and the Magpies kicked with a slight breeze. The Magpies raced to an early three-goal lead before Geelong cut the deficit to five points at the main break. Scores were level at three-quarter time before a six-goal to one final term saw the Cats take the flag.
The game was universally praised by the football media. In his match report for The Argus , former Melbourne star and Brownlow medallist Ivor Warne-Smith was particularly effusive about the fair nature of the spectacle:
It was all clean, open football that was a delight to watch and by giving such an exhibition of manly, fair play Geelong and Collingwood have set an example of the way to play the game which should be followed by other teams for all time. [3]
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Geelong | 3.3 | 8.5 | 12.8 | 18.14 | 18.14 (122) |
Collingwood | 6.3 | 8.10 | 11.14 | 12.18 | 12.18 (90) |
Geelong:
| Collingwood:
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According to the Geelong Advertiser , the Geelong players were accorded a rousing public reception when they returned via a special evening train. However, two players were unable to board and had to wait at Spencer Street for the ordinary train back to Geelong. [4]
The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed the Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. The club formed in 1859, making it the second-oldest AFL side after Melbourne and one of the oldest football clubs in the world.
Reginald Joseph Hickey was an Australian rules footballer who was a player, the captain, the captain-coach, and the non-playing coach for the Geelong Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) between 1928 and 1940 (player), and between 1949 and 1959 (non-player).
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The 1952 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Geelong Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 27 September 1952. It was the 55th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1952 VFL season. The match, attended by 81,304 spectators, was won by Geelong by 46 points, marking that club's fifth premiership victory and second in succession.
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The 1928 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Collingwood Football Club and Richmond Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 29 September 1928. It was the 30th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1928 VFL season. The match, attended by 50,026 spectators, was won by Collingwood by a margin of 33 points, marking that club's seventh premiership victory and second in succession.
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