1990 VFA Grand Final

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1990 VFA Grand Final
Springvale Football Club colours.jpg
Springvale 		Williamstown Football Club Colours.svg
Williamstown
15.15 (105)16.11 (107)
1234
SPR2.5 (17)8.11 (59)13.15 (93)15.15 (105)
WIL5.4 (34)6.4 (40)10.5 (65)16.11 (107)
Date30 September 1990
Stadium Princes Park
Attendance18,634
Favourite Springvale [1]
UmpiresB. Bulluss, J. Russo
Coin toss won by Williamstown [1]
Kicked towardHeatley Stand end [1]
Ceremonies
National anthemDandenong Marching Band [1]
Accolades
Norm Goss Medallist Barry Round
(Williamstown)
Broadcast in Australia
Network ABC Victoria [2]
Commentators Phil Cleary, Peter Gee, Sam Kekovich [1] [3]

The 1990 VFA Grand Final was an Australian rules football match contested between the Springvale Football Club and the Williamstown Football Club on 30 September 1990, held to determine the premiers of the Victorian Football Association (VFA) for the 1990 season. [4] [5]

Contents

Williamstown won the match by two points after coming from behind in the final quarter. [6] [7] It is considered one of the most memorable matches in VFA history; and in 2008, it was named it as one of Australian rules football's 150 greatest moments. [8] [9]

Background

1990 season

Springvale finished the 1990 home-and-away season in second place on the ladder (only two points behind minor premiers Preston), while Williamstown finished fourth. The teams played each other twice during the season; Williamstown defeated Springvale by 64 points in round 2, before Springvale won by eight points in round 15. [10]

Scheduling

The grand final was originally to be held scheduled for Sunday, 23 September. This was intended to be a vacant day in the Australian Football League (AFL) finals fixture, meaning that the VFL grand final was to be the premier football event in Melbourne on the day.

However, these plans were disrupted on 8 September, when the AFL qualifying final between Collingwood and West Coast was drawn, forcing it to be replayed on 15 September. [11] As a result of the adjusted AFL finals fixture, the VFA grand final was now scheduled to clash with the AFL second semi-final. To overcome this, the VFA pushed the date of the grand final back to Sunday, 30 September. [12]

Springvale was unhappy with the schedule change, because it meant that it now faced a three-week break between its second semi-final victory on 9 September and the grand final on 30 September, which risking upsetting its form. [12]

To try to overcome the handicap, Springvale played a practice match on 23 September against Carlton's reserves team, which was also forced to endure a three-week break following adjustments made to the AFL reserves finals fixture on account of the draw in the seniors. [13] Williamstown, which qualified after defeating Preston in the preliminary final on 16 September, faced a two-week break before the grand final.

Match summary

After Williamstown led by 17 points at quarter-time, Springvale dominated the second quarter to take a 19-point lead at half-time, at three-quarter time, Springvale led by 28 points, and it kicked the first goal of the final quarter to lead by 34 points. From that point, Williamstown kicked 6.6 (42) to 1.0 (6) to recover and win the game by two points.

Veteran and dual-Liston Trophy winner Bill Swan kicked the winning goal for Williamstown at the 29-minute mark of the final quarter. [1] [14] Swan was not known for his long kicking, and most observers, including Swan, thought that the fifty-metre set shot was well beyond his range. [15] Williamstown held on for the remaining fifty seconds of the match to win by two points. [16]

Springvale coach Phil Maylin said after the game that he thought the three-week break had contributed to his team's slow finish. [17]

Williamstown's Barry Round was awarded the Norm Goss Memorial Medal as best on ground. [18] His medal was sold for A$2,000 in 2025, three years after his death. [19]

Scorecard

1990 VFA Grand Final
Sunday, 30 September Springvale def. by Williamstown Princes Park (crowd: 18,634) [20]
2.5 (17)
8.11 (59)
13.15 (93)
15.15 (105)		Q1
Q2
Q3
Final		5.4 (34)
6.4 (40)
10.5 (65)
16.11 (107)		Umpires: B. Bulluss, J. Russo
Norm Goss Memorial Medal: Barry Round (Williamstown)
Robinson 4, Maloni 3, Dempster 2, Dudley 2, Phillips 2, Jeffs, Maylin Goals Rickman 4, Johansen 3, Minett 3, Aziz, Gould, Muschialli, O'Connor, Smith, Swan
Meade (concussion)
Phillips (unspecified)		Injuries

Teams

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "1990 VFA Grand Final – Springvale vs Williamstown". YouTube. oztiger73. 6 September 2016. Archived from the original on 9 June 2024. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  2. ↑ "End of an era for ABC broadcasts". VFL. 21 October 2014. Archived from the original on 8 January 2026. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  3. ↑ Amy, Paul (16 July 2020). "VFA great Billy Swan relives 1990 Grand Final thriller". Herald Sun. Archived from the original on 8 January 2026. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 "Williamstown v Springvale". The VFA Project. 30 September 1990. Archived from the original on 24 March 2025. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  5. ↑ Amy, Paul (13 June 2023). "Joskun 'Jack' Aziz on the hits and highs of his time as a great goalkicker in the VFA/VFL". CODE Sports. Archived from the original on 8 January 2026. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  6. ↑ Mallinder, Terry (14 May 2009). "Lloyd departs as one of the greats". Williamstown Football Club. Archived from the original on 8 January 2026. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  7. ↑ Fontaine, Angus (24 December 2022). "AFL mourns 438-game legend and Brownlow winner Barry Round". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 January 2026. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  8. ↑ "AFL's 150 greatest moments: No. 32". Herald Sun. 18 April 2008. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  9. ↑ Holmesby, Luke (28 April 2008). "Memorable moments". AFL.com.au. Archived from the original on 8 January 2026. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  10. ↑ "Victorian Football Association Season 1990". Elite to Grassroots. Archived from the original on 8 January 2026. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  11. ↑ McNicol, Adam (30 August 2018). "Pies–Eagles finals: The draw and replay in 1990". Collingwood Football Club. Archived from the original on 9 January 2026. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
  12. 1 2 Amanda Buivids (10 September 1990). "VFA puts off Grand Final". The Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne, VIC. p. 72.
  13. ↑ Amanda Buivids (14 September 1990). "Matchless Vales tee up Carlton". The Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne, VIC. p. 83.
  14. ↑ McFarlane, Glenn (12 June 2013). "10 years on from Swanny's first game". Collingwood Football Club. Archived from the original on 8 January 2026. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  15. ↑ Amanda Buivids (1 October 1990). "A fairytale Swan-song". The Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne, VIC. p. 77.
  16. ↑ "1990 Premiership Player Bill Swan's kick to win the flag". Williamstown Football Club. 26 July 2010. Archived from the original on 8 January 2026. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  17. ↑ Amanda Buivids (1 October 1990). "Maylin blames break". The Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne, VIC. p. 77.
  18. ↑ "Vale Barry Round". Sydney Swans. 24 December 2022. Archived from the original on 8 January 2026. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  19. ↑ Sutton, Ben (18 September 2025). "AFL legend Barry Round's Brownlow Medal fetches eye-watering amount at auction". 7NEWS. Archived from the original on 8 January 2026. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  20. ↑ Amanda Buivids (1 October 1990). "Seagulls steal glory". The Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne, VIC. p. 77.
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