Harman Patil (Editor)

1954 VFL season

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Highest attendance
  
80,897

Start date
  
1954

Matches played
  
112

Brownlow Medallist
  
Roy Wright (Richmond)

Teams
  
12

Premiers
  
Footscray (1st premiership)

Minor premiers
  
Geelong (9th minor premiership)

Leading Goalkicker Medallist
  
Jack Collins (Footscray)

Similar
  
1948 VFL season, 1936 VFL season, 1947 VFL season, 1929 VFL season

The 1954 Victorian Football League season was the 58th season of the elite Australian rules football competition.

Contents

Premiership season

In 1954, the VFL competition consisted of twelve teams of 18 on-the-field players each, plus two substitute players, known as the 19th man and the 20th man. A player could be substituted for any reason; however, once substituted, a player could not return to the field of play under any circumstances.

Teams played each other in a home-and-away season of 18 rounds; matches 12 to 18 were the "home-and-way reverse" of matches 1 to 7.

Once the 18 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1954 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the Page-McIntyre System.

Grand Final

This was Footscray's maiden Grand Final appearance, while Melbourne were in their 9th Grand Final chasing their 7th VFL premiership. With most of the crowd behind them, Footscray got off to a big start, kicking six goals to one in the first quarter to eventually run out 51-point winners, doubling Melbourne's score. Melbourne would go on to win five of the next six Grand Finals.

Awards

  • The 1954 VFL Premiership team was Footscray. This was the first premiership won by Footscray since it entered the VFL in 1925.
  • The VFL's leading goalkicker was Jack Collins of Footscray who kicked 84 goals (including 11 goals in the final series).
  • The winner of the 1954 Brownlow Medal was Roy Wright of Richmond with 29 votes (he had missed one match through illness, but still won the medal by 10 votes).
  • St Kilda took the "wooden spoon" in 1954.

    • Notable events

  • Despite winning the 'wooden spoon', St Kilda defeated both Grand Final teams during the home and away rounds.
  • North Melbourne are renamed the "The Kangaroos" from "The Shinboners".
  • In round 8, Essendon champion full-forward John Coleman sustained a career-ending knee injury (he left the field having scored 42 goals in five and a half matches). With two other players also injured, Essendon finished the match with 17 men.
  • A group of Fitzroy players and supporters, who were offered a series of side bets at 10/1, back Fitzroy. Fitzroy produces a shock result, beating Collingwood 12.9 (81) to 6.13 (49), and the punters collect around ₤2,000 (approx. $40,000 in 2007).
  • An injured Charlie Sutton (he had not played in the Second Semi-Final) is picked in Footscray's Grand-Final team. Although not playing in his usual back-pocket position, he plays reasonably well in the forward-pocket, and kicks three goals.

    • References

    1954 VFL season Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA