Teams 10 | Teams 10 | |
Minor premiers Port Melbourne(10th minor premiership) Minor premiers Frankston(1st D2 minor premiership) | ||
The 1976 Victorian Football Association season was the 95th season of the top division of the Australian rules football competition, and the 16th season of second division competition. The Division 1 premiership was won by the Port Melbourne Football Club, after it defeated Dandenong in the Grand Final on 19 September by 57 points; it was Port Melbourne's 11th Division 1 premiership, taking it past Williamstown to become the club with the most Division 1 premierships in VFA history, a title it still holds outright as of 2015; and, it was the second of six premierships won by the club in nine seasons between 1974 and 1982. The Division 2 premiership was won by Williamstown; it was its second Division 2 premiership, won in its first season in after relegation.
Contents
Division 1
The Division 1 home-and-away season was played over 18 rounds; the top four then contested the finals under the Page–McIntyre system. The finals were played at the St Kilda Cricket Ground.
Grand Final
The 1976 Division 1 Grand Final became infamous for violent clashes and brawls during the second quarter. Early in the second quarter Port Melbourne full-forward Fred Cook was king-hit more than 70m behind the play, sparking a brawl in Port Melbourne's forward-line; as this was in progress, Dandenong half-forward flanker Pat Flaherty was felled at the other end of the field, sparking further brawling. The brawl delayed the restart of play for ten minutes. Then, at the 16-minute mark of the same quarter, Port Melbourne captain-coach Norm Brown was king hit, sparking further brawling.
In all, nine players and officials were reported during the second quarter brawls. Dandenong secretary Lionel Farrow described the game as being worse than the controversial 1967 Grand Final played between the same clubs nine years earlier. Cook required twenty-three stitches in his mouth as a result of his injuries, but recovered and kicked 5.6 for the game. Brown suffered a broken nose and lost teeth, and Dandenong's Alan Harper suffered a broken jaw. At the time of the first brawl, Port Melbourne already held a large lead, and nothing changed on the scoreboard after the brawls; the rest of the game passed without incident, and Port Melbourne won the game comfortably.
Awards
Division 2
The Division 2 home-and-away season was played over eighteen rounds; the top four then contested the finals under the Page–McIntyre system; all finals were played on Sundays at Toorak Park.
Awards
Interleague matches
The Association played one interleague representative match during the season, against the Ovens & Murray Football League on Anzac Day. Tony Jewell (Caulfield) coached the Association team.