| 1903 VFL premiership season | |
|---|---|
 Collingwood, premier team | |
| Teams | 8 |
| Premiers | Collingwood 2nd premiership |
| Minor premiers | Collingwood 2nd minor premiership |
| Leading Goalkicker Medallist | Teddy Lockwood (Collingwood) |
| Matches played | 71 |
| Highest | 32,263 |
The 1903 VFL season was the seventh season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured eight clubs, ran from 2 May until 12 September, and comprised a 17-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top four clubs.
The premiership was won by the Collingwood Football Club for the second time and second time consecutively, after it defeated Fitzroy by two points in the 1903 VFL Grand Final.
Background
In 1903, the VFL competition consisted of eight teams of 18 on-the-field players each, with no "reserves", although any of the 18 players who had left the playing field for any reason could later resume their place on the field at any time during the match.
Each team played each other twice in a home-and-away season of 14 rounds. Then, based on ladder positions after those 14 rounds, three further 'sectional rounds' were played, with the teams ranked 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th playing in one section and the teams ranked 2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th playing in the other.
Once the 17 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1903 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the amended "Argus system".
Home-and-away season
Round 1
Round 2
The match between Geelong and Carlton, originally to have been played at Corio Oval, was postponed due to a railway strike. It was played between Rounds 13 and 14, and was opportunistically moved to the Sydney Cricket Ground.[1]
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
Round 8
Round 9
Round 10
Round 11
Round 12
Round 13
Round 14
Ladder
| Section A | |
| Section B |
| # | Team | P | W | L | D | PF | PA | % | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Collingwood | 14 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 899 | 568 | 158.3 | 48 |
| 2 | Fitzroy | 14 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 794 | 469 | 169.3 | 44 |
| 3 | Carlton | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 726 | 533 | 136.2 | 36 |
| 4 | Geelong | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 766 | 692 | 110.7 | 28 |
| 5 | St Kilda | 14 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 535 | 739 | 72.4 | 26 |
| 6 | Essendon | 14 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 511 | 666 | 76.7 | 22 |
| 7 | Melbourne | 14 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 490 | 713 | 68.7 | 12 |
| 8 | South Melbourne | 14 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 479 | 820 | 58.4 | 8 |
Rules for classification: 1. premiership points; 2. percentage; 3. points for
Source: AFL Tables
Sectional rounds
Round 15 (Sectional round 1)
Round 16 (Sectional round 2)
Round 17 (Sectional round 3)
Final ladder
| (P) | Premiers |
| Qualified for finals |
| # | Team | P | W | L | D | PF | PA | % | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Collingwood (P) | 17 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 1063 | 667 | 159.4 | 60 |
| 2 | Fitzroy | 17 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 985 | 574 | 171.6 | 56 |
| 3 | Carlton | 17 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 865 | 636 | 136.0 | 44 |
| 4 | Geelong | 17 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 981 | 813 | 120.7 | 36 |
| 5 | St Kilda | 17 | 7 | 9 | 1 | 635 | 831 | 76.4 | 30 |
| 6 | Essendon | 17 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 691 | 879 | 78.6 | 26 |
| 7 | Melbourne | 17 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 593 | 925 | 64.1 | 12 |
| 8 | South Melbourne | 17 | 2 | 15 | 0 | 595 | 1083 | 54.9 | 8 |
Rules for classification: 1. premiership points; 2. percentage; 3. points for
Average score: 47.1
Source: AFL Tables
Finals series
Semi-finals
Grand final
| Team | 1 Qtr | 2 Qtr | 3 Qtr | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collingwood | 2.3 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 4.7 (31) |
| Fitzroy | 2.2 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 3.11 (29) |
Season notes
- Boundary umpires were added to some VFL matches, relieving the field umpire of the task of returning the ball to play from the boundary, and would be made permanent from 1904.
- Following their Round 1 loss to Geelong, St Kilda had played 100 VFL games for a record of two wins and 98 losses.
- The Round 2 match between Geelong and Carlton on 9 May was postponed after a railway strike on the afternoon of 8 May prevented the Carlton team from getting to Geelong. The league decided to use the opportunity to promote the game in Sydney, and arranged to play the match on Saturday, 1 August at the Sydney Cricket Ground, but due to heavy rain, the match was postponed [2] to Monday, 3 August before a crowd of 5,000; Geelong won 8.7 (55) to 6.9 (45).[3] In Round 3, Melbourne had to travel to Geelong by boat as the strike still had not been resolved.
- On 23 May, a crowd of 18,000 attended the round 4 match between Fitzroy and Collingwood at the Sydney Cricket Ground; Fitzroy won 7.20 (62) to 6.9 (45). Players wore large numbers on the back of their guernseys to assist the crowd.
- St Kilda's win over South Melbourne in Round 7 was its first away win in 54 VFL matches; the 53 consecutive away losses is an AFL/VFL record. It was also St Kilda's first senior away win since defeating Port Melbourne in 1894, after 77 consecutive winless away matches (including three draws) and 62 consecutive away losses.
- 1903 was the first time that the VFL Premiership was decided on the last kick of the day. The usually accurate Fitzroy captain Gerald Brosnan missed the goal from 30 metres out, and Fitzroy lost to Collingwood by two points.
Awards
- The 1903 VFL Premiership team was Collingwood.
- The VFL's leading goalkicker was Teddy Lockwood of Collingwood with 35 goals.
- South Melbourne took the "wooden spoon" in 1903.
References
- Ross, J. (ed), 100 Years of Australian Football 1897–1996: The Complete Story of the AFL, All the Big Stories, All the Great Pictures, All the Champions, Every AFL Season Reported, Viking, (Ringwood), 1996. ISBN 0-670-86814-0
Sources
- 1903 VFL season at AFL Tables
- 1903 VFL season at Australian Football