1903 VFL premiership season | |
---|---|
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.
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".
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]
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
(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
Main article: 1903 VFL 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) |