| 2012 VFL season | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 13 |
| Premiers | Geelong reserves 3rd premiership |
| Minor premiers | Casey Scorpions 3rd minor premiership |
| J. J. Liston Trophy | Ben Ross (Werribee) |
| Leading goalkicker | Dean Galea (Port Melbourne) 76 |
The 131st season of the Victorian Football League/Victorian Football Association was held in 2012. Geelong won the 2012 VFL Premiership, defeating Port Melbourne in the Grand Final.[1]
For the 2012 VFL season, the Bendigo Football Club changed its name to the Bendigo Gold. The change came after it was announced that 2012 would be the final season Bendigo would be aligned with the Essendon Football Club, with the latter to be fielding its own reserves team in the VFL from the 2013 season.[2]
The Northern Bullants also changed their nickname, becoming the Northern Blues and adopting navy blue and white colours in the tenth year of its affiliation with the Carlton Football Club.[3]
The top three teams from the 2011 VFL season – Port Melbourne, Werribee and Williamstown – competed in the 2012 Foxtel Cup, with Werribee losing in the Grand Final to WAFL team Claremont.
Casey Scorpions finished on top of the ladder with fourteen wins, however lost both its finals matches to be knocked out of the finals series. Port Melbourne and Geelong progressed to the Grand Final at Etihad Stadium. Geelong won its third premiership as a stand-alone VFL team, with previous victories in 2002 and 2007.[4]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | PF | PA | PP | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Casey | 18 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 1633 | 1544 | 105.8 | 56 | Finals |
| 2 | Port Melbourne | 18 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 2051 | 1371 | 149.6 | 52 | |
| 3 | Geelong | 18 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 1730 | 1398 | 123.7 | 52 | |
| 4 | Werribee | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 1906 | 1441 | 132.3 | 48 | |
| 5 | Williamstown | 18 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 1591 | 1406 | 113.2 | 46 | |
| 6 | Sandringham | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 1724 | 1650 | 104.5 | 40 | |
| 7 | Box Hill | 18 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 1653 | 1500 | 110.2 | 36 | |
| 8 | Bendigo | 18 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 1691 | 1686 | 100.3 | 36 | |
| 9 | North Ballarat | 18 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 1588 | 1747 | 90.9 | 36 | |
| 10 | Northern Blues | 18 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 1459 | 1591 | 91.7 | 24 | |
| 11 | Coburg | 18 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 1336 | 1861 | 71.8 | 16 | |
| 12 | Collingwood | 18 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 1293 | 1934 | 66.9 | 16 | |
| 13 | Frankston | 18 | 2 | 15 | 1 | 1182 | 1708 | 69.2 | 10 |
| Qualifying Finals | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, 2 September (2:00 pm) | Casey Scorpions 3.10 (28) | def. by | Werribee 6.10 (46) | Casey Fields | |
| Sunday, 2 September (2:10 pm) | Port Melbourne 20.12 (132) | def. | Geelong 16.14 (110) | North Port Oval | |
| Elimination Finals | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, 1 September (2:10 pm) | Williamstown 11.17 (83) | def. | Bendigo Gold 10.11 (71) | North Port Oval | |
| Sunday, 1 September (2:00 pm) | Sandringham 14.4 (88) | def. by | Box Hill Hawks 18.10 (118) | Trevor Barker Beach Oval | |
| Semi-finals | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 8 September (2:10 pm) | Casey Scorpions 5.8 (38) | def. by | Williamstown 11.9 (75) | Casey Fields | |
| Sunday, 9 September (2:10 pm) | Geelong 11.10 (76) | def. | Box Hill Hawks 9.8 (62) | Casey Fields | |
| Preliminary Finals | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 15 September (2:10 pm) | Port Melbourne 12.15 (87) | def. | Williamstown 7.11 (53) | North Port Oval | |
| Sunday, 16 September (2:10 pm) | Werribee 15.13 (103) | def. by | Geelong 16.12 (108) | North Port Oval | |
| Grand Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, 23 September (2:15 pm) | Port Melbourne | def. by | Geelong | Etihad Stadium (crowd: 14,536) | Report |
| 4.2 (26) 7.6 (48) 10.9 (69) 11.9 (75) |
Q1 Q2 Q3 Final |
3.4 (22) 6.10 (46) 10.15 (75) 14.24 (108) |
Norm Goss Memorial Medal: George Horlin-Smith (Geelong) | ||
| D. Galea 4, H. O'Farrell 2, W. Burstin 2, S. Dwyer, C. Cain, A. Bentick |
Goals | S. Kersten 3, M. Brown 2, G. Burbury 2, O. Stephenson, J. Stringer, M. Corrigan, J. Simpkin, S. Byrnes, D. Gleeson, S. Hogan | |||
| A. Bentick, S. Valenti, H. O'Farrell, S. Pleming, J. Baird, W. Burstin |
Best | G. Horlin-Smith, G. Burbury, O. Stephenson, D. Simpson, S. Byrnes, R. Bathie | |||