Fact Current Longest Droughts

[emuboy]

There are many long droughts in football at the moment, and here are some of them. Use them to win any football debates, or to impress your friends. Please add any new ones to the list.

PREMIERSHIP - 55 Years by Western Bulldogs - Footscray were the first of the three 1925 new clubs to win a Grand Final when they trounced Melbourne in 1954, but this remains the only flag for the Bulldogs to date.

GRAND FINAL - 48 Years by Western Bulldogs - The 1961 loss to Hawthorn was the last time the Bulldogs made the Grand Final.

MINOR PREMIERSHIP - 84 Years by Western Bulldogs - The Bulldogs have never topped the ladder since entering the league in 1925.

NIGHT/PRE-SEASON PREMIERSHIP - 38 years by Western Bulldogs - The last time the Bulldogs won the Night Premiership was in 1971. Sadly, trophies of any description just seem to avoid the Bulldogs.

FINALS APPEARANCE - 8 years by Richmond - The Tigers have not played in a Final since 2001, when they were thrashed by the Brisbane Lions.

WOODEN SPOON - 76 years by Essendon - The Bombers have not finished last since the dark days of the Great Depression in 1933.

BROWNLOW MEDAL - 38 years by Richmond - Although Richmond have had listed Brownlow Medallists during this time, no Tiger has won the award since Ian Stewart in 1971.

CENTURY GOALKICKER - 113 Years by Melbourne - Amazingly, Melbourne have never had a player kick a century of goals in their history of the AFL/FFL, despite the presence of Fred Fanning in the 1940s.

10 GOALS OR MORE IN A GAME - 22 Years by Western Bulldogs - Simon Beasley is the most recent Bulldog to kick 10 goals in a game, against the Brisbane Bears in Round 21 1987.

LEADING GOALKICKER - 28 Years by Richmond - The last Tiger to be the leading goalkicker in a season was Michael Roach back in 1981.

100 POINT WIN - 13 Years by Richmond - Richmond's 151 point win against Fitzroy in Round 21 1996 (Fitzroy's last in Melbourne) was the most recent example of a Richmond side winning by a century or more.

DOUBLE CENTURY SCORE - 113 Years by Melbourne - Melbourne have never kicked a 200 point score (nor 30 goals) in a game. Their highest score remains 28.14-182 kicked twice against North in 1986 & 1991.

DRAWN GAME - 15 Years by Adelaide - The Crows last and only drawn game was against St Kilda at a wet Waverley Park in Round 14 1994.

 

[Biggy_Boy]

Gotta feel sorry for the Bulldogs. Wouldn't mind seeing their grand final and premiership droughts ended soon, as long as it isn't against Geelong.

 

[GrandBlue]

Most of these are wrong, Fremantle should have a lot of these drought records covered.

 

[emuboy]

Most of these are wrong, Fremantle should have a lot of these drought records covered.

True, Fremantle have won nothing apart from the 2001 Wooden Spoon, but their comparatively short time in the league means their droughts aren't as long.

If the Bulldogs, Demons, Saints, Tigers & Magpies win flags before Fremantle (and I have little doubt that this WILL happen), then Fremantle will have the longest drought. Well, maybe not Richmond unless there is a Final 9!

 

[winty]

Here's one I'm pretty pleased with as a Geelong fan, and barring a huge injury toll or mass exodus in the next few years, won't be broken for a while yet.

BOTTOM FOUR FINISH: 23 years by Geelong. 1986 was the last time Geelong finished in the bottom four. They came close twice however, finishing 2.7% ahead of North Melbourne in 2001, and half a game ahead of Richmond in 2003.

 

[Selective Retention]

Yeah I like that stat as well, especially when we have had teams like St Kilda, Carlton, and now Melbourne bottom feeding in the quest to build a premiership team.

It's funny I guess reflecting as a Geelong supporter. Pre-2007 you would say it was a pretty tragic existence but in my lifetime they have never been a complete write off team.

 

[mianfei]

DOUBLE CENTURY SCORE - 113 Years by Melbourne - Melbourne have never kicked a 200 point score (nor 30 goals) in a game. Their highest score remains 28.14-182 kicked twice against North in 1986 & 1991.

The explanation for this, of course, is the country zoning gerrymander which gave Melbourne (and South Melbourne) the weakest of all the zones and left them in the football wilderness whilst most of the double centuries were being scored.

Of twenty-nine double century scores, all but four were kicked between 1978 and 1993, whilst of thirty-eight 30-goal scores, all but nine occurred in this period. For the first half of this period Melbourne won only fifty-six of 198 games, and lost by over 100 points on eight occasions whilst their biggest win was 97 points. Then, when the Demons, with the inequality of country zoning removed, finally came good in 1987, they did so with a very solid style based around strong-marking big men that - especially in 1988 and 1989 - was extremely unconductive to high scores. Although they won 31 of 50 games in 1988 and 1989, the Demons only twice kicked twenty goals - fewer than any other team bar Footscray with none.

The big chance to break their seemingly amazingly low record score came in early 1991, when the Demons scored as freely as any side against all but the champion Eagle backline, who demolished them like a granite mountain opposed to an ant. They still failed even against the weakest defences to break 30 goals, and the reduction in game length in 1994 also spoilt an extremely good chance with the marking power of Jakovich, Lyon, Schwarz and Neitz. (Without this reduction, Melbourne could easily have kicked 30 goals against Geelong and Sydney in 1994).

 

[Brad Goodman]

Do you copy and paste these from somewhere, or are you only capable of writing as though it is appearing in a book or as a voiceover for a documentary?

 

[SJ]

They still failed even against the weakest defences to break 30 goals, and the reduction in game length in 1994 also spoilt an extremely good chance with the marking power of Jakovich, Lyon, Schwarz and Neitz. (Without this reduction, Melbourne could easily have kicked 30 goals against Geelong and Sydney in 1994).

Although the 'playing game time' was reduced, the time-on rules were also changed seeing the clock stop for ball ups and for many marks. I don't think there was a significant change to the length of quarters even though five minutes was wiped off each one.

 

[PonsfordMagpie]

PREMIERSHIP - 58 Years by St Kilda. Last won in 1966.

GRAND FINAL - 25 Years by Carlton and North Melbourne. Last appeared in a GF in 1999.

MINOR PREMIERSHIP - 99 Years by Western Bulldogs. Never won the minor premiership.

FINALS APPEARANCE - 13 years by Gold Coast. Never played finals.

WOODEN SPOON - 66 years by Geelong - 1958.

BROWNLOW MEDAL - 41 years by North Melbourne - Ross Glendinning in 1983.

CENTURY GOALKICKER - 127 Years by Melbourne. Melbourne has never had a goalkicker that's kicked 100+ goals in a season.

10 GOALS OR MORE IN A GAME - 30 years by Geelong. Gary Ablett Sr kicked 10 against Melbourne (R16 1994).

LEADING GOALKICKER - 39 Years by Western Bulldogs - Simon Beasley (1985)

100 POINT WIN - 13 Years by Gold Coast - Never won by 100+ points in their history.

DOUBLE CENTURY SCORE - 127 Years by Melbourne - Melbourne have never kicked 200+ points in a match.

DRAWN GAME - 16 Years by Western Bulldogs - Round 5 2008 vs Richmond.

 

[PonsfordMagpie]

Update after the 2025 season.


PREMIERSHIP - 59 Years by St Kilda. Last won in 1966.

GRAND FINAL - 26 Years by Carlton and North Melbourne. Last appeared in a GF in 1999.

MINOR PREMIERSHIP - 100 Years by Western Bulldogs. Never won the minor premiership.

FINALS APPEARANCE - 9 years by North Melbourne. Last appeared in the finals in 2016.

WOODEN SPOON - 67 years by Geelong - 1958.

BROWNLOW MEDAL - 42 years by North Melbourne - Ross Glendinning in 1983.

CENTURY GOALKICKER - 128 Years by Melbourne. Melbourne has never had a goalkicker that's kicked 100+ goals in a season.

10 GOALS OR MORE IN A GAME - 31 years by Melbourne. Garry Lyon kicked 10 against Footscray (SF 1994).

LEADING GOALKICKER - 40 Years by Western Bulldogs - Simon Beasley (1985).

100 POINT WIN - 14 Years by Gold Coast - Never won by 100+ points in their history.

DOUBLE CENTURY SCORE - 128 Years by Melbourne - Melbourne have never kicked 200+ points in a match.

DRAWN GAME - 17 Years by Western Bulldogs - Round 5 2008 vs Richmond.

 

[mianfei]

10 GOALS OR MORE IN A GAME — 31 years by Melbourne. Garry Lyon kicked 10 against Footscray (SF 1994).

Only case by a Demon since Fred Fanning, in fact, but it being the record really surprised me. It is also the solitary case in a final since George Goninon in 1951. Amazingly, there were four cases in finals during the 1930s.

I will list the droughts for all clubs for your information:

1. Melbourne: Garry Lyon — 10 against Footscray (Semi-Final, 1994)
2. Port Adelaide — began in 1997; no player has yet kicked 10 goals in a match
   • the most is 8, which has occurred on two occasions:
     • Jay Schulz against the Western Bulldogs (Round 14, 2014)
     • Warren Tredrea against Carlton (Round 7, 1998)
3. Collingwood: Saverio Rocca — 11 against Fremantle (Round 10, 1998)
4. Fremantle: Tony Modra — 10 against Melbourne (Round 10, 1999)
   • Modra in this game remains the only Docker to ever kick double figures in one game
5. Essendon: Matthew Lloyd — 11 against Western Bulldogs (Round 19, 2003)
6. St. Kilda: Fraser Gehrig — 10 against Richmond (Round 17, 2006)
7. Brisbane: Jonathan Brown — 10 against Carlton (Round 16, 2007)
   • Brown in that game remains the only case of a Brisbane Bears or Brisbane Lions player kicking 10 goals in a match
8. Gold Coast — began in 2011; no player has yet kicked 10 goals in a match
   • the most is 8 by Tom Lynch against Carlton in Round 2, 2018
9. Greater Western Sydney — began in 2012; no player has yet kicked 10 goals in a match
   • the most is 9, which has occurred three times:
     • Jesse Hogan against West Coast (Round 5, 2025)
     • Jesse Hogan against Essendon (Round 23, 2023)
     • Jeremy Cameron against Gold Coast (Round 23, 2019)
10. Hawthorn: Lance “Buddy” Franklin — 13 against North Melbourne (Round 10, 2012)
    • this is currently the most recent time any player has kicked so many as 12 goals in a match
    • although no player kicked 12 goals in a match in the first 22 seasons of the VFL, the present drought must beat that in terms of total games, though I have not checked the exact numbers
    • only Franklin in that game, and Mark LeCras for West Coast against Essendon in 2010, have kicked 12 in a match since Round 5, 2000
11. West Coast: Josh Kennedy — 10 against Carlton (Round 2, 2015)
12. Sydney: Lance “Buddy” Franklin — 10 against Carlton (Round 23, 2017)
13. Richmond: Jack Riewoldt: 10 against Gold Coast (Round 21, 2018)
14. North Melbourne: Ben Brown — 10 against Port Adelaide (Round 22, 2019)
15. Western Bulldogs: Josh Bruce — 10 against North Melbourne (Round 3, 2021)
    • Before this game the Bulldogs had the longest drought in the league, with the last ten-goal performance having been by Simon Beasley against Brisbane in Round 21, 1987
16. Adelaide: Taylor Walker — 10 against West Coast (Round 13, 2023)
17. Carlton: Charlie Curnow — 10 against West Coast (Round 19, 2023)
    • Before this game no Carlton player had kicked 10 goals in a match since Stephen Kernahan against Footscray in Round 3, 1995
    • Carlton’s preceding drought was the second-longest, a mere three games behind Melbourne’s
18. Geelong: Jeremy Cameron — 11 against North Melbourne (Round 21, 2025)