Old Vfa grounds

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pazza said:
So who plays at the old VFA grounds?

Here's some venues with home clubs:

Brunswick - North Old Boys/St. Patricks Ballarat (VAFA Premier C)
Camberwell - Old Scotch (VAFA Premier)
Prahran - Old Xaverians (VAFA Premier) and Prahran/Assumption College Kilmore (VAFA Division 1)
Oakleigh - Oakleigh Dragons (TAC Cup)
Coburg - Victorian Women's Football League
Springvale - Springvale Districts (SFL)
Brighton - Victorian Amateur Football Association
Caulfield - Caulfield (SFL)
Yarraville - Yarraville/Seddon (WRFL)
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Preston Bullants juniors and their senior arm Northern Blues Amateurs both play at Preston
 
Pacman77 said:
Northcote's ground is still relatively intact since the VFA days.. The Bill Lawry Stand is still there and is about as big as the main 1 at Brunswick. Mordialloc is unchanged.. still has the main stand and scoreboard. Berwick's Edwin Flak reserve is a spectacular ground cut into the side of a steep hill and offers views of the Dandenong Ranges from the terraced/social club side (The CaseyCardinia grand final is held there). Oakleigh and Camberwell's grounds were once great with heaps of terracing and 2 grandstands each but I believe both have been redeveloped.
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The Bill Lawry Stand at Westgarth Oval Northcote is nowhere as big as Brunswick which was one of the biggest at the VFA grounds along with Coburg, Frankston and North Port.

All the rest were pretty ordinary as far as size goes in fact the Grandstands at popular grounds like Sandringham,Oakleigh,Prahran,Geelong West,Morrabbin,Mordialloc,Dandenong,Camberwell,
Yarraville ,Preston, Box Hill ,Caulfield,Sunshine and Brighton were very small and this was the main difference between the old VFL and VFA Grounds.
 

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finders said:
The Bill Lawry Stand at Westgarth Oval Northcote is nowhere as big as Brunswick which was one of the biggest at the VFA grounds along with Coburg, Frankston and North Port.

All the rest were pretty ordinary as far as size goes in fact the Grandstands at popular grounds like Sandringham,Oakleigh,Prahran,Geelong West,Morrabbin,Mordialloc,Dandenong,Camberwell,
Yarraville ,Preston, Box Hill ,Caulfield,Sunshine and Brighton were very small and this was the main difference between the old VFL and VFA Grounds.
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Yeh you're right about Brunswick's being bigger, the Northcote one looks big because it sits on its own(and the drinks didn't help either at the time!) The stands look identical though with the heritage colour scheme. Too bad Brunswick doesn't host more higher profile games as you could fit quite a big crowd in there with 2 stands.. similar to Camberwell's ground... parking would be a nightmare though! From memory Caulfield never had a stand.. only that flat pavillion. The strangest grandstand I've ever seen would have to be Yarraville's.. looks like a wedge/boomerang and the seating is so cramped that you'd have to be under 5ft tall to sit comfortably.
 
cammo78 said:
Frankston Oval is quite possibly one of the best grounds in the country to watch footy at. Top surface, great views of the bay, just awesome.
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Love going there for the Peninsula and Nepean league Grand Finals, always packed with a great atmosphere. Generally stand on the terracing near the big scoreboard on the opposite side of the stand. Good spot as you are above the interchange benches were all the action is and is fairly elevated. Have a habbit of drinking too many cans while there though. Never forget the classic Edithvale-Aspendale V Mornington GF in 99.
 
Bluewing77 said:
Love going there for the Peninsula and Nepean league Grand Finals, always packed with a great atmosphere. Generally stand on the terracing near the big scoreboard on the opposite side of the stand. Good spot as you are above the interchange benches were all the action is and is fairly elevated. Have a habbit of drinking too many cans while there though. Never forget the classic Edithvale-Aspendale V Mornington GF in 99.
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Was at all the Mornington GF's from 1996 onwards. Old man Goosey was some sort of player.

That one in particular was a belter.
 
cammo78 said:
Was at all the Mornington GF's from 1996 onwards. Old man Goosey was some sort of player.

That one in particular was a belter.
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Yep Edi-As and Mornington in those days where like Hawthorn and Essendon in the mid 80's. Three GF's in a row 98,99,2000 against each other with the Dales winning the 2nd and 3rd. 98 was a clear win for Mornington against a very young Edithvale side, 99 was a thriller and included some very controversial moments, 2000 Edithvale smashed them by 99 points. I recall celebrating mid way through the 2nd quarter. Goosey was a top player but behaved like a goose and it always went up a notch in Finals, especially in that 99 GF.
 
Bluewing77 said:
Yep Edi-As and Mornington in those days where like Hawthorn and Essendon in the mid 80's. Three GF's in a row 98,99,2000 against each other with the Dales winning the 2nd and 3rd. 98 was a clear win for Mornington against a very young Edithvale side, 99 was a thriller and included some very controversial moments, 2000 Edithvale smashed them by 99 points. I recall celebrating mid way through the 2nd quarter. Goosey was a top player but behaved like a goose and it always went up a notch in Finals, especially in that 99 GF.
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He certainly did. But jeez the poor bastard used to cop some stick. Mostly of his own doing.

Gun FF though, best I've seen in local footy.
 
cammo78 said:
He certainly did. But jeez the poor bastard used to cop some stick. Mostly of his own doing.

Gun FF though, best I've seen in local footy.
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I used to give him a fair old spray. I see him all the time down at the local Woolworths.

Will probably be back there this Sunday when Edi-As take on Bonbeach in the GF
 
I went out to Port Melbourne yesterday. The recent developments by way of scoreboard and corporate facilities are excellent. I love the grandstand there.

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Pacman77 said:
Yeh you're right about Brunswick's being bigger, the Northcote one looks big because it sits on its own(and the drinks didn't help either at the time!) The stands look identical though with the heritage colour scheme. Too bad Brunswick doesn't host more higher profile games as you could fit quite a big crowd in there with 2 stands.. similar to Camberwell's ground... parking would be a nightmare though! From memory Caulfield never had a stand.. only that flat pavillion. The strangest grandstand I've ever seen would have to be Yarraville's.. looks like a wedge/boomerang and the seating is so cramped that you'd have to be under 5ft tall to sit comfortably.
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I realize its a reply to a 2 year old post but Caulfield did have a grandstand at the southern end of the ground near the cricket nets on the D.C.Bricker pavilion side in the right forward pocket looking south. It was torched around 1987 I think and never rebuilt.
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. It was located to the left of the small brick building , old ticket box / ground entry at that end.
 

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I was briefly at Brighton Beach Oval, the early VFA home of the Brighton club on Sunday (not by choice, the train from Sandringham was cancelled and we had to take a bus). There wasn't much to it, even given they moved out in the 1920s (their reserves kept playing there, though).

Was interesting to walk around for a few minutes, though. Great scenery.
 
Riccardo11 said:
I was briefly at Brighton Beach Oval, the early VFA home of the Brighton club on Sunday (not by choice, the train from Sandringham was cancelled and we had to take a bus). There wasn't much to it, even given they moved out in the 1920s (their reserves kept playing there, though).

Was interesting to walk around for a few minutes, though. Great scenery.
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Yes, it is a nice spot. That raises an interesting point, too. Grounds that once hosted senior VFA games - but you wouldn't necessarily know it from looking at them today. Off the top of my head:
Cheltenham
The second oval at Glen Waverley
Buchanan Road, Berwick
McKinnon Reserve
Bentleigh
Dandenong Showgrounds
Kardinia Park
Croxton Park, Northcote
Selwyn Park, Albion
 
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I heartily recommend a visit to the Preston Oval during the Northern League final series in September. It really comes alive and is probably the closest thing you'll get to suburban footy back in the day. Packed terraces, plenty of cans being supped, a big Indigenous crown when the Fitzroy stars play, plenty of ex-AFL players. And if you bring your own milk crates you can view from the path at Cramer St, with a bottle shop a 30 sec walk away for your convenience :)
 
Riccardo11 said:
I was briefly at Brighton Beach Oval, the early VFA home of the Brighton club on Sunday (not by choice, the train from Sandringham was cancelled and we had to take a bus). There wasn't much to it, even given they moved out in the 1920s (their reserves kept playing there, though).

Was interesting to walk around for a few minutes, though. Great scenery.
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Likewise , I was there with my friend today and took a couple of pics , * Disclaimer * I did not manipulate the numbers on the Scoreboard -

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Derby103 said:
Selwyn Park, Albion
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Really? Very quiet oval these days. I did see a full on riot involving players, officials and spectators at a U18 game there once. I think it involved a Deer Park team.
 
Is there any other ground as windswept as Point Gellibrand oval, Williamstown? With just a steady south westerly the wind advantage was always 4 or 5 goals to the Point Gellibrand (city) end. If there was a gale it's almost impossible to score at the bay end of the ground. I don't think too many oppostion teams liked playing there in windy conditions. The slope from the centre down to the bay side of the ground must have been 2 metres as well. Great view across the bay to St Kilda though. In the VFL Whitten oval was similar with most games having a good breeze blowing to the Barkly St. end.
 
stevie26 said:
Is there any other ground as windswept as Point Gellibrand oval, Williamstown? With just a steady south westerly the wind advantage was always 4 or 5 goals to the Point Gellibrand (city) end. If there was a gale it's almost impossible to score at the bay end of the ground. I don't think too many oppostion teams liked playing there in windy conditions. The slope from the centre down to the bay side of the ground must have been 2 metres as well. Great view across the bay to St Kilda though. In the VFL Whitten oval was similar with most games having a good breeze blowing to the Barkly St. end.
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Only senior ground I've seen players kick the ball and have it blow back over their head.
 
I visited Box Hill City Oval the other week - wanted to catch a VFL game and was at Eastlands in the morning.

The stand was a little ordinary, struggled to get an unobstructed view there, so stood out on the terracing. Terracing area was pretty good for viewing, and it was a pleasant ground to watch the game from. With only the one entrance to the ground for VFL matches, naturally the crowd tended to be in the terraced area between the function centre and the stand.

Was a nice enough ground to watch the footy from.
 
I got to play at Springvale's old ground at Newcomen Road this year. Surface was like carpet, and the ground reminded me a lot of East Fremantle's with the big shed style outer.
 
Teagueeee15 said:
I went out to Port Melbourne yesterday. The recent developments by way of scoreboard and corporate facilities are excellent. I love the grandstand there.

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Great memories.. Back when I lived in Melbourne before moving to Germany I had some of the best times when living on Montague street. One of the best grounds to watch the footy at, period :)
 
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