Season length

[10Dulkar]

I'm listening back to Midday Madness on SEN discussing one-club 300-game players who never won a flag. Bob Skilton came up but was well short of 300. However, someone pointed out that in his day the season was only 18 games. This surprised me as I always thought 22 games was the tradition due to 12 teams playing each other twice. Some research led me to discover this only came in in 1970. Does anyone know why it was 18 before and what led them to change in '70?

Also...why was 1993 only 20 games?

Interestingly, 2000 stayed at 22 games despite the Olympics.

 

[worbod]

Not sure about the original idea behind 18 rounds, but I think it was expanded to 22 in 1970 simply to make for a fair draw.
From memory 1993 had something to do with trialling a shorter season.
2000 was indeed 22 games but the season was started earlier and completed earlier to fit in with the Olympics starting date.

 

[Aut Vincere Aut Mori]

Prior to the admission of Footscray, Hawthorn, and North in 1925, the season was 16 rounds enabling each of the nine teams to play the other nine opponents both home and away. Oddly, in 1925 with the addition of the three new teams, the season only went to 17 rounds. In 1926 this went to 18 rounds. This was the standard season length until 1942. In 1942 some clubs played 14 and others 15 rounds as Geelong withdrew due to wartime transport restrictions. In 1943 the season was 15 rounds. After 10 rounds, the lowest placed team (St.Kilda) dropped out. (not surprisingly, St.Kilda won the reserves premiership). 1944 was again 18 rounds when Geelong resumed playing. In 1945, the season was extended to 20 rounds to make up for lost rounds during the war. In 1946, 1947, 1948, and 1949 there were 19 rounds. In 1950 18 rounds was resumed as the 'normal' length of the season. This remained the standard until 1968 when the season was again extended to 20 rounds. Two years later, the season became the new 'norm' of 22 rounds. In 1991 and 1992 there were 24 rounds but teams had two byes. The 1993 season had 22 rounds but teams played only 20 matches. 24 rounds and 22 games was resumed in 1994 and this has been the standard season length since.

As for why 18 rounds was selected probably had more to do with the availability of the various grounds. By government statute, cricket had exclusive use of grounds from 1 October until 30 March and Football 1 April until 30 September. When there were finals draws or weather abandoned games in the season or finals, VFA and other Associations and Leagues quite often had to scramble around to find venues to host finals when the season extended into October. The VFL, with the pull of large crowds and a large windfall of gate receipts, was able to play into October at the MCG.

I think the 1970 extension of the season also had to do with the use of VFL Park Waverley. Clubs played three games at VFL Park each year, either two home and one away or one home and two away. This effectively reduced your home games (and financial gain), in a 20 round season, from ten to nine or eight home games. The extension of the season negated this disadvantage to Clubs. Originally, home games at VFL Park alternated each year from two home and one away game one year, to one home game and two away games the next.

The 18 game length of the season meant that you played four teams only once. When the draw for the season came out you always checked who you were playing twice and hoped it was the weaker teams from the previous season.

As an aside, South Melbourne's Bob Pratt kicked 150 goals playing 18 home and away games and three finals games for a total of 21 games. Hawthorn's Peter Hudson kicked his 150 goals in 22 home and away games and two finals for a total of 24 games. It makes Pratt's performance even more impressive.

 

[Todman]

I think it was more to do with leasing and sub-leasing. All of the ovals that the VFL played on were owned by the council and they leased them out to sporting clubs. The local cricket club which were older than the football club held the leases. They would sub-lease their ovals to the football club club for 26 weeks of the year. i.e. during the winter when the grounds were to wet for cricket. April 1st to September 30.

26 weeks consisted of : 4 week pre-season and practice matches, 18 weeks Home and Away, and 4 for the finals.

Hawthorn East Melbourne CC. were pissed that Hawthorn kept making finals during the 1970,s and 1980,s. They could not get access to the oval until the Hawks finish for the year. It takes time to prepare the turf wickets. Fence off the centre square and wait for the grass to grow. The wickets weren't ready until a few rounds into the season. The cricket club eventually re-located.

 

[Todman]

The 1993 season was reduced to 20 H & A because the AFLPA pushed for it. Calls that the season was to long and the physical toll on the players.
Most Victorian clubs lost money with the shorter season. The players got paid as their contracts stated.

 

[Aut Vincere Aut Mori]

I think it was more to do with leasing and sub-leasing. All of the ovals that the VFL played on were owned by the council and they leased them out to sporting clubs. The local cricket club which were older than the football club held the leases. They would sub-lease their ovals to the football club club for 26 weeks of the year. i.e. during the winter when the grounds were to wet for cricket. April 1st to September 30.

26 weeks consisted of : 4 week pre-season and practice matches, 18 weeks Home and Away, and 4 for the finals.

Hawthorn East Melbourne CC. were pissed that Hawthorn kept making finals during the 1970,s and 1980,s. They could not get access to the oval until the Hawks finish for the year. It takes time to prepare the turf wickets. Fence off the centre square and wait for the grass to grow. The wickets weren't ready until a few rounds into the season. The cricket club eventually re-located.

The grounds were all controlled by Committees of Management that seemed, for some reason, to be dominated by Cricket Club representatives. Football was the cash-cow for the committees as the District and Sub-District cricket didn't bring in any crowds or income. The football clubs and the VFL, had to enter into gate sharing arrangements with the committees that weren't always favorable to the football clubs. Every so often, clubs would seek out alternative venues such as the Exhibition Oval (in the grounds of the Exhibition Buildings) for Carlton and the Motordrome (later to be called Olympic Park) for Melbourne, Northcote, and Richmond. More often than not, it was mere posturing on behalf of the Clubs to garner a better gate sharing arrangement. The creation of VFL Park was motivated by the VFL and the Clubs to break the dominance of the ground managements and in particular the MCC from skimming most of the gate. Now, the football clubs dominate the use of grounds and cricket clubs have been evicted from the grounds and play in unfenced parks or have relocated to outer suburbs. Essendon CC and St Kilda CC are probably the two Clubs that have been able to resist the eviction of cricket clubs from the 'old' VFL venues.