The 1907 VFL season was the eleventh season of the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

(VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured eight clubs, ran from 27 April until 21 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

Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's top professional competition. Founded in 1864 in Carlton, an inner suburb of Me ...

for the second time and second time consecutively, after it defeated by five points in the

1907 VFL Grand Final The 1907 VFL Grand Final, originally known as the 1907 VFL Final, was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and South Melbourne Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 21 Sept ...

Premiership season

In 1907, 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 1907 VFL ''Premiers'' were determined by the specific format and conventions of the amended "''Argus'' system".

Round 1

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 14.15 (99) , , 9.2 (56) , EMCG , 27 April 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 6.11 (47) , , 5.9 (39) ,

Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to: Places Australia * Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales * Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse * Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...

, 27 April 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 4.6 (30) , , 8.8 (56) , Princes Park , 27 April 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 6.5 (41) , , 9.6 (60) ,

Lake Oval Lakeside Stadium is an Australian sports arena in the South Melbourne suburb of Albert Park. Comprising an athletics track and soccer stadium, it currently serves as the home ground and administrative base for association football club Sout ...

, 27 April 1907

Round 2

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 7.15 (57) , , 7.5 (47) ,

Brunswick Street Oval The WT Peterson Community Oval, best known as the Brunswick Street Oval and also as the Fitzroy Cricket Ground, is a cricket and Australian rules football ground located in Edinburgh Gardens in Fitzroy North, Victoria. History Australian Rules ...

, 4 May 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 5.11 (41) , , 6.12 (48) ,

MCG The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hem ...

, 4 May 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 8.14 (62) , , 8.6 (54) ,

Junction Oval Junction Oval (also known as the St Kilda Cricket Ground, or the CitiPower Centre due to sponsorship reasons) is a historic sports ground in the suburb of St Kilda in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The oval's location near the St Kilda Jun ...

, 4 May 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 3.9 (27) , , 8.14 (62) ,

Corio Oval Corio Oval was an Australian rules football ground, located in Geelong, Victoria, and used by the Geelong Football Club in the VFA and the VFL from 1878 to 1915, and 1917 to 1940. Sited in Eastern Park, the oval was served by trams from 1930 wh ...

, 4 May 1907

Round 3

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 9.10 (64) , , 12.5 (77) ,

, 11 May 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 9.13 (67) , , 5.7 (37) ,

, 11 May 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 9.12 (66) , , 5.8 (38) ,

, 11 May 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 7.5 (47) , , 12.14 (86) ,

, 11 May 1907

Round 4

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 7.4 (46) , , 11.16 (82) ,

, 18 May 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 6.8 (44) , , 6.11 (47) , EMCG , 18 May 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 4.10 (34) , , 6.10 (46) ,

, 18 May 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 10.17 (77) , , 3.7 (25) , Princes Park , 18 May 1907

Round 5

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 9.5 (59) , , 7.9 (51) ,

, 25 May 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 5.16 (46) , , 9.7 (61) , Princes Park , 25 May 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 13.9 (87) , , 9.10 (64) ,

, 25 May 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 5.8 (38) , , 6.11 (47) , EMCG , 25 May 1907

Round 6

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 7.9 (51) , , 15.18 (108) ,

, 1 June 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 4.6 (30) , , 4.17 (41) ,

, 1 June 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 6.9 (45) , , 4.9 (33) ,

, 3 June 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 10.7 (67) , , 4.12 (36) ,

, 3 June 1907

Round 7

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 4.8 (32) , , 7.2 (44) ,

, 15 June 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 15.14 (104) , , 7.8 (50) , Princes Park , 15 June 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 8.7 (55) , , 6.11 (47) ,

, 15 June 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 3.14 (32) , , 5.8 (38) ,

, 15 June 1907

Round 8

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 7.10 (52) , , 5.10 (40) ,

, 22 June 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 7.11 (53) , , 3.10 (28) ,

, 22 June 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 11.3 (69) , , 11.12 (78) ,

, 22 June 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 3.15 (33) , , 8.14 (62) ,

, 22 June 1907

Round 9

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 5.13 (43) , , 3.10 (28) , EMCG , 29 June 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 9.13 (67) , , 7.10 (52) ,

, 29 June 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 5.9 (39) , , 7.4 (46) , Princes Park , 29 June 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 6.8 (44) , , 7.10 (52) ,

, 29 June 1907

Round 10

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 5.7 (37) , , 9.11 (65) , EMCG , 6 July 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 8.9 (57) , , 7.8 (50) ,

, 6 July 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 9.16 (70) , , 8.6 (54) , Princes Park , 6 July 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 10.11 (71) , , 4.8 (32) ,

, 6 July 1907

Round 11

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 6.18 (54) , , 9.5 (59) ,

, 13 July 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 8.11 (59) , , 6.11 (47) ,

, 13 July 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 2.10 (22) , , 15.11 (101) ,

, 13 July 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 3.8 (26) , , 15.14 (104) ,

, 13 July 1907

Round 12

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 3.7 (25) , , 3.5 (23) ,

, 20 July 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 10.10 (70) , , 3.5 (23) ,

, 20 July 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 6.13 (49) , , 4.10 (34) ,

, 20 July 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 3.9 (27) , , 4.12 (36) ,

, 20 July 1907

Round 13

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 6.6 (42) , , 7.8 (50) ,

, 3 August 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 8.10 (58) , , 3.13 (31) , EMCG , 3 August 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 5.15 (45) , , 5.4 (34) , Princes Park , 3 August 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 4.6 (30) , , 7.5 (47) ,

, 3 August 1907

Round 14

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 5.9 (39) , , 6.19 (55) ,

, 10 August 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 15.6 (96) , , 8.9 (57) ,

, 10 August 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 8.16 (64) , , 5.14 (44) ,

, 10 August 1907 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 3.7 (25) , , 10.18 (78) , EMCG , 10 August 1907

Sectional Rounds

Sectional Round 1 (Round 15)

Sectional Round 2 (Round 16)

Sectional Round 3 (Round 17)

Ladder

Semi finals

First Semi Final

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Date , , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 12.10 (82) , , 6.12 (48) ,

, 07 September 1907 , Attendance: 28,856 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF"

Second Semi Final

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Date , , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 13.13 (91) , , 4.11 (35) ,

, 14 September 1907 , Attendance: 25,531 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF"

Grand final

Carlton defeated

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at ...

6.14 (50) to 6.9 (45). (For an explanation of scoring see Australian rules football).

Awards

* The 1907 VFL Premiership team was Carlton. * The VFL's leading goalkicker was

Dick Lee Richard Lee Peng Boon (born 24 August 1956) is a Singaporean singer-songwriter, playwright and film director. Early life Lee was born to a Peranakan father, Lee Kip Lee, (who wrote for ''The Straits Times'') and his wife , Elizabeth Tan. He was th ...

of Collingwood with 47 goals. *

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington * Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport * Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League United Ki ...

took the "wooden spoon" in 1907.

Notable events

*The rules concerning

kick-in In the sport of Australian rules football, a kick-in (sometimes known as a kick-out, and known for much of the game's history as a kick-off) is the common name for the procedure to restart the game after a behind. It involves a defender from th ...

s were amended, such that if the full back crossed outside the goal square before kicking the ball, a ball-up would be called on the top of the goal square. Previously, the full-back was given a second opportunity to kick legally, before a free kick would be awarded. * Due to the "Special" football train arriving late, the start of the third match between

Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...

and Geelong at

was delayed by twenty minutes. * In round 6, St Kilda defeated

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

15.18 (108) to 7.9 (51); It was the first time in the club's 173 VFL matches to that point that St Kilda scored 100 points. * The VFL played two representative matches on Saturday 8 June, in the week between Rounds 6 and 7: on the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the VFL 25.20 (170) defeated the Ballarat Football Association 3.7 (25); and at Bendigo, the VFL 14.10 (94) defeated the

Bendigo Football League The Bendigo Football Netball League (previously known as the Sandhurst Football Association, Bendigo and District Football Association, Bendigo Football Association and Bendigo Football League) is an Australian rules football and netball compe ...

7.11 (53). The VFL played a return match against the Ballarat Association on the Ballarat City Oval on Saturday 27 July, the week between Rounds 12 and 13; in a rain-affected game, the VFL 8.4 (52) defeated Ballarat 3.7 (25). * In Round 8, Fitzroy kicked eleven goals without a behind against Collingwood, before three misses in the last quarter. They did not score in the second and third quarters after kicking 7.0 (42) in the first quarter. * In Round 11, Geelong defeated St. Kilda despite having ten fewer scoring shots; before this, no VFL team had won with a deficit in scoring shots greater than eight. They repeated the feat of winning with ten fewer shots against Collingwood in the last round. * During that last match, Collingwood succumbed to Geelong despite being 38 points ahead at three quarter time; this record was not beaten until 1936. * The playing surface in each of the season's Semi-Finals that had been played on the Melbourne Cricket Ground (South Melbourne v. Collingwood, and Carlton v. St. Kilda) had been so rock hard and dusty that the two match winners demanded that the MCG be watered before the next Saturday, unless there was substantial rain. The VFL acquiesced to this request, and the ground was watered; the ensuing Premiership final, which Carlton won by 5 points, was on significantly softer ground. * In the 1907 pre-season, then VFA team Richmond played a practice match against VFL team Geelong at Corio Oval, in direct defiance of a VFA edict. On 22 October 1907, Richmond, who had become quite dissatisfied with the VFA, applied to join the VFL; their application was unanimously accepted at a meeting nine days later, and Richmond competed for the first time in the 1908 VFL season. * St Kilda qualify for their first VFL Finals appearance.

Footnotes

References

* Rogers, S. & Brown, A., ''Every Game Ever Played: VFL/AFL Results 1897–1997 (Sixth Edition)'', Viking Books, (Ringwood), 1998. * Ross, J. (ed), ''100 Years of Australian Football 1897–1996: The Complete Story of the AFL, All the Big Stories, All the Great Pictures, All the Champions, Every AFL Season Reported'', Viking, (Ringwood), 1996.

External links

1907 Season - AFL Tables
{{DEFAULTSORT:1907 Vfl Season Australian Football League seasons

VFL season The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...