The 1940 VFL Lightning Premiership (known at the time as the Patriotic Premiership) was an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

knockout competition played entirely on Saturday, 3 August 1940, at the

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

(MCG). It was played during a week's break of the Victorian Football Leagues's 1940 season between Rounds 14 and 15. It was contested by the 12 teams who competed in the 1940 VFL season. A total of 30,407 witnessed the day's matches. St Kilda won the lighting premiership competition, defeating

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

in the final by 24 points. It was the first premiership of any kind at any grade that the St Kilda Football Club had won in its history. This was the first time a lightning premiership had been contested in the VFL. The tournament was played to raise money for the Patriotic Fund during World War II; similar tournaments were held in other leagues, including the

South Australian National Football League The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as the ...

(SANFL), around the same time.

Format

The Patriotic Premiership was staged as a knock-out tournament amongst the twelve VFL teams on a single day. Because twelve teams is not enough for a balanced knock-out tournament, the draw was arranged such that the teams which occupied the bottom four places on the league ladder at the time of the tournament had an easier path to the final. Each match lasted for twenty minutes, without time-on, played in a single continuous period.

Format

Matches

Round 1

Quarter finals

Semi finals

Grand final

References

See also