The 1946

Victorian Football Association 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 ...

season was the 65th season of the

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 ...

competition. The premiership was won by the

Sandringham Football Club The Sandringham Football Club, nicknamed The Zebras, is an Australian rules football club based in Melbourne which was formed in 1929 and plays in the Victorian Football League (VFL) which was formerly called the Victorian Football Association ...

, which defeated

Camberwell Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This e ...

by seven points in the Grand Final on 5 October. It was the first premiership in the club's history.

Premiership

The home-and-home season was played over twenty matches, before the top four clubs contested a finals series under the

Page–McIntyre system The McIntyre System, or systems as there have been five of them, is a playoff system that gives an advantage to teams or competitors qualifying higher. The systems were developed by Ken McIntyre, an Australian lawyer, historian and English lect ...

to determine the premiers for the season.

Ladder

Finals

Awards

* The

J. J. Liston Trophy The J. J. Liston Trophy is awarded annually to the best and fairest senior player in the Victorian Football League (formerly the Victorian Football Association). It is named after J.J. Liston, a businessman, civic leader and sports administrato ...

was won by

Bill Findlay Bill Findlay (29 October 1913 – 28 May 1986) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Footscray and North Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He played as a rover and was sometimes pushed forward where he was a handy ...

(

Port Melbourne Port Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Port Phillip local government areas. Port Melbourne recorded a populatio ...

), who polled 47 votes.

Herbie Matthews Herbie Matthews (20 November 1913 – 8 June 1990) was an Australian rules footballer who played for South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He was recruited to South Melbourne from suburban club Fairfield. His father, "Butche ...

(

) was second with 33 votes, and S. Snell (

Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...

) was third with 31 votes. *

Prahran Prahran (), also pronounced colloquially as Pran, is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City ...

won the seconds premiership, after defeating

Yarraville Yarraville is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Maribyrnong local government area. Yarraville recorded a population of 15,636 at the . Yarraville i ...

in the Grand Final.

Notable events

Disputed match between Northcote and Sandringham

On 25 May,

Sandringham Sandringham can refer to: Places * Sandringham, New South Wales, Australia * Sandringham, Queensland, Australia * Sandringham, Victoria, Australia **Sandringham railway line **Sandringham railway station **Electoral district of Sandringham * Sand ...

15.13 (103) defeated Northcote 13.10 (88). Northcote protested the result, on the basis that the third quarter was played 10 minutes short of the full duration. The Association resolved that the game should be replayed, but only if it had any bearing on the final four. After the home-and-home season, Sandringham finished third, four points ahead of fifth-placed

Coburg Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it was ...

but with a poorer percentage; this meant that the replay was required, and that Coburg would make the finals if it were lost by Sandringham. However, on the Monday after the home-and-home matches were complete, the Association Board of Management decided to rescind its previous decision and allow Sandringham's original win to stand. Coburg was unhappy, and believed it was in a strong legal position to compel the Association to uphold its original decision to replay the match; but, it nevertheless decided not to proceed with any action and allowed the result to stand. As a result, Sandringham qualified for the finals for the first time, and went on to win the premiership.

Other notable events

* A lightning premiership was held at the

St Kilda Cricket Ground 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 Junc ...

on 29 June amongst all twelve teams. Williamstown won the competition, defeating

in the final by the score of 4.3 (27) d. 1.2 (8). * On 2 September, the VFA was registered as an

incorporated company A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

. * In the preliminary final,

9.12 (66) trailed Williamstown 15.16 (106) at three-quarter time, before kicking seven goals to one in the final quarter to win by one point, 16.19 (115) d. 16.18 (114). *

and

visited

Broken Hill Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It is ...

on the weekend of 19 October and played two exhibition matches. On Saturday 19 October, Prahran 14.13 (97) defeated Coburg 7.13 (55) under Association rules; on Sunday 20 October, a combined Prahran-Coburg team 8.11 (59) lost to the Zinc Corporation XVIII 11.6 (72) under League rules. * On Saturday 19 October, Williamstown and

played an exhibition match under Association rules at the

NTCA Ground The North Tasmania Cricket Association Ground, better known as the NTCA Ground, is the oldest first-class cricket ground in Australia. It is a multi-use sports venue situated in Launceston, Australia. In 1851, the ground hosted Australia's fi ...

Launceston, Tasmania Launceston () or () is a city in the north of Tasmania, Australia, at the confluence of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River (kanamaluka). As of 2021, Launceston has a population of 87,645. Material was copied ...

, where the League rules were prevalent. Williamstown 16.11 (107) defeated Camberwell 13.16 (94) in front of a large crowd of 3,600.

External links

List of VFA/VFL Premiers This page is a complete chronological listing of the premiers of the Australian rules football competition known as the Victorian Football Association until 1995 and as the Victorian Football League since 1996. The Victorian Football Association ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1946 Vfa Season Victorian Football League seasons

VFL 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 ...