Geelong's other Premiership drought

[rapidfire7]

Geelong's 44 year Premiership drought is one of the most famous in VFL/AFL history, but few people ever bring up our other Premiership drought from 1897-1925.

During this time, we were the last of the 8 foundation clubs to make a Grand Final and the second last to win a Premiership. Even Richmond who joined the league 11 years after us were making GFs/winning Premierships before we could do either.

With only 8-10 teams competing, Collingwood, Carlton, Essendon and Fitzrory really dined out in this period, winning 5-7 Premierships each. Whereas Geelong obviously had to wait until 1925 and the year the league expanded to 12 to finally open their account.

It's really these early years that left Geelong behind in the Premiership race and they have been chasing the other teams tails ever since.

If we look at the Premiership table for Victorian sides from when the 12 team competition started (1925-2023), it obviously paints a very different picture and one much more favourable to Geelong.

Hawthorn 13
Melbourne 12
Carlton 11
Collingwood 11
Richmond 11
Essendon 10
Geelong 10
North Melbourne 4
South Melbourne / Sydney 3
Bulldogs 2
Fitzroy 1
St Kilda 1

Not really sure why we were so poor in the early years of the VFL, particularly as we were so strong in the VFA, but it's a shame we weren't able to win at least a couple of flags when there were such a small number of teams in the competition.

 

[Jhye Clark 13]

Research zoning.

 

[FredLeDeux]

Research zoning.

And the Coulter Law, designed to counteract the extensive high spending on "amateurs" by major Melbourne clubs, especially from 1911 onwards

 

[Partridge]

Not that hard to understand. Consider for a moment how badly all clubs were run in the 1980s - even the ones winnings flags - it's not too hard to imagine they were even worse 60-70 years before that.

Some sides capitalised on having good teams and won premierships. Some narrowly missed out. Just like now, you put the wrong administration in place and it could take a fair while to recover.

 

[FredLeDeux]

Not that hard to understand. Consider for a moment how badly all clubs were run in the 1980s - even the ones winnings flags - it's not too hard to imagine they were even worse 60-70 years before that.

Some sides capitalised on having good teams and won premierships. Some narrowly missed out. Just like now, you put the wrong administration in place and it could take a fair while to recover.

It's also complicated by the fact that the game was thoroughly corrupt before WW1, to the extent that major bookies wouldn't even take bets on it.

 

[Freomaniac]

Research zoning.

Bingo....

Theres a reason why North Melbourne hated essendon. It had to do with recruitment zones.

North Melbourne wanted to join the VFL in 1896. Essendon didnt want north Melbourne to join the VFL as Norths inclusion in the VFL could drain essendon of a decent recruiting area. North Didnt enter the comp until 1925. By then Essendon won 6 flags between 1897-1924: 1897, 1901, 1911, 1912, 1923 and 1924.

North Melbourne fans still blame essendon on why North Melbourne has a small fan base and less premierships.

 

[Jhye Clark 13]

Bingo....

Theres a reason why North Melbourne hated essendon. It had to do with recruitment zones.

North Melbourne wanted to join the VFL in 1896. Essendon didnt want to join the VFL as Norths inclusion in the VFL could drain essendon of a decent recruiting area. North Didnt enter the comp until 1925. By then Essendon won 6 flags between 1897-1924: 1897, 1901, 1911, 1912, 1923 and 1924.

North Melbourne fans still blame essendon on why North Melbourne has a small fan base and less premierships.

There's a reason Hawthorn, Carlton and a few others have that many flags.

 

[Freomaniac]

There's a reason Hawthorn, Carlton and a few others have that many flags.

Hawthorn like to mention that they always won at least one flag since the 1960s. That's nice to hear.

I would love Fremantle to win a flag in each decade starting with this 2020s decade.

Saying that. Hawks fans don't bring up 1925-56 specifically. I wonder why?

Well they didn't make finals once in that 1925-56 period

 

[jim boy]

Perhaps should have won one, if not two, in the first six years of the comp (finished top 2 four times!). Then we became a pretty ordinary team till WW1, after which we became more middle of the table then finally a strong team in the mid twenties.
No equalisation measures in those days.
Had a terrible finals record, lost at least six on the trot

 

[standupand]

Hawthorn like to mention that they always won at least one flag since the 1960s. That's nice to hear.

I would love Fremantle to win a flag in each decade starting with this 2020s decade.

Saying that. Hawks fans don't bring up 1925-56 specifically. I wonder why?

Well they didn't make finals once in that 1925-56 period

This post should come with a 2008 trigger warning.

 

[Catsace]

Perhaps should have won one, if not two, in the first six years of the comp (finished top 2 four times!). Then we became a pretty ordinary team till WW1, after which we became more middle of the table then finally a strong team in the mid twenties.
No equalisation measures in those days.
Had a terrible finals record, lost at least six on the trot

Pretty much it, Geelong lost their opening three games in the VFL, but were pretty impressive probably right up until Eddie James had to stop playing in the early (19)00's. But Geelong always seemed to go 2-1 in the strange round-robin type finals series of the time, and generally that was enough to prevent them playing in a Grand Final. In 1897, the first season we started our bad sequence of losing home finals in Geelong by losing to Essendon, and by dint of their win by 6 points they were awarded the Premiership.

Of course our second home finals loss was the 2013 QF to one of our interstate nemesises at KP, Freo.

 

[Kitcat]

We did of course win 7 premierships pre 1897.

 

[Freomaniac]

There's a reason Hawthorn, Carlton and a few others have that many flags.

True....

I look at the 1971 Grand final between the Saints and hawks. Saints lost by 7 points after having a 20 point lead at 3 quarter time.

Saying that, around that time, Hawks got a certain zone the saints wanted apparently.

So hawks won a few flags from 1971-1991 because of those zones. Imagine if the Saints had them, would they made 7 grand finals in a row from 1983-89 like the hawks did? I dont know.

Carlton started winning flags from 1968 onwards. Went through a 21 year drought after the 1947 flag. They spend money to get the best player at the time in Ron Barrassi and won the 1968 and 1970 flags under him.

Barring the saints and Bulldogs and possibly the South Melbourne/ Sydney swans. Most other sides have had won back to back flags or won 2 flags in 3 years.

 

[Partridge]

Hawthorn like to mention that they always won at least one flag since the 1960s. That's nice to hear.

I would love Fremantle to win a flag in each decade starting with this 2020s decade.

Saying that. Hawks fans don't bring up 1925-56 specifically. I wonder why?

Well they didn't make finals once in that 1925-56 period

I think those early years at Hawthorn had a major impact on the club's later philosophy. They had a drive to win flags and were totally unsentimental about it. Star players, premiership players even, once they started to decline they moved them on. They were doing that all through the 1980s. Can't argue with the results.

 

[Goggin Our Best]

And the Coulter Law, designed to counteract the extensive high spending on "amateurs" by major Melbourne clubs, especially from 1911 onwards

I didnt quite understand that Coulter law , do you know how it exactly worked or was it just pot luck , or in your subsequent post maybe something got exchanged and then your player was free to play with you

A couple of examples , Dennis Marshall a boom recruit , he joined in Geel 1964 , however i dont know how many games he missed , but maybe mid season he was finally allowed to play with Geel , all because of that Coulter law i think

Syd Jackson the exciting Aboriginal half forward flanker for Carlton and a sensational drop kick on the run . I bought that Carlton book ( very good read written by Myles someone ) on basically Ronald Dales flag for the Navy Bues in 1968 . And he said Jackson joined Carlton at the start of the 68 year - however they wouldnt let him play for the whole year , again i think because of that Coulter law , so the Blues made him the official team runner and in that flag winning year of theirs

 

[Partridge]

There's a reason Hawthorn, Carlton and a few others have that many flags.

To me they just made less mistakes than others, and capitalised when they had enough talent.

 

[FredLeDeux]

I didnt quite understand that Coulter law , do you know how it exactly worked or was it just pot luck , or in your subsequent post maybe something got exchanged and then your player was free to play with you

A couple of examples , Dennis Marshall a boom recruit , he joined in Geel 1964 , however i dont know how many games he missed , but maybe mid season he was finally allowed to play with Geel , all because of that Coulter law i think

Syd Jackson the exciting Aboriginal half forward flanker for Carlton and a sensational drop kick on the run . I bought that Carlton book ( very good read written by Myles someone ) on basically Ronald Dales flag for the Navy Bues in 1968 . And he said Jackson joined Carlton at the start of the 68 year - however they wouldnt let him play for the whole year , again i think because of that Coulter law , so the Blues made him the official team runner and in that flag winning year of theirs

The Coulter Law limited the amount of individula player payments, and banned sign-on fees.

Marashall's start was delayed while they held an enquiry into whether he had breached the sign-on fee provisions (which he clearly had), but I don't remember the result.

As far as I recall, Jackson's start was delayed only because his WA club refused to clear him.
I knew Lee Adamson fairly well, and I think he reckons it would have been a good idea if they'd never let him play.

 

[you pick one]

Stitchers Marshall seems such a long time ago now Fred.

 

[FredLeDeux]

Stitchers Marshall seems such a long time ago now Fred.

Yeah, longer by the day