The 1931 VFL season was the 35th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest-level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs and ran from 2 May to 10 October, comprising an 18-match home-and-away season followed by a four-week finals series featuring the top four clubs.

1931 VFL premiership season
Overview
Date2 May—10 October 1931
Teams12
PremiersGeelong
2nd premiership
Runners-upRichmond
6th runners-up result
Minor premiersGeelong
4th minor premiership
Brownlow MedallistHaydn Bunton Sr. (Fitzroy)
26 votes
Leading goalkicker medallistHarry Vallence (Carlton)
72 goals
Attendance
Matches played112
Total attendance1,785,275 (15,940 per match)
Highest (H&A)40,000 (round 4, Richmond v Collingwood)
Highest (finals)60,712 (grand final, Richmond v Geelong)
← 1930
1932 →

Geelong won the premiership, defeating Richmond by 20 points in the 1931 VFL grand final; it was Geelong's second VFL premiership. Geelong also won the minor premiership by finishing atop the home-and-away ladder with a 15–3 win–loss record. Fitzroy's Haydn Bunton Sr. won the Brownlow Medal as the league's best and fairest player, and Carlton's Harry Vallence won the leading goalkicker medal as the league's leading goalkicker.

Background

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In 1931, the VFL competition consisted of twelve teams of 18 on-the-field players each, plus one substitute player, known as the 19th man. A player could be substituted for any reason; however, once substituted, a player could not return to the field of play under any circumstances.

Teams played each other in a home-and-away season of 18 rounds; matches 12 to 18 were the "home-and-way reverse" of matches 1 to 7.

Once the 18-round home-and-away season had finished, the 1931 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the Page–McIntyre system. This was the first season to feature the new finals format, with the winner of the 2nd Semi Final going direct through to the Grand Final, and the loser through to a Preliminary Final against the winner of the 1st Semi Final. The league predominantly used variations of the Argus Challenge System over the previous thirty seasons.[1]

Home-and-away season

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Round 1

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
North Melbourne 11.17 (83) South Melbourne 19.21 (135) Arden Street Oval 10,000 2 May 1931
Footscray 8.13 (61) Hawthorn 9.6 (60) Western Oval 12,000 2 May 1931
Collingwood 13.14 (92) Geelong 12.15 (87) Victoria Park 16,000 2 May 1931
Carlton 15.8 (98) Richmond 14.23 (107) Princes Park 26,500 2 May 1931
Melbourne 15.16 (106) Fitzroy 14.10 (94) MCG 19,330 2 May 1931
St Kilda 13.14 (92) Essendon 11.14 (80) Junction Oval 19,000 2 May 1931

Round 2

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Geelong 20.6 (126) St Kilda 7.12 (54) Corio Oval 9,500 9 May 1931
Essendon 12.5 (77) Melbourne 10.13 (73) Windy Hill 15,000 9 May 1931
Richmond 30.19 (199) North Melbourne 4.7 (31) Punt Road Oval 11,000 9 May 1931
South Melbourne 13.13 (91) Footscray 16.15 (111) Lake Oval 20,000 9 May 1931
Hawthorn 8.17 (65) Collingwood 11.18 (84) Glenferrie Oval 15,000 9 May 1931
Fitzroy 13.15 (93) Carlton 19.19 (133) Brunswick Street Oval 35,000 9 May 1931

Round 3

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Footscray 7.10 (52) Richmond 13.16 (94) Western Oval 30,000 16 May 1931
Collingwood 13.16 (94) South Melbourne 10.13 (73) Victoria Park 15,000 16 May 1931
Carlton 18.18 (126) Essendon 5.14 (44) Princes Park 20,000 16 May 1931
St Kilda 10.12 (72) Hawthorn 10.8 (68) Junction Oval 14,000 16 May 1931
Melbourne 12.15 (87) Geelong 11.17 (83) MCG 19,767 16 May 1931
North Melbourne 6.12 (48) Fitzroy 12.16 (88) Arden Street Oval 7,000 16 May 1931

Round 4

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Hawthorn 13.16 (94) Melbourne 16.13 (109) Glenferrie Oval 10,000 23 May 1931
Fitzroy 10.15 (75) Footscray 12.12 (84) Brunswick Street Oval 14,000 23 May 1931
Essendon 12.13 (85) North Melbourne 9.9 (63) Windy Hill 10,000 23 May 1931
South Melbourne 18.19 (127) St Kilda 16.10 (106) Lake Oval 18,000 23 May 1931
Richmond 10.12 (72) Collingwood 9.14 (68) Punt Road Oval 40,000 23 May 1931
Geelong 11.14 (80) Carlton 11.8 (74) Corio Oval 12,500 23 May 1931

Round 5

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Hawthorn 11.10 (76) South Melbourne 11.13 (79) Glenferrie Oval 11,000 30 May 1931
Essendon 10.12 (72) Richmond 11.20 (86) Windy Hill 15,000 30 May 1931
Carlton 16.11 (107) Collingwood 13.13 (91) Princes Park 35,000 30 May 1931
St Kilda 13.19 (97) North Melbourne 7.10 (52) Junction Oval 10,000 30 May 1931
Melbourne 13.9 (87) Footscray 10.11 (71) MCG 20,244 30 May 1931
Geelong 20.22 (142) Fitzroy 12.9 (81) Corio Oval 9,000 30 May 1931

Round 6

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Round 6 was a split round, but the two-halves of the round were unusually played almost three weeks apart. Three matches played on King's Birthday Monday (8 June), and the other three matches played Saturday 27 June – the Saturday between Rounds 8 and 9. This means that six teams played their Round 7 and 8 matches before their Round 6 match.[2]

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Collingwood 15.10 (100) St Kilda 10.17 (77) Victoria Park 16,000 8 June 1931
North Melbourne 7.17 (59) Melbourne 15.8 (98) Arden Street Oval 7,000 8 June 1931
South Melbourne 6.8 (44) Geelong 13.15 (93) Lake Oval 30,000 8 June 1931
Richmond 9.15 (69) Hawthorn 8.10 (58) Punt Road Oval 19,000 27 June 1931
Fitzroy 7.14 (56) Essendon 10.10 (70) Brunswick Street Oval 12,000 27 June 1931
Footscray 8.8 (56) Carlton 8.11 (59) Western Oval 24,000 27 June 1931

Round 7

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Geelong 12.15 (87) Richmond 8.12 (60) Corio Oval 18,250 13 June 1931
Footscray 13.8 (86) North Melbourne 5.13 (43) Western Oval 11,000 13 June 1931
Fitzroy 14.14 (98) South Melbourne 16.15 (111) Brunswick Street Oval 12,000 13 June 1931
Essendon 8.12 (60) Hawthorn 12.8 (80) Windy Hill 10,000 13 June 1931
Melbourne 7.12 (54) Collingwood 10.11 (71) MCG 26,436 13 June 1931
St Kilda 8.11 (59) Carlton 12.18 (90) Junction Oval 24,000 13 June 1931

Round 8

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Richmond 12.12 (84) South Melbourne 7.15 (57) Punt Road Oval 18,000 20 June 1931
Essendon 7.13 (55) Geelong 13.11 (89) Windy Hill 10,000 20 June 1931
Collingwood 22.22 (154) North Melbourne 9.10 (64) Victoria Park 6,000 20 June 1931
Carlton 18.14 (122) Melbourne 9.4 (58) Princes Park 25,000 20 June 1931
St Kilda 7.10 (52) Footscray 11.11 (77) Junction Oval 17,000 20 June 1931
Hawthorn 12.8 (80) Fitzroy 7.14 (56) Glenferrie Oval 8,000 20 June 1931

Round 9

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Melbourne 4.12 (36) St Kilda 9.9 (63) MCG 15,826 4 July 1931
Geelong 13.9 (87) Hawthorn 9.7 (61) Corio Oval 9,500 4 July 1931
Fitzroy 8.13 (61) Richmond 14.17 (101) Brunswick Street Oval 15,000 4 July 1931
South Melbourne 10.13 (73) Essendon 9.9 (63) Lake Oval 11,000 4 July 1931
Footscray 4.16 (40) Collingwood 6.8 (44) Western Oval 21,500 4 July 1931
North Melbourne 7.8 (50) Carlton 20.10 (130) Arden Street Oval 10,000 4 July 1931

Round 10

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Hawthorn 14.12 (96) North Melbourne 3.6 (24) Glenferrie Oval 4,000 11 July 1931
Fitzroy 8.10 (58) St Kilda 12.18 (90) Brunswick Street Oval 11,000 11 July 1931
Richmond 8.18 (66) Melbourne 7.11 (53) Punt Road Oval 11,000 11 July 1931
Geelong 7.10 (52) Footscray 3.5 (23) Corio Oval 9,000 11 July 1931
Essendon 12.9 (81) Collingwood 8.9 (57) Windy Hill 10,000 11 July 1931
South Melbourne 10.12 (72) Carlton 11.11 (77) Lake Oval 16,000 11 July 1931

Round 11

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Melbourne 4.7 (31) South Melbourne 12.10 (82) MCG 15,258 18 July 1931
Collingwood 14.20 (104) Fitzroy 8.10 (58) Victoria Park 12,000 18 July 1931
Carlton 16.15 (111) Hawthorn 5.8 (38) Princes Park 17,000 18 July 1931
St Kilda 6.12 (48) Richmond 11.19 (85) Junction Oval 24,000 18 July 1931
North Melbourne 9.10 (64) Geelong 19.17 (131) Arden Street Oval 4,000 18 July 1931
Footscray 8.10 (58) Essendon 12.13 (85) Western Oval 19,000 18 July 1931

Round 12

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Fitzroy 11.11 (77) Melbourne 9.12 (66) Brunswick Street Oval 8,000 25 July 1931
Essendon 15.14 (104) St Kilda 9.5 (59) Windy Hill 15,000 25 July 1931
South Melbourne 13.16 (94) North Melbourne 9.12 (66) Lake Oval 7,500 25 July 1931
Hawthorn 8.5 (53) Footscray 6.19 (55) Glenferrie Oval 8,000 25 July 1931
Geelong 4.19 (43) Collingwood 4.6 (30) Corio Oval 15,000 25 July 1931
Richmond 8.17 (65) Carlton 6.12 (48) Punt Road Oval 36,000 25 July 1931

Round 13

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
North Melbourne 9.15 (69) Richmond 16.12 (108) Arden Street Oval 8,000 1 August 1931
Footscray 9.14 (68) South Melbourne 5.11 (41) Western Oval 18,500 1 August 1931
Collingwood 15.13 (103) Hawthorn 7.16 (58) Victoria Park 9,000 1 August 1931
Carlton 18.13 (121) Fitzroy 13.11 (89) Princes Park 18,500 1 August 1931
St Kilda 7.10 (52) Geelong 15.10 (100) Junction Oval 16,000 1 August 1931
Melbourne 11.6 (72) Essendon 10.11 (71) MCG 13,828 1 August 1931

Round 14

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Hawthorn 11.9 (75) St Kilda 11.11 (77) Glenferrie Oval 8,000 8 August 1931
Geelong 11.11 (77) Melbourne 6.9 (45) Corio Oval 9,250 8 August 1931
Fitzroy 21.12 (138) North Melbourne 8.12 (60) Brunswick Street Oval 8,000 8 August 1931
Richmond 7.12 (54) Footscray 10.18 (78) Punt Road Oval 25,000 8 August 1931
South Melbourne 6.23 (59) Collingwood 8.13 (61) Lake Oval 14,000 8 August 1931
Essendon 18.14 (122) Carlton 11.22 (88) Windy Hill 20,000 8 August 1931

Round 15

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
St Kilda 6.18 (54) South Melbourne 8.14 (62) Junction Oval 6,000 22 August 1931
Collingwood 6.10 (46) Richmond 10.10 (70) Victoria Park 15,000 22 August 1931
Carlton 5.9 (39) Geelong 3.10 (28) Princes Park 18,000 22 August 1931
Melbourne 13.15 (93) Hawthorn 2.6 (18) MCG 3,614 22 August 1931
Footscray 10.12 (72) Fitzroy 6.6 (42) Western Oval 8,000 22 August 1931
North Melbourne 9.7 (61) Essendon 11.17 (83) Arden Street Oval 4,000 22 August 1931

Round 16

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
North Melbourne 7.8 (50) St Kilda 11.15 (81) Arden Street Oval 4,000 29 August 1931
Footscray 10.12 (72) Melbourne 5.8 (38) Western Oval 12,000 29 August 1931
Fitzroy 9.8 (62) Geelong 9.22 (76) Brunswick Street Oval 8,000 29 August 1931
South Melbourne 12.18 (90) Hawthorn 9.5 (59) Lake Oval 4,500 29 August 1931
Richmond 23.14 (152) Essendon 15.11 (101) Punt Road Oval 16,000 29 August 1931
Collingwood 20.15 (135) Carlton 10.14 (74) Victoria Park 20,000 29 August 1931

Round 17

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Melbourne 18.15 (123) North Melbourne 11.13 (79) MCG 3,944 5 September 1931
Hawthorn 5.13 (43) Richmond 13.21 (99) Glenferrie Oval 11,000 5 September 1931
Geelong 16.12 (108) South Melbourne 8.11 (59) Corio Oval 10,500 5 September 1931
Essendon 15.7 (97) Fitzroy 12.8 (80) Windy Hill 10,000 5 September 1931
Carlton 6.14 (50) Footscray 7.12 (54) Princes Park 39,000 5 September 1931
St Kilda 21.16 (142) Collingwood 20.8 (128) Junction Oval 17,000 5 September 1931

Round 18

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Collingwood 18.19 (127) Melbourne 8.9 (57) Victoria Park 14,000 12 September 1931
Carlton 10.6 (66) St Kilda 6.12 (48) Princes Park 25,000 12 September 1931
Richmond 8.8 (56) Geelong 11.17 (83) Punt Road Oval 15,000 12 September 1931
North Melbourne 3.16 (34) Footscray 5.13 (43) Arden Street Oval 9,000 12 September 1931
South Melbourne 5.14 (44) Fitzroy 10.14 (74) Lake Oval 4,500 12 September 1931
Hawthorn 8.15 (63) Essendon 9.12 (66) Glenferrie Oval 5,000 12 September 1931

Ladder

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(P) Premiers
Qualified for finals
# Team P W L D PF PA % Pts
1 Geelong (P) 18 15 3 0 1572 1038 151.4 60
2 Richmond 18 15 3 0 1627 1153 141.1 60
3 Carlton 18 12 6 0 1613 1289 125.1 48
4 Collingwood 18 12 6 0 1589 1281 124.0 48
5 Footscray 18 12 6 0 1161 1054 110.2 48
6 Essendon 18 10 8 0 1416 1428 99.2 40
7 South Melbourne 18 9 9 0 1393 1406 99.1 36
8 Melbourne 18 8 10 0 1286 1403 91.7 32
9 St Kilda 18 8 10 0 1323 1484 89.2 32
10 Fitzroy 18 4 14 0 1380 1605 86.0 16
11 Hawthorn 18 3 15 0 1145 1395 82.1 12
12 North Melbourne 18 0 18 0 1000 1969 50.8 0

Rules for classification: 1. premiership points; 2. percentage; 3. points for
Average score: 76.4
Source: AFL Tables

Finals series

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All of the 1931 finals were played at the MCG, so the home team in the semi-finals and preliminary final is purely the higher-ranked team from the ladder; however, in the Grand Final, the home team was the team that won the preliminary final.

Semi-finals

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1st Semi Final
Saturday, 19 September Carlton 20.10 (130) def. Collingwood 5.12 (42) MCG (crowd: 51,140)


2nd Semi Final
Saturday, 26 September Geelong 10.6 (66) def. by Richmond 15.9 (99) MCG (crowd: 48,353)

Preliminary final

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Preliminary final
Saturday, 3 October Geelong 11.17 (83) def. Carlton 11.11 (77) MCG (crowd: 36,653)

Grand final

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Grand final
Saturday, 10 October (2:50 pm) Geelong 9.14 (68) def. Richmond 7.6 (48) MCG (crowd: 60,712)

Season notes

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  • The VFL changed its Brownlow Medal voting procedure. The field umpire now voted for the three "fairest and best" on the ground in each match, casting 3, 2, and 1 votes. If there was a tie, the player with the most "3" votes would be declared the winner, then the most "2" votes; the countback system was altered retrospectively in 1989 so that the medal would be shared in the event of a tie.[3] A player who had been suspended during the year was now considered ineligible for the medal.
  • The VFL altered the manner in which it determined its premiership team. Abandoning the "amended Argus systems" that had operated from 1902 to 1930 (except in 1924), the VFL instituted the Page–McIntyre system which, amongst other innovations, guaranteed that there would be a "Grand Final" at the end of every season (this system continued to operate until 1972).
  • Prior to the season, the VFL and the Grounds Management Association (which represented the operators of most of the VFL grounds) entered a dispute over the use of the grounds for football matches. The dispute covered financial arrangements and the demarcation between the football and cricket seasons.[4] After arbitration from the Minister for Lands, it was agreed that cricket clubs would be required to pay the league £20 per 100 members, ending the long-standing practice of cricket club members receiving admission to football games without compensation to the football clubs; but that the grounds management would still retain all receipts for admission to reserve areas, with the league receiving none of these takings.[5] During the stand-off, the VFL arranged for the Motordrome and the Exhibition Oval to be available to serve as alternative venues during the year, and drew up a fixture which saw each of those grounds holding twelve games – with Fitzroy, Carlton, North Melbourne, St Kilda, Collingwood and Essendon each to have played four of their nine home games at one of the replacement grounds.[6]
  • In round 2, Richmond set the record for highest score in a game, scoring 30.19 (199) against North Melbourne. This beat South Melbourne's 1919 record by ten points, and remained unbeaten until 1969.
  • In round 12, Carlton rover Tommy Downs was reported for kicking Richmond captain Maurie Hunter; despite the efforts of future Australian Prime Minister R. G. Menzies, KC, Downs was suspended for the remainder of the 1931 season and the whole of the 1932 season.
  • The round 17 match between St Kilda and Collingwood was the first in which both sides scored twenty goals. Both Bill Mohr and Gordon Coventry kicked eleven goals. Coventry was the first to kick ten for a losing side.
  • In the first semi-final, Carlton thrashed Collingwood 20.10 (130) to 5.12 (42). Harry "Soapy" Vallence, at full-forward for Carlton kicked a finals record 11 goals, including six in the last quarter.

Awards

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References

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  1. ^ Rodgers, Stephen (1992), Every Game Ever Played: VFL/AFL Results, 1897–1991 (3rd ed.), Ringwood, VIC: Viking O'Neil
  2. ^ Rodgers, Stephen, Every Game Ever Played, VFL/AFL Results 1897–1991, Ringwood, VIC: Viking O'Neal, p. 212
  3. ^ "Brownlow History". afl.com.au. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  4. ^ H. A. deLacy (31 January 1031). "Football on Motordrome – V.F.L. has option on three other grounds". The Sporting Globe. p. 4.
  5. ^ Southerner (25 March 1931). "Victorian grounds trouble settled". Referee. Sydney, NSW. p. 11.
  6. ^ W. S. Sharland (14 March 1931). "League arranges fixtures". The Sporting Globe. Melbourne. p. 4.
  7. ^ "Second Eighteens". The Argus. Melbourne. 12 October 1931. p. 9.
  • Hogan, P., The Tigers of Old, The Richmond Football Club, (Richmond), 1996. ISBN 0-646-18748-1
  • Rogers, S. & Brown, A., Every Game Ever Played: VFL/AFL Results 1897–1997 (Sixth Edition), Viking Books, (Ringwood), 1998. ISBN 0-670-90809-6
  • 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. ISBN 0-670-86814-0
  • 1931 VFL v VFA Match – BoylesFootballPhotos

Sources

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