List of VFA/VFL records

This is a list of records from the Victorian Football League (previously known as the Victorian Football Association) since its inception in 1877.

From 1961 until 1988, the VFA seniors were split into Division 1 and Division 2.[1]

Club records

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Premierships (Division 1)

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Titles Club Seasons
17   Port Melbourne 1897, 1901, 1922, 1940, 1941, 1947, 1953, 1964, 1966, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1982, 2011, 2017
14   Williamstown 1907, 1921, 1939, 1945, 1949, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1986, 1990, 2003, 2015
10   Sandringham 1946, 1962, 1985, 1992, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2006
9   Footscray 1898, 1899, 1900, 1908, 1913, 1919, 1920, 1923, 1924
7   Geelong 1878, 1879, 1880, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1886
6   Coburg 1926, 1927, 1928, 1979, 1988, 1989
6   Hotham/North Melbourne 1903, 1904, 1910, 1914, 1915, 1918
6   Oakleigh 1930, 1931, 1950, 1952, 1960, 1972
6   Springvale/Casey 1987, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2022
5   Prahran (II) 1937, 1951, 1970, 1973, 1978
5   South Melbourne 1881, 1885, 1888, 1889, 1890
5   Northcote 1929, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1936
4   Preston/Northern Bullants 1968, 1969, 1983, 1984
4   Essendon 1891, 1892, 1893, 1894
3   Brunswick 1909, 1925, 1938
3   Dandenong 1967, 1971, 1991
3   Box Hill 2001, 2013, 2018
3   North Ballarat 2008, 2009, 2010
3   Geelong reserves 2002, 2007, 2012
2   Carlton 1877, 1887
2   Richmond 1902, 1905
2   Moorabbin (I) 1957, 1963
2   Yarraville 1935, 1961
2   Essendon A 1911, 1912
2   Footscray reserves 2014, 2016
2   Werribee 1993, 2024
1   Gold Coast reserves 2023
1   Brighton 1948
1   Geelong West 1975
1   Fitzroy 1895
1   Collingwood 1896
1   West Melbourne 1906
1   Waverley 1965
1   Richmond reserves 2019

Highest scores

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Sunshine withdrew midway through the 1989 season, and their games were expunged from the records.[2]
Rank Score Club Opponent Year Round Venue
1 55.17 (347) Williamstown Waverley 1986 16 Camberwell Sportsground
2 52.31 (343) Waverley Sunshine 1981 (D2) 1 Central Reserve
53.15 (333) Brunswick Sunshine 1989
49.21 (315) Preston Sunshine 1989
3 48.21 (309) Springvale Sunshine 1983 (D2) 18 Newcomen Road
4 46.31 (307) Brunswick Sunshine 1983 (D2) 12 Brunswick Park
5 46.21 (297) Coburg Camberwell 1989 (D2) 5 Camberwell Sportsground
Source: [2]. Last updated: 12 September 2023.

Highest scores (seconds and thirds)

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Outside of the seniors, the highest score in any VFA/VFL division (and any Australian rules football game) was Williamstown's 110.27 (687) against Geelong West in a 1983 thirds division match.[3]

Rank Score Club Opponent Year Grade Round Venue
1 110.27 (687) Williamstown Geelong West 1983 Thirds (D1) 14 Williamstown Cricket Ground
2 88.23 (551) Coburg Geelong West 1983 Thirds (D1) 13
3 77.44 (506) Brunswick Geelong West 1981 Thirds (D1) 7
4 74.31 (475) Preston Geelong West 1981 Thirds (D1) 4
Source:[4]

Lowest scores (since 1897)

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Rank Score Club Opponent Year Round Venue
1 0.0 (0) Footscray Port Melbourne 1902 15 North Port Oval
2 0.1 (1) Brunswick Williamstown 1897 10 Brunswick Park
0.1 (1) Brunswick Footscray 1899 10 Western Oval
4 0.2 (2) Brunswick West Melbourne 1904 11 Arden Street
0.2 (2) Port Melbourne Prahran 1906 6 North Port Oval

All these scores were from the early years of the VFA competition, when scores, in general, were much lower. The following table shows the lowest scores since 1919 (the first year of complete competition following World War I):

Rank Score Club Opponent Year Round Venue
1 0.4 (4) Northcote North Melbourne 1919 15 Arden Street
0.4 (4) Northern Bullants Footscray reserves 2023 18 Preston City Oval
3 0.7 (7) North Melbourne reserves Casey 2018 14 Casey Fields
4 1.2 (8) Brighton Northcote 1961 (D2) 17 Northcote Park
1.2 (8) Brighton Preston 1961 (D2) 15 Preston City Oval

Lowest scores (seconds and thirds)

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Rank Score Club Opponent Year Grade Round Venue
1 0.0 (0) Geelong West Brunswick 1981 Thirds (D1) 7
0.0 (0) Caulfield Box Hill 1986 Thirds (D2) 9
2 0.0 (1) Box Hill Sunshine 1969 Thirds (D2) 7
Source:[5]

Greatest winning margins

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Rank Margin Team Opponent Year Round Ground
1 315 Williamstown Camberwell 1986 16 Camberwell Sportsground
2 290 Waverley Sunshine 1981 (D2) 1 Central Reserve
3 275 Brunswick Sunshine 1983 (D2) 12 Brunswick Park
4 254 Box Hill Sunshine 1984 (D2) 16 Box Hill City Oval
5 246 Brunswick Kilsyth 1984 (D2) 18 Brunswick Park

Individual records

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Most career goals (seniors)

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Rank Goals Games Player Club(s) Career span
1 1336 300 Fred Cook Yarraville, Port Melbourne, Moorabbin 1969–1985
2 1070 221 Rino Pretto Coburg, Camberwell, Oakleigh, Dandenong 1980–1984
3 933 227 Bob Bonnett Port Melbourne 1952–1963
4 928 174 Mark Fotheringham Yarraville, Williamstown 1978–1987
5 883 183 Jim 'Frosty' Miller Dandenong 1967–1977

Most career games (seniors)

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Rank Games Player Club(s) Career span
1 306 Ben Jolley Bendigo, Williamstown,
Port Melbourne, Essendon reserves
2005–2023
2 302 Bill Swan Port Melbourne, Williamstown 1976–1993
3 300 Fred Cook Yarraville, Port Melbourne, Moorabbin 1969–1985
4 293 William 'Ching' Harris Footscray 1896–1904,
1906–1915
5 277 John Benson Sunshine, Werribee 1966–1984
Last updated: 25 September 2023

Most games for each club (seniors)

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Club Games Player Career span
Berwick 29 Robert Trigg 1983–1987
Box Hill 180 Jack Wright 1951–1960
Brighton 184 George Stewart 1927–1937
Brighton-Caulfield 26 Larry Rowe 1963–1964
Brunswick 206 Henry Chase 1903–1910, 1912–1915, 1918–1920
Camberwell 136 James Bohan 1947–1953
Carlton 133 James Rickards 1877–1884
Caulfield 213 John Einsiedel 1974–1987
Coburg 210 Dave Starbuck 1945–1956
Dandenong 210 Lew Wright 1976–1988
Footscray 293 William 'Ching' Harris 1896–1904, 1906–1915
Frankston 203 Daniel Clarke 1996–2007
Geelong A 80 Cyril Cations 1922–1927
Geelong reserves 106 Jack Hollmer 2007–2015
Geelong West 200 Warwick Yates 1974–1982
Kilsyth 26 Stephen Letts 1982–1983
Melbourne City 30 A.J. Daniels 1912–1913
Moorabbin (I) 217 Len Gilder 1951–1963
Moorabbin (II) 36 Graham Stewart 1983–1987
Mordialloc 270 William Lang 1969–1983
North Ballarat 209 Marc Greig 20??–20??
North Melbourne 224 Charlie Hardy 1908–1921
Northcote 201 Frank Seymour 1928–1938
Oakleigh 203 Michael Owen 1981–1994
Port Melbourne 229 Bob Bonnett 1952–1963
Prahran 248 Frank Smith 1969–1983
Preston/Northern Bullants 200 Sid Hall 19??–19??
Richmond 118 Alec Edmonds 1899–1907
Sandringham 202 Nick Sautner 1997–2000, 2004–2010
Springvale/Casey 233 Damian Carroll 1992–2004
Sunshine 148 John Benson 1966-1984
Waverley 110 Jeff Costello 1973-1984
Werribee 169 Robbie Castello 2004–2013
West Melbourne 77 Harry Gregory 1902-1907
Williamstown 229 Ben Jolley 2005–present
Yarraville 200 Ron Brown 1958–1973

Kicks after the siren

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Goal to win

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Player Club Opponent Rd. Year Final score Ref.
Langley Carlton North Melbourne 1895 2–1 [6][7]
Wally Cook Camberwell Sandringham 3 1952 11.10 (76) d. 11.9 (75) [8]
Jack Whallis Yarraville Williamstown 7 1956 10.17 (77) d. 11.10 (76) [9][10]
Alex Andjelkovic Geelong West Caulfield FW2 1972 17.18 (120) d. 17.13 (115) Division 2[11]
Chris Rourke Camberwell Preston 2 1982 18.13 (121) d. 17.17 (119) Division 1
Anthony Cardamone Preston Williamstown 2 1992 22.5 (137) d. 20.14 (134) [12][13]
Jarrad Grant Williamstown Coburg 13 2009 19.5 (119) d. 18.8 (116) [14]
Luke Reynolds Northern Blues Frankston 2 2014 15.12 (102) d. 15.9 (99) [15]
Jean-Luc Velissaris Northern Blues Port Melbourne 15 2019 10.12 (72) d. 10.8 (68) [16]
Jacob Bauer Richmond reserves Greater Western Sydney reserves 11 2023 10.22 (82) d. 12.8 (80) [17]
Jacob Bauer Richmond reserves Brisbane reserves 15 2023 8.11 (59) d. 7.16 (58) [18]
Jack Toner Williamstown Coburg 2 2024 12.11 (83) d. 11.11 (77) [19]

Goal to draw

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Player Team Opponent Year Score Details
Doulton Langlands Sandringham Coburg 2018 79–79 [20]

Behind to win

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Player Team Opponent Year Score Details
Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti Essendon reserves Gold Coast reserves 2023 77–76 [21]

Missed opportunities

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Player Team Opponent Year Score Outcome Details
Dave McNamara Essendon A Brunswick 1911 63–65 A goal would have won the premiership for Essendon; the loss forced a Grand Final the following week. [22][23]
Ben Lennon Richmond reserves Port Melbourne 2017 70–74 Richmond would have won the 2017 VFL premiership. [24][25]
Max Williams Frankston Greater Western Sydney reserves 2023 54–55 A goal would have won the game for Frankston by 5 points. [26][27]

References

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  1. ^ Ron Carter (3 December 1960). "V.F.A. decides on two divisions". The Age. Melbourne. p. 16.
  2. ^ Amanda Buivids (22 June 1989). "Talks on future of VFA". The Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne. p. 77.
  3. ^ van Wyngaarden, Geoff. "Williamstown's monstrous world record score". Williamstown Football Club. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020.
  4. ^ Nixon, Rex. "Some interesting Stats". St Mary's Football Club.
  5. ^ "Victorian Football Association - Season 1981". Elite to Grassroots.
  6. ^ Marked on the final bell and goaled from 40yds. Observer (22 June 1895). "Football – the battle for the premiership". The Argus. Melbourne. p. 6.
  7. ^ The Luck of Football, The Argus, Monday, 8 July 1895, p.6; The football Season, The Age, (Monday, 8 July 1895), p.6.
  8. ^ Cook was awarded a free kick after an errant kick by Sandringham full-back went out of bounds without being touched. Siren went while he prepared to kick. A 60-yard torpedo snuck through to give Camberwell victory. "Goal After Bell Beats Zebras". The Argus. Melbourne. 5 May 1952. p. 10. Retrieved 10 May 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ Whallis kicked a goal after the final siren from 35 yards, giving Yarraville a one point victory
  10. ^ Noel Carrick (28 May 1956). "Williamstown topples from lead in V.F.A. surprise". The Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne. p. 30.
  11. ^ Second semi-final. Andjelkovic, who had come on in the final quarter as the 17th man, marked 25–35 yards from goal with seconds remaining; he stubbed the ground while kicking, but the kick just went through for a goal; it was Geelong West's 21st consecutive win, as part of a perfect season, and qualified it for the Grand Final."West sneaks into final". Geelong Advertiser. Geelong, VIC. 28 August 1972. p. 12.
  12. ^ Cardamone – who had been brought into the team as an emergency and had spent the first half of the game on the bench – kicked truly from 25m out.
  13. ^ Darrin Farrant (27 April 1992). "Bullants rejoice at replacements last-gasp winner". The Age. Melbourne. p. 25.
  14. ^ Mallinder, Terry (14 July 2009). "Seagulls Grant-ed reprieve after final siren – Sport – Sport – Hobsons Bay Leader". Hobsons-bay-leader.whereilive.com.au. Archived from the original on 20 February 2011.
  15. ^ "Luke Reynolds sees Northern Blues to victory with goal after the siren in VFL". Herald Sun. Preston Leader. 14 April 2014. Archived from the original on 6 August 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  16. ^ Awarded a free kick for holding the ball with seconds remaining, 40m out from goal, kicked truly after the siren "VFL After the siren thriller". 13 July 2019.
  17. ^ Marked 10m out almost directly in front and kicked truly. "Bauer boots after-the-siren goal to see VFL Tigers home". 4 June 2023.
  18. ^ Converted a set shot from 35m out on a slight angle. This was the second time during the 2023 VFL season that Bauer had kicked the winning goal after the siren, having done so earlier within the same month."Bauer's brilliance topples Brisbane". 30 June 2023.
  19. ^ Converted a set shot from 30m out."REVIEW: Smithy's VFL Round 2". 2 April 2024.
  20. ^ Sandringham's Doulton Langlands received a late free kick and controversial 50m penalty, which handed him a shot from the goal square. The goal denied Coburg's first win of the season. Video of the last few seconds
  21. ^ Marked 30 metres out directly in front with less than a second remaining. His kick went wide right, giving the 18th-placed Essendon a shock victory over 1st-placed Gold Coast. The Essendon AFL team had lost a game from a goal after the siren the previous night against Port Adelaide. [1]
  22. ^ Place kick from 40yds out directly in front in the final, taken with hundreds of spectators already on the field, missed by 6ft. A goal would have won the premiership for Essendon, but as they were minor premiers, the loss meant a rematch against Brunswick the following week, in which Essendon was victorious.
  23. ^ Old Boy (18 September 1911). "Association Final – Magnificent contest". The Argus. Melbourne. p. 5.
  24. ^ Grand Final, took mark 52 metres out directly in front with seconds remaining, missed to the right hand side.
  25. ^ Amy, Paul (24 September 2017). "Brilliant Port Melbourne claims VFL premiership with grand final victory over Richmond at Etihad Stadium". Caulfield Glen Eira Leader.
  26. ^ Williams marked with seconds to go, but his kick fell short of recording a score.
  27. ^ "Tiger makes case for AFL return, Werribee record 15 different goalkickers: VFL Wrap". Zero Hanger. 17 July 2023.