1932 VFL season
The 1932 VFL season was the 36th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 30 April until 1 October, and comprised an 18-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top four clubs.
| 1932 VFL premiership season | |
|---|---|
 Richmond Football Club, premiers | |
| Teams | 12 |
| Premiers | Richmond 3rd premiership |
| Minor premiers | Carlton 8th minor premiership |
| Brownlow Medallist | Haydn Bunton Sr. (Fitzroy) |
| Leading Goalkicker Medallist | George Moloney (Geelong) |
| Matches played | 112 |
| Highest | 69,724 |
The premiership was won by the Richmond Football Club for the third time, after it defeated Carlton by nine points in the 1932 VFL Grand Final.
Background
In 1932, 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 1932 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the Page–McIntyre system.
Home-and-away season
Ladder
| (P) | Premiers |
| Qualified for finals |
| # | Team | P | W | L | D | PF | PA | % | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlton | 18 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 1803 | 1308 | 137.8 | 60 |
| 2 | Richmond (P) | 18 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 1526 | 1096 | 139.2 | 58 |
| 3 | Collingwood | 18 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 1644 | 1473 | 111.6 | 56 |
| 4 | South Melbourne | 18 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 1531 | 1297 | 118.0 | 52 |
| 5 | Geelong | 18 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 1825 | 1306 | 139.7 | 46 |
| 6 | Essendon | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 1488 | 1444 | 103.0 | 40 |
| 7 | Footscray | 18 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 1229 | 1188 | 103.5 | 36 |
| 8 | North Melbourne | 18 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 1535 | 1581 | 97.1 | 32 |
| 9 | Melbourne | 18 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 1281 | 1675 | 76.5 | 16 |
| 10 | Fitzroy | 18 | 3 | 15 | 0 | 1361 | 1786 | 76.2 | 12 |
| 11 | St Kilda | 18 | 3 | 15 | 0 | 1263 | 1753 | 72.0 | 12 |
| 12 | Hawthorn | 18 | 3 | 15 | 0 | 1034 | 1613 | 64.1 | 12 |
Rules for classification: 1. premiership points; 2. percentage; 3. points for
Average score: 81.1
Source: AFL Tables
Finals series
Grand final
Season notes
- Rain had delayed the resurfacing of the Melbourne Cricket Ground, so Melbourne arranged to play its first three matches for the year at the Motordrome. These were the only three VFL matches ever staged at the venue.
- In round 11, due to the effects of an extremely strong cross-wind that blew all day at the Lake Oval, the up-to-that-time-unbeaten South Melbourne lost to Collingwood, kicking 5.17 (47) to their opponent's more accurate 7.8 (50).
- After the match was over, it was revealed that Richmond wingman Alan Geddes had played the entire second half of the Grand-Final with a broken jaw.
Awards
- The 1932 VFL Premiership team was Richmond.
- The VFL's leading goalkicker was George Moloney of Geelong with 109 goals (all scored during the home-and-away season).
- The winner of the 1932 Brownlow Medal was Haydn Bunton, Sr of Fitzroy with 23 votes.
- Hawthorn took the "wooden spoon" in 1932.
- The seconds premiership was won by Melbourne. Melbourne 8.12 (60) defeated Essendon 4.10 (34) in the Grand Final, played as a curtain-raiser to the firsts Grand Final on 1 October at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.[1]
References
- "League seconds". The Argus. Melbourne. 3 October 1932. p. 13.
- 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
Sources
- 1932 VFL season at AFL Tables
- 1932 VFL season at Australian Football