1903 VFL Grand Final

1903 VFL Grand Final
4.7 (31)	3.11 (29)
Date	12 September 1903
Stadium	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Attendance	32,263
Umpires	Dick Gibson

The 1903 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Collingwood Football Club and Fitzroy Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 12 September 1903. It was the 6th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1903 VFL season. The match, attended by 32,263 spectators, was won by Collingwood by a margin of 2 points, marking that club's second successive premiership victory.

Gerald Brosnan had a chance to win Fitzroy the premiership with a set shot for goal off the last kick of the game but missed narrowly to give Collingwood back-to-back flags.

Collingwood's Jim Addison, despite playing in just his third game, was the only multiple goalkicker. Both Ern Jenkins and Bert Sharpe of Fitzroy were celebrating their 100th VFL games.

Lead-up

Gerald Brosnan, player of Fitz Roy

After the home-and-away season (which lasted for seventeen matches, including the "first round" of fourteen matches and a "second round" of three matches), Collingwood was top of the ladder with a record of 15–2 and a percentage of 159.4; Fitzroy finished second with a record of 14–3 and a percentage of 171.6.

The finals were contested using the variation of the amended Argus system seen between 1902–1906. Fitzroy faced fourth-placed Geelong in the First Semi-Final, and won by 52 points, and Collingwood faced third-placed Carlton in the Second Semi-Final and won by four points. Collingwood and Fitzroy then faced off to decide the premiers.

Right to challenge

Under the variation of the Argus System in use between 1902–1906, the club with the best record in all matches (including finals) could have challenged for the premiership if it had not won this game.

However, the team that won this game would have become the team with the best record, depriving the other team of the right to challenge, meaning the winner of this match would automatically win the premiership.

Entering the match, Collingwood had a record of 16–2, and Fitzroy had a record of 15–3, but a superior percentage. Therefore, a Collingwood win would have their 17–2 record have ranked above Fitzroy's 15–4, and while a Fitzroy win would have left both clubs level on 16–3, Fitzroy would have been ranked above Collingwood on percentage.

This is different from the ruling which would have been used under the more widely known variation of the Argus System, which was in use from 1907–1930. In that variation, the team with the best record in matches excluding finals had the right to challenge; as Collingwood had the best record after 17 weeks, it would have retained the right to challenge regardless of finals results.[1]

Teams

Collingwood

Fitzroy

Collingwood
B:	George Lockwood	Bill Proudfoot	Alf Dummett
HB:	Matthew Fell	Jack Monohan	Bob Rush
C:	Charlie Pannam	Con McCormack	Eddie Drohan
HF:	Teddy Lockwood	Ted Rowell	Lardie Tulloch (c)
F:	Arthur Leach	Jim Addison	Harry Pears
Foll:	Jack Incoll	George Angus	Dick Condon
Res:
Coach:

Fitzroy
B:	Alf Sharp	Ern Jenkins	Lou Barker
HB:	Wally Naismith	Jim Sharp	Fred Fontaine
C:	Tammy Beauchamp	Harry Clarke	Frank Brophy
HF:	Alf Wilkinson	Gerald Brosnan (c)	Chris Kiernan
F:	Percy Trotter	Les Millis	Bert Sharpe
Foll:	Bill Walker	Herbert Milne	Bill McSpeerin
Res:
Coach:

Umpire – Dick Gibson

Statistics

Goalkickers

Collingwood, Premier team

Collingwood:

Addison 2
Condon 1
T.Lockwood 1

Fitzroy:

McSpeerin 1
Millis 1
Milne 1

Attendance

MCG crowd – 32,263

References

Rodgers, Stephen (1992), Every Game Ever Played: VFL/AFL Results, 1897–1991 (3rd ed.), Ringwood, VIC: Viking O'Neil

1903 VFL Grand Final statistics
The Official statistical history of the AFL 2004
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

Collingwood Football Club
Nickname: Magpies History Records Current squad Players Captains Coaches Awards Copeland Trophy AFL Women's best and fairest Leading goalkickers AFL coach: Nathan Buckley AFL captain: Scott Pendlebury AFLW coach: Stephen Symonds AFLW captain: Steph Chiocci
VFL/AFL home grounds	Victoria Park (1897–1999) Melbourne Cricket Ground (2000–)
AFLW home grounds	Olympic Park Oval (2017–2018) Victoria Park (2019–)
VFL/AFL premierships (15)	1902 1903 1910 1917 1919 1927 1928 1929 1930 1935 1936 1953 1958 1990 2010
Seasons (130)	1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Related articles	Anzac Day match Carlton–Collingwood rivalry Colliwobbles Eddie McGuire Joffa Corfe Netball team New York Magpies Presidents Queen's Birthday match VFL team

Fitzroy Football Club
History Records Players Captains Coaches Honour roll Team of the Century Mitchell Medal Leading goalkickers
Home grounds	Brunswick Street Oval (1884–1966) Princes Park (1967–1969, 1987–1993) Junction Oval (1970–1984) Victoria Park (1985–1986) Western Oval (1994–1996)
Premierships (9)	1895 1898 1899 1904 1905 1913 1916 1922 1944
Seasons (113)	1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996
Related articles	Brisbane Lions Fitzroy Bulldogs North Fitzroy Kangaroos Proposed mergers and relocations of the Fitzroy Football Club
Fitzroy Football Club merged with the Brisbane Bears in 1996 to form the Brisbane Lions

Australian Football League
Clubs	Adelaide Brisbane Lions Carlton Collingwood Essendon Fremantle Geelong Gold Coast Greater Western Sydney Hawthorn Melbourne North Melbourne Port Adelaide Richmond St Kilda Sydney West Coast Western Bulldogs
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Grand finals	1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Venues	Adelaide Oval Bellerive Oval Carrara Stadium Docklands Stadium Eureka Stadium The Gabba Jiangwan Stadium Kardinia Park Manuka Oval Marrara Oval Melbourne Cricket Ground Perth Stadium Riverway Stadium Sydney Cricket Ground Sydney Showground Stadium Traeger Park York Park
Awards	AFL Coaches Association awards AFL Players Association awards AFL Rising Star All-Australian team Brownlow Medal (winners) Coleman Medal Goal of the Year Leigh Matthews Trophy Mark of the Year Norm Smith Medal
Major recurring events	AFL finals series AFL Grand Final Anzac Day Eve match Anzac Day match Dreamtime at the 'G Easter Monday clash E. J. Whitten Legends Game Len Hall Tribute game Opening game QClash Queen's Birthday match Showdown Sydney Derby Western Derby
Second-tier and junior competitions	AFL Under 18 Championships NAB League North East Australian Football League South Australian National Football League Victorian Football League West Australian Football League
Former clubs	Brisbane Bears Fitzroy University
Related articles	AFL Coaches Association AFL Commission AFL Players Association AFL Record AFL Umpires Association AFL Women's AFLX Carlton salary cap breach Current coaches Essendon supplements saga First kick/first goal kickers Grand Final location debate History Individual match awards International Rules Series Kennett curse Melbourne tanking scandal Minor premiers Premiers Premiership captains/coaches Premiership/grand final statistics Proposed clubs Tasmanian AFL bid Records Reserves affiliations Rivalries Television shows Video games Wooden spoons 200-game players for one club 300-game players 500-goal players
Known as the Victorian Football League from 1897–1989; no grand finals were held in 1897 and 1924