1923 VFL season

The 1923 Victorian Football League season was the 27th season of the elite Australian rules football competition.

1923 VFL Premiership season
Essendon FC, Premiers
Teams9
PremiersEssendon
(5th premiership)
Minor premiersEssendon
(3rd minor premiership)
Matches played76
Highest attendance56,240
Leading Goalkicker MedallistGreg Stockdale (Essendon)

Premiership season

In 1923, the VFL competition had nine teams of 18 on-the-field players each, with no "reserves", although any of the 18 players who had left the playing field for any reason could later resume their place on the field at any time during the match.

Each team played each other twice in a home-and-away season of 18 rounds (i.e., 16 matches and 2 byes).

Once the 18 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1923 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the amended "Argus system".

Round 1

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Melbourne 7.8 (50) Richmond 7.13 (55) MCG 17,939 5 May 1923
Essendon 15.13 (103) St Kilda 8.12 (60) Windy Hill 20,000 5 May 1923
South Melbourne 12.7 (79) Collingwood 16.5 (101) Lake Oval 16,000 5 May 1923
Fitzroy 11.13 (79) Carlton 8.8 (56) Brunswick Street Oval 30,000 5 May 1923

Round 2

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Geelong 5.22 (52) Melbourne 11.14 (80) Corio Oval 10,000 12 May 1923
Fitzroy 9.11 (65) South Melbourne 9.9 (63) Brunswick Street Oval 12,000 12 May 1923
Collingwood 9.11 (65) Essendon 12.7 (79) Victoria Park 30,000 12 May 1923
Carlton 8.8 (56) St Kilda 14.16 (100) Princes Park 15,000 12 May 1923

Round 3

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Geelong 10.11 (71) Fitzroy 8.13 (61) Corio Oval 12,000 19 May 1923
South Melbourne 4.15 (39) Essendon 6.13 (49) Lake Oval 20,000 19 May 1923
St Kilda 10.9 (69) Collingwood 6.12 (48) Junction Oval 20,000 19 May 1923
Richmond 7.10 (52) Carlton 8.12 (60) Punt Road Oval 15,000 19 May 1923

Round 4

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Richmond 8.8 (56) St Kilda 8.13 (61) Punt Road Oval 20,000 26 May 1923
Melbourne 11.18 (84) South Melbourne 6.13 (49) MCG 15,232 26 May 1923
Collingwood 16.23 (119) Geelong 10.12 (72) Victoria Park 12,000 26 May 1923
Carlton 9.11 (65) Essendon 14.19 (103) Princes Park 33,000 26 May 1923

Round 5

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Essendon 4.13 (37) Fitzroy 8.12 (60) Windy Hill 35,000 2 June 1923
St Kilda 8.15 (63) Melbourne 12.13 (85) Junction Oval 26,000 2 June 1923
Collingwood 11.16 (82) Richmond 5.14 (44) Victoria Park 22,000 4 June 1923
South Melbourne 13.11 (89) Geelong 10.15 (75) Lake Oval 12,000 4 June 1923

Round 6

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Geelong 7.16 (58) St Kilda 6.10 (46) Corio Oval 9,500 9 June 1923
Fitzroy 11.11 (77) Melbourne 9.16 (70) Brunswick Street Oval 18,000 9 June 1923
Carlton 5.19 (49) South Melbourne 7.9 (51) Princes Park 20,000 9 June 1923
Richmond 9.11 (65) Essendon 12.15 (87) Punt Road Oval 16,000 9 June 1923

Round 7

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Geelong 6.14 (50) Richmond 8.8 (56) Corio Oval 11,500 16 June 1923
St Kilda 4.14 (38) Fitzroy 9.20 (74) Junction Oval 17,000 16 June 1923
Melbourne 8.12 (60) Essendon 11.8 (74) MCG 29,979 16 June 1923
Collingwood 10.15 (75) Carlton 6.14 (50) Victoria Park 18,000 16 June 1923

Round 8

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Essendon 14.13 (97) Geelong 8.6 (54) Windy Hill 13,000 23 June 1923
South Melbourne 12.13 (85) Richmond 4.10 (34) Lake Oval 20,000 23 June 1923
Fitzroy 7.11 (53) Collingwood 7.5 (47) Brunswick Street Oval 20,000 23 June 1923
Melbourne 9.11 (65) Carlton 11.8 (74) MCG 17,558 23 June 1923

Round 9

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
St Kilda 7.14 (56) South Melbourne 6.9 (45) Junction Oval 20,000 7 July 1923
Collingwood 11.10 (76) Melbourne 6.6 (42) Victoria Park 8,000 7 July 1923
Carlton 13.10 (88) Geelong 13.15 (93) Princes Park 12,000 7 July 1923
Richmond 6.15 (51) Fitzroy 10.10 (70) Punt Road Oval 15,000 7 July 1923

Round 10

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Collingwood 8.8 (56) South Melbourne 11.11 (77) Victoria Park 15,000 14 July 1923
Carlton 13.8 (86) Fitzroy 12.13 (85) Princes Park 26,000 14 July 1923
Richmond 11.17 (83) Melbourne 11.12 (78) Punt Road Oval 11,000 14 July 1923
St Kilda 5.5 (35) Essendon 1.12 (18) Junction Oval 24,000 14 July 1923

Round 11

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Melbourne 8.8 (56) Geelong 10.15 (75) MCG 9,353 21 July 1923
South Melbourne 8.12 (60) Fitzroy 8.8 (56) Lake Oval 23,000 21 July 1923
Essendon 13.13 (91) Collingwood 7.9 (51) Windy Hill 15,000 21 July 1923
St Kilda 7.14 (56) Carlton 6.11 (47) Junction Oval 28,000 21 July 1923

Round 12

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Fitzroy 6.11 (47) Geelong 7.10 (52) Brunswick Street Oval 12,000 28 July 1923
Essendon 10.8 (68) South Melbourne 7.9 (51) Windy Hill 25,000 28 July 1923
Collingwood 6.7 (43) St Kilda 4.7 (31) Victoria Park 20,000 28 July 1923
Carlton 8.11 (59) Richmond 5.10 (40) Princes Park 14,000 28 July 1923

Round 13

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
St Kilda 8.12 (60) Richmond 3.7 (25) Junction Oval 18,000 4 August 1923
South Melbourne 9.13 (67) Melbourne 5.11 (41) Lake Oval 12,000 4 August 1923
Geelong 9.18 (72) Collingwood 3.8 (26) Corio Oval 15,000 4 August 1923
Essendon 15.13 (103) Carlton 5.7 (37) Windy Hill 25,000 4 August 1923

Round 14

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Melbourne 6.13 (49) St Kilda 11.18 (84) MCG 15,599 11 August 1923
Geelong 8.15 (63) South Melbourne 10.10 (70) Corio Oval 17,000 11 August 1923
Fitzroy 10.18 (78) Essendon 8.9 (57) Brunswick Street Oval 34,000 11 August 1923
Richmond 11.10 (76) Collingwood 6.19 (55) Punt Road Oval 12,000 11 August 1923

Round 15

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Essendon 9.8 (62) Richmond 8.6 (54) Windy Hill 18,000 25 August 1923
St Kilda 9.17 (71) Geelong 13.9 (87) Junction Oval 30,000 25 August 1923
Melbourne 7.4 (46) Fitzroy 11.14 (80) MCG 12,146 25 August 1923
South Melbourne 10.8 (68) Carlton 13.11 (89) Lake Oval 20,000 25 August 1923

Round 16

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Fitzroy 13.19 (97) St Kilda 9.15 (69) Brunswick Street Oval 23,000 1 September 1923
Essendon 13.20 (98) Melbourne 6.5 (41) Windy Hill 10,000 1 September 1923
Carlton 10.12 (72) Collingwood 10.12 (72) Princes Park 18,000 1 September 1923
Richmond 10.19 (79) Geelong 13.13 (91) Punt Road Oval 18,000 1 September 1923

Round 17

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Richmond 8.7 (55) South Melbourne 14.16 (100) Punt Road Oval 25,000 8 September 1923
Collingwood 12.12 (84) Fitzroy 6.13 (49) Victoria Park 20,000 8 September 1923
Carlton 9.20 (74) Melbourne 7.4 (46) Princes Park 12,000 8 September 1923
Geelong 9.6 (60) Essendon 8.14 (62) Corio Oval 20,000 8 September 1923

Round 18

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Fitzroy 13.11 (89) Richmond 11.15 (81) Brunswick Street Oval 9,000 15 September 1923
South Melbourne 8.20 (68) St Kilda 7.6 (48) Lake Oval 40,441 15 September 1923
Melbourne 11.21 (87) Collingwood 21.12 (138) MCG 9,414 15 September 1923
Geelong 15.13 (103) Carlton 4.14 (38) Corio Oval 16,000 15 September 1923

Ladder

1923 VFL ladder
Pos Team Pld W L D PF PA PP Pts
1 Essendon (P) 16 13 3 0 1188 875 135.8 52 Finals
2 Fitzroy 16 11 5 0 1120 968 115.7 44
3 South Melbourne 16 9 7 0 1061 989 107.3 36
4 Geelong 16 9 7 0 1128 1085 104.0 36
5 Collingwood 16 8 7 1 1138 1043 109.1 34
6 St Kilda 16 8 8 0 947 959 98.7 32
7 Carlton 16 6 9 1 1000 1191 84.0 26
8 Richmond 16 4 12 0 906 1139 79.5 16
9 Melbourne 16 3 13 0 980 1219 80.4 12
Source: VFL ladder
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for.
(P) Premiers.

Finals

Semi Finals

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Fitzroy 14.13 (97) Geelong 8.14 (62) MCG 56,240 22 September 1923
Essendon 8.9 (57) South Melbourne 10.14 (74) MCG 55,614 29 September 1923

Preliminary Final

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
South Melbourne 6.7 (43) Fitzroy 7.13 (55) MCG 55,039 6 October 1923

Grand Final

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Essendon 8.15 (63) Fitzroy 6.10 (46) MCG 46,566 20 October 1923

Awards

Notable events

  • New scoreboards are erected at each home ground by the VFL's publication, The Football Record. With the help of a key published in that Saturday afternoon's Record, spectators can decipher the coded quarter-by-quarter scores of the other three matches as they appear on these scoreboards throughout the afternoon.
  • After the round 13 match against Essendon at Windy Hill, at an after-match function in the Essendon rooms, Carlton rover George Bolt and backman Jack Morrissey (who had not played in that game) came to blows. The Carlton Committee met the next day and suspended both players indefinitely. Bolt never played for Carlton again (he reappeared with Hawthorn in 1925, then he played for North Melbourne in 1926 and 1927); Jack Morrissey played his next game for Carlton on 27 June 1925 (round 9).
  • The 1922 Victorian Interstate team captain, and Carlton star ruckman, Bert Boromeo was overheard being intensely critical of the Carlton captain-coach Horrie Clover at the same function. The Carlton Committee was upset at such behaviour occurring on the premises of another club, and suspended Boromeo immediately; eventually, in 1926, Carlton cleared Boromeo to Richmond for whom he played 14 games.
  • The Essendon Premiership team was known as the "Mosquito Fleet", due to the number of small, very fast players in the side. Six were 5'6" (167 cm) or less: Charlie Hardy 5'1" (155 cm), who played his first VFL game at the age of 34, George Shorten 5'5" (165 cm), Jack Garden 5'5" (165 cm), Frank Maher 5'6" (167.5 cm), Vince Irwin 5'6" (167.5 cm), and Jimmy Sullivan 5'6" (167.5 cm).
  • In Round 10 against St. Kilda, Essendon kicked the season's lowest score, but they still won the premiership. They became the first premier team to have also kicked the season's lowest score, an occurrence replicated in 1968, 1970, 1992 and 1995.
  • The Challenge Final match had to be postponed for a week as the Melbourne Cricket Ground was under water due to intense rain. This meant that the Challenge Final was played on Saturday 20 October 1923, Caulfield Cup Day.

Notes

  1. "Junior League Final". The Argus. Melbourne. 22 October 1923. p. 16.

References

  • Hogan, P., The Tigers Of Old, The Richmond Football Club, (Richmond), 1996. ISBN 0-646-18748-1
  • Maplestone, M., Flying Higher: History of the Essendon Football Club 1872–1996, Essendon Football Club, (Melbourne), 1996. ISBN 0-9591740-2-8
  • 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
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