The 1925 VFL season was the 29th season of the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

(VFL), the highest-level senior

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs and ran from 2 May to 10 October, comprising a 17-match home-and-away season followed by a four-week

finals series Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

featuring the top four clubs.

Victorian Football Association The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

(VFA) clubs , and featured for the first time in 1925. won the premiership, defeating by ten points in the 1925 VFL grand final; it was Geelong's first VFL premiership. Geelong also won the

minor premiership A minor premiership is the title given to the team which finishes a sporting competition first in the league standings after the regular season but prior to commencement of the finals in several Australian sports leagues. Origins The etymolo ...

by finishing atop the home-and-away ladder with a 15–2 win–loss record. 's Colin Watson won the

Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as Charlie), is awarded to the best and fairest player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by the f ...

as the league's best and fairest player, and Geelong's Lloyd Hagger won the leading goalkicker medal as the league's leading goalkicker.

Background

Public Service Football Club

In July 1924, the Public Service Football Club, a club whose players would consist entirely of state and federal

public servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

s rather than being drawn from a geographical recruiting district, was established and applied to join the VFL. Melbourne Carnivals Ltd had offered to lease the Public Service club its newly developed venue, the Amateur Sports Ground, for football if it could gain entrance to the league. The venue was centrally located, between Batman Avenue and Swan Street, the site which later became

Olympic Park An Olympic Park is a sports campus for hosting the Olympic Games. Typically it contains the Olympic Stadium and the International Broadcast Centre. It may also contain the Olympic Village or some of the other sports venues, such as the aquatics ...

, and was to have been expanded to a capacity of 100,000. The VFL was keen to have control over the venue, and equally keen to prevent the VFA or the local

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

associations from controlling such a valuable asset. Since the end of World War I, the VFL had contained nine clubs; and, while the League had taken applications several times for a tenth club, it had each time opted to remain at nine clubs. But, the availability of the Amateur Sports Ground was an important strategic opportunity, and in September 1924, the VFL formally resolved to "draw up a scheme for the inclusion of one or more clubs, and secure the Amateur Sports Ground for the League" before the 1925 season.

Claims of the Footscray Football Club

While the league reviewed the application of the Public Service, it was also fielding other applications, most notably that of the

Footscray Football Club The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Originally named the Footscray F ...

from the VFA. Footscray was widely regarded as the strongest candidate among existing clubs to join the VFL, and had been considered as such for many years. It was the richest VFA club, had a strong corporate backing due to its location in the heart of the industrial district of the western suburbs, and it had dominated the Association since the war, winning four of the previous six premierships and five minor premierships in a row. Its win against VFL premiers Essendon in Dame Nellie Melba's Limbless Soldiers' Appeal match at the end of the 1924 season had affirmed its credentials. Admitting the Public Service team would have met both of the League's aims, but admitting Footscray would not have secured the Amateur Sports Ground. The League investigated other means of securing the venue without having to admit Public Service, including having leave the nearby

Punt Road Oval Punt Road Oval, also known as the Richmond Cricket Ground or known by naming rights sponsorship as the Swinburne Centre, is an Australian rules football ground and a former Cricket oval located within the Yarra Park precinct of East Melbourne, ...

to use it as a home venue, having play all of its away matches at the venue, or scheduling each club to play one or more of its home games at the neutral venue – similar to the way that

VFL Park Waverley Park (also and originally called VFL Park) is an Australian rules football stadium in Mulgrave, Victoria, Australia. The first venue to be designed and built specifically for Australian Rules football, for most of its history, its pur ...

was later used in the 1970s and 1980s. There were two other significant problems with admitting Footscray – or indeed any other club from the VFA: *Firstly, in 1915 the VFL had introduced district-based recruiting; and and , the two clubs set to lose parts of their district to Footscray, would have opposed any change. The Public Service team did not have this issue, as its recruitment would have been profession-based, not district-based. *Secondly, since 1923 there had been a five-year agreement in place between the VFA and VFL in which the two bodies were required to recognise the validity of the other's transfer clearances; ''ergo'' a player could not transfer from a VFA club to a VFL club without the VFA's permission. The VFA would almost certainly have refused to grant clearances for the entire Footscray playing list to transfer to the VFL, and the agreement gave the VFA legal recourse to seek an injunction against the move. The newly established Public Service team would not have had this issue. The implications of this transfer agreement were discussed so frequently during the off-season that it became simply known as ''the agreement''. After having waited many months without response since first applying to the VFL in July 1924, the Public Service withdrew its application on 3 November and submitted an application to join the VFA; and in December, the VFA provisionally accepted the application. However, Melbourne Carnivals withdrew its offer to the Public Service to use the Amateur Sports Ground (now known as the Motordrome, with a motorcycling arena having been installed in November) in the meantime. Public Service was unable to secure a replacement, so withdrew from the VFA without playing a game.

Breaking the agreement

With the Public Service club no longer available, and 'the agreement' all but preventing the VFL from admitting a VFA club, it looked likely that the VFL would remain at nine teams. But, in December 1924, the VFA admitted the

Coburg Football Club The Coburg Football Club, nicknamed the Lions, is an Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Coburg, Victoria, Coburg. It has been based at Coburg City Oval since 1915. Coburg's men's team currently plays in the Victor ...

, from the VFL seconds competition, into its senior ranks. The VFL contended that 'the agreement' was valid specifically between the two bodies as they were constituted at the time it was signed; and that by admitting a new club, the constitution of the VFA had changed and the agreement was voided. This gave the VFL the opportunity to admit VFA clubs. The VFA considered its legal position, but decided not to proceed, the result being that both competitions considered the agreement broken.

Admission of new VFL clubs

With 'the agreement' no longer an impediment, the VFL set about admitting a tenth club. and were both discussed, but both were rejected by the clubs set to lose sections of their recruiting districts. It was then proposed to admit three clubs instead of one; the VFL delegates agreed, and , and were admitted. This league saw two specific benefits with this scheme: *Firstly, the loss of recruiting districts would be spread more evenly across the existing clubs. *Secondly, now that 'the agreement' was broken, the VFA clubs would be free to spend as much money as was required to entice high quality VFL players into the VFA, the cessation of which had been the motivation for the VFL to sign the agreement in the first place; but, by admitting three of the VFA's strongest clubs, it would so significantly strengthen the position of the VFL compared to the VFA that it would reduce the VFA's bargaining power. One impediment to admitting North Melbourne was that the State Government had prevented the VFL from moving into the

Arden Street Oval Arden Street Oval (also known as North Melbourne Cricket Ground, North Melbourne Recreation Reserve, or Hotham Recreation Reserve) is an inner-suburban sporting facility and sports oval in North Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is currently t ...

in 1921, after protest from the VFA that it would lose its most central venue. The VFL wrote to the Minister for Lands and obtained the necessary permission from the minister to use the venue before it was able to admit North Melbourne. It is thought that

Prahran Prahran ( , also colloquially or ), is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Stonnington local government area. Prahran recorded a population ...

would have been the twelfth team, had this permission not been obtained. Through all of this, the VFL failed to secure use of the Motordrome, and the VFA began using it for finals matches, but it never became one of its regularly used venues. It never was expanded to become the 100,000 capacity, strategically critical, centrally located venue once imagined.

Format

In 1925, the VFL competition consisted of twelve 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. Teams played each other in a home-and-away season of 17 rounds; matches 12 to 17 were the "home-and-away reverse" of matches 1 to 6. Once the 17 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1925 VFL ''Premiers'' were determined by the specific format and conventions of the amended "''Argus'' system".

Home-and-away season

Round 1

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Crowd , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 9.19 (73) , , 3.8 (26) ,

MCG The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the el ...

, 15,267 , 2 May 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 5.8 (38) , , 11.11 (77) ,

Glenferrie Oval Glenferrie Oval is an Australian rules football stadium located in Hawthorn, Victoria, Hawthorn, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is the historic home of, and is synonymous with, the Hawthorn Football Club, who played there from ...

, 20,000 , 2 May 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 8.11 (59) , , 9.13 (67) ,

Corio Oval Corio Oval was an Australian rules football ground, located in Geelong, Victoria, and used by the Geelong Football Club in the VFA and the VFL from 1878 to 1915, and 1917 to 1940. Sited in Eastern Park, the oval was served by trams from 1930 w ...

, 12,500 , 2 May 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 8.15 (63) , , 8.6 (54) ,

Brunswick Street Oval The WT Peterson Community Oval, best known as the Brunswick Street Oval and also as the Fitzroy Cricket Ground, is an Australian rules football and cricket ground located in Edinburgh Gardens in Fitzroy North, Victoria, Australia. History Aust ...

, 28,000 , 2 May 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 14.14 (98) , , 10.13 (73) , Windy Hill , 22,000 , 2 May 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 9.14 (68) , , 4.6 (30) ,

Lake Oval Lakeside Stadium is an Australian sports arena in the South Melbourne suburb of Albert Park, Victoria, Albert Park. Comprising an athletics track and soccer stadium, it currently serves as the home ground and administrative base for association ...

, 25,000 , 2 May 1925

Round 2

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Crowd , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 10.10 (70) , , 8.12 (60) ,

Western Oval Whitten Oval (also known as Mission Whitten Oval under a naming rights agreement) is a stadium in the inner-western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located in Barkly Street, Footscray. It is the training and administrative headquart ...

, 25,000 , 9 May 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 10.11 (71) , , 7.12 (54) , Victoria Park , 15,000 , 9 May 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 7.14 (56) , , 14.17 (101) , Princes Park , 25,000 , 9 May 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 17.12 (114) , , 8.12 (60) ,

Junction Oval Junction Oval (also known as the St Kilda Cricket Ground, or the CitiPower Centre due to sponsorship reasons) is a historic sports ground in the suburb of St Kilda in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The oval's location near the St Kilda Jun ...

, 12,000 , 9 May 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 9.5 (59) , , 13.14 (92) ,

, 20,000 , 9 May 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 6.3 (39) , , 8.16 (64) ,

, 18,000 , 9 May 1925

Round 3

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Crowd , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 9.8 (62) , , 3.12 (30) ,

, 12,500 , 16 May 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 17.11 (113) , , 8.11 (59) ,

, 20,000 , 16 May 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 16.15 (111) , , 9.9 (63) , Windy Hill , 32,000 , 16 May 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 12.10 (82) , , 8.13 (61) ,

, 17,000 , 16 May 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 9.11 (65) , , 11.16 (82) ,

, 13,000 , 16 May 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 12.12 (84) , , 4.14 (38) ,

, 16,570 , 16 May 1925

Round 4

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Crowd , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 11.9 (75) , , 10.10 (70) ,

, 22,000 , 23 May 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 6.6 (42) , , 9.16 (70) ,

, 12,000 , 23 May 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 13.9 (87) , , 13.12 (90) , Victoria Park , 16,000 , 23 May 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 10.10 (70) , , 6.13 (49) , Princes Park , 10,000 , 23 May 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 5.8 (38) , , 12.12 (84) ,

, 17,000 , 23 May 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 5.17 (47) , , 13.10 (88) ,

, 15,000 , 23 May 1925

Round 5

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Crowd , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 12.13 (85) , , 10.5 (65) ,

, 11,954 , 30 May 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 10.7 (67) , , 8.13 (61) , Windy Hill , 20,000 , 30 May 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 16.9 (105) , , 10.13 (73) ,

, 18,000 , 30 May 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 10.14 (74) , , 8.10 (58) ,

, 10,000 , 30 May 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 6.11 (47) , , 7.10 (52) ,

, 25,000 , 30 May 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 22.12 (144) , , 10.12 (72) ,

, 12,500 , 30 May 1925

Round 6

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Crowd , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 9.8 (62) , , 12.11 (83) ,

, 14,000 , 6 June 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 9.16 (70) , , 10.10 (70) ,

, 38,000 , 6 June 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 8.13 (61) , , 8.9 (57) ,

, 7,000 , 6 June 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 13.14 (92) , , 7.11 (53) , Victoria Park , 26,000 , 8 June 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 9.7 (61) , , 11.13 (79) , Princes Park , 30,000 , 8 June 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 13.14 (92) , , 8.12 (60) ,

, 30,000 , 8 June 1925

Round 7

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Crowd , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 15.11 (101) , , 7.7 (49) ,

, 11,000 , 13 June 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 7.12 (54) , , 11.12 (78) ,

, 15,000 , 13 June 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 9.11 (65) , , 8.9 (57) , Windy Hill , 18,000 , 13 June 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 9.12 (66) , , 5.13 (43) , Princes Park , 25,000 , 13 June 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 12.11 (83) , , 6.9 (45) ,

, 23,601 , 13 June 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 11.10 (76) , , 5.10 (40) ,

, 24,500 , 13 June 1925

Round 8

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Crowd , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 9.9 (63) , , 10.8 (68) ,

, 15,000 , 20 June 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 7.15 (57) , , 9.15 (69) ,

, 25,000 , 20 June 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 7.12 (54) , , 14.16 (100) ,

, 16,000 , 20 June 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 9.21 (75) , , 12.9 (81) ,

, 12,000 , 20 June 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 9.7 (61) , , 10.14 (74) ,

, 10,000 , 20 June 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 11.12 (78) , , 9.10 (64) , Victoria Park , 17,000 , 20 June 1925

Round 9

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Crowd , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 15.9 (99) , , 10.15 (75) ,

, 19,500 , 27 June 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 9.7 (61) , , 8.9 (57) , Windy Hill , 22,000 , 27 June 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 11.14 (80) , , 8.12 (60) , Victoria Park , 15,000 , 27 June 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 14.11 (95) , , 10.7 (67) , Princes Park , 15,000 , 27 June 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 15.14 (104) , , 5.7 (37) ,

, 10,000 , 27 June 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 18.24 (132) , , 13.6 (84) ,

, 21,000 , 27 June 1925

Round 10

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Crowd , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 7.9 (51) , , 10.9 (69) ,

, 7,000 , 11 July 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 18.13 (121) , , 3.10 (28) ,

, 11,000 , 11 July 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 19.11 (125) , , 5.11 (41) ,

, 8,000 , 11 July 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 8.7 (55) , , 5.8 (38) ,

, 22,872 , 11 July 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 9.8 (62) , , 15.16 (106) ,

, 9,000 , 11 July 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 8.17 (65) , , 5.10 (40) ,

, 15,000 , 11 July 1925

Round 11

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Crowd , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 8.14 (62) , , 6.9 (45) ,

, 20,000 , 18 July 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 6.10 (46) , , 14.18 (102) ,

, 6,000 , 18 July 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 9.11 (65) , , 11.10 (76) , Windy Hill , 30,000 , 18 July 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 16.17 (113) , , 11.4 (70) , Victoria Park , 9,000 , 18 July 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 9.12 (66) , , 7.11 (53) , Princes Park , 12,000 , 18 July 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 6.11 (47) , , 12.12 (84) ,

, 15,000 , 18 July 1925

Round 12

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Crowd , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 15.19 (109) , , 4.5 (29) , Victoria Park , 25,000 , 1 August 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 9.9 (63) , , 9.20 (74) , Princes Park , 12,000 , 1 August 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 7.9 (51) , , 10.10 (70) ,

, 20,000 , 1 August 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 6.11 (47) , , 3.11 (29) ,

, 10,000 , 1 August 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 9.5 (59) , , 22.22 (154) ,

, 10,000 , 1 August 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 13.13 (91) , , 7.8 (50) ,

, 10,000 , 1 August 1925

Round 13

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Crowd , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 8.11 (59) , , 8.8 (56) ,

, 10,000 , 8 August 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 11.20 (86) , , 4.8 (32) ,

, 13,500 , 8 August 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 17.18 (120) , , 11.8 (74) ,

, 7,000 , 8 August 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 13.14 (92) , , 12.15 (87) ,

, 15,000 , 8 August 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 7.10 (52) , , 9.11 (65) ,

, 33,642 , 8 August 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 15.11 (101) , , 8.14 (62) , Windy Hill , 10,000 , 8 August 1925

Round 14

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Crowd , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 12.8 (80) , , 7.16 (58) ,

, 5,000 , 22 August 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 11.18 (84) , , 8.12 (60) , Victoria Park , 6,000 , 22 August 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 6.9 (45) , , 18.14 (122) , Princes Park , 7,000 , 22 August 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 9.8 (62) , , 7.9 (51) ,

, 15,000 , 22 August 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 8.7 (55) , , 9.7 (61) ,

, 9,000 , 22 August 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 5.13 (43) , , 9.15 (69) ,

, 12,000 , 22 August 1925

Round 15

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Crowd , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 11.12 (78) , , 8.7 (55) ,

, 20,000 , 29 August 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 14.19 (103) , , 6.9 (45) , Windy Hill , 14,000 , 29 August 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 6.9 (45) , , 9.9 (63) ,

, 12,000 , 29 August 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 10.9 (69) , , 9.13 (67) ,

, 11,264 , 29 August 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 11.8 (74) , , 8.17 (65) ,

, 26,025 , 29 August 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 7.10 (52) , , 11.14 (80) ,

, 9,000 , 29 August 1925

Round 16

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Crowd , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 11.9 (75) , , 9.8 (62) ,

, 10,000 , 5 September 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 15.10 (100) , , 10.10 (70) ,

, 8,000 , 5 September 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 12.13 (85) , , 14.15 (99) , Victoria Park , 27,000 , 5 September 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 14.10 (94) , , 15.13 (103) , Princes Park , 10,000 , 5 September 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 11.7 (73) , , 6.10 (46) ,

, 5,000 , 5 September 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 7.8 (50) , , 10.14 (74) ,

, 18,000 , 5 September 1925

Round 17

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Crowd , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 9.9 (63) , , 2.12 (24) ,

, 16,989 , 12 September 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 7.13 (55) , , 4.6 (30) ,

, 8,000 , 12 September 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 10.7 (67) , , 8.10 (58) , Windy Hill , 15,000 , 12 September 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 14.16 (100) , , 9.7 (61) ,

, 10,800 , 12 September 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 4.6 (30) , , 14.11 (95) ,

, 12,000 , 12 September 1925 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 7.24 (66) , , 9.10 (64) ,

, 20,000 , 12 September 1925

Ladder

, - style=background:#FFFFBB , 1 , , align=left , (P) , , 17 , , 15 , , 2 , , 0 , , 1564 , , 1024 , , 152.7 , , 60 , - style=background:#FFFFBB , 2 , , align=left , , , 17 , , 13 , , 4 , , 0 , , 1271 , , 1065 , , 119.3 , , 52 , - style=background:#FFFFBB , 3 , , align=left , , , 17 , , 12 , , 4 , , 1 , , 1273 , , 919 , , 138.5 , , 50 , - style=background:#FFFFBB , 4 , , align=left , , , 17 , , 12 , , 5 , , 0 , , 1377 , , 1083 , , 127.1 , , 48 , - , 5 , , align=left , , , 17 , , 12 , , 5 , , 0 , , 1292 , , 1028 , , 125.7 , , 48 , - , 6 , , align=left , , , 17 , , 8 , , 9 , , 0 , , 1116 , , 1120 , , 99.6 , , 32 , - , 7 , , align=left , , , 17 , , 6 , , 10 , , 1 , , 981 , , 1131 , , 86.7 , , 26 , - , 8 , , align=left , , , 17 , , 6 , , 11 , , 0 , , 1089 , , 1271 , , 85.7 , , 24 , - , 9 , , align=left , , , 17 , , 5 , , 12 , , 0 , , 1066 , , 1349 , , 79.0 , , 20 , - , 10 , , align=left , , , 17 , , 5 , , 12 , , 0 , , 1030 , , 1370 , , 75.2 , , 20 , - , 11 , , align=left , , , 17 , , 4 , , 13 , , 0 , , 1132 , , 1368 , , 82.7 , , 16 , - , 12 , , align=left , , , 17 , , 3 , , 14 , , 0 , , 902 , , 1365 , , 66.1 , , 12 Rules for classification: 1. premiership points; 2. percentage; 3. points for
Average score: 69.1
Source
AFL Tables
/onlyinclude>

Finals series

All of the 1925 finals were played at the

so the home team in the semi-finals and preliminary final is purely the higher ranked team from the ladder but in the Grand Final the home team was the team that won the preliminary final. Geelong lost to Melbourne in the semi-final, but still went on to the grand final because they were minor premiers.

Semi-finals

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Score , Away team , Score , Venue , Crowd , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 10.8 (68) , Collingwood , 12.6 (78) ,

, 60,055 , 19 September , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 13.8 (86) , , 14.17 (101) ,

, 51,256 , 26 September

Preliminary final

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Score , Away team , Score , Venue , Crowd , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 3.8 (26) , Collingwood , 8.15 (63) ,

, 49,833 , 3 October

Grand final

Season notes

* As a consequence of the controversial situation at the end of the July 1924 match between Geelong and Fitzroy, the laws of the game were altered in 1925 so that only one defending player was allowed to stand on the mark. * The laws of the game were altered so that the last player to touch the ball before it went out of bounds was penalised by the award of a free kick to the opposing team. This meant that almost all of the play was directed up the centre of the ground along the goal-to-goal line, and very little was directed along the flanks at the sides of the ground. This brought a considerable advantage to full-forwards. *Geelong commenced a long-standing sponsorship with the

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...

in 1925. Still active in 2024, it is the longest active sports sponsorship of any sports team in the world, a record recognised by

Guinness Guinness () is a stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at Guinness Brewery, St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in the 18th century. It is now owned by the British-based Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic bever ...

. * At half-time in the spiteful Round 12 match at Arden Street between North Melbourne and Geelong,

Fred Rutley Frederick Joseph Rutley (10 July 1902 – 28 May 1947) was an Australian rules footballer who played for North Melbourne in both the Victorian Football Association (VFA) (1922-1924) and the Victorian Football League (VFL) (1925, 1930). Famil ...

of North Melbourne knocked Lloyd Hagger of Geelong to the ground with a round-arm action; Hagger's teammates,

Arthur Coghlan Arthur Emmett "Bull" Coghlan (16 August 1902 – 8 June 1959) was an Australian rules footballer, who played for and coached Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, ...

and Stan Thomas, then remonstrated with Rutley, and the three exchanged punches, starting an all-in brawl which involved players and team officials. Coghlan was hit in the knee with a missile thrown from the crowd, while Geelong captain Cliff Rankin and teammate Sid Hall were left unconscious and having to be carried from the field on stretchers. Geelong were also threatened and pelted with missiles by angry North Melbourne fans while leaving the field at the end of the match. Six players were reported on a total of seventeen offences: **

of North Melbourne: Charged with two counts of kicking Sid Hall, striking Lloyd Hagger, striking Arthur Coghlan, striking Stan Thomas, and melee involvement. Suspended for life (Rutley was reinstated by the VFL in 1930, having served 89 matches). ** Stan Thomas of Geelong: Charged with elbowing Bill Russ, striking Fred Rutley and melee involvement. Suspended until 31 December 1926 (26 matches). **

of Geelong: Charged with striking Fred Rutley and melee involvement. Suspended until 31 December 1926 (26 matches). **

Bill Russ William Wallace Russ (6 July 1899 – 13 August 1977) was an Australian rules footballer who played with North Melbourne and Footscray in the Victorian Football League (VFL). A centreman, Russ was a member of North Melbourne's inaugural VFL s ...

of North Melbourne: Charged with striking Cliff Rankin and melee involvement. Suspended until 31 December 1925 (5 matches). **

Tim Trevaskis Albert William "Tim" Trevaskis (23 August 1902 – 2 July 1980) was an Australian rules footballer who played for North Melbourne in both the Victorian Football Association (VFA), and the Victorian Football League (VFL). Family The son of Geor ...

of North Melbourne: Charged with striking Les Smith and melee involvement. Suspended for 3 matches. ** Harold Johnston of North Melbourne: Charged with striking Stan Thomas and melee involvement. Reprimanded.

Awards

* The 1925 VFL Premiership team was

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

. * The VFL's leading goalkicker was Lloyd Hagger of

with 78 goals. * The winner of the 1925

Colin Watson of St Kilda, with 9 votes. * Hawthorn on debut, took the "

wooden spoon A wooden spoon is a Kitchen utensil, utensil commonly used in food preparation. In addition to its culinary uses, wooden spoons also feature in folk art and culture. History The word ''spoon'' derives from an ancient word meaning a chip of woo ...

" in 1925. * The

seconds The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of ...

premiership was won by ''(main: 1925 VFL seconds season)''.

References

* Rogers, S. & Brown, A., ''Every Game Ever Played: VFL/AFL Results 1897–1997 (Sixth Edition)'', Viking Books, (Ringwood), 1998. * 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.

Sources

1925 VFL season
at AFL Tables
1925 VFL season
at Australian Football {{DEFAULTSORT:1925 VFL season Australian Football League seasons VFL season