1908 VFL season

Infobox Victorian Football League season
year = 1908


imagesize = 120px
caption = Carlton premiership player Charlie Hammond
clubs = 10
home-and-away season = 18 rounds
premiership team = Carlton
count = 3rd
minor premiers = Carlton
mpcount = 3rd
champion of the season = Bill Busbridge
cclub = Essendon
top goal kicker = Dick Lee (50)

Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1908.

Both Richmond Football Club and University Football Club were admitted to the VFL competition (University left the competition in 1915).

Premiership season

In 1908, the VFL competition was comprised of ten 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.

Once the 18 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1908 VFL "Premiers" were determined by the specific format and conventions of the amended "Argus" system".

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

Round 8

Round 9

Round 10

Round 11

Round 12

Round 13

Round 14

Round 15

Round 16

Round 17

Round 18

Grand Final

"See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list."

Carlton defeated Essendon 5.5 (35) to 3.8 (26). (For an explanation of scoring see Australian rules football).::Essendon Coach: Dave Smith

Ladder

All teams played 18 games during the home and away season, for a total of 90. An additional 3 games were played during the finals series.

Awards

* The 1908 VFL Premiership team was Carlton.
* The VFL's leading goalkicker was Dick Lee of Collingwood with 54 goals.
* "The Argus" newspaper's "Player of the Year", Bill Busbridge of Essendon, was declared 1908 Champion of the Season.
* Geelong took the "wooden spoon" in 1908.

Notable Events

* Richmond Football Club and University Football Club admitted to the VFL competition.
* With fiery former Collingwood coach Dick Condon as both player and coach, and former Collingwood champion Charlie Pannam as captain, Richmond win their first VFl match with a first round victory against Melbourne, 8.14 (62) to 7.9 (51).
* University Football Club have their first VFL victory in the second round of the season, beating Richmond 14.10 (94) to 12.4 (76).
* In the first round match between Fitzroy and South Melbourne at the Brunswick Street Oval an umpire was hit by a stone thrown by a spectator.
* The sixth round match between Fitzroy and Essendon, also at the Brunswick Street Oval, was a fiery affair that resulted in a number of suspensions. A horde of Fitzroy supporters invaded the ground immediately the final bell had rung, kicking, punching and otherwise assaulting Essendon players as they tried to leave the playing field. Essendon fans also jumped the fence, in order to protect their players. A riot ensued.
* A ten-day Carnival, the "Jubilee of Australasian Football (1858-1908)" was held in Melbourne in August 1908, involving teams from New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia, .
* At an official Carnival function, when proposing a toast to "The Australasian Game" the Prime Minister of Australia, the Ballarat-born Alfred Deakin (1856-1919) spoke of his youthful experiences of playing a rudimentary form of Australian football.

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 0-959-17402-8
* 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

External links

* [http://stats.rleague.com/afl/seas/1908.html 1908 Season - AFL Tables]
* [http://www.fullpointsfooty.net/1908_melbourne_carnival.htm Full Points Footy Report: 1908 Melbourne Carnival]