FOOTBALL. - THE FINAL MATCH. ESSENDON V. COLLINGWOOD. ESSENDON PREMIERS. - The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) - 9 Sep 1901 (original) (raw)

Mon 9 Sep 1901 - The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957)
Page 7 - FOOTBALL.

The largest crowd which has attended any game

of football in Victoria for many years assembled

on the South Melbourne ground on Saturday, to

witness the final match for the premiership, be-

tween Essendon and Collingwood. Long be-

fore 3 o'clock the ground was comfortably full,

and the crowd still thronged in from all directions,

until, when the ball was bounced, there was not

any available room for more, and the fence round

the playing space in many places gave way.

Altogether, it is estimated that there were 25,000

people present, and the league treasurer is congra-

tulating himself on the increase to his banking ac-

count of the takings, £640. The day was not

altogether suitable for football, a strong northerly

wind blowing almost across the ground, and con-

sequently a great deal of the play was on the

pavilion wing, where the ball was continually out

of bounds. Notwithstanding this the crowd saw a

splendid game, in which, though the superiority of

Essendon was apparent somewhat early, the Col-

lingwood men stuck to their work, and played it

right out to the finish. Both sides were fully re-

presented, Collingwood leaving out Monahan, in

favour of Farrell, and Essendon taking in

Vollugi and Mann instead of Kennedy and Pep-

The following were the teams:—

Essendon.—Backs, Mann, Anderson, M. Collins;

half-backs, Barry, Gavin, T. Collins (captain);

centres, Hastings, Wright, Vollugi; half-forwards,

Larkin, Thurgood, Hiskens, forwards, Martin, Kin-

near, Stuckey; followers, Robinson, McKenzie;

Collingwood:—Backs, Fell, Proudfoot (captain),

Dummett; half-backs, Hyman, Tulloch, Dow;

centres, Pannam, F. Leach, Martin, half-forwards,

McCulloch, Rowell, Farrell; forwards. Bryce, A.

Leach, Smith; followers, Hailwood, Morgan;

Essendon were the first out, and they spent the

time of waiting for their opponents in trying the

ball in the wind. In order that there should be

nothing to find fault with, T. Sherrin, the Col-

lingwood manufacturer, had prepared two balls,

one of 15oz., with which the teams played, and an-

other of 14oz., which was discarded on account of

being too light for such a windy day. The balls

were made of the best cowhide, double-tanned, and

cut from the heart of the skin. Although Mr.

Sherrin is a member of the Collingwood commit-

tee, the Essendon men were quite prepared to play

with the ball, which gave every satisfaction. Es-

sendon attacked at the start towards the lake goal,

and though the wind was, if anything, against

them, they kept the Collingwood backs very busy,

but could not pick up the range. In one of those

early rushes, Proudfoot, in turning the attack,

wrenched his back, and was hampered for the rest

of the day. Thurgood was working hard, but

Tulloch, who had the commission to stop the big

man, was doing his work well-and fairly, too.

It was some time before F. Leach and Boyack

raised the siege, and A. Leach and Pannam carry-

ing it on, Essendon were on the defensive. Mann,

however, relieved, and Hastings, Martin, and Kin-

near carried it right up again. Dow turned that

rush and, Fell and F. Leach assisting, it took M.

Collins all his time to save his goal. Then Gavin

took a high mark, which was the forerunner of

many more. Hyman also brought down a good

one, and then Vollugi and Stuckey, by hand-ball,

got the ball to Hastings who put in a fine run,

and Griffiths from the ruck, with a long kick,

landed the ball in front, where Kinnear marked,

and easily punted first goal for Essendon—the first

point after a quarter of an hour's play. Kinnear

marked again a moment later, but Hyman gave him

a bump which upset him. Essendon soon got

another goal. Wright sent the ball to Barry,

who ran, and, picking out Thurgood cleverly, the

big fellow marked. His shot for goal fell wide,

Kinnear picked it up, and, kicking over his

head, landed the ball in Martin's hands, a foot

from the goal. He wasted no time, and up went

the two flags again. Collingwood then attacked

vigorously, Pannam, Hailwood and A. Leach work-

ing it down under the lee of the grand-stand.

Pannam raced away, and kicked in front of goal

when McCulloch easily marked, and Collingwood

yelled with delight, as they saw a prospective goal,

but Pannam had gone out of bounds, and the ball

had to go back. Hailwood, with a fine punt,

got first behind for Collingwood; and then Hast-

ings marked the kick-in and passed to Vollugi.

Clever hand-ball and passing, in which Vollugi,

T. Collins, M. Collins, Martin, and McKenzie took

part, gave the latter a chance for a running shot,

and he did not fail. The quarter soon ended,

Essendon, 3 goals; Collingwood, 1 behind. It

had been a hard-fought quarter, with Essendon

mostly in the lead. As soon as they changed

Smith had a chance for Collingwood, but kicked

wildly. The men were going all they knew, and

at times it was not too gentle, but Crapp had

them well in hand, and as Pannam and Barry had

a tussle on the wing one heard his "Steady,

Charlie," as the Woodsman roughed it up a little.

Essendon were not to be denied, and Stuckey pass-

ing beautifully, Thurgood marked, and, allowing

splendidly for the wind, fourth goal appeared.

Pannam's fine play was answered by Gavin, and

then Collingwood for some time attacked, Mor-

gan, Farrell, Hailwood, and Pannam leading, but

every time Gavin was in the way, and with

towering marks he stopped the rushes. Again

Stuckey and Thurgood were associated, and clever

hand-ball enabled the latter to skirt round the

crowd, and kick a beautiful goal. Martin and

Hailwood were struggling hard in the ruck, and

the game was full of incident. Hard, close play,

in which every man was prominent, followed,

and Collingwood working like tigers sent the

ball up time and again, only to find Gavin mark-

ing magnificently, and turning the attack. T.

Collins was hurt, and went forward for a while,

Thurgood coming back in his place, and at half-

time the scores were—Essendon, 5 goals 2 behinds;

Collingwood, 3 behinds. Each side had worked

well, and Essendon were jubilant, but some of

the older heads remembered the match at Col-

lingwood, when the Magpies were almost as far

behind, and then came up and won, and they

urged their men to keep going. As soon as they

begun again, Collingwood attacked, and Essen-

don drove them off. Once Hailwood seemed to

have scored, but Gavin, head and shoulders above

everyone, marked right in the goal. Morgan was

playing magnificently for Collingwood, and he

was needed, for Boyack had hurt himself, and had

to be carried off the field. Twice Essendon got

behinds, both by Thurgood, who got the ball on

each occasion from Stuckey, after runs by Hast-

ings and T. Collins. Then Morgan, by fine play,

got the ball to Smith and Bryce and the latter

with a running shot scored a goal, and in almost

a flash Morgan and Pannam gave him another

chance, and again he scored. This was an ex-

citing time, for Collingwood had in a few

minutes, put on 12 points, and their supporters

yelled with delight, but the scoring for that quar-

ter was done, though Morgan was still working

hard, and the score stood, Essendon 5 goals 4 be-

hinds, Collingwood 2 goals, 3 behinds when they

changed over, In the final term it was plain

both sides had had enough. They had battled

with each other and the breeze, and they had

taken all the bumps inseparable from such a con-

test, and now the work was telling its tale.

Both sides were fighting it right out, though, and

the leaders could not afford to relax their efforts.

The game was slowing down, but Essendon had

the upper hand, and Barry and M'Kenzie pass-

ing beautifully to Thurgood, he put up another

goal by splendid judgment. There was little

more in it, save a run by Vollugi, which was

answered by a far better one—in fact, the best of

the day—by Hyman, well shepherded by Dow.

After the game Hyman was proud of that run,

and, as he asked if it were not the best of the

day, he added "Oh, give us something. You've

won the premiership, let us have the run of the

day." Up till the very last kick Collingwood

stuck to it, but were beaten, the scores being—

Essendon, 6 goals 7 behinds .. .. 43 points

Collingwood, 2 goals 4 behinds.. 16 points

In a game where every man played his best it

is hard to pick out individuals. I have given the

names of the teams, so that each man may have

the honour of being mentioned. However, it

would be unfair to Gavin to forget his wonderful

high marking, his vigour, and his dash. Unfair

to Thurgood, Kinnear, Barry, M'Kenzie, Wright,

Griffiths, and Larkin to forget the special excel-

lence they displayed in their various departments.

You must mention all if you mention one, but

these were the pick. On the Collingwood side

almost the same thing prevails, but not to such

an extent. Morgan and Hailwood were magnificent

on the ball, Hyman and Dow in defence were

splendid; Tulloch was fair and useful in his work

of stopping Thurgood; Pannam and Martin on the

wings were good; Bryce was very clever forward.

F. Leach however, was far below his usual state

of usefulness; and Wright, who had to look after

him, was on the day, the better man. However,

there is little in the game one would wish to

forget, and every man may be proud of having

played in it. Crapp umpired as well as any man

could possibly have done, and both sides cheered

At the conclusion of the game Mr. Beazley,

M. L. A. (president), W. Strickland and Proudfoot

(captain), representing the Collingwood team,

came over to the Essendon dressing-room and

congratulated them, and the Essendon captain (T.

Collins) responded. Later on Mr. James Aitken,

on behalf of the South Melbourne C.C., invited

both teams into the skittle alley and congratu-

lated them and drank their healths, and then Mr.

W. J. Mountain, jun. (mayor of Essendon), on be-

half of his club and Collingwood, thanked the

Cricket Club for their courtesy and congratula-

tions. The speeches, &c., were not over till very late.

The season of 1901 will long be remembered, for

it is many a year since the teams were so evenly

matched, and in which the interest was so keen.

The number of games in which the successful

team had only a very slight margin has been

remarkable, and, taken all through, the football

has been close and exciting. The system under

which the premiership was decided has been the

subject of much comment, and though the Gee-

long Club, which won the greatest number of

games in the preliminary matches, was put out of

the competition before the final, it must be said

that the interest was maintained right to the very

end, and no club could afford to lose a match.

The system is a decided improvement on that in

vogue last year, and if the league will, before

next season, alter it by allowing the leaders of

the first round (i.e., after 14 games have been

played) the right of challenge, in the event of

their not winning the final, the objections of the

Geelong people will be for the most part removed.

Had this been the case this year Geelong would

have had the right to challenge Essendon, and

there is but little doubt that Essendon would have

still further strengthened their position. Not-

withstanding the objections of the Geelong peo-

ple, there can be but little doubt that the two

best teams played off on Saturday. There is but

a game between the three clubs, but on average

of scores, for and against, the positions are

exactly as they are on the premiership-list. For

every 100 points scored by Essendon, they have

lost only 54.7, Collingwood have lost 66.1; Gee-

long, 73.2; Fitzroy, 77.2; Melbourne, 85.1, while

the other teams have lost more points than they

gained. In a season in which the margin be-

tween victory and defeat has been so narrow this

reckoning of the scores gives a very fair idea of the

relative merits of the teams. Geelong and Col-

lingwood began the season well, while Essendon

and Fitzroy started badly and for some time

neither were represented by their full strength.

Essendon, as premiers, thoroughly deserve the

honours, for they have been the most brilliant

team of the year. Their record of points for and

against is a reflex of their performances. Their

five losses were inflicted by Collingwood (twice),

Fitzroy, Geelong, and Melbourne, but save in the

first defeat by Collingwood the margin against

them was very narrow. The evenness of the

team has been remarkable, and, though they have

their champions, there have been very few weak

spots in the composition of the team. They began

badly, but, pulling well together, have gained the

premiership. Geelong led almost from the jump,

and at one time it looked as though they would

be a long way ahead on games. Collingwood, on

the other hand, had a succession of defeats, and

dropping back had to pull themselves together to

make their inclusion in the final a certainty. Fitz-

roy for a long while showed little of their pre-

vious form, but towards the finish the maroons

were one of the hardest teams to beat, and, in

fact, it is by no means certain that the goal

which gained Essendon the victory over Fitzroy

in the semi-final match should have been scored.

Melbourne, who headed the list in 1900, have been

persistently followed by bad luck, and no team

has had its ranks so decimated by accident and

sickness. In the face of all disadvantages, how-

ever, the reds stuck manfully to their work, and

never flagged. South Melbourne at times put up

some brilliant performances, notably against Col-

lingwood (twice) and Fitzroy, but their form

lacked consistency, and they played some very bad

games. Carlton and St. Kilda, as usual, served

merely as mediums for the stronger clubs putting

up large scores, and their records, as will be seen

As regards individual players each club has had

its champion, and in some cases there have been

several men who stood out. Gavin, the Essendon

half-back, has maintained his form, and on the

season's play no back man has approached him.

His high marking and dash have been wonderful,

and he has saved the side on numerous occasions.

T. Collins, the Essendon captain, has also been

a first flighter amongst defenders, and Vollugi

is perhaps the best wing man of the year. Kinnear

(forward, back, or following) has been always

splendid. Wright (centre) has had few equals in

his position, and Hiskens and Thurgood, on the

half-forward line, have done great work. Thur-

good played intermittently until recently, but in

the last few games he has shown that he has

lost none of his old-time brilliancy, and he still

retains the faculty of being able to rise to the

occasion, and the bigger the match the better has

he played. Robinson and McKenzie, the two asso-

ciation recruits, have done well, and so has

Hastings. On the Collingwood side Fred Leach

must be named as the champion, and the taking

the season right through no one has done better

work. Pannam, on the wing, has been little

below his form of previous years, and Hailwood,

the big ruck man, has been invaluable; in fact,

the first two games lost by Collingwood were

the only two from which he was absent, and

people only then realised his value to the side.

Tulloch and Morgan, whether placed or following,

Hyman and Dow (back), Smith and Rowell (for-

ward) have also stood out prominently. H.

Young, the Geelong captain, has been a very hard

man to beat, but the best player on the side, I

think, has been the rover, Rankin, whose play

has been in many games of a very high standard.

McCallum (centre), Flynn (useful anywhere),

Bailiff (wing), and last, but by no means least,

the veteran, Peter Burns, were the leading players.

For Fitzroy, Captain McSpeerin (roving) was one

of the best players of the year, Brosnan (half-

forward) was a very useful and brilliant man;

Drohan (wing), Jenkins (back), Beecham (in any

position), and Kiernan (half-forward) have been

very conspicuous; but the main feature of the

team has been its evenness. McGinis is still the

champion of the Melbourne club, and his game

has lost none of its vigour, and has gained, if that

were possible, in cleverness. Owing to the in-

juries which befell his companions, the ex-Tas-

manian has had to do more of the ruck work than

in previous years, and has done it well. Moodie

has been as hardworking as ever, and his clever

handball has been of immense service to his side.

Langley (forward), Cumberland (ruck), Sowden

(wing), and Howe (back) have also shone out.

Wenborn, the South Melbourne back man, has

been the star on his side, and his work has always

been of the highest order. Pleass and Worroll,

in and about the ruck, have worked hard and

brilliantly, but with less success, perhaps, than

might have been expected. Lampe (half-forward)

put in some wonderful games, but his play has

been meteoric rather than sound. Rippon (centre),

Howson (wing), and James (back) have also

stood out prominently. At Carlton, Rowlands

(wing) and Elliot (ruck), and at St. Kilda J.

Smith (ruck) and H. Smith (wing) have been by

Taking all the players then, I think, in looking for the champion of the year the men to be considered are—F. Leach (Collingwood), H. Gavin

(Essendon), F. McGinis (Melbourne), E. Rankin

(Geelong). A. J. Thurgood (Essendon) and W.

M'Speerin (Fitzroy), and to make a choice be-

tween this half dozen is difficult, for each man

has at times shown wonderful form. Had Thur-

good played regularly and as well as in the last

few games one would not have had to look

further; and Gavin's claims, too, cannot be

lightly esteemed. McGinis, McSpeerin, and Ran-

kin as rovers have had, perhaps more opportuni-

ties than the others, and they have all proved

themselves splendid players. F. Leach, the Col-

ingwood centre man, played his worst game in

the big match on Saturday, but on almost every

other occasion he was the best man on his side, and

often the best man in the game, and so in nam-

ing the champion of the season I think most

people will agree with me when I select

The contest between the goal-kickers has been

very keen, and the following are the principal

F. Hiskens (Essendon) .. .. .. .. 35

A. Smith (Collingwood) .. .. .. 34

G. Brosnan (Fitzroy) .. .. .. .. 33

H. Rowell (Collingwood) .. .. .. 31

C. Coles (Geelong) .. .. .. .. .. 30

The umpiring question has been prominently before the public all the season, and in this matter the members of the league have something to

deal with which will need their most earnest con-

sideration. Not only has the central umpiring

been for the most part bad, but there have been

mistakes in goal umpiring, which should not have

occurred, and which should be inquired into. One

man has stood out above all the others as a

central umpire, and on this matter there is but

one opinion that Crapp is the best, and the rest

nowhere. Time-keeping, too, is a matter which

must engage the attention of the league, in order

that such an occurrence is that of the Fitzroy-

Collingwood game should not happen again. In

conclusion, it may be said that the members of

the league have done their duty as administrators

of the laws, and as judges of the matters which

have been brought before them, but a word of

warning at this stage will not be out of place.

The game has been restored to popularity, it has

been purged of many of its disagreeable features,

but it behoves the league to see that in its hours

of success the sport is not retarded by the book-

maker and the professional. With the return of

popularity come increased gate returns and aug-

mented credit balances, and following these

closely are the old dangers which, but a very few

years ago, caused the game to sink in public esti-

mation. It is the duty of the league to see that

the game is kept pure, and that objectionable ad-

herents—whether as players or not—are kept at a

respectful distance. The following table shows the position of the clubs for the season:—

Position. | Clubs. | Matches. | Scores. | P'ship Points.

1 | Essendon .. .. | 14 | .. | 5 | 1,174 | 643 | 76 | 56

2 | Collingwood .. | 13 | .. | 6 | 978 | 646 | 76 | 52

3 | Geelong .. .. | 14 | .. | 4 | 877 | 642 | 72 | 56

4 | Fitzroy .. .. | 9 | 1 | 8 | 922 | 712 | 72 | 38

5 | Melbourne .. | 9 | 1 | 7 | 716 | 610 | 68 | 38

6 | S. Melbourne . | 8 | .. | 9 | 727 | 730 | 68 | 32

7 | Carlton .. .. .. | 2 | .. | 15 | 476 | 1,013 | 68 | 8

8 | St. Kilda .. .. | 1 | .. | 16 | 414 | 1,288 | 68 | 4

The following is the premiership record:—

Yr. | Premiers. | Second. | Third.

1870 | Melbourne | Albert-park | Carlton

1871 | Carlton | Melbourne | Albert-park

1872 | Melbourne | Carlton | Albert-park

1873 | Carlton | Melbourne | Geelong

1874 | Carlton | Melbourne | St. Kilda

1875 | Carlton | Melbourne | Carlt. Imperial

1876 | Melbourne | Carlton | Albert-park

1877 | Carlton | Melbourne | Hotham

1878 | Geelong | Melbourne | Carlton

1879 | Geelong | Carlton | S. Melbourne

1880 | Geelong | S. Melbourne | Carlton

1881 | S. Melbourne | Geelong | Carlton

1882 | Geelong | Essendon | S. Melbourne

1883 | Geelong | S. Melbourne | Carlton

1884 | Geelong | Essendon | Hotham

1885 | S. Melbourne | Essendon | Geelong

1886 | Geelong | S. Melbourne | Carlton

1887 | Carlton | Geelong | S. Melbourne

1888 | S. Melbourne | Geelong | Williamstown

1889 | S. Melbourne | Carlton | Pt. Melbourne

1890 | S. Melbourne | Carlton | Fitzroy

1891 | Essendon | Carlton | Fitzroy

1892 | Essendon | Fitzroy | Geelong

1893 | Essendon | Melbourne | Geelong

1894 | Essendon | Melbourne | S. Melbourne

1895 | Fitzroy | Geelong Collingwood Melbourne

1896 | Collingwood | S. Melbourne | Essendon

1897 | Essendon | Geelong | Collingwood

1898 | Fitzroy | Essendon | Collingwood

1899 | Fitzroy | S. Melbourne | Geelong

1900 | Melbourne | Fitzroy | Essendon

1901 | Essendon | Collingwood | Geelong

For the Kyneton district football championship

the three clubs—Lauriston, East Trentham, and

Kyneton having tied—East Trentham and Lauris-

ton played to-day in Barkly-square, Kyneton, the

Kyneton club having a bye. Lauriston won by

4 goals 7 behinds to East Trentham's 1 behind.

The deciding match will be played next Saturday

The football matches on Saturday resulted as

follows:—Port Adelaide, 4 goals 10 behinds (34

points), beat North Adelaide, 4 goals 6 behinds (30

points); West Adelaide, 6 goals 9 behinds (45

points), beat Norwood, 5 goals 14 behinds (44

points); South Adelaide, 7 goals 12 behinds (54

points), beat West Torrens, 3 goals 7 behinds (25

The Auckland Rugby football team beat New

South Wales yesterday by 24 to 9 points.

A girl, named Millie Williams, aged 16 years,

who was found wandering about Burnley at a late

hour on Friday evening, was brought before

Messrs. Keogh, P.M., and Beissel and Fincham,

J.P.'s at the Richmond Court on Saturday, and

charged with being a neglected child. She stated

to the police that she had left her home in Tas-

mania, without her parents consent, and could

not get any work in Melbourne. As the girl's

father had been communicated with, and had

offered to pay her fare home, the case was ad-

journed for 14 days, the girl in the meantime to

be placed in the Industrial School.