1945 VFL Grand Final
Encyclopedia
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlton Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897... |
2.4 | 7.5 | 12.9 | 15.13 (103) |
| South Melbourne Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney... |
0.5 | 6.9 | 8.10 | 10.15 (75) |
The 1945 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
game contested between the South Melbourne Football Club
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
and Carlton Football Club
Carlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
, held at Princes Park
MC Labour Park
Princes Park is an Australian rules football ground located at Princes Park in the inner Melbourne suburb of Carlton North, Victoria....
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
on 29 September 1945. It was the 49th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
, staged to determine the premiers for the 1945 VFL season
1945 VFL season
Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1945.-Premiership season:In 1945, the VFL competition consisted of twelve teams of 18 on-the-field players each, plus one substitute player, known as the 19th man...
. The match, attended by 62,986 spectators, was won by Carlton by a margin of 28 points, marking that club's seventh premiership victory. The game is well remembered for its extremely rough and violent nature, and has commonly been referred to as The Bloodbath.
Venue
Played only shortly after the conclusion of the second World WarWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Melbourne Cricket Ground
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
was unavailable for use, prompting the game to be played at Princes Park
MC Labour Park
Princes Park is an Australian rules football ground located at Princes Park in the inner Melbourne suburb of Carlton North, Victoria....
. The crowd of 62,986 is a record for Princes Park, and is almost double its current nominal capacity.
Win from fourth place
Carlton held a two point lead at half time, and won the match 15.13 (103) to South Melbourne's 10.15 (75).Carlton's 1945 premiership win was the first time since the "Page-McIntyre system" had been adopted in 1931 that a team from fourth place on the home-and-away ladder (i.e., a team that had no "double chance") had won the Grand Final.
South Melbourne would not contest another Grand Final until the 1996 AFL Grand Final
1996 AFL Grand Final
The 1996 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the North Melbourne Football Club and Sydney Swans, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 28 September 1996. It was the 100th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football...
, by which time the club was known as the Sydney Swans
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
.
The "Bloodbath"
The game, played in extremely wet, muddy conditions, is remembered as "the Bloodbath" for its overall continuous violence (on the field and amongst the fans), and its plethora of crude king hits and brawls (many of which were broken up with the assistance of team officials and the police).Ten players were reported for a total of sixteen offences:
- Ted WhitfieldTed WhitfieldEdward Carlyle "Ted" Whitfield was a former Australian rules footballer, playing with South Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League ....
(South Melbourne): Charged with using abusive language to goal umpire Whyte, attempting to strike field umpire Frank Spokes, kicking the ball away after a free kick was given against him, and attempting to conceal his guernseyGuernseyGuernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...
so the goal umpire could not report him. Suspended for 21 matches. - Jack "Basher" WilliamsJack "Basher" WilliamsJack E. "Basher" Williams was an Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League ....
(South Melbourne): Charged with using abusive language to Carlton's Rod McLean and goal umpire Whyte, and adopting a fighting attitude to goal umpire Whyte. Suspended for 12 matches. - Bob ChittyBob ChittyBob Chitty was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League .Chitty made his debut for the Carlton Football Club in Round 7 of the 1937 season...
(Carlton): Charged with elbowing Billy Williams (South Melbourne). Suspended for 8 matches. - Don Grossman (South Melbourne): Charged with striking Jim Mooring (Carlton). Suspended for 8 matches.
- Ron SavageRon SavageRon Savage was an Australian rules footballer who played in the Victorian Football League .Savage made his debut for the Carlton Football Club in round 14 of the 1938 season...
(Carlton): Charged with striking Don Grossman (South Melbourne) in retaliation for Grossman having king-hit teammate Mooring. Suspended for 8 matches. - "Gentleman" Jim ClearyJim Cleary (Australian rules footballer)Jim Cleary was an Australian rules footballer who played for South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League .Cleary played as a fullback and won two best and fairest awards for South Melbourne, in 1942 and 1944. His reputation was marred somewhat by his involvement in what is referred to as the...
(South Melbourne): Charged with striking Ken Hands (Carlton) after a mark, and attempting to strike Bob Chitty. Found not guilty on attempted striking charge; suspended for 8 matches. - Fred FitzgibbonFred FitzgibbonFred Fitzgibbon was an Australian rules footballer who played for Carlton in the VFL during the 1940s.Fitzgibbon spent his early career at Victorian Football Association club Brunswick but when the VFA suspended the competition in 1942 due to the war, he decided to switch leagues and joined...
(Carlton): Charged with one count of melee involvement; despite serving a four-match suspension from the preliminary final for having king-hit Collingwood forward Len Hustler, he ran onto the field during a final quarter brawl and fought with Ted Whitfield before being ejected from the arena. Suspended for an additional four matches. - Herbie MatthewsHerbie MatthewsHerbie Matthews was an Australian rules footballer who played for South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League. He was recruited from suburban Fairfield under the League's "father and son" rule. His father, 'Butcher' Matthews, partnered the great Roy Cazaly in South Melbourne's ruck...
(South Melbourne): Charged with throwing the ball away after a mark was given against him. Severely reprimanded. - Ken HandsKen HandsKen Hands is a former Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League .-References:* at *Holmesby, Russell and Main, Jim . The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing....
(Carlton): Charged with charging Ron Clegg (South Melbourne). Found not guilty. - Keith SmithKeith Smith (Australian footballer)Keith Smith was a leading Australian rules footballer of the 1930s and 40s, playing for South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League ....
(South Melbourne): Charged with striking Jim Mooring (Carlton). Found not guilty.
Teams
Goalkickers
Carlton:
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South Melbourne:
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