1966 VFL season
Encyclopedia
Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League
season of 1966.
Teams played each other in a home-and-away season of 18 rounds; matches 12 to 18 were the "home-and-way reverse" of matches 1 to 7.
Once the 18 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1966 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the "Page-McIntyre system".
, for the teams (5th to 12th on ladder) out of the finals at the end of the season.
Final: North Melbourne
20.12 (132) defeated Hawthorn
12.7 (79).
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
season of 1966.
Premiership season
In 1966, the VFL competition consisted of twelve teams of 18 on-the-field players each, plus two substitute players, known as the 19th man and the 20th man. A player could be substituted for any reason; however, once substituted, a player could not return to the field of play under any circumstances.Teams played each other in a home-and-away season of 18 rounds; matches 12 to 18 were the "home-and-way reverse" of matches 1 to 7.
Once the 18 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1966 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the "Page-McIntyre system".
Night Series Competition
The night series were held under the floodlights at Lake Oval, South MelbourneSouth Melbourne, Victoria
South Melbourne is an inner city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km south from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area are the Cities of Port Phillip and Melbourne...
, for the teams (5th to 12th on ladder) out of the finals at the end of the season.
Final: North Melbourne
North Melbourne Football Club
The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world...
20.12 (132) defeated Hawthorn
Hawthorn Football Club
The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League . The club, founded in 1902, is the youngest of the Victorian-based teams in the AFL. The team play in Brown & Gold vertically striped guernseys...
12.7 (79).
First Semi-Final
| Team | 1 Qtr | 2 Qtr | 3 Qtr | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geelong Geelong Football Club The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also... |
3.4 | 3.5 | 7.9 | 12.14 (86) |
| Essendon Essendon Football Club The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League... |
6.1 | 10.5 | 13.6 | 15.6 (96) |
| Attendance: 93,765 | ||||
Second Semi-Final
| Team | 1 Qtr | 2 Qtr | 3 Qtr | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collingwood Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League... |
5.2 | 6.3 | 10.5 | 15.9 (99) |
| St Kilda | 0.1 | 6.5 | 10.9 | 13.11 (89) |
| Attendance: 95,614 | ||||
Preliminary Final
| Team | 1 Qtr | 2 Qtr | 3 Qtr | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Kilda | 4.1 | 10.2 | 10.2 | 15.4 (94) |
| Essendon Essendon Football Club The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League... |
2.7 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 7.10 (52) |
| Attendance: 93,453 | ||||
Grand Final
| Team | 1 Qtr | 2 Qtr | 3 Qtr | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collingwood Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League... |
2.1 | 5.7 | 7.11 | 10.13 (73) |
| St Kilda | 2.5 | 5.6 | 8.9 | 10.14 (74) |
| Attendance: 101,655 | ||||
Awards
- The 1966 VFL Premiership team was St Kilda Football Club (its first, and only, premiership since the VFL's formation in 18971897 VFL seasonResults and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1897, the inaugural season of the VFL.-Premiership season:In 1897, the VFL competition consisted of eight teams of 20 on-the-field players each, with no "reserves" Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of...
). - The VFL's leading goalkickerColeman MedalThe Coleman Medal is awarded yearly to the Australian Football League player who kicks the most goals in regular-season matches in that year...
was Ted FordhamTed FordhamTed Fordham is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Bombers in the Victorian Football League . He was the VFLs leading goalkicker of the 1966 season....
of EssendonEssendon Football ClubThe Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
who kicked 76 goals (including 3 goals in the final series). - The winner of the 1966 Brownlow MedalBrownlow MedalThe Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
was Ian StewartIan Stewart (Australian rules footballer)Ian Harlow Stewart , son of Aldo Liberale Cervi and Anita Cervi who separated three years after his birth, is a former Australian rules footballer with Hobart in the Tasmanian Football League , and in the Victorian Football League with St Kilda and Richmond...
of St Kilda with 21 votes. - FitzroyFitzroy Football ClubThe Fitzroy Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Lions, is an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League on its inception in 1897...
took the "wooden spoonWooden spoon (award)A wooden spoon is a mock or real award, usually given to an individual or team which has come last in a competition, but sometimes also to runners-up. Examples range from the academic to sporting and more frivolous events...
" in 1966.
Notable events
- At pre-season training in mid-April, at the behest of CollingwoodCollingwood Football ClubThe Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
coach Bob RoseBob Rose (footballer)Robert "Bob" Rose was an Australian rules footballer and coach in the VFL. He is widely regarded as the greatest player ever to play for Collingwood.-Playing career:...
, Collingwood club secretary Jack Burns informs Duncan WrightDuncan WrightDuncan Wright Duncan Wright Duncan Wright (born 28 August 1940 is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Collingwood in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the first part of the 1960s....
that his services are no longer required at Collingwood. (See Duncan Wright and John Somerville.) - RichmondRichmond Football ClubThe Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,...
, under coach Tom HafeyTom HafeyThomas Stanley Raymond Hafey is a former Australian rules football Victorian Football League player and coach. Hafey played for Richmond between 1953 and 1958, and coached four clubs—Richmond, Collingwood, Geelong and Sydney—between 1966 and 1988, leading teams to a total of four premierships...
, train pre-season with Percy CeruttyPercy CeruttyPercy Wells Cerutty was one of the world's leading athletics coaches in the 1950s and 1960s....
at his facilities in Portsea, VictoriaPortsea, VictoriaPortsea is a resort town located across Port Phillip from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Mornington Peninsula....
. - At the end of the season South Melbourne'sSydney SwansThe 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...
captain-coach, Bob SkiltonBob SkiltonRobert John "Bob" Skilton was an Australian rules football player who played as a rover for South Melbourne and Victoria between 1956 and 1971....
, resigns as coach in the belief that he can do more for the club by continuing to lead the players on the field.