1917 VFL season

Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1917.

Premiership season

In 1917, the VFL competition consisted of six 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 of the six teams played each other three times in a 15 match home-and-away season (Geelong, Richmond, and South Melbourne each hosting eight games, while Carlton, Collingwood, and Fitzroy each hosted seven).

Once the 15 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1917 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

Finals

Semi finals

Preliminary Final

Grand final

Ladder

Awards

• The 1917 VFL Premiership team was Collingwood.
• The VFL's leading goalkicker was Dick Lee of Collingwood with 50 goals (54 after finals).
• Richmond took the "wooden spoon" in 1917.

Notable events

• Geelong and South Melbourne, having refused to compete in 1916 on "patriotic grounds" return to the VFL competition, having concluded that the drop in the number of recruits in 1916 indicated that the VFL competition had no effect on military recruitment. The Geelong team members met their own expenses and played as amateurs, with the club donating all of its 1918 profits to war funds.
• In 1917, whilst winning nine of its 15 home-and-away matches, the South Melbourne team is notorious for its inaccurate kicking and finishes the season with 214 behinds and only 122 goals.
• On 12 May 1917, recruiting officers visiting VFL grounds are heckled by spectators. On another occasion a Fitzroy crowd attacks a recruiting sergeant,
• On 4 August, the entire thirteenth round was put back a week, at the request of the State War Council, so that recruiting meetings could be held at each VFL ground.

References

• 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

• 1917 Season - AFL Tables