1903 VFL Grand Final

Team	1	2	3	Final
Collingwood	2.3	3.4	3.6	4.7 (31)
Fitzroy	2.2	2.5	2.8	3.11 (29)

The 1903 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Collingwood Football Club and Fitzroy Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 12 September 1903. It was the 6th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1903 VFL season. The match, attended by 32,263 spectators, was won by Collingwood by a margin of 2 points, marking that club's second successive premiership victory.

Gerald Brosnan had a chance to win Fitzroy the premiership with a set shot for goal off the last kick of the game but missed narrowly to give Collingwood back-to-back flags.

Collingwood's Jim Addison, despite playing in just his third game, was the only multiple goalkicker. Both Ern Jenkins and Bert Sharpe of Fitzroy were celebrating their 100th VFL games.

Lead-up

After the home-and-away season (which lasted for seventeen matches, including the "first round" of fourteen matches and a "second round" of three matches), Collingwood was top of the ladder with a record of 15–2 and a percentage of 159.4; Fitzroy finished second with a record of 14–3 and a percentage of 171.6.

The finals were contested using the variation of the Argus System seen between 1902–1906. Fitzroy faced fourth-placed Geelong in the First Semi-Final, and won by 52 points, and Collingwood faced third-placed Carlton in the Second Semi-Final and won by four points. Collingwood and Fitzroy then faced off to decide the premiers.

Right to challenge

The winner of this match would automatically win the premiership; no team had the right to challenge for the premiership this season. Under the variation of the Argus System in use between 1902–1906, the club with the best record in all matches (including finals) could have challenged for the premiership if it had not won this game. However, whichever team won this game would have become the team with the best record, depriving the other of any right to challenge. Entering the match, Collingwood had a record of 16–2, and Fitzroy had a record of 15–3 but a superior percentage: in the event of a Collingwood win, Collingwood's 17–2 record would have ranked above Fitzroy's 15–4; in the event of a Fitzroy win, both clubs would have been level on 16–3, and Fitzroy would have been ranked above Collingwood with a superior percentage.

This is different from the ruling which would have been used under the more widely known variation of the Argus System, which was in use from 1907–1930. In that variation, the team with the best record in matches excluding finals had the right to challenge; as Collingwood had the best record after 17 weeks, it would have retained the right to challenge, regardless of finals results.^[1]

Teams

Gerald Brosnan

Collingwood
B:	George Lockwood	Bill Proudfoot	Alf Dummett
HB:	Matthew Fell	Jack Monohan	Bob Rush
C:	Charlie H. Pannam	Con McCormack	Eddie Drohan
HF:	Teddy Lockwood	Ted Rowell	Lardie Tulloch (c)
F:	Arthur Leach	Jim Addison	Harry Pears
Foll:	Jack Incoll	George Angus	Dick Condon
Reserve(s):
Coach:

Fitzroy
B:	Alf Sharp	Ern Jenkins	Lou Barker
HB:	Wally Naismith	Jim Sharp	Fred Fontaine
C:	Tammy Beauchamp	Harry Clarke	Frank Brophy
HF:	Alf Wilkinson	Gerald Brosnan (c)	Chris Kiernan
F:	Percy Trotter	Les Millis	Bert Sharpe
Foll:	Bill Walker	Herbert Milne	Bill McSpeerin
Reserve(s):
Coach:

Umpire - Dick Gibson

Statistics

Goalkickers

Collingwood:

Addison 2
Condon 1
T.Lockwood 1

Fitzroy:

McSpeerin 1
Millis 1
Milne 1

Attendance

MCG crowd - 32,263

References

↑ Rodgers, Stephen (1992), Every Game Ever Played: VFL/AFL Results, 1897–1991 (3rd ed.), Ringwood, VIC: Viking O'Neil

1903 VFL Grand Final statistics
The Official statistical history of the AFL 2004
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

Victorian/Australian Football League Grand Finals

VFL Grand Finals	1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989

AFL Grand Finals	1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Collingwood Football Club 1903 VFL premiers

Collingwood 4.7 (31) defeated Fitzroy 3.11 (29), at the Melbourne Cricket Ground

Addison Angus Condon Drohan Dummett Fell Incoll Leach G. Lockwood T. Lockwood McCormack Monohan Pannam Pears Proudfoot Rowell Rush Tulloch (c)

Collingwood Football Club

History Records Current squad Players Captains Coaches Awards Copeland Trophy Leading Goalkickers Captain: Scott Pendlebury Coach: Nathan Buckley Nickname: Magpies

Home grounds	Melbourne Cricket Ground (1992–present) Etihad Stadium (2000–present) Victoria Park (1897–1999)

Premierships (15)	1902 1903 1910 1917 1919 1927 1928 1929 1930 1935 1936 1953 1958 1990 2010

Seasons (119)	1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Awards	Copeland Trophy

Related articles	VFL team Carlton–Collingwood AFL rivalry Anzac Day clash Queen's Birthday clash Colliwobbles Eddie McGuire Joffa Corfe New York Magpies

Fitzroy Football Club

History Records Players Captains Coaches Honour roll Team of the Century Leading Goalkickers

Home grounds	Brunswick Street Oval (1897–1966) Princes Park (1967–69; 1987–93) Junction Oval (1970–84) Victoria Park (1985–86) North Hobart Oval (1952; 1991–92) Western Oval (1994–96) Bruce Stadium (1995)

Premierships (8)	1898 1899 1904 1905 1913 1916 1922 1944

Seasons (100)	1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996

Related articles	Brisbane Lions Fitzroy Bulldogs

Fitzroy Football Club merged with the Brisbane Bears in 1996 to form the Brisbane Lions

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