1928 VFL Grand Final

The 1928 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Collingwood Football Club and Richmond Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 29 September 1928. It was the 32nd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1928 VFL season. The match, attended by 50,026 spectators, was won by Collingwood by a margin of 33 points, marking that club's seventh premiership victory and second in succession.

Background

Despite winning the 1927 flag, the 1928 season held significant hurdles for the Magpies to overcome – contentious pay cuts, a threatened player’s strike, allegations of bribery against two team members and a long injury list contributed to a late-season slump. Still, they managed to top the ladder by the end of the season, winning 15 of 18 home-and-away games.

In contrast, Richmond was in excellent shape at the end of the home-and-away season. The side finished second on the ladder, and defeated Carlton by 53 points in the First Semi-Final. Collingwood and Melbourne contested a draw in the Second Semi-Final, forcing a replay the following week which was won by Collingwood by four points. As such, Richmond had a three-week break between its Semi-Final and the Grand Final.

Right to challenge

This season was played under the amended Argus System. If Richmond had won this match, Collingwood would have had the right to challenge Richmond to a rematch for the premiership on the following weekend, because Collingwood was the minor premier. The winner of that match would then have won the premiership.^[1]

Match summary

Collingwood saw Richmond as a skillful, confident team, but also vulnerable to being distracted as well. They set out to taunt the Tigers with name-calling and other verbal challenges while maintaining the ball as their first objective.

The first quarter was a scramble, and the defenses of both sides held. Collingwood used all six of their followers in the ruck for the first half, saving Percy Rowe for the second half. A blistering 10 minutes in the 2nd quarter saw Collingwood seize control of the match to lead by 21 points at half time, with Gordon Coventry kicking 4 goals for the quarter. Rowe repeatedly absorbed the pressure from Richmond’s backs to provide protection for Coventry run to the ball. Despite the Tigers reducing their opponent’s lead to 16 points at 3-quarter time, the Magpies banged on 2 quick goals early in the final quarter to effectively seal the game. Collingwood won by 33 points, and Coventry finished with 9 goals, a Grand Final record that stood for 61 years, until equaled by Gary Ablett in the 1989 VFL Grand Final.

Match statistics

	1st	2nd	3rd	Final
Collingwood	2.4	7.8	9.11	13.18 (96)
Richmond	0.3	4.5	7.7	9.9 (63)

Best	Collingwood	G Coventry, H Collier, S Coventry, Rowe, A Collier, F Murphy, Rumney, Libbis
	Richmond	O’Halloran, Murdoch, Watson, B McCormack, Harris, Lilburne, Fincher
Goals	Collingwood	G Coventry (9), L Murphy (2), Harris, Makeham
	Richmond	Weidner (2), Titus (2), O’Halloran (2), Emprey, (2), Goding

Umpire - Jack McMurray
Attendance - 50,026
Gate - ₤2,533

Teams

Collingwood
B:	Harold Rumney	Charlie Dibbs	Albert Lauder
HB:	Albert Collier	George Clayden	Bob Makeham
C:	Norm MacLeod	Jack Beveridge	Bruce Andrew
HF:	John Harris	Frank Murphy	Harry Chesswas
F:	Percy Rowe	Gordon Coventry	Harry Collier
Foll:	Syd Coventry (c)	Len Murphy	Billy Libbis
Reserve(s):
Coach:	Jock McHale

Richmond
B:	Don Harris	Donald Don (c)	Jack Bisset
HB:	Joe Murdoch	Bert Foster	Basil McCormack
C:	Stan Judkins	Les Gallagher	Carl Watson
HF:	Harry Weidner	George Rudolph	Jack Baggott
F:	Ralph Empey	Jack Titus	Fred Goding
Foll:	Thomas O'Halloran	Cyril Lilburne	Jack Fincher
Reserve(s):
Coach:	Checker Hughes

References

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

Atkinson, Graeme: The Complete Book of AFL Finals, 1996. ISBN 1-875971-47-5
McFarlane, Glenn and Roberts, Michael: The Machine - The Inside Story of Football's Greatest Team, 2005. ISBN 0-9586412-3-4

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 1928 VFL premiers

Collingwood 13.18 (96) defeated Richmond 9.9 (63), at the Melbourne Cricket Ground

1. Beveridge 4. A. Collier 5. H. Collier 6. Clayden 7. G. Coventry 8. S. Coventry (c) 9. Chesswas 10. Dibbs 12. Harris 13. Libbis 14. Lauder 16. MacLeod 17. L. Murphy 18. F. Murphy 19. Makeham 21. Rowe 22. Rumney 27. Andrew

Coach: McHale

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

Richmond Football Club

History Records Current squad Players Captains Coaches Individual awards Jack Dyer Medal Michael Roach Medal Captain: Trent Cotchin Coach: Damien Hardwick Nickname: Tigers

Stadiums	Punt Road Oval (1908–64) Melbourne Cricket Ground (1964–present)

Premierships (10)	1920 1921 1932 1934 1943 1967 1969 1973 1974 1980

Seasons (104)	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

Related articles	VFL team Dreamtime at the 'G

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