1931 VFA season

After playing sectional games in 1930, the Association reverted to a simple season format, with each club playing eighteen home-and-home matches, before the top four clubs contested a finals series under the amended Argus system to determine the premiers for the season.

{{#invoke:sports table|main|style=WDL

|res_col_header=Q

|title=1931 VFA ladder

|loss_before_draw=true|for_against_style=points|use_against_percentage=y

|winpoints=4|drawpoints=2

|team1=OAK|name_OAK=Oakleigh

|team2=PMB|name_PMB=Port Melbourne

|team3=NBU|name_NBU=Preston

|team4=NOR|name_NOR=Northcote

|team5=YAR|name_YAR=Yarraville

|team6=COB|name_COB=Coburg

|team7=BRU|name_BRU=Brunswick

|team8=SAN|name_SAN=Sandringham

|team9=PRA|name_PRA=Prahran

|team10=WIL|name_WIL=Williamstown

|team11=BRI|name_BRI=Brighton

|team12=CAM|name_CAM=Camberwell

|win_OAK=14|loss_OAK=4|draw_OAK=0|pf_OAK=1546|pa_OAK=1047|status_OAK=P

|win_PMB=14|loss_PMB=4|draw_PMB=0|pf_PMB=1502|pa_PMB=1089

|win_NBU=12|loss_NBU=5|draw_NBU=1|pf_NBU=1418|pa_NBU=1273

|win_NOR=12|loss_NOR=6|draw_NOR=0|pf_NOR=1620|pa_NOR=1171

|win_YAR=11|loss_YAR=6|draw_YAR=1|pf_YAR=1386|pa_YAR=1328

|win_COB=11|loss_COB=7|draw_COB=0|pf_COB=1371|pa_COB=1342

|win_BRU=9|loss_BRU=9|draw_BRU=0|pf_BRU=1386|pa_BRU=1236

|win_SAN=8|loss_SAN=10|draw_SAN=0|pf_SAN=1665|pa_SAN=1796

|win_PRA=7|loss_PRA=11|draw_PRA=0|pf_PRA=1283|pa_PRA=1492

|win_WIL=5|loss_WIL=13|draw_WIL=0|pf_WIL=1209|pa_WIL=1476

|win_BRI=2|loss_BRI=16|draw_BRI=0|pf_BRI=1237|pa_BRI=1798

|win_CAM=2|loss_CAM=16|draw_CAM=0|pf_CAM=1164|pa_CAM=1734

|status_text_P=Premiers

|col_A=#CCFFCC|text_A=

|result1=A|result2=A|result3=A|result4=A

|class_rules=1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for.

|update=complete

|source={{cite news|newspaper=The Argus|date=28 September 1931|title=Association – Premiership decided|page=11|publication-place=Melbourne|author=Onlooker}}

}}

{{AFLGameHeader|title=Semifinals}}

{{AFLGame|Saturday, 5 September|Port Melbourne|5.8 (38)|A|Northcote|9.11 (65)|Brunswick Cricket Ground|9,000|{{cite news|newspaper=The Argus|publication-place=Melbourne|title=Association – first semi-final|date=7 September 1931|page=12|author=Onlooker}}}}

{{AFLGame|Saturday, 12 September|Oakleigh|6.8 (44)|A|Preston|9.13 (67)|Coburg Cricket Ground|7,000|{{cite news|newspaper=The Argus|publication-place=Melbourne|title=Association – second semi-final|date=14 September 1931|page=12|author=Onlooker}}}}

{{AFLGameFooter}}

{{AFLGameHeader|title=Final}}

{{AFLGame|Saturday, 19 September|Preston|7.9 (51)|A|Northcote|11.22 (88)|Coburg Cricket Ground|10,000|{{cite news|newspaper=The Argus|publication-place=Melbourne|title=Association – Northcote wins|date=21 September 1931|page=11|author=Onlooker}}}}

{{AFLGameFooter}}

{{AFLGameDetailed

|title = 1931 VFA Grand Final

|date = Saturday, 26 September

|home team = Oakleigh

|home Q1 = 2.3 (15)

|home Q2 = 3.7 (25)

|home Q3 = 7.11 (53)

|home final = 10.14 (74)

|home goals= Fraser 3, Rodwell 3, Maher 2, Crameri, Dolan

|home best =

|home injuries =

|home reports =

|winner = H

||away team = Northcote

|away Q1 = 2.1 (13)

|away Q2 = 4.3 (27)

|away Q3 = 9.3 (57)

|away final = 11.5 (71)

|away goals= Simmonds 4, Seymour 3, Byrne 2, Corrigan, Ross

|away best=

|away injuries = Humphries (groin), Pruser (concussion)

|away reports =

|venue = Port Melbourne Cricket Ground

|crowd = 10,000

|report =

|umpires = Stuart

|BOG award =

|BOG winner =

|broadcast =

|anthem =

|notes=

}}

• Don Fraser, Sr. (Oakleigh) was the leading goalkicker for the season, kicking 77 goals in the home-and-home season and 83 goals overall.
• Bill Koop (Prahran) won the Recorder Cup as the Association's best and fairest, polling ten votes. Tom Lahiff (Port Melbourne) finished second with seven votes, and Doug Nicholls (Northcote) finished third with six votes.
• The seconds (Victorian Junior Football Association) premiership was won by Brunswick. Brunswick 12.10 (82) defeated Coburg 5.14 (44) in the Grand Final at Preston on 26 September to win the title.

• The Association and League re-established a permit agreement in 1931, meaning that players could not switch from one competition to the other without a clearance from his original competition. This was the first time a permit agreement had existed between the competitions since before the 1925 season.{{citation|title=Seagulls over Williamstown|last=Fiddian|first=Marc|year=2003|publisher=Williamstown Football Club|publication-place=Williamstown, VIC|page=55}}
• Following Coburg's 11-point victory against Port Melbourne on 30 May, Port Melbourne protested the result on the basis of a timekeeping error. The match was declared void, and in the replay on Wednesday 29 July, Coburg 11.15 (81) defeated Port Melbourne 8.17 (65) by 16 points.{{cite news|newspaper=The Argus|publication-place=Melbourne|title=Football – Association replay|date=30 July 1931|page=10|author=Onlooker}}{{cite news|newspaper=The Argus|publication-place=Melbourne|title=Football – Association v. N.S.W.|date=23 June 1931|page=13|author=Onlooker}}
• On 15 August, a combined Association team 16.11 (107) defeated a combined New South Wales League team 13.17 (95) by twelve points at the Sydney Cricket Ground, before a crowd of 8,608 spectators.{{cite news|newspaper=The Argus|publication-place=Melbourne|title=Association wins – match in Sydney|date=17 August 1931|page=11}}
• Northcote lodged a protest against the result of the Grand Final, requesting the result be quashed a replay be held. Northcote contended that the Oakleigh timekeeper had rung the bell to signal the end of the third quarter approximately five seconds early, and had done so without the permission of the Northcote timekeeper; the ball was in Northcote's forward line at the time, although Oakleigh had possession. The Association found that there was a three to five second discrepancy between the two timekeepers' clocks, but could not say for sure whether the quarter had been played short or long, so it upheld Oakleigh's victory.{{cite news|newspaper=The Argus|publication-place=Melbourne|title=Football – match in dispute|date=1 October 1931|page=10}}

• List of VFA premiers

{{reflist}}

{{cite news|newspaper=The Argus|date=5 September 1932|title=Association – Northcote on top|page=12|publication-place=Melbourne|author=Onlooker}}

{{VFA/VFL seasons}}

{{VFL}}

{{Aussie Rules in Victoria}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:1931 Vfa Season}}

Category:Victorian Football League seasons

VFL