Footscray
1954 season
PresidentOtto Grobbecker
CoachCharlie Sutton
Captain(s)Charlie Sutton
Home groundWestern Oval
VFL season2nd
Finals seriesPremiers
Best and FairestTed Whitten
Leading goalkickerJack Collins (84)
← 1953 1955 →

The 1954 Footscray season was the club's 29th since they began competing in the Victorian Football League (VFL) in 1925. After falling short in the Preliminary final the previous season, the Bulldogs finally won through to their first Grand Final, and beat Melbourne to claim their first VFL premiership, making them the first of the teams admitted to the VFL in 1925 to do so.

Home-and-Away Season Summary and Results

The Bulldogs went into the 1954 VFL season as premiership contenders. However, the season did not start well with losses St Kilda and Richmond, both of which finished in the bottom four the previous season.[1] In the following two matches, against South Melbourne and Carlton, the club returned to form with Jack Collins booting eight and nine goals respectively to help propel the Bulldogs to victory.[2][3] In Round 7 against Hawthorn at Glenferrie Oval, Footscray, led by Don Ross after Ted Whitten injured his shoulder, came from 23 points down at the last break to kick seven goals and win by nine points.[4] With Richmond upsetting Collingwood at Victoria Park that same day, the Bulldogs went to the top of the ladder, where they would stay until Round 11, when they lost to Collingwood by ten points in a top-of-the-ladder clash at Victoria Park. Footscray slipped to fourth in Round 16 when, at Arden Street Oval against North Melbourne, they looked set for a win, being 13 points up with five minutes remaining, before the home side rallied to snatch a draw with a behind on the siren. With two rounds remaining and seven teams still in contention for a finals berth, the pressure was on the Bulldogs when they met second-placed Essendon at Windy Hill. In a performance that set them up for their premiership success, Footscray won the match with a decisive five-goal-to-none third quarter to run out 19-point winners. Whitten was judged best on ground and Collins kicked six goals, while Essendon were clearly missing full-forward John Coleman, who had gone down with a career-ending knee injury earlier in the season.[5]

Round123456789101112131415161718
GroundHAHAHHAHAHAAHAHAAH
ResultLLWWWWWWLWLWLWLDWW
Position9117532111122223422
Updated to match(es) played on 18 September 2021. Source: VFL Ladder
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss
Notes: Positions show the situation at the end of the corresponding Game Round (GR); not the position at the conclusion of matches or game days

1954 Finals Series

Captain-coach Charlie Sutton, who had been struggling since injuring his left knee against Carlton, was declared fit by the selectors to play against Geelong in the Semi Final after getting through a training session,[6] but pulled out at the last minute on advice of the club doctor.[7] Lionel Ryan, who had been dropped to accommodate Sutton, was reinstated to the team, and defender Wally Donald took charge of the team on the field.

The Melbourne Cricket Ground was undergoing renovation work to be ready for the 1956 Summer Olympics, and the demolition of the public stand left a gap for the breeze to affect the game. Geelong kicked with the wind in the first quarter, and in the early going it looked like the pace and class which had taken them to the last three Grand Finals would again do the job. The Bulldogs began to work their way into the match, led by their defence – the finest in the League – which managed to restrict Geelong to four goals whilst themselves kicking three against the wind, goals that would be crucial in deciding the outcome.[7][8]

Ladder

(P)Premiers
Qualified for finals
# Team P W L D PF PA  % Pts
1Geelong18135016301225133.152
2Footscray (P)18116114231095130.046
3North Melbourne1811611355136199.646
4Melbourne18117015041239121.444
5Richmond18108015031310114.740
6Essendon18108014711364107.840
7Collingwood18108013121301100.840
8Carlton1881001382139199.432
9Hawthorn1881001177133788.032
10South Melbourne1861201209148281.624
11Fitzroy1841311174160473.218
12St Kilda1841311149158072.718

Rules for classification: 1. premiership points; 2. percentage; 3. points for
Average score: 75.4
Source: AFL Tables

See also

References

  1. ↑ "TIGERS WIN ALL WAY". The Argus. Melbourne. 26 April 1954. p. 17. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  2. ↑ "COLLINS LEADS REVIVAL". The Argus. Melbourne. 3 May 1954. p. 16. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  3. ↑ Bickford, George (10 May 1954). "Collins beats Carlton". The Argus. Melbourne. p. 16. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  4. ↑ Buggy, Hugh (30 May 1954). "BULLDOGS CRASH THROUGH 7 GOALS TO SNATCH GAME". The Argus. Melbourne. p. 11. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  5. ↑ Buggy, Hugh (23 August 1954). "BULLDOG BURST SHATTERS DONS Magnificent 3rd term sweeps aside baffled defence". The Argus. Melbourne. p. 19. Retrieved 9 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ↑ Beames, Percy (10 September 1954). "BULLDOGS TAKE RISK WITH SUTTON". The Age. No. 31, 000. Victoria, Australia. p. 10. Retrieved 10 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. 1 2 Beames, Percy (13 September 1954). "BULLDOGS TOO STRONG FOR GEELONG". The Age. No. 31, 002. Victoria, Australia. p. 16. Retrieved 10 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ↑ Buggy, Hugh (13 September 1954). "SEMI WIN SHOWS THE REAL BULLDOG SPIRIT". The Argus. Melbourne. p. 19. Retrieved 10 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
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