1929 VFL grand final

History

Collingwood’s 1929 season was extremely successful. They won all 18 games of the home-and-away season, the only club to achieve the feat as of 2024; Gordon Coventry became the first player to kick 100 goals in a season (124 in total), and Albert Collier won the Brownlow Medal.

While Collingwood finished on top of the ladder, Carlton was second with 15 wins, Richmond third with 12 wins and a draw and St Kilda fourth with 12 wins. The second semi-final saw a massive upset, with the rugged and determined Richmond beating the undefeated Collingwood by 62 points. Richmond went on to beat Carlton in the preliminary final with a thrilling finish, Richmond kicking 3.1 (19) in the final five minutes of the match to convert a 13-point deficit into a six-point victory. As minor premiers under the Argus finals system, Collingwood had the right of challenge, and thus the grand final was scheduled between Collingwood and Richmond. It was the third consecutive year that the two clubs had faced off in the grand final.

In the week leading up to the match, Collingwood received handwritten anonymous letters, threatening the lives of eleven prominent players. They were intercepted by officials and withheld from the players until after the game.

Match summary

Richmond kicked the first goal of the day but wasted opportunities for the rest of the quarter. Collingwood took advantage and led by 27 points at half time, a lead they held for the rest of the match. The two teams fought determinedly and, quite often, outside the spirit of the game. Bob Makeham was knocked senseless in the second quarter, although he played on despite concussion.

While Gordon Coventry kicked only two goals for the day, the attention that the Richmond defence paid him allowed Horrie ‘Tubby’ Edmonds to fulfill the most important day of his footballing life, kicking five goals playing deep near the boundary line in attack.

Charlie Ahern, 24 years old and playing in only his third VFL match, provided inspiration to the side. His main role was to protect Syd Coventry and, despite fracturing his arm, he battled on manfully, and held his own in what was, at times, a physically spiteful match. It was Ahern's last senior match, and he died only 18 months later from rectal cancer.

Collingwood won by 29 points, attributable to the Magpies’ rock-solid defence, Edmonds' five goals and that players carried on in the face of serious injuries.

Match statistics

• Umpire – R Scott
• Attendance – 63,366
• Gate – £3,227

Teams

References

• Atkinson, Graeme: The Complete Book of AFL Finals, 1996.
• McFarlane, Glenn and Roberts, Michael: The Machine – The Inside Story of Football's Greatest Team, 2005.

References

1. (30 September 1929). "Collingwood Premiers.". [[The Argus (Melbourne).
2. Gerald Brosnan. (23 September 1929). "Richmond wins greatest league final in years". The Sun News-Pictorial.