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Results and statistics for the VFL/AFL season of 1951.

Premiership season

In 1951, the VFL competition consisted of twelve teams of 18 on-the-field players each, plus two substitute players, known as the 19th man and the 20th man. A player could be substituted for any reason; however, once substituted, a player could not return to the field of play under any circumstances.

Teams played each other in a home-and-away season of 18 rounds; matches 12 to 18 were the "home-and-way reverse" of matches 1 to 7.

Once the 18 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1951 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the "Page-McIntyre system".

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

Round 8

Round 9

Round 10

Round 11

Round 12

Round 13

Round 14

Round 15

Round 16

Round 17

Round 18

Ladder

All teams played 18 games during the home and away season, for a total of 108. An additional 4 games were played during the finals series.

Finals

First Semi-Final

Second Semi-Final

Preliminary Final

Grand final

Awards

• The 1951 VFL Premiership team was Geelong.
• The VFL's leading goalkicker was George Goninon of Geelong with 86 goals (including the finals series).
  • John Coleman of Essendon kicked 75 goals in the home-and-away season and did not play in the final series — thus, if there had been such a thing as a Coleman Medal in 1951, he would have won it.
• The winner of the 1951 Brownlow Medal was Bernie Smith of Geelong with 23 votes.
• Melbourne took the "wooden spoon" in 1951.

Notable events

• "Coulter Law" payments are increased from ₤4-0-0 to ₤5-0-0 per match.
• VFL establishes the Dr. W. C. McClelland Club Trophy. The trophy is awarded on the basis of an aggregate of the performances of all three club teams, week by week, over the entire season. A First Eighteen win gives a club 10 points, a Second Eighteen win gives a club 4 points, and a Third Eighteen win brings a club 2 points. In the case of a drawn match the relevant points are halved.
• In the best performance by a centre half-back since "Duncan's match" in 1927, South Melbourne's centre half-back Ron Clegg took 32 marks in the drawn match against Fitzroy.
• Essendon's full-forward John Coleman was reported for striking Carlton's back-pocket Harry Caspar in the last home and away match of the season. Coleman had scored seven goals during the match. Coleman was suspended for four matches and, as a consequence, he missed the entire final series (see Harry Caspar: "the man who cost Essendon the flag").
• In a desperate effort to cover for the loss of players through suspension, illness and injury, Essendon's coach Dick Reynolds come out of retirement and plays in the Grand Final as 20th man. Reynolds came on in the last quarter. He did not score any goals and, when he accidentally bumped into Keith McDonald, he prevented McDonald taking a critical mark.

References

• Maplestone, M., Flying Higher: History of the Essendon Football Club 1872-1996, Essendon Football Club, (Melbourne), 1996. ISBN 0-959-17402-8
• Rogers, S. & Brown, A., Every Game Ever Played: VFL/AFL Results 1897-1997 (Sixth Edition), Viking Books, (Ringwood), 1998. ISBN 0-670-90809-6
• 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

External links

• 1951 Season - AFL Tables