01 Oct 2011

 
   
 

 

 
 

Premiers and Runners-up - Season Results Against Each Other

Seeing a list of Premiers and Runner-up even with Grand Final results doesn't give the full story. Below and on the next page are the combined results for the season of the Premiers and Runners-up for each year. Some Premiers clearly were superior over the team that finished second to them, while other Premiers can be seen to have 'stolen' the flag from a rival who appears to have been the better team except on the day of  the all important last match. With the exceptions of 1897 and 1924, the winner of the last match of the year has their name in the records as Premiers, however looking at some of these results one might begin to understand why Round Robin systems were tried in 1897 and 1924. See also:  Premiers and Runners-up - Season Results - Full List 1897-2011. ►
 

1: Premiers that defeated the Runners-up in all meetings.
Ranked by matches won and then by percentage.
Year Premiers P W L D G B Pts % Runners-up G B Pts % Margin % Diff
1956 Melbourne 4 4 0 0 49 59 353 151.50 v Collingwood 32 41 233 66.01 120 85.50
1985 Essendon 4 4 0 0 78 55 523 147.32 v Hawthorn 53 37 355 67.88 168 79.45
1974 Richmond 4 4 0 0 56 62 398 139.16 v Nth Melbourne 39 52 286 71.86 112 67.30
1971 Hawthorn 4 4 0 0 62 52 424 126.95 v St. Kilda 48 46 334 78.77 90 48.17
1976 Hawthorn 4 4 0 0 57 67 409 124.32 v Nth Melbourne 47 47 329 80.44 80 43.88
1904 Fitzroy 3 3 0 0 33 27 225 218.45 v Carlton 13 25 103 45.78 122 172.67
1952 Geelong 3 3 0 0 36 32 248 208.40 v Collingwood 15 29 119 47.98 129 160.42
1911 Essendon 3 3 0 0 29 34 208 187.39 v Collingwood 13 33 111 53.37 97 134.02
1980 Richmond 3 3 0 0 48 53 341 171.36 v Collingwood 24 55 199 58.36 142 113.00
2011 Geelong 3 3 0 0 48 45 333 169.90 v Collingwood 29 22 196 58.86 137 111.04
1939 Melbourne 3 3 0 0 58 58 406 165.71 v Collingwood 34 41 245 60.34 161 105.37
1964 Melbourne 3 3 0 0 37 49 271 161.31 v Collingwood 22 36 168 61.99 103 99.32
1962 Essendon 3 3 0 0 40 39 279 144.56 v Carlton 28 25 193 69.18 86 75.38
1899 Fitzroy 3 3 0 0 18 23 131 140.86 v Sydney 12 21 93 70.99 38 69.87
1965 Essendon 3 3 0 0 37 45 267 140.53 v St. Kilda 25 40 190 71.16 77 69.37
1934 Richmond 3 3 0 0 49 40 334 136.33 v Sydney 34 41 245 73.35 89 62.97
1967 Richmond 3 3 0 0 52 38 350 120.27 v Geelong 42 39 291 83.14 59 37.13
1915 Carlton 3 3 0 0 31 30 216 120.00 v Collingwood 25 30 180 83.33 36 36.67
1920 Richmond 3 3 0 0 23 30 168 118.31 v Collingwood 20 22 142 84.52 26 33.79
1918 Sydney 3 3 0 0 28 30 198 117.86 v Collingwood 22 36 168 84.85 30 33.01
1925 Geelong 3 3 0 0 34 39 243 109.95 v Collingwood 30 41 221 90.95 22 19.01
1959 Melbourne 2 2 0 0 36 28 244 182.09 v Essendon 19 20 134 54.92 110 127.17
1994 West Coast 2 2 0 0 34 32 236 171.01 v Geelong 18 30 138 58.47 98 112.54
1954 WB/Footscray 2 2 0 0 25 25 175 162.04 v Melbourne 15 18 108 61.71 67 100.32
1999 Nth Melbourne 2 2 0 0 32 21 213 150.00 v Carlton 20 22 142 66.67 71 83.33
1941 Melbourne 2 2 0 0 35 30 240 147.24 v Essendon 22 31 163 67.92 77 79.32
2000 Essendon 2 2 0 0 34 37 241 143.45 v Melbourne 24 24 168 69.71 73 73.74
2001 Brisbane 2 2 0 0 30 30 210 134.62 v Essendon 22 24 156 74.29 54 60.33
1995 Carlton 2 2 0 0 37 31 253 133.86 v Geelong 26 33 189 74.7 64 59.16
1945 Carlton 2 2 0 0 23 21 159 127.20 v Sydney 17 23 125 78.62 34 48.58
1997 Adelaide 2 2 0 0 29 27 201 125.63 v St. Kilda 22 28 160 79.6 41 46.02
1989 Hawthorn 2 2 0 0 47 33 315 104.65 v Geelong 46 25 301 95.56 14 9.10
Prepared using TMRdb ©
 

2 : Premiers that only defeated the Runners-up in the Grand Final.
Ranked in inverse order by match/win ratio and then by percentage.
Year Premiers P W L D G B Pts % Runners-up G B Pts % Margin % Diff
1970 Carlton 4 1 3 0 48 40 328 76.64 v Collingwood 60 68 428 130.49 -100 -53.85
1984 Essendon 4 1 3 0 51 60 366 90.82 v Hawthorn 57 61 403 110.11 -37 -19.29
1975 North Melbourne 4 1 3 0 53 46 364 97.33 v Hawthorn 54 50 374 102.75 -10 -5.42
1948 Melbourne 5 1 3 1 52 46 358 89.50 v Essendon 53 82 400 111.73 -42 -22.23
1972 Carlton 5 1 3 1 73 61 499 90.89 v Richmond 77 87 549 110.02 -50 -19.13
1900 Melbourne 3 1 2 0 11 27 93 60.78 v Fitzroy 21 27 153 164.52 -60 -103.73
1966 St. Kilda 3 1 2 0 29 34 208 71.97 v Collingwood 42 37 289 138.94 -81 -66.97
1910 Collingwood 3 1 2 0 16 22 118 73.29 v Carlton 21 35 161 136.44 -43 -63.15
1958 Collingwood 3 1 2 0 26 32 188 83.19 v Melbourne 32 34 226 120.21 -38 -37.03
1923 Essendon 3 1 2 0 20 37 157 85.33 v Fitzroy 24 40 184 117.20 -27 -31.87
1901 Essendon 3 1 2 0 14 28 112 86.82 v Collingwood 18 21 129 115.18 -17 -28.36
1981 Carlton 3 1 2 0 34 51 255 87.03 v Collingwood 43 35 293 114.90 -38 -27.87
1930 Collingwood 3 1 2 0 33 39 237 94.42 v Geelong 33 53 251 105.91 -14 -11.48
1998 Adelaide 3 1 2 0 43 41 299 106.41 v North Melbourne 37 59 281 93.98 18 12.43
2009 Geelong 2 1 1 0 25 15 165 103.77 v St Kilda 23 21 159 96.36 6 7.41
2008 Hawthorn 2 1 1 0 29 18 192 108.47 v Geelong 23 39 177 92.19 15 16.29
Prepared using TMRdb ©

Carlton in 1970 by this reckoning is perhaps the perpetrator of the biggest upset or injustice, which is further emphasized by the result of the 
Grand Final rematch in 1971.

3: Premiers equal in matches won but trailing in combined match results.
Ranked in inverse order by percentage.
Year Premiers P W L D G B Pts % Runners-up G B Pts % Margin % Diff
1898 Fitzroy 4 2 2 0 14 32 116 69.05 v Essendon 23 30 168 144.8 -52 -75.78
1921 Richmond 4 2 2 0 28 36 204 80.95 v Carlton 33 54 252 123.5 -48 -42.58
1996 North Melbourne 2 1 1 0 29 30 204 85.00 v Sydney 37 18 240 117.6 -36 -32.65
1913 Fitzroy 4 2 2 0 23 50 188 85.84 v St. Kilda 30 39 219 116.5 -31 -30.64
1909 Sydney 4 2 2 0 24 30 174 86.57 v Carlton 27 39 201 115.5 -27 -28.95
1935 Collingwood 4 2 2 0 47 58 340 86.73 v Sydney 55 62 392 115.3 -52 -28.56
1922 Fitzroy 4 2 2 0 35 45 255 88.24 v Collingwood 40 49 289 113.3 -34 -25.10
1907 Carlton 4 2 2 0 19 58 172 90.53 v Sydney 26 34 190 110.5 -18 -19.94
2005 Sydney 4 2 2 0 39 36 270 91.84 v West Coast 41 48 294 108.9 -24 -17.05
1991 Hawthorn 4 2 2 0 57 58 400 93.02 v West Coast 64 46 430 107.5 -30 -14.48
1916 Fitzroy 6 3 3 0 52 65 377 93.78 v Carlton 54 78 402 106.6 -25 -12.85
1943 Richmond 4 2 2 0 46 63 339 98.83 v Essendon 48 55 343 101.2 -4 -2.35
Prepared using TMRdb ©

Worthy of note is the fact that Fitzroy's "wooden-spooner winning the flag" effort in 1916 is certainly not the most dubious Premiership result. 

 

Adelaide 1 2
Brisbane 3 3
Carlton 16 16
Collingwood 15 15
Essendon 16 16
Fitzroy 6 8
Fremantle 0 0
Geelong 10 9
Hawthorn 11 10
Melbourne 11 12
North Melbourne 3 4
Port Adelaide 1 1
Richmond 9 10
St. Kilda 1 1
Sydney/SM 5 4
University 0 0
West Coast 5 3
WB/Footscray 1 1
Totals 115 115

 
  • 16: Number of Premiers whose only win against the Runners-up was the Grand Final.
  • 32: Number of Premiers who defeated the Runners-up in all meetings.
  • 33: Number of Premiers who were undefeated against the Runners-up  - 32 (1963 Geelong 3 wins and 1 draw v Hawthorn.)
  • 22: Number of Premiers and Runners-up who won an equal number of matches against each other.
  • Where matches won are equal, number of Premiers ahead in combined results - 9
  • Where matches won are equal number of Runners-up ahead in combined results - 12
  • 1: Number of seasons where Premiers and Runners-up equal in matches won and points for and against -  (Carlton and Essendon 1968)
  • 26: Number of seasons where the Premiership would have been different if it was decided on the combined result for the season. 
    The table at the left shows how things might have been if the Premiership had been decided by some sort of extended Round Robin system where season results were taken into account. The left column shows the alternative Premiership list, the right the actual.

    Perhaps the most significant change in this scenario would be that Collingwood would not win the 1930 premiership, thus depriving them of the record of 4 consecutive flags and further down this alternate timeline, Melbourne would win the 1958 premiership giving them 6 consecutive wins.


Teams that Defeated the Premiers and Runners-up in All Meetings
   

Final Placing

                

 
1954 Collingwood 7th 12 10 82 v WB/Footscray 10 12 72  
    15 12 102 v Melbourne 9 10 64  
    8 6 54 v Melbourne 5 16 46  
1981 Essendon 5th 11 13 79 v Carlton 6 8 44  
    14 15 99 v Carlton 15 8 98  
    21 18 144 v Collingwood 14 3 87  
    12 16 88 v Collingwood 9 15 69  
1992 Collingwood 5th 8 15 63 v West Coast 8 14 62  
    12 9 81 v Geelong 9 12 66  
1993 Nth Melbourne 5th 19 15 129 v Essendon 13 13 91  
    20 14 134 v Carlton 14 12 96  
1994 Hawthorn 7th 19 15 129 v West Coast 8 10 58  
    15 10 100 v West Coast 7 12 54  
    16 19 115 v Geelong 11 13 79  
1995 St Kilda 14th 11 14 80 v Carlton 3 6 24  
    13 15 93 v Geelong 13 7 85  
1998 Richmond 9th 14 8 92 v Adelaide 11 13 79  
    19 13 127 v Nth Melbourne 14 8 92  
2001 Carlton 6th 21 16 142 v Brisbane 9 14 68  
    14 9 93 v Essendon 11 10 76  
    16 6 102 v Essendon 14 11 95  
2003 West Coast 8th 24 16 160 v Brisbane 13 13 91  
    18 11 119 v Collingwood 15 13 103  

In 1999 Essendon defeated both Nth Melbourne and Carlton twice each but lost to Carlton by 1 point in the Preliminary Final.

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 Premiers and Runners-up - Season Results - Full List 1897-2011. ►