Action from the 1896 VFA grand final between South Melbourne (in hoops) and Collingwood, the last game before the start of the VFL.
GEELONG v SOUTH MELBOURNE (at Corio Oval)
Round 5
June 5, 1897
The first of the 228 meetings between Geelong and the club now known as Sydney was a turning point for the VFL’s only non-Melbourne representative.
Having won just once in the first month of the new competition, Geelong was a significant underdog against a South Melbourne outfit which hadn’t put a foot wrong since round one.
But the home side was on-song that day, and it cut South Melbourne apart early with speed and skilful drop-kicking.
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The Souths managed only one behind in the second and third terms, and although the decision to swing Dave Adamson on-ball in the final quarter resulted in back-to-back goals, they had been too slow to spin the magnets.
Eddy James and 17-year-old Charlie Coles were stars for Geelong with three goals each.
A 48-point win by the Pivotonians (as they were then known) began a run to the minor premiership. South Melbourne would fail to qualify for the final four.
I note that there is a reference to “the team now known as Sydney Swans”…. from an historical perspective, the Swans and South Melbourne are completely separate entities. This is a nonsense perpetrated by Sydney spin doctors, who would like to attach themselves to the wonderful club that was South Melbourne.
In late 1982, the then VFL President, Allen Aylett, and VFL board withdrew funding from the KSAS (Keep South At South) group in an attempt to break the group’s resolve. When it was then perceived that South Melbourne were unviable (surprise, surprise with no bail out funding), the VFL revoked their football licence… thereby ending the South Melbourne football club as an entity. Several weeks later a new licence was issued for the Sydney Swans, to use former South players, colours and IP when playing future games.
There was a distinct break ending one institution and starting another. It is quite disingenuous for Sydney to call themselves “The Bloods”. A typically Sydney trait to reinvent their history to suit themselves. There are plenty of South Melbourne fans who have never supported the Swans…. just a thought