233:, Carlton had an overall record of 15–3, and Fitzroy had an overall record of 14–4, but Fitzroy had a superior percentage to Carlton. Had Carlton lost the Final to Fitzroy, both teams would have had a record of 15–4, but Fitzroy would have been ranked above Carlton with its superior percentage, and Carlton therefore would have lost the right of challenge, meaning that Fitzroy would win the premiership. As it happened, Carlton won the Final, giving them a record of 16–3 compared with Fitzroy's 14–5, so Fitzroy had no right of challenge, and Carlton won the premiership.
463:
Secondly, the minor premier was now seen to have an unfair advantage through its right to challenge to the point where losing the second semi-final could be seen as a preferable route to a premiership: a loss allowed for a week off, while a win would require the minor premier to play on the following
459:
Firstly, there was uncertainty regarding if there would be three or four finals played. This had resulted, to some extent, in the crowd for at least one of the Semi-Finals or the Final exceeding that of the grand final in nine of the 29 seasons that the system was used, including seven of the eleven
256:
as defined by the team on top of the ladder at the end of the home-and-away season, meaning that finals results could no longer influence the right to challenge. Additionally, it became conventional for the two semi-finals to be played on separate weekends, extending the duration of the finals from
467:
Thirdly, there was a clear financial benefit to the clubs involved for a
Challenge (or Grand) Final to be played, as it required another match to be played, bringing with it additional gate takings. As such, it was a common perception that clubs would contrive results to achieve this, leading to
236:
Many
Carlton players and officials, including coach Jack Worrall, erroneously believed that they would have had the right to challenge had they lost the Final: this confusion led to Carlton lodging a complaint with the VFL, and the VFL made further amendments in 1907 to correct for this anomaly.
476:, that removed the minor premiers' right to challenge in favour of giving the minor premier and the second-placed team the advantage of a "double chance": this permitted either team to lose one match (excluding the grand final) without being eliminated, and fixed the number of finals at four.
34:
competitions in the early part of the 20th century. The systems generally comprised a simple four-team tournament, followed by the right of the top ranked team from the home-and-away season to challenge for the premiership. The systems were named after the
Melbourne newspaper
226:, i.e., the team which was ranked highest after the home-and-away season. If the minor premiership had been decided by a close margin, then any losses sustained during the finals could have cost the minor premier its right to challenge or even transferred it to another team.
441:. It was thought that, by playing two games per weekend during the finals instead of one, more overall spectators would be able to attend the finals; and although this did occur, it did not translate to higher receipts, and the scheme was abandoned after one year.
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At the conclusion of the first three weeks, if the minor premier had finished on top of the round-robin ladder, then that team automatically won the major premiership, but if another team won the round-robin competition, then the finals progressed to Week Four.
354:
only, the VFL trialled a new format, in which the finals were played as a four-team round-robin, but including the minor premiers' right to challenge. At the end of the home-and-away season, the top four teams qualified for the finals tournament.
133:: after the simple knock-out tournament was completed, the team with the best win–loss record for the season would have the opportunity to challenge the winner of the knock-out tournament to a Grand Final for the premiership.
122:
The major flaw with the Argus system used in 1901 was that the four qualifying teams had a statistically equal chance to win the premiership. This particularly displeased
Geelong, who had won the
310:
If the winner of the Week Three final was not the Minor
Premier, then the finals progress to Week Four. The final in week three became known as either the Final or the Preliminary Final.
525:
486:
All leagues using the Argus system eventually migrated to the Page–McIntyre system, while the "double chance" and a fixed number of finals remain part of the finals series today.
338:
This variation of the Argus system was introduced into the VFA in 1903, four years before it was used in the VFL, being used by that competition until 1932, and was used in
483:
between 1927 and 1930, the latter two of which were won in challenge finals. No VFL/AFL team has won four premierships in a row since the Argus system was replaced.
726:
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
434:
The winner of this match became the major premier for the season. In the sole VFL season that the system was used, no grand final was ultimately required.
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If the winner of the Week Two final did not have the best record in the league as defined above, then the finals progressed to Week Three.
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The structure of the finals was mostly the same as the first amended Argus system, except that the right to challenge was given to the
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The scheme was developed as a result of demand for entry to finals matches in the early 1920s exceeding the capacity of the
339:
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first adopted the "Argus system", after issues had emerged with the fairness of the system which had been introduced in
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The end of the Argus system in the VFL coincided with the end of a sequence of four premierships in a row won by
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After having utilised four variations of the Argus system for thirty years, three clear drawbacks had emerged:
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183:
for the season. In these cases, the final in week two has retrospectively become known as the grand final.
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50:
480:
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To prevent a repeat of this situation, the VFL re-introduced a provision which had existed under the
31:
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as the second semi-final between
Collingwood and Melbourne was drawn, meaning a replay was required.
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The second version of the amended Argus system was used by the VFL between 1907 and 1930, except in
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The finals were played over three weeks (with a provision for a fourth week), under the fixture:
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307:. In these cases, the final in week three has retrospectively become known as the grand final.
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concern amongst the media, fans and officials that the Semi-Finals were not genuine contests.
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If the winner of the Week Two final had the best record in the league across all matches,
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Essendon won the round-robin series in 1924, meaning that no Grand Final was required.
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To correct for these flaws, the VFL introduced a new system in 1931, the
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won the Week Three final, then that team was immediately awarded the
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An example of this occurred in the 1906 VFL season: leading into the
526:
History of
Australian rules football in Victoria (1853–1900)
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24:
249:. This is the most widely known variation of the Argus system.
712:
Flying Higher: History of the
Essendon Football Club 1872–1996
628:(9 January 1924). "Football Finals – New Scheme Suggested".
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The initial Argus system was, in effect, a simple four-team
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were a set of related systems of end-of-season championship
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This variant of the Argus system was played as follows:
614:, Hastings, VIC: Galaxy Print and Design, p. 47
272:Week Two: the second semi-final was played between
554:Every Game Ever Played: VFL/AFL Results, 1897–1991
261:Week One: the first semi-final was played between
140:Week One: the first semi-final was played between
68:Week One: the first semi-final was played between
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177:including all finals up to and including Week Two
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191:Week Three: the grand final was played between
148:, and the second semi-final was played between
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599:. Broken Hill, NSW. 7 January 1933. p. 6.
422:Week Four: the grand final was played between
315:Week Four: the grand final was played between
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714:, Essendon Football Club, (Melbourne), 1996.
117:
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556:(3rd ed.), Ringwood, VIC: Viking O'Neil
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257:two or three weeks to three or four weeks.
41:, which developed and supported their use.
682:– via National Library of Australia.
584:– via National Library of Australia.
674:. Melbourne. 19 September 1904. p. 7
460:seasons between 1919–1923 and 1925–1930.
16:Australian rules football playoff system
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283:Week Three: a final was played between
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746:AFL Statistics: Match Scores 1897–2007
576:. Melbourne. 28 March 1903. p. 18
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595:"Central ground for Victorian Assn".
159:Week Two: a final was played between
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766:History of Australian rules football
328:The winner of this match became the
204:The winner of this match became the
107:The winner of this match became the
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218:System, the right to challenge did
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632:. Melbourne, VIC. p. 10.
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728:, Viking, (Ringwood), 1996.
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642:Four finals were played in
612:The Best of Football Trivia
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241:Second amended Argus system
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666:"THE FOOTBALL PREMIERSHIP"
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214:Under this variant of the
118:First amended Argus system
552:Rodgers, Stephen (1992),
193:Team with the best record
51:Victorian Football League
32:Australian rules football
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439:Melbourne Cricket Ground
346:Round-robin Argus system
222:automatically go to the
521:Round-robin tournament
610:Marc Fiddian (2003),
64:, played as follows:
761:VFL/AFL Grand Finals
474:Page–McIntyre system
424:minor premier vs 1st
62:knock-out tournament
21:Argus finals systems
91:was played between
771:Tournament systems
45:First Argus system
698:The Tigers Of Old
496:AFL finals series
305:Major Premiership
124:minor premiership
30:used commonly in
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691:References
678:14 October
630:The Herald
568:"FOOTBALL"
449:See also:
445:Criticisms
380:Week two:
362:Week one:
28:tournament
696:Hogan P:
671:The Argus
626:'Kickero'
573:The Argus
38:The Argus
490:See also
464:weekend.
350:For the
580:4 March
516:Playoff
25:playoff
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321:Winner
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197:Winner
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161:Winner
100:Winner
93:Winner
532:Notes
323:Final
231:Final
216:Argus
199:Final
89:final
730:ISBN
716:ISBN
702:ISBN
680:2014
644:1928
582:2015
247:1924
55:1898
19:The
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