View source for 1925 VFL grand final

{{Short description|Grand final of the 1925 Victorian Football League season}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2017}}
{{Use Australian English|date=December 2017}}
{{Infobox Australian rules football grand final
| year = 1925
| competition = VFL
| image = 
| home = [[File:Geelong Football Club Colours.svg|50px]]<br/> {{AFL Gee}}
| home_score = 10.19 (79)
| away = [[File:Collingwood icon.svg|50px]]<br/>{{AFL Col}}
| away_score = 9.15 (69)
| home_abbr     = GEE
| away_abbr     = COLL
| home_qtr1     = 3.2 (20)
| home_qtr2     = 7.8 (50)
| home_qtr3     = 10.13 (73)
| home_qtr4     = 10.19 (79)
| away_qtr1     = 2.5 (17)
| away_qtr2     = 4.9 (33)
| away_qtr3     = 6.12 (48)
| away_qtr4     = 9.15 (69)
| date = 10 October 1925
| attendance = 64,288
| stadium = [[Melbourne Cricket Ground]]
| umpire = [[Jack McMurray Sr.]]
| last = 1923
| next = 1926
}}

The '''1925 VFL Grand Final''' was an [[Australian rules football]] game contested between the [[Geelong Football Club]] and [[Collingwood Football Club]], held at the [[Melbourne Cricket Ground]] in [[Melbourne]] on 10 October 1925. It was the 27th annual [[VFL Grand Final|grand final]] of the [[Victorian Football League (1897–1989)|Victorian Football League]], staged to determine the [[List of AFL premiers|premiers]] for the [[1925 VFL season]]. The match, attended by 64,288 spectators, was won by Geelong by a margin of 10 points, marking that club's first VFL premiership victory.

Geelong, competing in their first VFL grand final, had been the best side all season, having lost only two games on their way to the minor premiership and at one stage put together a sequence of 12 successive wins. Collingwood on the other hand had only made the finals on percentage, a spot only cemented when they defeated South Melbourne by 65 points in the final round.

Geelong outscored Collingwood in each of the first three quarters to open up a 25-point lead going into the final term. Collingwood finished strongly but Geelong held on to claim its first VFL premiership. Captain-coach [[Cliff Rankin]] starred with five goals.

[[Tom Fitzmaurice]] had extra reason to celebrate, as it was his 100th VFL match and his third successive premiership, having won flags in the previous two seasons at Essendon.

==Score==
{| class="wikitable" | align="left"
|- bgcolor="#FF0033"
! Team !! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! Final 
|-
| '''[[Geelong Football Club|Geelong]]''' || '''3.2''' || '''7.8'''|| '''10.13''' || '''10.19 (79)'''
|-
| [[Collingwood Football Club|Collingwood]] || 2.5 || 4.9 || 6.12 || 9.15 (69)
|}
{{-}}

==Teams==
{| width=92% |
|-
|{{Australian rules football kit
 | pattern_b      = _thinwhitehoops
| pattern_sh     = 
| pattern_so     = _3whitehoops
| body           = 1C3C63
| shorts         = 
| socks          = 1C3C63
 | title      =  Geelong
}}
|{{Australian rules football kit
 | pattern_b  = _blackstripes4_2
 | pattern_sh =  
 | pattern_so =  
 | body       = ffffff
 | shorts     =  000000
 | socks      =  000000
 | title      =Collingwood 
}}
|}
{|
|valign=top|
{{Aussie rules team| title = {{font color|#FFFFFF|Geelong|link=Geelong Football Club}} | color = #1C3C63     
| backpocket1 = [[Les Smith (Australian footballer)|Les Smith]]
| fullback = [[Keith Johns]]
| backpocket2 = [[Dave Ferguson (footballer, born 1903)|Dave Ferguson]]
| halfbackflank1 = [[Bill Hudd]]
| centrehalfback = [[Tom Fitzmaurice]]
| halfbackflank2 = [[Ken Leahy]] 
| wing1 = [[Edward Stevenson (footballer)|Edward Stevenson]]
| centre = [[Edward Greeves]]
| wing2 = [[Jack Williams (footballer, born 1902)|Jack Williams]]
| halfforwardflank1 = [[Arthur Rayson]]
| centrehalfforward = [[George 'Jocka' Todd|George Todd]]
| halfforwardflank2 = [[Jack Chambers (footballer)|Jack Chambers]]
| forwardpocket1 = [[Cliff Rankin]] (c)
| fullforward = [[Lloyd Hagger]]
| forwardpocket2 = [[Syd Hall (footballer, born 1902)|Syd Hall]]
| ruck = [[Eric Fleming (footballer)|Eric Fleming]]
| ruckrover = [[Denis Heagney]]
| rover = [[Jim Warren (footballer)|Jim Warren]]
| reserve1 = 
| reserve2 = 
| coach = [[Cliff Rankin]]}}
|valign=top|
{{Aussie rules team| title = {{font color|#FFFFFF|Collingwood|link=Collingwood Football Club}} | color = #000000   
| backpocket1 = [[George Beasley]]
| fullback = [[Charlie Dibbs]]
| backpocket2 = [[Jim Shanahan]]
| halfbackflank1 = [[Charlie Tyson]] (c)
| centrehalfback = [[Bob Makeham]]
| halfbackflank2 = [[Ernie Wilson]]
| wing1 = [[Charlie Milburn]]
| centre = [[Harry Chesswas]]
| wing2 = [[Leo Wescott]]
| halfforwardflank1 = [[John Harris (Australian footballer)|John Harris]]
| centrehalfforward = [[Frank Murphy (Australian rules footballer)|Frank Murphy]]
| halfforwardflank2 = [[Jim Lawn]]
| forwardpocket1 = [[Les Stainsby]]
| fullforward = [[Gordon Coventry]]
| forwardpocket2 = [[Reg Baker]]
| ruck = [[Syd Coventry]]
| ruckrover = [[Laurie Murphy]]
| rover = [[Reynolds Webb]]
| reserve1 = 
| reserve2 = 
| coach = [[Jock McHale]]}}
|}
* Umpire – [[Jack McMurray Sr.]]

==Statistics==
[[File:Geelong fc 1925.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Geelong FC team, premiers]]

===Goalkickers===
{| width="40%"
| valign="top" width="30%" |
'''Geelong''':
* Rankin 5
* Chambers 1
* Hagger 1
* Hall 1
* Heagney 1
* Stevenson 1
| valign="top" width="30%" |
'''Collingwood''':
* F. Murphy 2
* Stainsby 2
* Webb 2
* Baker 1
* Chesswas 1
* Tyson 1
|}

==Aftermath==
In describing the scenes following Geelong's first VFL premiership and the club's first premiership since 1886 (in the [[Victorian Football Association|VFA]]), ''[[The Age]]'' reported:

{{blockquote|The scene in the Geelong dressing-room was remarkable. The players who had succeeded, where teams for 39 years had failed, seemed to be the coolest men there. They had just come out of a strenuous contest, and were besieged by enthusiastic supporters, but they accepted the plaudits with becoming modesty. Not one of them had been in a premiership team, save [[Tom Fitzmaurice]], who played with Essendon in their last two premierships, and not one of them was alive when Geelong last gained the honours.}}

==See also==
* [[1925 VFL season]]

==References==
*[http://afltables.com/afl/stats/games/1925/040919251010.html 1925 VFL Grand Final statistics from the AFL Tables]
* ''The Official statistical history of the AFL 2004'' 
* Ross, John (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}}

{{1925 Geelong premiership players}}
{{Geelong Football Club}}
{{Collingwood Football Club}}
{{Australian Football League}}

[[Category:VFL/AFL Grand Finals]]
[[Category:1925 in Australian rules football|Grand]]
[[Category:Geelong Football Club]]
[[Category:Collingwood Football Club]]
[[Category:October 1925 in sports]]