Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), Saturday 25 April 1931, page 20


LEAGUE FOOTBALL.

PREMIERSHIP ROUNDS.

NEW SYSTEM ADOPTED.

Brownlow Medal Rules Altered.

Arguments in favour of and against a proposal put forward by Mr. P. Page (Richmond) to alter the manner in which final matches were arranged for the pre-miership were advanced by delegates at a special meeting of the Victorian Foot-ball League last night. Mr. Page's pro-

posal is:—

(1) At the conclusion of the first round the first four clubs shall play off for the premier-ship; (2), the first match shall be between the third and fourth clubs; the second match shall be between the first and second clubs; the third match shall be between the winners of the first and the loser of the second match; (3). the grand final shall be between the winners ot the second and the winners of the third match.

Mr. Page, in moving the adoption of the suggestion, pointed out that the proposal would eliminate any idea in the minds of the public that the contests between clubs were not genuine. Under the pre-sent system the public believed that an ad-vantage was to be gained by a club in play-ing a losing match in the final games. If the plan were adopted greater interest would be promoted in "home-and-home" matches. It also obviated the possibility of "finessing" in final matches.

Mr. R. T. Rush (Collingwood) opposed the suggestion, and suggested as an amend-ment that the first four matches, instead of being arranged as at present, should be

"drawn out of a hat."

The chairman (Mr. H. L. Roberts) pointed out that an amendment could not be accepted at a special meeting.

Mr. J. Mears (North Melbourne) said that the public was suspicious of the present system. He supported the pro-posal of Mr. Page.

Support to the new system was also given by Mr. F. Reid (Essendon) and Mr. G. Cathie (Hawthorn).

The motion was agreed to by 16 votes

to 4.

Brownlow Medal.

The proposal for alteration in voting for the Brownlow medal was agreed to on the motion of Mr. J. Cathie (Hawthorn). The

system which will be adopted in future is that the first three players shall be nomina- ted, the first receiving three votes, the second two votes, and the third one vote. At the end of the first round of matches votes will be counted, and the player receiv- ing the greatest number of votes shall re-

ceive the medal. For players receiving an equal number of votes preferential voting

will be adopted. If a tie occur the same system shall apply. No player who has incurred disqualification during the system

shall be eligible to receive the medal.

Free Passes.

At a committee meeting it was agreed that each club should issue 100 free passes, instead of 140 which had been issued in

previous seasons.

In place of Mr F. L. Jones, who re- signed from the Umpires' Board, Mr. S. Comptan was elected. Mr. Compton, for

13 years was a field, boundary, and goal umpire and has been secretary of the

Umpires' Association for five years.

Charity Match.

Nothing definite has been arranged as to the date upon which the football match, the proceeds of which are to be given to the special appeal for the blind institute,

is to be held. At a meeting of the Vic- torian Football League last night a com- munication was read from the Victorian

Football Association pointing out that it was as not considered possible to play the

match on June 27, as previously suggested. It was suggested that possible the date might be fixed by the toss of a coin.

Mr. P. Page (Richmond) expressed sur- prise it the action of the Association as it had practically been agreed that the match should be played on June 27.

On a motion moved by Mr. Page, it was agreed that the matter again be referred to the special sub-committee entrusted with

the arrangements.

Early Training.

Dissatisfaction was expressed by the treasurer (Mr. R. T. Rush ) at the action ot certain clubs in starting training before the date agreed upon by the League. He moved that all clubs which were guilty of an offence in that respect should be fined

£5.

Mr Rush said that the explanation of club secretaries as to the date upon when training was begun would be accepted. Several delegates intimated that their clubs had not started training before the agreed date, and the motion was negatived.

Umpires' Fees.

The suggestion of the Umpires' Associa- tion that the fees for services be reduced to the following—field £3 15/, boundary £1 10/, goal 17/6 was accepted. The ad-justment of fees for country umpires was left to the discretion of the secretary.