1929 MAFA season

The 1929 MAFA season was the 34th season of the Metropolitan Amateur Football Association (MAFA), an Australian rules football competition played in the state of Victoria. The season began on 27 April and concluded on 21 September, with 30 teams participating across three divisions under a promotion and relegation system.^[1]

1929 MAFA season
Date	27 April − 21 September 1929
Teams	30
← 1928 1930 →

Background

The MAFA changed the structure of the final series, with the first-placed team (minor premiers) playing the fourth-placed team in the semi-finals, while the second-placed team played their third-placed team.^[1] Prior to this, first played third and second played fourth.^[2][3] This change occurred several years before the Victorian Football League (VFL, now AFL) used the same system for finishing positions.^[4] As a modified version of the Argus finals system, the minor premiers still had the right to challenge the winner of the finals series for the premiership, but only if its home-and-away win–loss record was strictly better than that of the team it was challenging.^[1]

Association membership

Five new clubs − Bentleigh District, East Malvern, Melbourne High School Old Boys (MHSOB), Old Ivanhoe and Old Paradians − entered the MAFA in C Section.^[1][5] Flinders Naval Base left the MAFA to re-enter the Peninsula Football League (PFL), while Oakleigh and Pascoe Vale had been expelled during the 1928 season.^[6][7]

The MAFA sought to stop the admission of further "B" teams for the 1929 season, and Teachers' College withrew "Teachers' College B" as a result.^[1] Sandringham B had already withdrawn from the MAFA late in the 1928 season.^[8] However, Glen Huntly was permitted to keep its "Glen Huntly B" team.^[9]

A Section

1929 MAFA A Section season
Date	27 April − 14 September 1929
Teams	10
Premiers	University B 4th A Section premiership
Minor premiers	Old Scotch 4th A Section minor premiership
Best and fairest	K. Elder[10] (State Savings Bank)
Leading goalkicker	C.D. Chandler[11] (State Savings Bank − 75 goals)
← 1928 1930 →

Ladder

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	D	PF	PA	PP	Pts	Qualification
1	Old Scotch	18							56	Finals series
2	State Savings Bank	18							52
3	University B (P)	18							50
4	Old Melburnians	18							44
5	Elsternwick	18							42
6	Brightonvale	18							36
7	University A	18							30
8	Collegians	18							26
9	St Paul's Ascot Vale	18							16	Relegation
10	Glen Huntly	18							4

Source: ^[12][13][14]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for.
(P) Premiers; (E) Expelled; (W) Withdrawn

Finals

	1929 MAFA A Section Grand Final
Saturday, 14 September	University B	def.	Old Melburnians	Yarra Park	[15]
	9.10 (64)	Q1 Q2 Q3 Final	5.26 (56)

B Section

1929 MAFA B Section season
Date	27 April − 14 September 1929
Teams	10
Premiers	Murrumbeena 3rd B Section premiership
Minor premiers	Black Rock 1st B Section minor premiership
Best and fairest	F. Brooks[10] (Teachers' College)
Leading goalkicker	W. Collister[16] (Murrumbeena − 107 goals)
← 1928 1930 →

Ladder

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	D	PF	PA	PP	Pts	Qualification
1	Black Rock	18	14	4	0	1534	1251	122.6	56	Finals series
2	Surrey Hills	18	13	5	0	1430	1178	121.3	52
3	Murrumbeena (P)	18	11	7	0	1805	1489	127.8	44
4	Old Haileybury-Trinity	18	10	8	0	1662	1485	111.9	40
5	Brunswick	18	10	8	0	1461	1353	107.9	40
6	Geelong	18	10	8	0	1664	1575	105.6	40
7	Old Caulfield Grammarians	18	6	12	0	1492	1693	88.1	24
8	Teachers' College	18	6	12	0	1608	1965	80.3	24
9	Old Xaverians	18	6	12	0	1227	1589	77.2	24	Relegation
10	Sandringham	18	4	14	0	1220	1532	79.6	16

Source: ^[14][17]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for.
(P) Premiers; (E) Expelled; (W) Withdrawn

Finals

	1929 MAFA B Section Grand Final
Saturday, 14 September	Black Rock	def. by	Murrumbeena	Brighton Cricket Ground	[15][18]
	13.12 (90)	Q1 Q2 Q3 Final	17.15 (117)

C Section

1929 MAFA C Section season
Date	27 April − 21 September 1929
Teams	10
Premiers	East Malvern 1st C Section premiership
Minor premiers	Old Paradians 1st C Section minor premiership
Best and fairest	T. Cargill[10] (West Hawthorn)
Leading goalkicker	Allan La Fontaine[19] (Old Paradians − 146 goals)
← 1928 1930 →

Old Paradians full-forward Allan La Fontaine kicked 146 goals for the home-and-away season (152 including finals), which was easily a record in any MAFA division since the competition began in 1892.^[1][19][20] This included kicking 20 of his club's 24 goals against Kingsville in round 18.^[1]

Ladder

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	D	PF	PA	PP	Pts	Qualification
1	Old Paradians	18	14						56	Finals series
2	Burwood	18							52
3	Bentleigh District	18							48
4	East Malvern (P)	18							48
5	South Caulfield	18							48
6	West Hawthorn	18							40
7	Kingsville	18							36
8	Glen Huntly B	18							12
9	MHSOB	18							12
10	Old Ivanhoe	18							8

Source: ^[14]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for.
(P) Premiers; (E) Expelled; (W) Withdrawn

Finals

	1929 MAFA C Section Grand Final
Saturday, 21 September	Old Paradians	def. by	East Malvern	Murrumbeena	[21][22][23][24]
	2.1 (13) 4.4 (24) 8.10 (58)	Q1 Q2 Q3 Final	5.4 (30) 6.9 (45) 10.13 (73)

References

1. "First Round of Matches". The Herald. 26 April 1929. p. 17. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
2. "Deciding Semi-final Positions". The Argus. 31 July 1925. p. 5. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
3. "Fours Decided". Sporting Globe. 24 August 1927. p. 9. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
4. De Lacy, Alex (9 September 1953). "Uni. Blues look winners in Amateur preliminary final". Sporting Globe. p. 3. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
5. "HISTORY". Old Paradians Football Club. Archived from the original on 8 August 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
6. "PASCOEVALE CLUB EXPELLED". The Argus. 24 July 1928. p. 12. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
7. "Peninsula Football". Frankston and Somerville Standard. 1 March 1929. p. 5. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
8. "Old Melburnians Penalised". The Age. 7 August 1928. p. 14. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
9. "No More B Teams to be Admitted". The Age. 4 September 1928. p. 6. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
10. "Metropolitan Amateur Medal Winners". Sporting Globe. 14 September 1929. p. 6. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
11. "Leading Goalkickers – Premier (A Section)". VAFA. Victorian Amateur Football Association. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
12. "AMATEUR REPLAY WON BY BANK". The Sun News-Pictorial. 2 September 1929. p. 25. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
13. "Finals and Grand Final". The Herald. 13 September 1929. p. 18. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
14. "First Round Ends". Sporting Globe. 28 August 1929. p. 10. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
15. "University B Successful; Murrumbeena Beat Black Rock". The Age. 16 September 1929. p. 6. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
16. "Leading Goalkickers – Premier B (B Section)". VAFA. Victorian Amateur Football Association. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
17. "1929 B SECTION SEASON" (PDF). Caulfield Grammarians Football Club. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 November 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
18. "Final Games Today". The Age. 14 September 1929. p. 29. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
19. "Leading Goalkickers – Premier C (C Section)". VAFA. Victorian Amateur Football Association. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
20. "156 Goals in One Season". Weekly Times. 28 September 1929. p. 92. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
21. "C. Section Grand Final". The Herald. 20 September 1929. p. 17. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
22. "Grand Final Today". The Age. 21 September 1929. p. 21. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
23. "EAST MALVERN SUCCESSFUL". The Age. 23 September 1929. p. 8. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
24. "East Malvern Win Premiership". Sporting Globe. 25 September 1929. p. 8. Retrieved 19 December 2024.