1934 VFA season
| 1934 VFA premiership season | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 12 |
| Premiers |
Northcote (4th premiership) |
| Minor premiers |
Northcote (4th minor premiership) |
|
← 1933
1935 →
|
|
The 1934 Victorian Football Association season was the 56th season of the Australian rules football competition. The premiership was won by the Northcote Football Club, after it defeated Coburg by 61 points in the Grand Final on 6 October. It was the club's fourth VFA premiership, and the third in a sequence of three premierships won consecutively from 1932 until 1934; Coburg was defeated in all three Grand Finals in the sequence.
The season was threatened by a dispute in the off-season between the Association and the local councils which controlled many of the suburban home venues relating to the use of Olympic Park as a central ground; there were ultimately no disruptions after the dispute was resolved shortly before the start of the season.
In late 1932, the Association began negotiating with Melbourne Carnivals Limited to lease the Motordrome to use as a central ground. The Association intended that one match would be played on the Motordrome each Saturday during the home-and-home season, with each club expected to play one or two of its home games at the central ground instead of at its suburban home venue – the same way that the Victorian Football League would later utilise VFL Park in the 1970s and 1980s; all finals would also be played at the Motordrome. An eight-year deal was signed in May 1933, securing the venue until the end of 1940. Under the arrangement, the Association would play one of its two leading games each round at the venue, and Melbourne Carnivals Limited would upgrade facilities such as grandstands, change rooms and fencing. Sporadic home-and-home matches were played at the venue in 1933, the first taking place in June, and all 1933 finals were held there; the intention was that the full arrangement would come into effect in 1934.
The Motordrome itself underwent significant upgrades during 1933. The banked concrete motor racing circuit was demolished and replaced with a flat dirt track; this was not required by the agreement with the Association, and was simply because the surface, built in 1924, was no longer suitable for the higher powered vehicles which raced on it. In June 1933, the venue was renamed Olympic Park.
The push to use Olympic Park as a central ground was strongly opposed by the Grounds Management Association, a body made up of delegates representing the local councils which owned and maintained the suburban football grounds. The Grounds Management Association had several complaints:
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