Picked this book up yesterday - can highly recommend it to anyone interested in the history of our great game - brilliantly researched and extremely well-written, I found it hard to put it down and knocked off 83 of the 263 pages - its the story of an extremely turbulent time (1938-49) when the VFA threatened to usurp the almighty VFL as the premium code in Victoria and if WWII hadn't intervened then it just may have happened. Even after the War recess, the VFA went from strength to strength with its unique rules and thumbing its collective nose at the VFL's permit rules and pinching their star players who were woefully underpaid. Unfortunately, come the end of the decade the majority of VFA Club delegates meekly rolled over and agreed to drop the unique rules (think throwpass) and rejoin the ANFC where they got a seat but not a vote. Ahhhhh, what could have been .....
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Thanks for posting info about the book. My local library has a copy on order. I am first to reserve a copy. I hope it fills in a few gaps of the VFA history
For sure blackrocker, it's a rollicking read about football back in the 1930's/1940's and the lengths the VFL went to in an effort to quash the threat of the VFA, must have been an amazing time
It's on my Christmas wish list. I think it's already arrived. I'm looking forward to it very much.
* It's time to restore the VFA name.
you will enjoy it, Northport - the Port historians had a bit of input into the book
Local library has emailed me the book is ready for me to pick up