The 1925 MAFA season was the 30th season of the Metropolitan Amateur Football Association (MAFA), an Australian rules football competition played in the state of Victoria. The season began on 2 May and concluded on 12 September, with 17 teams participating across two divisions under a promotion and relegation system.
Association membership The Burwood Football Club announced in March 1925 that it would withdraw from the MAFA after one season because of the difficulty in fielding a team. Old Haileybury were admitted into the competition at a meeting on 6 April, keeping the total number of clubs at 17.
Caulfield expulsion Caulfield City was renamed to simply Caulfield prior to the start of the season.
Following a match between Caulfield and Old Caulfield Grammarians on 8 August, Old Caulfield made a formal complaint to the MAFA about the conduct of Caulfield's players and supporters, which was the fourth such complaint to be made against Caulfield. At a meeting on 17 August, the MAFA found that the conduct and language of the Caulfield supporters was objectionable and contributed to the extreme roughness of the game, and that a Caulfield supporter had run on to the playing area with the intention of hitting the Old Caulfield Grammarians' captain, Howell (and did strike him after the match).
The decision was made to expel Caulfield for the remainder of the 1925 season, giving the club the ability to apply for readmittance as long as it guaranteed the conduct would be suppressed. The expulsion meant that Elsternwick was guaranteed a place in the B Section finals series.
Notable events The first-ever interstate amateur match was played between the MAFA (Victoria) and the South Australian Amateur Football League (SAAFL) on 7 June. Victoria defeated South Australia 21.22 (148) to 8.10 (58) before a "disappointing crowd" at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
A Section
Elsternwick won the A Section premiership for the second time, defeating minor premiers Old Scotchby 21 points in the grand final.
Ladder + Team Qualification 1 Old Scotch 14 1233 847 146.7 44 Finals series 2 Elsternwick (P) 14 1082 870 124.4 40 3 Hampton 14 1126 918 123.7 40 4 Old Melburnians 14 1239 1066 116.3 32 5 14 1131 1058 106.9 30 6 14 1002 1035 96.8 18 7 Murrumbeena 14 940 1330 70.1 12 8 Sandringham 14 0 14 0 688 1331 51.6 0 Relegation
Finals
B Section
Old Caulfield Grammarians won the B Section premiership for the first time, defeating Teachers' College by 37 points in the grand final. Both clubs were promoted to A Section in 1926.
Ladder + Team Qualification 1 Old Caulfield Grammarians (P) 16 14 2 0 56 Finals series 2 Collegians 16 12 4 0 48 3 Elsternwick B 16 10 5 1 42 4 Teachers' College 16 10 6 0 40 5 Old Xaverians 16 7 8 1 30 6 Old Haileybury 16 4 12 0 16 7 Old Trinity 16 3 13 0 12 8 Old Brighton 16 2 14 0 8 − Caulfield (E) 14 32
Finals
References