Aussie Rules officials put profit before punters with a grand final money-grab. They duck for cover amid a storm of criticism over an unfair finals system. The grand final umpire, who is Crapp, is abused by one-eyed supporters.
And the premiership decider is dominated by a hero - or villain, depending on your outlook - whose surname starts with "H'' and ends with "y''. Sound a bit like the looming 2024 AFL grand final? In fact, it's the 1899 VFL decider - the only time the Sydney Swans (nee South Melbourne) have battled the Brisbane Lions (nee Fitzroy) for the premiership. Fitzroy pipped South Melbourne by one point; best-afield was their polarising centre half-back Pat Hickey; in a game umpired by Henry "Ivo'' Crapp.
The 1899 decider was controversially played at the Junction Oval in St Kilda. Why? So the VFL could pocket the most money from the grand final. Most preferred the East Melbourne Cricket Ground, adjoining the MCG.
But the East Melbourne folks wanted 33 per cent of gate takings; the Junction Oval - the St Kilda Cricket Ground - wanted only 10 per cent. The takings were meagre: a crowd of just 4823 spectators turned up - the fewest at a VFL/AFL grand final in history. They came on a day - September 16, 1899 - when the weather was a Melbourne monstrosity: wet and wickedly windy.
In Fitzroy's 3.9 (27) to 3.8 (26) triumph, no goals were kicked into the wind by either club.
The Sportsman, in an article by "Dropkick'' on September 19, reported: "It was wet and miserable.