1960 SEASON
Leading Goalscorer: Evan Schulze (Blalock) - 97 goals
League MVP: Anton Suban (Richburg)

Entering the sixties, the season was relatively even. Teams as low as eighth spot had a chance of playing finals late into the season. Warner won their first ever round 1 match, defeating Angerer in the process. Ruddy demolished Richburg by 61 points, Chavez scraped past Grimm by three points, Day downed Blalock by 37 points and Ulbrich had a five goal win over Xiong in the first round. After six rounds, six teams were equal top with four wins each.

Having been the perennial doormats of the GFL, 1960 was a very different year for Richburg. The Bulldogs dominated the league, winning fourteen games en route to top spot, earning them premiership favouritism. The addition of John Flores gave the Bulldogs a boost in leadership, and young gun Anton Suban won the MVP award. Matej Vidmar found some new form entering thirty years of age as he managed 77 goals for the Bulldogs.

Next in second was Angerer. The Bulls managed an 11-7 record, showing the rest of the league that they were still contenders. The Bulls had the strongest defence in the league, only conceding 1323 points.

Chavez finished with an identical record to Angerer but their inferior percentage had them down to third. The Nationals started the season strongly with four wins on the trot, before treading water with other finals contenders. Despite his age, Shigeru Ueda had another stellar season; at age 34, he showed no signs of slowing down.

The Longhorns were not at their best form given many injuries for the side, however a strong finish propelled them into fourth spot at the expense of Ulbrich. Elliott Evans still had a great season for Ruddy despite missing five games due to injury, scoring 61 goals for the Longhorns.

Ulbrich, tipped to struggle by many, punched above their weight for a 9-8-1 record. The Pilots seemed highly likely to play finals, but losing their final two games saw them fall o

1960 PRESEASON:
Blalock and Warner jumpers (note that Blalock wore an orange away jumper for the 1959 season):
In response to the fine issued last year as Blalock played against Xiong, Blalock developed a new clash strip. The new clash strip was to be mostly white-based, and is to be worn every time the Tigers play the Bears away.
Star midfielder, John Flores, who was involved in all five of Grimm's premierships last decade, transferred to Richburg to help develop an upcoming side. With Flores' addition, the Bulldogs hope to push for the finals and secure their first finals appearance since 1951.


 

Apologies for the delay, the 1959 season has been uploaded (the Facebook page shows it in full detail). I was going through personal issues that diminished my passion for the project.

Blalock and Warner logos:



1959 ladder:


In the end, Grimm ended up being premiers, defeating Ruddy in the Grand Final with a score of 10.21 (81) to 11.7 (73).

1958 FINALS SERIES1ST SEMI FINAL
CHAVEZ VS XIONG
AT CHAVEZ CRICKET GROUND
13 SEPTEMBER 1958 - 2:10PM

Xiong, donning their change strip, came into the match as heavy underdogs, having recorded a 9-12 record to fall into fourth spot. They faced a hungry Chavez team expected to dominate the Bears.The Nationals started strongly, having scored the first four goals. Whilst the Bears slowly went back in the game, Chavez took a 22 point lead heading into quarter-time.
QT - Chavez 6.6 (42), Xiong 3.2 (20)

As rain started to tumble down, scoring dried up during the second stanza, with Chavez only managing a solitary goal. Xiong on the other hand managed three straight to reduce the lead to a respectable ten points.
HT - Chavez 7.6 (48), Xiong 6.2 (38)

The rain poured heavily throughout the third quarter. As both sides relied on a long kicking game, they struggled to get their hands on the ball, which prevented attacking opportunities. Xiong drew first blood of the third quarter, a behind by Allan Koch. Yet there was a long gap between scores, until Chavez scored an open goal from Ravi Havaldar. The Nationals kept pressing, but could only add one more goal, though given the wet conditions, a 22 point lead seemed to be quite comfortable.
3QT - Chavez 9.7 (61), Xiong 6.3 (39)

Suddenly the rain dried up, though early in the quarter both sides struggled to control the football. The Nationals surged forward, but managed five behinds in succession. Suddenly, Xiong found their purple patch, and managed the next three consecutive goals. With the scores reading 66-57, it looked like there was a dogfight.

Xiong moved forward again and Juan Rodriguez was found in the forward pocket to take his set shot. His shot hit the post, reducing the deficit to 8. Chavez countered with a goal from Colton Robertson, and added a few more behinds. Xiong managed a late consolation goal, but it wasn't enough to overtake Chavez. The Nationals were through to the pre

1958 SEASON
Leading Goalscorer: Elliott Evans (Ruddy) - 96 goals
League MVP: Samuel Wheaton (Day)

Much like last year, Elliott Evans dominated the goalscoring tally, having the most goals for the third consecutive year. Ruddy and Chavez continued to head the table, while Richburg continued to struggle. The first round included an exciting affair between Chavez and Ruddy, with the Longhorns prevailing by one goal. Ulbrich upset Day, Xiong downed Angerer and Grimm comfortably accounted for Richburg.

Ruddy had yet another sensational season, this time only losing three games. The Longhorns' losses were all to Xiong. Elliott Evans performed strongly in front of goal as aforementioned. Led by captain Piotr Dunin and coach Horace Yancey, the Longhorns were difficult to defeat anywhere they played. Their dominance should see the Longhorns as favourites to win the GFL.

Day continued to go from strength to strength after winning the 1957 GFL premiership. It wasn't all easy for Day though: they lost three of their first seven matches, and got swept by Ruddy, who they defeated in the previous year's Grand Final. Samuel Wheaton continued to perform strongly at his best, earning himself MVP honours.

Chavez had another solid season, but did not look like threatening for a top two spot. New recruit Ravi Havaldar, from the Southern Football League in Gorania, led the Nationals' goal kicking tally. The Nationals were a force at home, winning eight and drawing one of their eleven matches, though had mixed results on the road, en route to a 13-1-7 record.

Realistically, there should have been a top three with the woeful records of the bottom five. The best of that lot turned out to be a finals-bound side. That team turned out to be Xiong. Buoyed by sweeping Ruddy, it was enough for the Bears to book a finals berth. A win against Richburg in the final round, helped by the Bulldogs' inaccuracy, secured a finals berth. Their form was patchy, never winning consecutive games, a