Goalless at half time: 1897 to 2011

In football, unlike in soccer or even rugby, a team failing to make a score in a half is a most exceptional occurrence. There have been only ten occurrences of a team being scoreless in the first half of a VFL or AFL match, and all but three of those occurred in the first seven years. Scores with no goals to half-time have occurred much more often, but with increasing rarity over the years. The following, as the first in a series of four, will have a look at these occurrences in detail.

• From 1897 to 2011, there were 237 scores goalless at half-time, or 0.85% of all scores
• Amongst these we have:
• Goalless at full-time: 24 scores (last Richmond 1961)
• Goaled only in final quarter: 39 scores (last West Coast 1992)
• Goaled only in third quarter: 41 scores (last Fremantle 2009)
• Goaled only in third and final quarters: 133 scores (last Hawthorn 2009)
• The most in one season was 19 in 1899
• The most since 1919 was 5 in 1953 and 5 in 1956
  
• The first season without a team goalless at half-time was 1904. Since then absent seasons have been 1916, 1926, 1929-1930, 1932, 1935, 1937-1938, 1940-1942, 1944-1945, 1949, 1954, 1960, 1966, 1969-1971, 1974, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1998-2001, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2011.

  Number of scores goalless at half time by season
  1897	17	1926	0	1955	1	1984	3
  1898	18	1927	3	1956	5	1985	1
  1899	19	1928	1	1957	1	1986	0
  1900	15	1929	0	1958	1	1987	1
  1901	13	1930	0	1959	1	1988	0
  1902	8	1931	2	1960	0	1989	1
  1903	8	1932	0	1961	4	1990	0
  1904	0	1933	2	1962	1	1991	2
  1905	3	1934	1	1963	1	1992	1
  1906	5	1935	0	1964	2	1993	1
  1907	2	1936	2	1965	3	1994	1
  1908	2	1937	0	1966	0	1995	2
  1909	3	1938	0	1967	1	1996	1
  1910	3	1939	1	1968	2	1997	3
  1911	5	1940	0	1969	0	1998	0
  1912	3	1941	0	1970	0	1999	0
  1913	2	1942	0	1971	0	2000	0
  1914	2	1943	1	1972	1	2001	0
  1915	4	1944	0	1973	1	2002	1
  1916	0	1945	0	1974	0	2003	0
  1917	4	1946	1	1975	1	2004	2
  1918	2	1947	2	1976	0	2005	1
  1919	4	1948	1	1977	1	2006	0
  1920	1	1949	0	1978	0	2007	1
  1921	4	1950	2	1979	3	2008	0
  1922	1	1951	1	1980	0	2009	4
  1923	1	1952	2	1981	1	2010	0
  1924	1	1953	5	1982	1	2011	0
  1925	2	1954	0	1983	0

• The most recent score goalless at half-time was in 2009, by Fremantle against Adelaide. It was the first score of fewer than three goals since Carlton in 1991 against Footscray, and the first with goals only in the third quarter since Fitzroy against North Melbourne in Round 11, 1989.

  Adelaide	5-4 (34)	10-9 (69)	12-14 (86)	19-16 (130)
  Fremantle	0-1 (1)	0-1 (1)	1-5 (11)	1-7 (13)

• The last eventual premiers with a goalless score at half-time was Carltonin 1995. They were on top of the ladder at the time; St. Kilda were bottom at 16th:

  St. Kilda	4-3 (27)	6-8 (44)	9-11 (65)	11-14 (80)
  Carlton	0-3 (3)	0-5 (5)	1-5 (11)	3-6 (24)

Other eventual premiers held goalless to half-time since 1919 are:

1. West Coast in Round 23, 1992 v Footscray
2. Essendon in Round 17, 1984 v Footscray*
3. Carlton in Round 3, 1968 v Essendon
4. Collingwood in Round 17, 1927 v Essendon*
5. Essendon in Round 10, 1923 v St. Kilda
6. Richmond in Round 11, 1920 v Carlton

* indicates won match

• There have been only four matches where both teams were goalless at half time, all won by Essendon:
1. Third Finals Round, 1897, v Melbourne
2. Round 3, 1899 v South Melbourne
3. Round 3, 1968 v Carlton
4. Round 17, 1984 v Footscray
• The last team to win after being goalless at half time was in 2004:

  Round 18, 2004
  Adelaide	0-3 (3)	0-10 (10)	2-17 (29)	5-19 (49)
  North Melbourne	1-7 (13)	1-8 (14)	2-10 (22)	5-12 (42)

• Overall, there have been 33 occasions when a team won after being goalless at half time, but only seven others since 1920:

  Round 17, 1927
  Collingwood	0-1 (1)	0-4 (4)	1-8 (14)	3-13 (31)
  Essendon	2-2 (14)	3-4 (22)	4-6 (30)	4-6 (30)
  Round 10, 1936
  North Melbourne	0-5 (5)	0-5 (5)	4-9 (33)	9-11 (65)
  Fitzroy	2-3 (15)	3-8 (26)	3-10 (28)	3-12 (30)
  Round 13, 1956
  Hawthorn	0-6 (6)	1-8 (14)	2-10 (22)	3-13 (31)
  Richmond	0-0 (0)	0-4 (4)	3-5 (23)	8-6 (54)
  Round 8, 1959
  Fitzroy	0-3 (3)	0-4 (4)	2-8 (20)	5-10 (40)
  Collingwood	1-1 (7)	2-4 (16)	2-8 (20)	3-12 (30)
  Round 9, 1964
  Geelong	0-3 (3)	0-9 (9)	4-11 (35)	10-15 (75)
  Hawthorn	2-2 (14)	2-4 (16)	3-6 (24)	3-8 (26)
  Round 3, 1968
  Carlton	0-6 (6)	0-7 (7)	1-10 (16)	1-11 (17)
  Essendon	0-1 (1)	0-5 (5)	3-6 (24)	7-8 (50)
  Round 17, 1984
  Footscray	0-3 (3)	0-7 (7)	0-8 (8)	3-14 (32)
  Essendon	0-6 (6)	0-7 (7)	3-9 (27)	4-10 (34)

• The highest full-time score by a team goalless at half-time is 90 points:

  Round 7, 1979
  Fitzroy	2-6 (18)	8-13 (61)	12-14 (86)	14-18 (102)
  Hawthorn	0-8 (8)	0-14 (14)	7-17 (59)	11-24 (90)