History of very low behind tallies

One interesting statistic about footy that I have noticed is the occurrence in recent years of some very low behind tallies. When I first watched footy, behind tallies of 2 and 3 were extremely rare, but since 1994 they have become much more common, with at least one every year since 2006 - as opposed to not one from 1971 to 1986.

It is perhaps odd in this context that there has been no behind tally of just 1 in the period since 1994, when quarters were reduced in length. In fact, over all of V/AFL history there have been:

1. five tallies of no behinds (most recent by Fitzroy in 1953)
2. twenty-three tallies of one behind (most recent by Footscray in 1966 and Fitzroy earlier that year)

Behind tallies of zero, one or two were most common in the very early years of the VFL when scoring was low and the pace of matches similarly so. The season with most behind tallies of 0 or 1 was 1899 with five, and 1966 alone of the last 108 seasons has had more than one.

The first VFL season with no behind tally of 0, 1 or 2 was 1910.

The first with no behind tally of 0, 1, 2, or 3 was 1922. Since then, years with no behind tally of 0-3 have been 1923, 1926, 1931, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1939, 1941, 1950, 1951, 1957, 1958, 1961, 1962, 1969, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1998 and 2001.

At the other extreme, it can be noted that, whereas 1969 and 1973 had no goal tally less than six, there has been at least one behind tally of five or less in every V/AFL season. There have been six seasons with no behind tally from 0-4, namely 1926, 1951, 1973, 1978, 1985 and 1988. Of these, 1978 must hold the record, as it had only one tally of five behinds, viz:

Western Oval, May 20, 1978
Footscray	7.2 (44)	10.3 (63)	12.5 (77)	14.5 (89)
Collingwood	3.1 (19)	4.4 (28)	6.7 (43)	14.9 (93)

In 1976 there was also only one behind tally less than six, but it was the one behind tally of 0-3 between 1973 and 1978. (Both this game and the 1978 one were played on particularly wet days on the same round).

Western Oval, May 22, 1976
Footscray	0.0 (0)	3.0 (18)	4.0 (24)	7.3 (45)
North Melbourne	7.3 (45)	8.7 (55)	11.10 (76)	14.11 (95)

During the very high-scoring running game of the 1970s and 1980s, Geelong (1971, 1972), Footscray (above), Melbourne (1979), North Melbourne (1980), Collingwood (1981), St. Kilda (1982) and Richmond (1987) all had scores of 3 behinds but no fewer. The day of Richmond’s 3-behind tally was the first round since Round 13 of 1944 (an amazing day due to the high winds) with multiple tallies of 0-3 behinds. Two scores of two behinds occurred in 1991 - one by Collingwood, one by Footscray against the Magpies.

A notable fact is that Essendon did not score 3 behinds or fewer in a match for sixty-four years or 1,349 matches between the following two games:

July 20, 1935, Junction Oval
St. Kilda	3.4 (22)	8.8 (56)	10.12 (72)	13.15 (93)
Essendon	2.0 (12)	5.1 (31)	8.2 (50)	11.3 (69)
July 31, 1999, Sydney Cricket Ground
Sydney	2.3 (15)	5.5 (35)	8.9 (57)	11.13 (79)
Essendon	6.1 (37)	11.2 (68)	13.2 (80)	15.3 (93)

Melbourne have not scored 2 behinds or less since 1915:

May 1, 1915, Brunswick Street Oval
Fitzroy	2.2 (14)	5.5 (35)	8.12 (60)	14.17 (101)
Melbourne	1.1 (7)	6.2 (38)	8.2 (50)	9.2 (56)

Richmond have not scored 2 behinds since their famous match with North Melbourne in Round 13 of 1944 where they lost scoring three more goals but nineteen fewer behinds. Richmond are also are the only team of the twelve active from 1925 to 1986 who have never scored one or no behinds in a match.