# 2004 VFL season

The 2004 Victorian Football League season was the 123rd season of the Australian rules football competition.
The premiership was won by the Sandringham Football Club, after defeating Port Melbourne by four points in the Grand Final on 19 September.

## Ladder

2004 VFL season :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | PF | PA | PP | Pts | |
| 1 | Port Melbourne | 18 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 2025 | 1504 | 134.6 | 56 | Finals |
| 2 | Sandringham (P) | 18 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 1730 | 1293 | 133.8 | 52 | Finals |
| 3 | Werribee | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 1565 | 1285 | 121.8 | 48 | Finals |
| 4 | North Ballarat | 18 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 1516 | 1380 | 109.9 | 44 | Finals |
| 5 | Tasmania | 18 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 1558 | 1596 | 97.6 | 44 | Finals |
| 6 | Coburg | 18 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 1391 | 1448 | 96.1 | 44 | Finals |
| 7 | Box Hill | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 1659 | 1597 | 103.9 | 40 | Finals |
| 8 | Bendigo | 18 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 1725 | 1736 | 99.4 | 36 | Finals |
| 9 | Geelong reserves | 18 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 1578 | 1566 | 100.8 | 28 | |
| 10 | Williamstown | 18 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 1465 | 1832 | 80.0 | 24 | |
| 11 | Frankston | 18 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 1388 | 1551 | 89.5 | 20 | |
| 12 | Northern Bullants | 18 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 1329 | 1514 | 87.8 | 20 | |
| 13 | Springvale | 18 | 3 | 15 | 0 | 1375 | 2002 | 68.7 | 12 | |

### Finals Series

| Qualifying and elimination finals | Qualifying and elimination finals | Qualifying and elimination finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Preliminary finals | Preliminary finals | Preliminary finals | Grand final | Grand final | Grand final |
| August 29, North Port Oval | August 29, North Port Oval | August 29, North Port Oval | | | | | | | | | |
| 1 | Port Melbourne | 17.20 (122) | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | North Ballarat | 8.12 (60) | September 4, Bellerive Oval | September 4, Bellerive Oval | September 4, Bellerive Oval | | | | |
| | | | North Ballarat | North Ballarat | 13.6 (84) | | | | |
| August 28, York Park | August 28, York Park | August 28, York Park | Tasmania | Tasmania | 15.9 (99) | September 11, North Port Oval | September 11, North Port Oval | September 11, North Port Oval | | | |
| 5 | Tasmania | 16.10 (106) | | | | Port Melbourne | Port Melbourne | 11.15 (81) | |
| 8 | Bendigo | 13.9 (87) | | | | Box Hill | Box Hill | 8.5 (53) | September 19, Optus Oval | September 19, Optus Oval | September 19, Optus Oval |
| | | | | | | | | | Port Melbourne | Port Melbourne | 9.9 (63) |
| August 28, North Port Oval | August 28, North Port Oval | August 28, North Port Oval | | | | September 12, North Port Oval | September 12, North Port Oval | September 12, North Port Oval | Sandringham | Sandringham | 9.13 (67) |
| 6 | Coburg | 8.11 (59) | | | | Sandringham | Sandringham | 12.10 (82) | | |
| 7 | Box Hill | 9.14 (68) | September 5, North Port Oval | September 5, North Port Oval | September 5, North Port Oval | Tasmania | Tasmania | 6.8 (44) | | |
| | | | Werribee | Werribee | 11.15 (81) | | | | | | |
| August 28, North Port Oval | August 28, North Port Oval | August 28, North Port Oval | Box Hill | Box Hill | 13.11 (89) | | | | | |
| 2 | Sandringham | 11.17 (83) | | | | | | | | | |
| 3 | Werribee | 7.10 (52) | | | | | | | | |

### Grand Final

| | 2004 VFL Grand Final | 2004 VFL Grand Final | 2004 VFL Grand Final | | |
| Sunday 19 September (2:10 pm) | Port Melbourne | def. by | Sandringham | Optus Oval (crowd: 8,196) | |
| | 4.3 (27) 6.5 (41) 7.7 (49) 9.9 (63) | Q1 Q2 Q3 Final | 3.3 (21) 7.7 (49) 9.11 (65) 9.13 (67) | Umpires: Donlon, Kamolins, Sully Norm Goss Memorial Medal: Guy Rigoni (Sandringham) | Umpires: Donlon, Kamolins, Sully Norm Goss Memorial Medal: Guy Rigoni (Sandringham) |
| J. Clayton 2, Grima 2, Pitt 2, Aloi, Baird, Harding | J. Clayton 2, Grima 2, Pitt 2, Aloi, Baird, Harding | Goals | Sautner 4, Williams 2, Crowe, Gallagher, Sylvia | Sautner 4, Williams 2, Crowe, Gallagher, Sylvia |
| Sandringham led by 17 points at the 26-minute mark of the final quarter. Two quick goals to Port Melbourne closed the margin to five points, and a final shot from fifty metres out with only a few seconds remaining was on target but fell just short and was rushed for a behind. ||||||

## Awards

* The Jim 'Frosty' Miller Medal was won for the sixth consecutive year by Nick Sautner (Sandringham), who kicked 60 goals.
* The J. J. Liston Trophy was won by Julian Field (North Ballarat), who polled 16 votes. Field finished ahead of Adam Fisher (Sandringham), who was second with 13 votes, and Jeremy Clayton (Port Melbourne), Daniel Harford (Northern Bullants) and Trent Bartlett (Tasmania), who were equal-third with 11 votes.
* The Fothergill–Round Medal was won by Adam Fisher (Sandringham).
* Port Melbourne won the reserves premiership. Port Melbourne 19.13 (127) defeated Williamstown 8.15 (63) in the Grand Final, held as a curtain-raiser to the Seniors Grand Final on 19 September.

## Notable events

* Early in the preseason, Carlton announced its intention to terminate its affiliation with the Northern Bullants after one season, intending to resume fielding its own reserves team in the VFL. However, after a couple of months of uncertainty, the clubs revived their affiliation, with Carlton assuming greater control over the Bullants' operation and installing a Carlton assistant coach, Barry Mitchell, as Bullants senior coach.