100 meetings, 100 years in the making for Scotch & OM’s

“In the winter of 1858 students from Scotch College and Melbourne Grammar competed against each other in several games of football. These matches are credited as the first organised games of Australian Rules football.”

In many Australian rules football documentaries pieced together, history books written, and newspaper articles published, the above sentence features prominently. 

The roots of the Old Melburnians and Old Scotch Football Clubs are their source schools Melbourne Grammar School and Scotch College. The rivalry between the pairing predates Collingwood vs. Carlton, Essendon vs. Hawthorn and goes even further back in history than Melbourne vs. Geelong.  

In Round 7 of the William Buck Premier season, Old Melburnians and Old Scotch, will chalk up the 100th head to head battle between the two clubs. An occasion that’s been a very long time coming. 

For the record, the 99 previous head to head battles fall in favour of the Cardinals (55 wins), while Old Melburnians trail (44 wins). Incredibly, for two sides with the richest of histories, they’re yet to play out a drawn match or play off in a Grand Final. 

Scotch College and Melbourne Grammar School have played since 1989 for the Cordner-Eggleston Cup in commemoration of the inaugural meeting back in 1858. In the VAFA, their Old Boy clubs, Old Scotch and the Old Melburnians, come together this weekend to do battle for the Australian Football Cup at Elsternwick Park.

The cup was first played for in 1983 to commemorate all clashes between the two arch rival old boy clubs. On the 7th August of that year, the two clubs inaugurated the cup to commemorate 125 years of Australian Rules Football since 7 August 1858.

The Australian Football Cup is played in the first meeting between the sides each season.

While Old Scotch hold the bragging rights in the overall head-to-head battle, currently, the Cup is held by OM’s from Round 4, 2018, a game that OM’s won by 8 points in the most recent battle. 

As it stands, sitting in 3rd spot on the table, Old Melburnians will go into this contest as favourites while Old Scotch are coming off a 22-point defeat at the hands of Old Xavier. It is sure to live up to the billing as a contest worthy of commemorating football’s oldest clubs. 

Head-to-Head

Played: 99

Old Scotch: 55

Old Melburnians: 44

VAFA Premierships

Old Scotch (12)

A-Section: 1923-24, 1926-27, 1931-34, 1978

B-Section: 1965, 1970, 1977

Old Melburnians (14)

A-Section: 1930, 1953-1955, 1994

B-Section: 1938, 1959, 1978, 1982, 1993, 2002, 2009

C-Section: 1976, 1988

VFL/AFL Footballers drafted/recruited from the school*

Scotch College: 179 (As of 2022)

Melbourne Grammar: 157 (As of 2019)

*Players who have played a minimum of one-game