BRIGHTON was not the most successful of Victorian Football Association clubs and was restricted to one premiership in its 51 seasons as a VFA member. After joining the competition in 1908, it took the Seasiders until 1926 to reach the finals and they proved worthy contenders for the flag for three years running. Except that Coburg blocked their path in each season, forcing them to be content with being runner-up in 1926 and 1927 and third place in 1928. Coburg, which had joined the Association in 1925 when the VFA badly needed new blood to replace Footscray, North Melbourne and Hawthorn who had crossed to the League, won the premiership in 1926-27-28 to establish itself as a solid entity in VFA ranks.

Apart from the 1949 first semi-final, in which Brighton comfortably defeated Coburg, the Lions were always something of a bogey to the seaside club and by the time the VFA went into a three-year recess from 1942-44 due to World War II the record between the pair stood at 25-8 Coburg’s way with a draw in 1934 to break a dominant run.

Brighton may well have finished with more than one premiership had Coburg not stood in its way during the late 1920s and eventually the pair met 58 times, resulting in 37 wins to Coburg, 18 to Brighton and three draws. Brighton drew more games against the Lions than any of its other VFA adversaries.