1897 VFA Season

These are the results for the 1897 season of the Victorian Football Association (currently known as the Victorian Football League).

It featured twenty rounds in a quadruple round-robin format. Port Melbourne were the minor premiers.

The season did not feature a finals series and Port Melbourne were declared the premiers, with Dave Powell as the premiership captain.

Season Details

Name: 1897 VFA Season
Teams: 6
Rounds: 20
Matches: 60

Team Details

Team	Home Ground	Coach (Appointed)	Coach (Caretaker)
Brunswick	Brunswick Park
Footscray	Western Oval
North Melbourne	East Melbourne
Port Melbourne	North Port Oval
Richmond	Punt Road Oval
Williamstown	WCG

Season Results

Premiers: Port Melbourne
Runners-Up: North Melbourne
Minor Premiers: Port Melbourne

Team Results

Minor Premiership Results

Team	Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%)						PF	PA	GF	BF	GA	BA
Port Melbourne	1st	17	-0-	3	68	204.6%	1,031	504	136	215	67	102
North Melbourne	2nd	14	-0-	6	56	113.1%	770	681	101	164	88	153
Footscray	3rd	13	-0-	7	52	143.8%	805	560	104	181	70	140
Williamstown	4th	10	-1-	9	42	130.8%	795	608	106	159	78	140
Brunswick	5th	3	-0-	17	12	44.0%	506	1,151	67	104	152	239
Richmond	6th	2	-1-	17	10	63.1%	688	1,091	88	160	147	209

Overall Premiership Results

Team	Position (Outcome)
Port Melbourne	1st	Not applicable
North Melbourne	2nd	Not applicable
Footscray	3rd	Not applicable
Williamstown	4th	Not applicable
Brunswick	5th	Not applicable
Richmond	6th	Not applicable

Season Fixture

Round 1

Date			Match	Venue	Result
SAT	01/05/1897		Port Melbourne v North Melbourne	North Port Oval	67	-	18
SAT	01/05/1897		Richmond v Brunswick	MCG	38	-	15
SAT	01/05/1897	2:10 PM	Williamstown v Footscray	WCG	22	-	29

Round 1 Ladder

Team	Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%)						PF	PA
Port Melbourne	1st	1	-0-	0	4	372.2%	67	18
Richmond	2nd	1	-0-	0	4	253.3%	38	15
Footscray	3rd	1	-0-	0	4	131.8%	29	22
Williamstown	4th	0	-0-	1	0	75.9%	22	29
Brunswick	5th	0	-0-	1	0	39.5%	15	38
North Melbourne	6th	0	-0-	1	0	26.9%	18	67

Round 2

Date			Match	Venue	Result
SAT	08/05/1897		Footscray v Brunswick	Western Oval	48	-	22
SAT	08/05/1897		Port Melbourne v Richmond	North Port Oval	72	-	23
SAT	08/05/1897	2:10 PM	Williamstown v North Melbourne	WCG	30	-	33

Round 2 Ladder

Team	Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%)						PF	PA
Port Melbourne	1st	2	-0-	0	8	339.0%	139	41
Footscray	2nd	2	-0-	0	8	175.0%	77	44
Richmond	3rd	1	-0-	1	4	70.1%	61	87
North Melbourne	4th	1	-0-	1	4	52.6%	51	97
Williamstown	5th	0	-0-	2	0	83.9%	52	62
Brunswick	6th	0	-0-	2	0	43.0%	37	86

Round 3

Date			Match	Venue	Result
SAT	15/05/1897		Brunswick v North Melbourne	Brunswick Park	21	-	16
SAT	15/05/1897		Richmond v Footscray	Richmond City Reserve	40	-	73
SAT	15/05/1897	2:10 PM	Williamstown v Port Melbourne	WCG	15	-	32

Round 3 Ladder

Team	Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%)						PF	PA
Port Melbourne	1st	3	-0-	0	12	305.4%	171	56
Footscray	2nd	3	-0-	0	12	178.6%	150	84
Richmond	3rd	1	-0-	2	4	63.1%	101	160
Brunswick	4th	1	-0-	2	4	56.9%	58	102
North Melbourne	5th	1	-0-	2	4	56.8%	67	118
Williamstown	6th	0	-0-	3	0	71.3%	67	94

Round 4

Date		Match	Venue	Result
SAT	22/05/1897	North Melbourne v Footscray	East Melbourne	55	-	62
SAT	22/05/1897	Port Melbourne v Brunswick	North Port Oval	120	-	12
SAT	22/05/1897	Richmond v Williamstown	Richmond City Reserve	52	-	52

Round 4 Ladder

Team	Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%)						PF	PA
Port Melbourne	1st	4	-0-	0	16	427.9%	291	68
Footscray	2nd	4	-0-	0	16	152.5%	212	139
Richmond	3rd	1	-1-	2	6	72.2%	153	212
North Melbourne	4th	1	-0-	3	4	67.8%	122	180
Brunswick	5th	1	-0-	3	4	31.5%	70	222
Williamstown	6th	0	-1-	3	2	81.5%	119	146

Round 5

Date			Match	Venue	Result
MON	24/05/1897		Footscray v Port Melbourne	Western Oval	17	-	51
MON	24/05/1897		North Melbourne v Richmond	East Melbourne	43	-	42
MON	24/05/1897	2:10 PM	Williamstown v Brunswick	WCG	70	-	26

Round 5 Ladder

Team	Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%)						PF	PA
Port Melbourne	1st	5	-0-	0	20	402.4%	342	85
Footscray	2nd	4	-0-	1	16	120.5%	229	190
North Melbourne	3rd	2	-0-	3	8	74.3%	165	222
Williamstown	4th	1	-1-	3	6	109.9%	189	172
Richmond	5th	1	-1-	3	6	76.5%	195	255
Brunswick	6th	1	-0-	4	4	32.9%	96	292

Round 6

Date		Match	Venue	Result
SAT	29/05/1897	Brunswick v Richmond	Brunswick Park	54	-	39
SAT	29/05/1897	Footscray v Williamstown	Western Oval	22	-	4
SAT	29/05/1897	North Melbourne v Port Melbourne	East Melbourne	41	-	20

Round 6 Ladder

Team	Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%)						PF	PA
Port Melbourne	1st	5	-0-	1	20	287.3%	362	126
Footscray	2nd	5	-0-	1	20	129.4%	251	194
North Melbourne	3rd	3	-0-	3	12	85.1%	206	242
Brunswick	4th	2	-0-	4	8	45.3%	150	331
Williamstown	5th	1	-1-	4	6	99.5%	193	194
Richmond	6th	1	-1-	4	6	75.7%	234	309

Round 7

Date		Match	Venue	Result
SAT	05/06/1897	Brunswick v Footscray	Brunswick Park	26	-	56
SAT	05/06/1897	North Melbourne v Williamstown	East Melbourne	38	-	23
SAT	05/06/1897	Richmond v Port Melbourne	Punt Road Oval	49	-	60

Round 7 Ladder

Team	Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%)						PF	PA
Port Melbourne	1st	6	-0-	1	24	241.1%	422	175
Footscray	2nd	6	-0-	1	24	139.5%	307	220
North Melbourne	3rd	4	-0-	3	16	92.1%	244	265
Brunswick	4th	2	-0-	5	8	45.5%	176	387
Williamstown	5th	1	-1-	5	6	93.1%	216	232
Richmond	6th	1	-1-	5	6	76.7%	283	369

Round 8

Date		Match	Venue	Result
SAT	12/06/1897	Brunswick v North Melbourne	Brunswick Park	21	-	57
SAT	12/06/1897	Footscray v Richmond	Western Oval	61	-	44
SAT	12/06/1897	Port Melbourne v Williamstown	North Port Oval	34	-	29

Round 8 Ladder

Team	Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%)						PF	PA
Port Melbourne	1st	7	-0-	1	28	223.5%	456	204
Footscray	2nd	7	-0-	1	28	139.4%	368	264
North Melbourne	3rd	5	-0-	3	20	105.2%	301	286
Brunswick	4th	2	-0-	6	8	44.4%	197	444
Williamstown	5th	1	-1-	6	6	92.1%	245	266
Richmond	6th	1	-1-	6	6	76.0%	327	430

Round 9

Date			Match	Venue	Result
SAT	19/06/1897		Brunswick v Port Melbourne	Brunswick Park	7	-	45
SAT	19/06/1897		North Melbourne v Footscray	East Melbourne	30	-	16
SAT	19/06/1897	2:10 PM	Williamstown v Richmond	WCG	63	-	24

Round 9 Ladder

Team	Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%)						PF	PA
Port Melbourne	1st	8	-0-	1	32	237.4%	501	211
Footscray	2nd	7	-0-	2	28	130.6%	384	294
North Melbourne	3rd	6	-0-	3	24	109.6%	331	302
Williamstown	4th	2	-1-	6	10	106.2%	308	290
Brunswick	5th	2	-0-	7	8	41.7%	204	489
Richmond	6th	1	-1-	7	6	71.2%	351	493

Round 10

Date		Match	Venue	Result
SAT	26/06/1897	Brunswick v Williamstown	Brunswick Park	1	-	43
SAT	26/06/1897	Port Melbourne v Footscray	North Port Oval	29	-	24
SAT	26/06/1897	Richmond v North Melbourne	Punt Road Oval	14	-	50

Round 10 Ladder

Team	Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%)						PF	PA
Port Melbourne	1st	9	-0-	1	36	225.5%	530	235
Footscray	2nd	7	-0-	3	28	126.3%	408	323
North Melbourne	3rd	7	-0-	3	28	120.6%	381	316
Williamstown	4th	3	-1-	6	14	120.6%	351	291
Brunswick	5th	2	-0-	8	8	38.5%	205	532
Richmond	6th	1	-1-	8	6	67.2%	365	543

Round 11

Date			Match	Venue	Result
SAT	03/07/1897		Brunswick v Richmond	Brunswick Park	44	-	32
SAT	03/07/1897		North Melbourne v Port Melbourne	East Melbourne	28	-	46
SAT	03/07/1897	2:10 PM	Williamstown v Footscray	WCG	23	-	21

Round 11 Ladder

Team	Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%)						PF	PA
Port Melbourne	1st	10	-0-	1	40	219.0%	576	263
Footscray	2nd	7	-0-	4	28	124.0%	429	346
North Melbourne	3rd	7	-0-	4	28	113.0%	409	362
Williamstown	4th	4	-1-	6	18	119.9%	374	312
Brunswick	5th	3	-0-	8	12	44.1%	249	564
Richmond	6th	1	-1-	9	6	67.6%	397	587

Round 12

Date		Match	Venue	Result
SAT	10/07/1897	Brunswick v Footscray	Brunswick Park	26	-	73
SAT	10/07/1897	North Melbourne v Williamstown	East Melbourne	32	-	31
SAT	10/07/1897	Richmond v Port Melbourne	Punt Road Oval	24	-	36

Round 12 Ladder

Team	Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%)						PF	PA
Port Melbourne	1st	11	-0-	1	44	213.2%	612	287
Footscray	2nd	8	-0-	4	32	134.9%	502	372
North Melbourne	3rd	8	-0-	4	32	112.2%	441	393
Williamstown	4th	4	-1-	7	18	117.7%	405	344
Brunswick	5th	3	-0-	9	12	43.2%	275	637
Richmond	6th	1	-1-	10	6	67.6%	421	623

Round 13

Date			Match	Venue	Result
SAT	17/07/1897		Brunswick v North Melbourne	Brunswick Park	25	-	37
SAT	17/07/1897		Port Melbourne v Williamstown	North Port Oval	68	-	16
SAT	17/07/1897	3:00 PM	Footscray v Richmond	Western Oval	59	-	5

Round 13 Ladder

Team	Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%)						PF	PA
Port Melbourne	1st	12	-0-	1	48	224.4%	680	303
Footscray	2nd	9	-0-	4	36	148.8%	561	377
North Melbourne	3rd	9	-0-	4	36	114.4%	478	418
Williamstown	4th	4	-1-	8	18	102.2%	421	412
Brunswick	5th	3	-0-	10	12	44.5%	300	674
Richmond	6th	1	-1-	11	6	62.5%	426	682

Round 14

Date			Match	Venue	Result
SAT	24/07/1897		Brunswick v Port Melbourne	Brunswick Park	38	-	99
SAT	24/07/1897		Footscray v North Melbourne	Western Oval	28	-	10
SAT	24/07/1897	2:10 PM	Williamstown v Richmond	WCG	69	-	33

Round 14 Ladder

Team	Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%)						PF	PA
Port Melbourne	1st	13	-0-	1	52	228.4%	779	341
Footscray	2nd	10	-0-	4	40	152.2%	589	387
North Melbourne	3rd	9	-0-	5	36	109.4%	488	446
Williamstown	4th	5	-1-	8	22	110.1%	490	445
Brunswick	5th	3	-0-	11	12	43.7%	338	773
Richmond	6th	1	-1-	12	6	61.1%	459	751

Round 15

Date			Match	Venue	Result
SAT	07/08/1897		North Melbourne v Richmond	East Melbourne	68	-	44
SAT	07/08/1897		Port Melbourne v Footscray	North Port Oval	17	-	14
SAT	07/08/1897	2:10 PM	Williamstown v Brunswick	WCG	66	-	20

Round 15 Ladder

Team	Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%)						PF	PA
Port Melbourne	1st	14	-0-	1	56	224.2%	796	355
Footscray	2nd	10	-0-	5	40	149.3%	603	404
North Melbourne	3rd	10	-0-	5	40	113.5%	556	490
Williamstown	4th	6	-1-	8	26	119.6%	556	465
Brunswick	5th	3	-0-	12	12	42.7%	358	839
Richmond	6th	1	-1-	13	6	61.4%	503	819

Round 16

Date			Match	Venue	Result
SAT	14/08/1897		Port Melbourne v North Melbourne	North Port Oval	23	-	29
SAT	14/08/1897		Richmond v Brunswick	Punt Road Oval	51	-	34
SAT	14/08/1897	2:10 PM	Footscray v Williamstown	Western Oval	24	-	25

Round 16 Ladder

Team	Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%)						PF	PA
Port Melbourne	1st	14	-0-	2	56	213.3%	819	384
North Melbourne	2nd	11	-0-	5	44	114.0%	585	513
Footscray	3rd	10	-0-	6	40	146.2%	627	429
Williamstown	4th	7	-1-	8	30	118.8%	581	489
Brunswick	5th	3	-0-	13	12	44.0%	392	890
Richmond	6th	2	-1-	13	10	64.9%	554	853

Round 17

Date			Match	Venue	Result
SAT	21/08/1897		Footscray v Brunswick	Western Oval	28	-	20
SAT	21/08/1897		Port Melbourne v Richmond	North Port Oval	87	-	21
SAT	21/08/1897	2:10 PM	Williamstown v North Melbourne	WCG	61	-	17

Round 17 Ladder

Team	Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%)						PF	PA
Port Melbourne	1st	15	-0-	2	60	223.7%	906	405
Footscray	2nd	11	-0-	6	44	145.9%	655	449
North Melbourne	3rd	11	-0-	6	44	104.9%	602	574
Williamstown	4th	8	-1-	8	34	126.9%	642	506
Brunswick	5th	3	-0-	14	12	44.9%	412	918
Richmond	6th	2	-1-	14	10	61.2%	575	940

Round 18

Date			Match	Venue	Result
SAT	28/08/1897		North Melbourne v Brunswick	Western Oval	69	-	33
SAT	28/08/1897		Richmond v Footscray	Punt Road Oval	40	-	66
SAT	28/08/1897	2:10 PM	Williamstown v Port Melbourne	WCG	27	-	30

Round 18 Ladder

Team	Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%)						PF	PA
Port Melbourne	1st	16	-0-	2	64	216.7%	936	432
Footscray	2nd	12	-0-	6	48	147.4%	721	489
North Melbourne	3rd	12	-0-	6	48	110.5%	671	607
Williamstown	4th	8	-1-	9	34	124.8%	669	536
Brunswick	5th	3	-0-	15	12	45.1%	445	987
Richmond	6th	2	-1-	15	10	61.1%	615	1,006

Round 19

Date		Match	Venue	Result
SAT	04/09/1897	Footscray v North Melbourne	Western Oval	30	-	47
SAT	04/09/1897	Port Melbourne v Brunswick	North Port Oval	71	-	18
SAT	04/09/1897	Richmond v Williamstown	Punt Road Oval	29	-	33

Round 19 Ladder

Team	Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%)						PF	PA
Port Melbourne	1st	17	-0-	2	68	223.8%	1,007	450
North Melbourne	2nd	13	-0-	6	52	112.7%	718	637
Footscray	3rd	12	-0-	7	48	140.1%	751	536
Williamstown	4th	9	-1-	9	38	124.2%	702	565
Brunswick	5th	3	-0-	16	12	43.8%	463	1,058
Richmond	6th	2	-1-	16	10	62.0%	644	1,039

Round 20

Date			Match	Venue	Result
SAT	11/09/1897		Footscray v Port Melbourne	Western Oval	54	-	24
SAT	11/09/1897		Richmond v North Melbourne	Punt Road Oval	44	-	52
SAT	11/09/1897	2:10 PM	Williamstown v Brunswick	WCG	93	-	43

Round 20 Ladder

Team	Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%)						PF	PA
Port Melbourne	1st	17	-0-	3	68	204.6%	1,031	504
North Melbourne	2nd	14	-0-	6	56	113.1%	770	681
Footscray	3rd	13	-0-	7	52	143.8%	805	560
Williamstown	4th	10	-1-	9	42	130.8%	795	608
Brunswick	5th	3	-0-	17	12	44.0%	506	1,151
Richmond	6th	2	-1-	17	10	63.1%	688	1,091

Links

Fixtures (VFA/VFL)

The information provided on this site does not necessarily align with the official record. The purpose of this site is to present its author's attempt to amalgamate a variety of sources of information on the VFL/AFL, VFA/VFL, SANFL, WAFL, TSL and other competitions to provide its users a unified view of the people (e.g. players, coaches, draftees and umpires), places, events (e.g. matches, drafts and awards) and other entities that have contributed to the rich history of Australian rules football.