1897 VFL Season: Melbourne

These are the details of the premiership results for Melbourne for the 1897 season of the Victorian Football League (currently known as the Australian Football League). The team used the MCG as their home ground, playing nine matches there (eight as hosts and one as visitors). The team finished the regular season in third place, securing a place in the finals series. After facing Collingwood, Geelong and Essendon in a round-robin finals series, Melbourne finished fourth, resulting in finishing in fourth place overall (adjusted for finals).

Team Details

Competition: 1897 VFL Season
Team: Melbourne
Club: Melbourne
Home Ground: MCG

Team Results

Ladder Position: 3rd (W-D-L: 10-0-4, P%: 144.8)
Finals Performance: 4th place in round-robin finals series

Team Leaders

Captain: Ned Sutton

Player Results

Player Guernseys Matches Goals Rounds
Blackham, Fred 2 0 R01-02
Crawford, Tom 1 0 R08
Fry, Herb 5 1 R01-03, R09, RF1
Geddes, Stewart 7 2 R11-14, RF1-3
Godby, Jack 1 0 R08
Goding, Charlie 4 1 R01-03, R05
Graham, Jack 2 1 R05, R13
Healing, Alf 10 0 R05-10, R13-14, RF1-2
Herring, Maurie 15 1 R02-11, R13-14, RF1-3
Hughes, Harry 2 0 RF2-3
Jenkyn, Edwin 17 2 R01-14, RF1-3
Johnstone, George 3 0 R01, R10-11
Kirk, Arthur 1 0 R04
Leith, Jack 17 26 R01-14, RF1-3
Lewis, Austin 17 2 R01-14, RF1-3
Lyon, Walter 1 0 R11
Massey, Lew 8 1 R04-07, R09-12
McCoy, Jim 1 0 R03
McCulloch, Bill 9 7 R01-03, R05-10
McGinis, Fred 17 10 R01-14, RF1-3
McLeod, Norm 14 0 R01-02, R04-12, RF1-3
Mitchell, Henry 15 1 R01-13, RF2-3
Moodie, George 15 5 R01-14, RF3
Moysey, George 17 12 R01-14, RF1-3
Murdoch, Alex 1 0 R08
Robinson, Bert 13 2 R01-08, R13-14, RF1-3
Russell, Jimmy 1 1 R12
Sheahan, Fred 16 0 R01-12, R14, RF1-3
Sheahan, Gerald 1 0 RF2
Sholl, Eddie 6 0 R12-14, RF1-3
Steele, Wally 12 9 R01, R03-04, R07, R10-14, RF1-3
Strahan, Dave 12 0 R02-04, R06-07, R09-10, R12-14, RF1, RF3
Sutton, Ned 17 0 R01-14, RF1-3
Timothee, John 6 1 R04-05, R11-14
Wardill, Dick 11 4 R06-12, R14, RF1-3
Watson, Bert 11 0 R01-07, R09, R13-14, RF1
Wood, Alf 16 2 R01-06, R08-14, RF1-3
Young, Charlie 16 14 R01-04, R06-14, RF1-3

Coach Results

Coach Matches (W-D-L) Rounds

Match Results

Date Round Opponent H/A Result Coach Captain (Nominated)
08/05/1897 Round 1 South Melbourne AWAY WIN MELB by 17 unknown Ned Sutton
15/05/1897 Round 2 Geelong HOME WIN MELB by 45 unknown Ned Sutton
22/05/1897 Round 3 Fitzroy AWAY WIN MELB by 11 unknown Ned Sutton
29/05/1897 Round 4 St Kilda HOME WIN MELB by 30 unknown Ned Sutton
05/06/1897 Round 5 Carlton HOME WIN MELB by 81 unknown Ned Sutton
19/06/1897 Round 6 Collingwood HOME WIN MELB by 7 unknown Ned Sutton
22/06/1897 Round 7 Essendon AWAY LOSS ESSE by 36 unknown Ned Sutton
26/06/1897 Round 8 South Melbourne HOME LOSS SMLB by 53 unknown Ned Sutton
03/07/1897 Round 9 Geelong AWAY LOSS GEEL by 5 unknown Ned Sutton
10/07/1897 Round 10 Fitzroy HOME WIN MELB by 27 unknown Ned Sutton
17/07/1897 Round 11 St Kilda AWAY WIN MELB by 58 unknown Ned Sutton
24/07/1897 Round 12 Carlton AWAY WIN MELB by 28 unknown Ned Sutton
31/07/1897 Round 13 Collingwood AWAY LOSS COLL by 15 unknown Ned Sutton
07/08/1897 Round 14 Essendon HOME WIN MELB by 17 unknown Ned Sutton
21/08/1897 Round-Robin Final 1 Collingwood HOME LOSS COLL by 4 unknown Ned Sutton
28/08/1897 Round-Robin Final 2 Geelong AWAY LOSS GEEL by 9 unknown Ned Sutton
04/09/1897 Round-Robin Final 3 Essendon AWAY LOSS ESSE by 6 unknown Ned Sutton