1901 VFL Season

These are the results for the 1901 season of the Victorian Football League (currently known as the Australian Football League).

It featured seventeen rounds in a double round-robin format with three sectional rounds. Geelong were the minor premiers.

The season ended with a finals series following the First Argus system. Essendon were the premiers, with Tod Collins as the premiership captain.

Season Details

Name: 1901 VFL Season
Teams: 8
Rounds: 17 (inc. 3 sectional rounds)
Finals System: First Argus System
Matches: 71

Team Details

Team Home Ground Coach (Appointed) Coach (Caretaker)
Carlton Princes Park
Collingwood Victoria Park
Essendon East Melbourne
Fitzroy Brunswick Street Oval
Geelong Corio Oval
Melbourne MCG
South Melbourne Lakeside Oval
St Kilda Junction Oval

Season Results

Premiers: Essendon
Runners-Up: Collingwood
Minor Premiers: Geelong

Team Results

Minor Premiership Results

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA GF BF GA BA
Geelong 1st 14 -0- 3 56 142.9% 853 597 111 187 81 111
Essendon 2nd 12 -0- 5 48 186.4% 1,085 582 145 215 81 96
Collingwood 3rd 12 -0- 5 48 158.4% 917 579 124 173 77 117
Fitzroy 4th 9 -1- 7 38 131.7% 877 666 121 151 89 132
Melbourne 5th 9 -1- 7 38 117.4% 716 610 99 122 80 130
South Melbourne 6th 8 -0- 9 32 99.6% 727 730 99 133 98 142
Carlton 7th 2 -0- 15 8 47.0% 476 1,013 63 98 136 197
St Kilda 8th 1 -0- 16 4 32.1% 414 1,288 56 78 176 232

Overall Premiership Results

Team Position (Outcome)
Essendon 1st Premiers
Collingwood 2nd Runners-Up
Geelong 3rd Defeated by Collingwood (Semi Final)
Fitzroy 4th Defeated by Essendon (Semi Final)
Melbourne 5th Did not qualify for finals
South Melbourne 6th Did not qualify for finals
Carlton 7th Did not qualify for finals
St Kilda 8th Did not qualify for finals

Season Fixture

Round 1

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 04/05/1901 3:00 PM Essendon v Collingwood East Melbourne 21 - 64
SAT 04/05/1901 3:00 PM Fitzroy v Carlton Brunswick Street Oval 61 - 19
SAT 04/05/1901 3:00 PM Geelong v Melbourne Corio Oval 23 - 21
SAT 04/05/1901 3:00 PM St Kilda v South Melbourne Junction Oval 41 - 49

Round 1 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Fitzroy 1st 1 -0- 0 4 321.1% 61 19
Collingwood 2nd 1 -0- 0 4 304.8% 64 21
South Melbourne 3rd 1 -0- 0 4 119.5% 49 41
Geelong 4th 1 -0- 0 4 109.5% 23 21
Melbourne 5th 0 -0- 1 0 91.3% 21 23
St Kilda 6th 0 -0- 1 0 83.7% 41 49
Essendon 7th 0 -0- 1 0 32.8% 21 64
Carlton 8th 0 -0- 1 0 31.1% 19 61

Round 2

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
THU 09/05/1901 3:00 PM Collingwood v Carlton Victoria Park 94 - 7
THU 09/05/1901 3:00 PM Fitzroy v Geelong Brunswick Street Oval 38 - 48
THU 09/05/1901 3:00 PM Melbourne v South Melbourne MCG 36 - 40
THU 09/05/1901 3:00 PM St Kilda v Essendon Junction Oval 19 - 68

Round 2 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Collingwood 1st 2 -0- 0 8 564.3% 158 28
Geelong 2nd 2 -0- 0 8 120.3% 71 59
South Melbourne 3rd 2 -0- 0 8 115.6% 89 77
Fitzroy 4th 1 -0- 1 4 147.8% 99 67
Essendon 5th 1 -0- 1 4 107.2% 89 83
Melbourne 6th 0 -0- 2 0 90.5% 57 63
St Kilda 7th 0 -0- 2 0 51.3% 60 117
Carlton 8th 0 -0- 2 0 16.8% 26 155

Round 3

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 11/05/1901 3:00 PM Carlton v Geelong Princes Park 26 - 55
SAT 11/05/1901 3:00 PM Essendon v Fitzroy East Melbourne 44 - 47
SAT 11/05/1901 3:00 PM Melbourne v St Kilda MCG 58 - 21
SAT 11/05/1901 3:00 PM South Melbourne v Collingwood Lakeside Oval 58 - 47

Round 3 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Geelong 1st 3 -0- 0 12 148.2% 126 85
South Melbourne 2nd 3 -0- 0 12 118.5% 147 124
Collingwood 3rd 2 -0- 1 8 238.4% 205 86
Fitzroy 4th 2 -0- 1 8 131.5% 146 111
Melbourne 5th 1 -0- 2 4 136.9% 115 84
Essendon 6th 1 -0- 2 4 102.3% 133 130
St Kilda 7th 0 -0- 3 0 46.3% 81 175
Carlton 8th 0 -0- 3 0 24.8% 52 210

Round 4

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 18/05/1901 3:00 PM Carlton v South Melbourne Princes Park 27 - 25
SAT 18/05/1901 3:00 PM Collingwood v Melbourne Victoria Park 44 - 22
SAT 18/05/1901 3:00 PM Fitzroy v St Kilda Brunswick Street Oval 106 - 23
SAT 18/05/1901 3:00 PM Geelong v Essendon Corio Oval 34 - 30

Round 4 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Geelong 1st 4 -0- 0 16 139.1% 160 115
Collingwood 2nd 3 -0- 1 12 230.6% 249 108
Fitzroy 3rd 3 -0- 1 12 188.1% 252 134
South Melbourne 4th 3 -0- 1 12 113.9% 172 151
Melbourne 5th 1 -0- 3 4 107.0% 137 128
Essendon 6th 1 -0- 3 4 99.4% 163 164
Carlton 7th 1 -0- 3 4 33.6% 79 235
St Kilda 8th 0 -0- 4 0 37.0% 104 281

Round 5

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 25/05/1901 3:00 PM Carlton v St Kilda Princes Park 40 - 20
SAT 25/05/1901 3:00 PM Essendon v Melbourne East Melbourne 50 - 24
SAT 25/05/1901 3:00 PM Geelong v Collingwood Corio Oval 24 - 32
SAT 25/05/1901 3:00 PM South Melbourne v Fitzroy Lakeside Oval 25 - 41

Round 5 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Collingwood 1st 4 -0- 1 16 212.9% 281 132
Fitzroy 2nd 4 -0- 1 16 184.3% 293 159
Geelong 3rd 4 -0- 1 16 125.2% 184 147
South Melbourne 4th 3 -0- 2 12 102.6% 197 192
Essendon 5th 2 -0- 3 8 113.3% 213 188
Carlton 6th 2 -0- 3 8 46.7% 119 255
Melbourne 7th 1 -0- 4 4 90.4% 161 178
St Kilda 8th 0 -0- 5 0 38.6% 124 321

Round 6

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 01/06/1901 3:00 PM Collingwood v Fitzroy Victoria Park 55 - 45
SAT 01/06/1901 3:00 PM Melbourne v Carlton MCG 49 - 34
SAT 01/06/1901 3:00 PM South Melbourne v Essendon Lakeside Oval 35 - 41
SAT 01/06/1901 3:00 PM St Kilda v Geelong Junction Oval 17 - 78

Round 6 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Collingwood 1st 5 -0- 1 20 189.8% 336 177
Geelong 2nd 5 -0- 1 20 159.8% 262 164
Fitzroy 3rd 4 -0- 2 16 157.9% 338 214
Essendon 4th 3 -0- 3 12 113.9% 254 223
South Melbourne 5th 3 -0- 3 12 99.6% 232 233
Melbourne 6th 2 -0- 4 8 99.1% 210 212
Carlton 7th 2 -0- 4 8 50.3% 153 304
St Kilda 8th 0 -0- 6 0 35.3% 141 399

Round 7

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
MON 03/06/1901 3:00 PM Essendon v Carlton East Melbourne 105 - 25
MON 03/06/1901 3:00 PM Fitzroy v Melbourne Brunswick Street Oval 36 - 36
MON 03/06/1901 3:00 PM Geelong v South Melbourne Corio Oval 65 - 22
MON 03/06/1901 3:00 PM St Kilda v Collingwood Junction Oval 19 - 53

Round 7 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Collingwood 1st 6 -0- 1 24 198.5% 389 196
Geelong 2nd 6 -0- 1 24 175.8% 327 186
Fitzroy 3rd 4 -1- 2 18 149.6% 374 250
Essendon 4th 4 -0- 3 16 144.8% 359 248
South Melbourne 5th 3 -0- 4 12 85.2% 254 298
Melbourne 6th 2 -1- 4 10 99.2% 246 248
Carlton 7th 2 -0- 5 8 43.5% 178 409
St Kilda 8th 0 -0- 7 0 35.4% 160 452

Round 8

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 08/06/1901 3:00 PM Carlton v Fitzroy Princes Park 37 - 44
SAT 08/06/1901 3:00 PM Collingwood v Essendon Victoria Park 49 - 48
SAT 08/06/1901 3:00 PM Melbourne v Geelong MCG 46 - 59
SAT 08/06/1901 3:00 PM South Melbourne v St Kilda Lakeside Oval 56 - 7

Round 8 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Collingwood 1st 7 -0- 1 28 179.5% 438 244
Geelong 2nd 7 -0- 1 28 166.4% 386 232
Fitzroy 3rd 5 -1- 2 22 145.6% 418 287
Essendon 4th 4 -0- 4 16 137.0% 407 297
South Melbourne 5th 4 -0- 4 16 101.6% 310 305
Melbourne 6th 2 -1- 5 10 95.1% 292 307
Carlton 7th 2 -0- 6 8 47.5% 215 453
St Kilda 8th 0 -0- 8 0 32.9% 167 508

Round 9

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 22/06/1901 3:00 PM Carlton v Collingwood Princes Park 42 - 63
SAT 22/06/1901 3:00 PM Essendon v St Kilda East Melbourne 136 - 29
SAT 22/06/1901 3:00 PM Geelong v Fitzroy Corio Oval 52 - 51
SAT 22/06/1901 3:00 PM South Melbourne v Melbourne Lakeside Oval 45 - 61

Round 9 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Collingwood 1st 8 -0- 1 32 175.2% 501 286
Geelong 2nd 8 -0- 1 32 154.8% 438 283
Fitzroy 3rd 5 -1- 3 22 138.3% 469 339
Essendon 4th 5 -0- 4 20 166.6% 543 326
South Melbourne 5th 4 -0- 5 16 97.0% 355 366
Melbourne 6th 3 -1- 5 14 100.3% 353 352
Carlton 7th 2 -0- 7 8 49.8% 257 516
St Kilda 8th 0 -0- 9 0 30.4% 196 644

Round 10

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 29/06/1901 3:00 PM Collingwood v South Melbourne Victoria Park 31 - 51
SAT 29/06/1901 3:00 PM Fitzroy v Essendon Brunswick Street Oval 44 - 92
SAT 29/06/1901 3:00 PM Geelong v Carlton Corio Oval 63 - 31
SAT 29/06/1901 3:00 PM St Kilda v Melbourne Junction Oval 28 - 38

Round 10 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Geelong 1st 9 -0- 1 36 159.6% 501 314
Collingwood 2nd 8 -0- 2 32 157.9% 532 337
Essendon 3rd 6 -0- 4 24 171.6% 635 370
Fitzroy 4th 5 -1- 4 22 119.0% 513 431
South Melbourne 5th 5 -0- 5 20 102.3% 406 397
Melbourne 6th 4 -1- 5 18 102.9% 391 380
Carlton 7th 2 -0- 8 8 49.7% 288 579
St Kilda 8th 0 -0- 10 0 32.8% 224 682

Round 11

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 06/07/1901 3:00 PM Essendon v Geelong East Melbourne 49 - 24
SAT 06/07/1901 3:00 PM Melbourne v Collingwood MCG 36 - 35
SAT 06/07/1901 3:00 PM South Melbourne v Carlton Lakeside Oval 70 - 20
SAT 06/07/1901 3:00 PM St Kilda v Fitzroy Junction Oval 34 - 73

Round 11 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Geelong 1st 9 -0- 2 36 144.6% 525 363
Collingwood 2nd 8 -0- 3 32 152.0% 567 373
Essendon 3rd 7 -0- 4 28 173.6% 684 394
Fitzroy 4th 6 -1- 4 26 126.0% 586 465
South Melbourne 5th 6 -0- 5 24 114.1% 476 417
Melbourne 6th 5 -1- 5 22 102.9% 427 415
Carlton 7th 2 -0- 9 8 47.5% 308 649
St Kilda 8th 0 -0- 11 0 34.2% 258 755

Round 12

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 13/07/1901 3:00 PM Collingwood v Geelong Victoria Park 41 - 83
SAT 13/07/1901 3:00 PM Fitzroy v South Melbourne Brunswick Street Oval 65 - 79
SAT 13/07/1901 3:00 PM Melbourne v Essendon MCG 42 - 33
SAT 13/07/1901 3:00 PM St Kilda v Carlton Junction Oval 50 - 32

Round 12 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Geelong 1st 10 -0- 2 40 150.5% 608 404
Collingwood 2nd 8 -0- 4 32 133.3% 608 456
Essendon 3rd 7 -0- 5 28 164.4% 717 436
South Melbourne 4th 7 -0- 5 28 115.1% 555 482
Fitzroy 5th 6 -1- 5 26 119.7% 651 544
Melbourne 6th 6 -1- 5 26 104.7% 469 448
Carlton 7th 2 -0- 10 8 48.6% 340 699
St Kilda 8th 1 -0- 11 4 39.1% 308 787

Round 13

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 20/07/1901 3:00 PM Carlton v Melbourne Princes Park 36 - 42
SAT 20/07/1901 3:00 PM Essendon v South Melbourne East Melbourne 52 - 51
SAT 20/07/1901 3:00 PM Fitzroy v Collingwood Brunswick Street Oval 19 - 24
SAT 20/07/1901 3:00 PM Geelong v St Kilda Corio Oval 55 - 29

Round 13 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Geelong 1st 11 -0- 2 44 153.1% 663 433
Collingwood 2nd 9 -0- 4 36 133.1% 632 475
Essendon 3rd 8 -0- 5 32 157.9% 769 487
Melbourne 4th 7 -1- 5 30 105.6% 511 484
South Melbourne 5th 7 -0- 6 28 113.5% 606 534
Fitzroy 6th 6 -1- 6 26 118.0% 670 568
Carlton 7th 2 -0- 11 8 50.7% 376 741
St Kilda 8th 1 -0- 12 4 40.0% 337 842

Round 14

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 27/07/1901 3:00 PM Carlton v Essendon Princes Park 20 - 79
SAT 27/07/1901 3:00 PM Collingwood v St Kilda Victoria Park 80 - 13
SAT 27/07/1901 3:00 PM Melbourne v Fitzroy MCG 29 - 23
SAT 27/07/1901 3:00 PM South Melbourne v Geelong Lakeside Oval 45 - 49

Round 14 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Geelong 1st 12 -0- 2 48 149.0% 712 478
Collingwood 2nd 10 -0- 4 40 145.9% 712 488
Essendon 3rd 9 -0- 5 36 167.3% 848 507
Melbourne 4th 8 -1- 5 34 106.5% 540 507
South Melbourne 5th 7 -0- 7 28 111.7% 651 583
Fitzroy 6th 6 -1- 7 26 116.1% 693 597
Carlton 7th 2 -0- 12 8 48.3% 396 820
St Kilda 8th 1 -0- 13 4 38.0% 350 922

Round 15 (Sectional Round 1)

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 10/08/1901 2:30 PM Carlton v Geelong Princes Park 23 - 54
SAT 10/08/1901 2:30 PM Collingwood v Melbourne Victoria Park 44 - 28
SAT 10/08/1901 2:30 PM South Melbourne v Essendon Lakeside Oval 9 - 69
SAT 10/08/1901 2:30 PM St Kilda v Fitzroy Junction Oval 27 - 99

Round 15 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Geelong 1st 13 -0- 2 52 152.9% 766 501
Collingwood 2nd 11 -0- 4 44 146.5% 756 516
Essendon 3rd 10 -0- 5 40 177.7% 917 516
Melbourne 4th 8 -1- 6 34 103.1% 568 551
Fitzroy 5th 7 -1- 7 30 126.9% 792 624
South Melbourne 6th 7 -0- 8 28 101.2% 660 652
Carlton 7th 2 -0- 13 8 47.9% 419 874
St Kilda 8th 1 -0- 14 4 36.9% 377 1,021

Round 16 (Sectional Round 2)

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 17/08/1901 2:30 PM Essendon v Carlton East Melbourne 102 - 33
SAT 17/08/1901 2:30 PM Fitzroy v Collingwood Brunswick Street Oval 48 - 18
SAT 17/08/1901 2:30 PM Geelong v South Melbourne Corio Oval 54 - 30
SAT 17/08/1901 2:30 PM Melbourne v St Kilda Lakeside Oval 124 - 22

Round 16 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Geelong 1st 14 -0- 2 56 154.4% 820 531
Essendon 2nd 11 -0- 5 44 185.6% 1,019 549
Collingwood 3rd 11 -0- 5 44 137.2% 774 564
Melbourne 4th 9 -1- 6 38 120.8% 692 573
Fitzroy 5th 8 -1- 7 34 130.8% 840 642
South Melbourne 6th 7 -0- 9 28 97.7% 690 706
Carlton 7th 2 -0- 14 8 46.3% 452 976
St Kilda 8th 1 -0- 15 4 34.8% 399 1,145

Round 17 (Sectional Round 3)

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 24/08/1901 2:30 PM Carlton v South Melbourne Princes Park 24 - 37
SAT 24/08/1901 2:30 PM Collingwood v St Kilda Victoria Park 143 - 15
SAT 24/08/1901 2:30 PM Fitzroy v Melbourne Brunswick Street Oval 37 - 24
SAT 24/08/1901 2:30 PM Geelong v Essendon Corio Oval 33 - 66

Round 17 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Geelong 1st 14 -0- 3 56 142.9% 853 597
Essendon 2nd 12 -0- 5 48 186.4% 1,085 582
Collingwood 3rd 12 -0- 5 48 158.4% 917 579
Fitzroy 4th 9 -1- 7 38 131.7% 877 666
Melbourne 5th 9 -1- 7 38 117.4% 716 610
South Melbourne 6th 8 -0- 9 32 99.6% 727 730
Carlton 7th 2 -0- 15 8 47.0% 476 1,013
St Kilda 8th 1 -0- 16 4 32.1% 414 1,288

Final Round 1

Semi Final

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 31/08/1901 2:30 PM Essendon v Fitzroy Victoria Park 46 - 45 15,000
SAT 31/08/1901 2:30 PM Geelong v Collingwood East Melbourne 24 - 45 10,000

Final Round 2

Grand Final

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 07/09/1901 2:50 PM Essendon v Collingwood Lakeside Oval 43 - 16 30,031