1902 VFL Season

These are the results for the 1902 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. Collingwood were the minor premiers.

The season ended with a finals series following the First Amended Argus system. Collingwood were the premiers, with Lardie Tulloch as the premiership captain.

Season Details

Name: 1902 VFL Season
Teams: 8
Rounds: 17 (inc. 3 sectional rounds)
Finals System: First Amended Argus System
Matches: 72

Team Details

Team Home Ground Coach (Appointed) Coach (Caretaker)
Carlton Princes Park Jack Worrall
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: Collingwood
Runners-Up: Essendon
Minor Premiers: Collingwood

Team Results

Minor Premiership Results

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA GF BF GA BA
Collingwood 1st 15 -0- 2 60 199.5% 1,121 562 152 209 73 124
Essendon 2nd 13 -0- 4 52 141.6% 885 625 122 153 81 139
Fitzroy 3rd 10 -0- 7 40 125.9% 914 726 121 188 99 132
Melbourne 4th 9 -0- 8 36 108.8% 800 735 106 164 96 159
South Melbourne 5th 7 -0- 10 28 99.4% 700 704 90 160 89 170
Carlton 6th 7 -0- 10 28 77.1% 594 770 77 132 101 164
Geelong 7th 7 -0- 10 28 76.8% 702 914 93 144 123 176
St Kilda 8th 0 -0- 17 0 41.9% 490 1,170 64 106 163 192

Major Premiership Results

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA GF BF GA BA
Collingwood 1st 15 -0- 3 60 186.7% 1,169 626 158 221 82 134
Essendon 2nd 15 -0- 4 60 139.6% 991 710 137 169 92 158
Fitzroy 3rd 11 -0- 8 44 123.6% 1,012 819 134 208 111 153
Melbourne 4th 9 -0- 9 36 106.9% 851 796 113 173 105 166

Overall Premiership Results

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

Season Fixture

Round 1

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 03/05/1902 3:00 PM Carlton v Geelong Princes Park 40 - 78
SAT 03/05/1902 3:00 PM Essendon v Fitzroy East Melbourne 39 - 52
SAT 03/05/1902 3:00 PM Melbourne v St Kilda MCG 105 - 51
SAT 03/05/1902 3:00 PM South Melbourne v Collingwood Lakeside Oval 25 - 43

Round 1 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Melbourne 1st 1 -0- 0 4 205.9% 105 51
Geelong 2nd 1 -0- 0 4 195.0% 78 40
Collingwood 3rd 1 -0- 0 4 172.0% 43 25
Fitzroy 4th 1 -0- 0 4 133.3% 52 39
Essendon 5th 0 -0- 1 0 75.0% 39 52
South Melbourne 6th 0 -0- 1 0 58.1% 25 43
Carlton 7th 0 -0- 1 0 51.3% 40 78
St Kilda 8th 0 -0- 1 0 48.6% 51 105

Round 2

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 10/05/1902 3:00 PM Geelong v Essendon Corio Oval 24 - 77
SAT 10/05/1902 3:00 PM Melbourne v Collingwood MCG 34 - 51
SAT 10/05/1902 3:00 PM South Melbourne v Carlton Lakeside Oval 61 - 8
SAT 10/05/1902 3:00 PM St Kilda v Fitzroy Junction Oval 36 - 104

Round 2 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Fitzroy 1st 2 -0- 0 8 208.0% 156 75
Collingwood 2nd 2 -0- 0 8 159.3% 94 59
South Melbourne 3rd 1 -0- 1 4 168.6% 86 51
Essendon 4th 1 -0- 1 4 152.6% 116 76
Melbourne 5th 1 -0- 1 4 136.3% 139 102
Geelong 6th 1 -0- 1 4 87.2% 102 117
St Kilda 7th 0 -0- 2 0 41.6% 87 209
Carlton 8th 0 -0- 2 0 34.5% 48 139

Round 3

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 17/05/1902 3:00 PM Collingwood v Geelong Victoria Park 81 - 20
SAT 17/05/1902 3:00 PM Essendon v Melbourne East Melbourne 48 - 25
SAT 17/05/1902 3:00 PM Fitzroy v South Melbourne Brunswick Street Oval 58 - 52
SAT 17/05/1902 3:00 PM St Kilda v Carlton Junction Oval 25 - 33

Round 3 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Collingwood 1st 3 -0- 0 12 221.5% 175 79
Fitzroy 2nd 3 -0- 0 12 168.5% 214 127
Essendon 3rd 2 -0- 1 8 162.4% 164 101
South Melbourne 4th 1 -0- 2 4 126.6% 138 109
Melbourne 5th 1 -0- 2 4 109.3% 164 150
Geelong 6th 1 -0- 2 4 61.6% 122 198
Carlton 7th 1 -0- 2 4 49.4% 81 164
St Kilda 8th 0 -0- 3 0 46.3% 112 242

Round 4

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 24/05/1902 3:00 PM Carlton v Melbourne Princes Park 49 - 60
SAT 24/05/1902 3:00 PM Collingwood v Fitzroy Victoria Park 22 - 55
SAT 24/05/1902 3:00 PM Essendon v South Melbourne East Melbourne 38 - 35
SAT 24/05/1902 3:00 PM Geelong v St Kilda Corio Oval 77 - 33

Round 4 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Fitzroy 1st 4 -0- 0 16 180.5% 269 149
Essendon 2nd 3 -0- 1 12 148.5% 202 136
Collingwood 3rd 3 -0- 1 12 147.0% 197 134
Melbourne 4th 2 -0- 2 8 112.6% 224 199
Geelong 5th 2 -0- 2 8 86.1% 199 231
South Melbourne 6th 1 -0- 3 4 117.7% 173 147
Carlton 7th 1 -0- 3 4 58.0% 130 224
St Kilda 8th 0 -0- 4 0 45.5% 145 319

Round 5

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 31/05/1902 3:00 PM Essendon v Carlton East Melbourne 58 - 38
SAT 31/05/1902 3:00 PM Fitzroy v Melbourne Brunswick Street Oval 59 - 46
SAT 31/05/1902 3:00 PM Geelong v South Melbourne Corio Oval 44 - 27
SAT 31/05/1902 3:00 PM St Kilda v Collingwood Junction Oval 35 - 42

Round 5 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Fitzroy 1st 5 -0- 0 20 168.2% 328 195
Essendon 2nd 4 -0- 1 16 149.4% 260 174
Collingwood 3rd 4 -0- 1 16 141.4% 239 169
Geelong 4th 3 -0- 2 12 94.2% 243 258
Melbourne 5th 2 -0- 3 8 104.7% 270 258
South Melbourne 6th 1 -0- 4 4 104.7% 200 191
Carlton 7th 1 -0- 4 4 59.6% 168 282
St Kilda 8th 0 -0- 5 0 49.9% 180 361

Round 6

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 07/06/1902 3:00 PM Carlton v Fitzroy Princes Park 30 - 68
SAT 07/06/1902 3:00 PM Collingwood v Essendon Victoria Park 51 - 76
SAT 07/06/1902 3:00 PM Melbourne v Geelong MCG 25 - 26
SAT 07/06/1902 3:00 PM South Melbourne v St Kilda Lakeside Oval 43 - 9

Round 6 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Fitzroy 1st 6 -0- 0 24 176.0% 396 225
Essendon 2nd 5 -0- 1 20 149.3% 336 225
Collingwood 3rd 4 -0- 2 16 118.4% 290 245
Geelong 4th 4 -0- 2 16 95.1% 269 283
South Melbourne 5th 2 -0- 4 8 121.5% 243 200
Melbourne 6th 2 -0- 4 8 103.9% 295 284
Carlton 7th 1 -0- 5 4 56.6% 198 350
St Kilda 8th 0 -0- 6 0 46.8% 189 404

Round 7

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
MON 09/06/1902 3:00 PM Collingwood v Carlton Victoria Park 59 - 21
MON 09/06/1902 3:00 PM Fitzroy v Geelong Brunswick Street Oval 62 - 26
MON 09/06/1902 3:00 PM Melbourne v South Melbourne MCG 47 - 46
MON 09/06/1902 3:00 PM St Kilda v Essendon Junction Oval 40 - 64

Round 7 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Fitzroy 1st 7 -0- 0 28 182.5% 458 251
Essendon 2nd 6 -0- 1 24 150.9% 400 265
Collingwood 3rd 5 -0- 2 20 131.2% 349 266
Geelong 4th 4 -0- 3 16 85.5% 295 345
Melbourne 5th 3 -0- 4 12 103.6% 342 330
South Melbourne 6th 2 -0- 5 8 117.0% 289 247
Carlton 7th 1 -0- 6 4 53.5% 219 409
St Kilda 8th 0 -0- 7 0 48.9% 229 468

Round 8

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 14/06/1902 3:00 PM Collingwood v South Melbourne Victoria Park 50 - 14
SAT 14/06/1902 3:00 PM Fitzroy v Essendon Brunswick Street Oval 42 - 48
SAT 14/06/1902 3:00 PM Geelong v Carlton Corio Oval 43 - 47
SAT 14/06/1902 3:00 PM St Kilda v Melbourne Junction Oval 24 - 55

Round 8 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Fitzroy 1st 7 -0- 1 28 167.2% 500 299
Essendon 2nd 7 -0- 1 28 145.9% 448 307
Collingwood 3rd 6 -0- 2 24 142.5% 399 280
Melbourne 4th 4 -0- 4 16 112.1% 397 354
Geelong 5th 4 -0- 4 16 86.2% 338 392
South Melbourne 6th 2 -0- 6 8 102.0% 303 297
Carlton 7th 2 -0- 6 8 58.8% 266 452
St Kilda 8th 0 -0- 8 0 48.4% 253 523

Round 9

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 21/06/1902 3:00 PM Carlton v South Melbourne Princes Park 31 - 18
SAT 21/06/1902 3:00 PM Collingwood v Melbourne Victoria Park 61 - 31
SAT 21/06/1902 3:00 PM Essendon v Geelong East Melbourne 15 - 34
SAT 21/06/1902 3:00 PM Fitzroy v St Kilda Brunswick Street Oval 80 - 19

Round 9 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Fitzroy 1st 8 -0- 1 32 182.4% 580 318
Collingwood 2nd 7 -0- 2 28 147.9% 460 311
Essendon 3rd 7 -0- 2 28 135.8% 463 341
Geelong 4th 5 -0- 4 20 91.4% 372 407
Melbourne 5th 4 -0- 5 16 103.1% 428 415
Carlton 6th 3 -0- 6 12 63.2% 297 470
South Melbourne 7th 2 -0- 7 8 97.9% 321 328
St Kilda 8th 0 -0- 9 0 45.1% 272 603

Round 10

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 05/07/1902 3:00 PM Carlton v St Kilda Princes Park 72 - 49
SAT 05/07/1902 3:00 PM Geelong v Collingwood Corio Oval 44 - 84
SAT 05/07/1902 3:00 PM Melbourne v Essendon MCG 27 - 48
SAT 05/07/1902 3:00 PM South Melbourne v Fitzroy Lakeside Oval 46 - 34

Round 10 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Fitzroy 1st 8 -0- 2 32 168.7% 614 364
Collingwood 2nd 8 -0- 2 32 153.2% 544 355
Essendon 3rd 8 -0- 2 32 138.9% 511 368
Geelong 4th 5 -0- 5 20 84.7% 416 491
Melbourne 5th 4 -0- 6 16 98.3% 455 463
Carlton 6th 4 -0- 6 16 71.1% 369 519
South Melbourne 7th 3 -0- 7 12 101.4% 367 362
St Kilda 8th 0 -0- 10 0 47.6% 321 675

Round 11

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 12/07/1902 3:00 PM Fitzroy v Collingwood Brunswick Street Oval 45 - 68
SAT 12/07/1902 3:00 PM Melbourne v Carlton MCG 36 - 33
SAT 12/07/1902 3:00 PM South Melbourne v Essendon Lakeside Oval 36 - 43
SAT 12/07/1902 3:00 PM St Kilda v Geelong Junction Oval 33 - 49

Round 11 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Collingwood 1st 9 -0- 2 36 153.0% 612 400
Essendon 2nd 9 -0- 2 36 137.1% 554 404
Fitzroy 3rd 8 -0- 3 32 152.5% 659 432
Geelong 4th 6 -0- 5 24 88.7% 465 524
Melbourne 5th 5 -0- 6 20 99.0% 491 496
Carlton 6th 4 -0- 7 16 72.4% 402 555
South Melbourne 7th 3 -0- 8 12 99.5% 403 405
St Kilda 8th 0 -0- 11 0 48.9% 354 724

Round 12

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 19/07/1902 3:00 PM Collingwood v St Kilda Victoria Park 127 - 10
SAT 19/07/1902 3:00 PM Melbourne v Fitzroy MCG 37 - 33
SAT 19/07/1902 3:00 PM South Melbourne v Geelong Lakeside Oval 55 - 45
SAT 19/07/1902 3:15 PM Carlton v Essendon Princes Park 33 - 16

Round 12 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Collingwood 1st 10 -0- 2 40 180.2% 739 410
Essendon 2nd 9 -0- 3 36 130.4% 570 437
Fitzroy 3rd 8 -0- 4 32 147.5% 692 469
Melbourne 4th 6 -0- 6 24 99.8% 528 529
Geelong 5th 6 -0- 6 24 88.1% 510 579
Carlton 6th 5 -0- 7 20 76.2% 435 571
South Melbourne 7th 4 -0- 8 16 101.8% 458 450
St Kilda 8th 0 -0- 12 0 42.8% 364 851

Round 13

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 26/07/1902 3:00 PM Essendon v Collingwood East Melbourne 36 - 47
SAT 26/07/1902 3:00 PM Fitzroy v Carlton Brunswick Street Oval 30 - 44
SAT 26/07/1902 3:00 PM Geelong v Melbourne Corio Oval 54 - 27
SAT 26/07/1902 3:00 PM St Kilda v South Melbourne Junction Oval 22 - 37

Round 13 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Collingwood 1st 11 -0- 2 44 176.2% 786 446
Essendon 2nd 9 -0- 4 36 125.2% 606 484
Fitzroy 3rd 8 -0- 5 32 140.7% 722 513
Geelong 4th 7 -0- 6 28 93.1% 564 606
Melbourne 5th 6 -0- 7 24 95.2% 555 583
Carlton 6th 6 -0- 7 24 79.7% 479 601
South Melbourne 7th 5 -0- 8 20 104.9% 495 472
St Kilda 8th 0 -0- 13 0 43.5% 386 888

Round 14

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 02/08/1902 3:00 PM Carlton v Collingwood Princes Park 15 - 52
SAT 02/08/1902 3:00 PM Essendon v St Kilda East Melbourne 84 - 22
SAT 02/08/1902 3:00 PM Geelong v Fitzroy Corio Oval 40 - 61
SAT 02/08/1902 3:00 PM South Melbourne v Melbourne Lakeside Oval 27 - 63

Round 14 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Collingwood 1st 12 -0- 2 48 181.8% 838 461
Essendon 2nd 10 -0- 4 40 136.4% 690 506
Fitzroy 3rd 9 -0- 5 36 141.6% 783 553
Melbourne 4th 7 -0- 7 28 101.3% 618 610
Geelong 5th 7 -0- 7 28 90.6% 604 667
Carlton 6th 6 -0- 8 24 75.7% 494 653
South Melbourne 7th 5 -0- 9 20 97.6% 522 535
St Kilda 8th 0 -0- 14 0 42.0% 408 972

Round 15 (Sectional Round 1)

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 16/08/1902 2:30 PM Collingwood v South Melbourne Victoria Park 84 - 44
SAT 16/08/1902 2:30 PM Geelong v Fitzroy Corio Oval 36 - 51
SAT 16/08/1902 2:30 PM Melbourne v Carlton MCG 47 - 13
SAT 16/08/1902 2:30 PM St Kilda v Essendon Junction Oval 23 - 72

Round 15 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Collingwood 1st 13 -0- 2 52 182.6% 922 505
Essendon 2nd 11 -0- 4 44 144.0% 762 529
Fitzroy 3rd 10 -0- 5 40 141.6% 834 589
Melbourne 4th 8 -0- 7 32 106.7% 665 623
Geelong 5th 7 -0- 8 28 89.1% 640 718
Carlton 6th 6 -0- 9 24 72.4% 507 700
South Melbourne 7th 5 -0- 10 20 91.4% 566 619
St Kilda 8th 0 -0- 15 0 41.3% 431 1,044

Round 16 (Sectional Round 2)

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 23/08/1902 2:30 PM Carlton v St Kilda Princes Park 47 - 24
SAT 23/08/1902 2:30 PM Essendon v Melbourne East Melbourne 77 - 56
SAT 23/08/1902 2:30 PM Fitzroy v Collingwood Brunswick Street Oval 34 - 87
SAT 23/08/1902 2:30 PM South Melbourne v Geelong Lakeside Oval 84 - 39

Round 16 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Collingwood 1st 14 -0- 2 56 187.2% 1,009 539
Essendon 2nd 12 -0- 4 48 143.4% 839 585
Fitzroy 3rd 10 -0- 6 40 128.4% 868 676
Melbourne 4th 8 -0- 8 32 103.0% 721 700
Geelong 5th 7 -0- 9 28 84.7% 679 802
Carlton 6th 7 -0- 9 28 76.5% 554 724
South Melbourne 7th 6 -0- 10 24 98.8% 650 658
St Kilda 8th 0 -0- 16 0 41.7% 455 1,091

Round 17 (Sectional Round 3)

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 30/08/1902 2:30 PM Carlton v Essendon Princes Park 40 - 46
SAT 30/08/1902 2:30 PM Collingwood v Geelong Victoria Park 112 - 23
SAT 30/08/1902 2:30 PM Fitzroy v South Melbourne Brunswick Street Oval 46 - 50
SAT 30/08/1902 2:30 PM Melbourne v St Kilda MCG 79 - 35

Round 17 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Collingwood 1st 15 -0- 2 60 199.5% 1,121 562
Essendon 2nd 13 -0- 4 52 141.6% 885 625
Fitzroy 3rd 10 -0- 7 40 125.9% 914 726
Melbourne 4th 9 -0- 8 36 108.8% 800 735
South Melbourne 5th 7 -0- 10 28 99.4% 700 704
Carlton 6th 7 -0- 10 28 77.1% 594 770
Geelong 7th 7 -0- 10 28 76.8% 702 914
St Kilda 8th 0 -0- 17 0 41.9% 490 1,170

Final Round 1

Semi Final

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 06/09/1902 2:30 PM Collingwood v Fitzroy MCG 48 - 64 13,000
SAT 06/09/1902 2:30 PM Essendon v Melbourne Princes Park 61 - 51 8,000

Final Round 2

Preliminary Final

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 13/09/1902 2:30 PM Essendon v Fitzroy MCG 45 - 34 24,110

Final Round 3

Grand Final

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 20/09/1902 2:50 PM Essendon v Collingwood MCG 27 - 60 35,202