1920 VFL Season

These are the results for the 1920 season of the Victorian Football League (currently known as the Australian Football League).

It featured eighteen rounds in a double round-robin format. Each team received two byes. Richmond were the minor premiers.

The season ended with a finals series following the Second Amended Argus system. Richmond were the premiers, with Dan Minogue as the premiership captain-coach.

Season Details

Name: 1920 VFL Season
Teams: 9
Rounds: 18
Finals System: Second Amended Argus System
Matches: 76

Team Details

Team Home Ground Coach (Appointed) Coach (Caretaker)
Carlton Princes Park Norm Clark
Collingwood Victoria Park Jock McHale
Essendon East Melbourne Jack Worrall Percy Ogden
Fitzroy Brunswick Street Oval Jim Toohey Percy Parratt
Geelong Corio Oval Alec Eason
Melbourne MCG Gerald Brosnan
Richmond Punt Road Oval Dan Minogue Max Hislop
South Melbourne Lakeside Oval Arthur Hiskins
St Kilda Junction Oval George Sparrow Charlie Ricketts

Season Results

Premiers: Richmond
Runners-Up: Collingwood
Minor Premiers: Richmond

Team Results

Minor Premiership Results

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA GF BF GA BA
Richmond 1st 14 -0- 2 56 146.4% 1,353 924 191 207 131 138
Fitzroy 2nd 14 -0- 2 56 143.2% 1,272 888 182 180 121 162
Carlton 3rd 10 -0- 6 40 128.7% 1,189 924 162 217 126 168
Collingwood 4th 10 -0- 6 40 112.3% 1,085 966 149 191 136 150
South Melbourne 5th 7 -0- 9 28 108.6% 1,099 1,012 150 199 139 178
Essendon 6th 5 -0- 11 20 87.8% 1,022 1,164 139 188 165 174
Geelong 7th 5 -0- 11 20 84.4% 1,098 1,301 153 180 174 257
Melbourne 8th 5 -0- 11 20 74.2% 940 1,266 128 172 174 222
St Kilda 9th 2 -0- 14 8 57.2% 819 1,432 114 135 202 220

Overall Premiership Results

Team Position (Outcome)
Richmond 1st Premiers
Collingwood 2nd Runners-Up
Carlton 3rd Defeated by Collingwood (Preliminary Final)
Fitzroy 4th Defeated by Collingwood (Semi Final)
South Melbourne 5th Did not qualify for finals
Essendon 6th Did not qualify for finals
Geelong 7th Did not qualify for finals
Melbourne 8th Did not qualify for finals
St Kilda 9th Did not qualify for finals

Season Fixture

Round 1

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 01/05/1920 3:00 PM Carlton v St Kilda Princes Park 70 - 41
SAT 01/05/1920 3:00 PM Collingwood v Essendon Victoria Park 36 - 54
SAT 01/05/1920 3:00 PM Fitzroy v Richmond Brunswick Street Oval 59 - 79 16,000
SAT 01/05/1920 3:00 PM Melbourne v South Melbourne MCG 67 - 55 8,230

Round 1 Bye: Geelong

Round 1 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Carlton 1st 1 -0- 0 4 170.7% 70 41
Essendon 2nd 1 -0- 0 4 150.0% 54 36
Richmond 3rd 1 -0- 0 4 133.9% 79 59
Melbourne 4th 1 -0- 0 4 121.8% 67 55
Geelong 5th 0 -0- 0 0 0 0
South Melbourne 6th 0 -0- 1 0 82.1% 55 67
Fitzroy 7th 0 -0- 1 0 74.7% 59 79
Collingwood 8th 0 -0- 1 0 66.7% 36 54
St Kilda 9th 0 -0- 1 0 58.6% 41 70

Round 2

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 08/05/1920 3:00 PM Essendon v Melbourne East Melbourne 65 - 80
SAT 08/05/1920 3:00 PM Geelong v Collingwood Corio Oval 50 - 55
SAT 08/05/1920 3:00 PM Richmond v Carlton Punt Road Oval 97 - 68 30,000
SAT 08/05/1920 3:00 PM South Melbourne v Fitzroy Lakeside Oval 49 - 79

Round 2 Bye: St Kilda

Round 2 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Richmond 1st 2 -0- 0 8 138.6% 176 127
Melbourne 2nd 2 -0- 0 8 122.5% 147 120
Fitzroy 3rd 1 -0- 1 4 107.8% 138 128
Essendon 4th 1 -0- 1 4 102.6% 119 116
Carlton 5th 1 -0- 1 4 100.0% 138 138
Collingwood 6th 1 -0- 1 4 87.5% 91 104
Geelong 7th 0 -0- 1 0 90.9% 50 55
South Melbourne 8th 0 -0- 2 0 71.2% 104 146
St Kilda 9th 0 -0- 1 0 58.6% 41 70

Round 3

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 15/05/1920 3:00 PM Carlton v Fitzroy Princes Park 29 - 38
SAT 15/05/1920 3:00 PM Collingwood v Melbourne Victoria Park 44 - 23
SAT 15/05/1920 3:00 PM Essendon v South Melbourne East Melbourne 55 - 63
SAT 15/05/1920 3:00 PM St Kilda v Geelong Junction Oval 78 - 56

Round 3 Bye: Richmond

Round 3 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Richmond 1st 2 -0- 0 8 138.6% 176 127
Fitzroy 2nd 2 -0- 1 8 112.1% 176 157
Collingwood 3rd 2 -0- 1 8 106.3% 135 127
Melbourne 4th 2 -0- 1 8 103.7% 170 164
Essendon 5th 1 -0- 2 4 97.2% 174 179
Carlton 6th 1 -0- 2 4 94.9% 167 176
St Kilda 7th 1 -0- 1 4 94.4% 119 126
South Melbourne 8th 1 -0- 2 4 83.1% 167 201
Geelong 9th 0 -0- 2 0 79.7% 106 133

Round 4

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 22/05/1920 3:00 PM Essendon v Carlton East Melbourne 55 - 101
SAT 22/05/1920 3:00 PM Fitzroy v Collingwood Brunswick Street Oval 61 - 53
SAT 22/05/1920 3:00 PM Geelong v Richmond Corio Oval 64 - 73
SAT 22/05/1920 3:00 PM Melbourne v St Kilda MCG 81 - 41 9,986

Round 4 Bye: South Melbourne

Round 4 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Richmond 1st 3 -0- 0 12 130.4% 249 191
Melbourne 2nd 3 -0- 1 12 122.4% 251 205
Fitzroy 3rd 3 -0- 1 12 112.9% 237 210
Carlton 4th 2 -0- 2 8 116.0% 268 231
Collingwood 5th 2 -0- 2 8 100.0% 188 188
South Melbourne 6th 1 -0- 2 4 83.1% 167 201
Essendon 7th 1 -0- 3 4 81.8% 229 280
St Kilda 8th 1 -0- 2 4 77.3% 160 207
Geelong 9th 0 -0- 3 0 82.5% 170 206

Round 5

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
WED 26/05/1920 10:45 AM Fitzroy v Geelong Brunswick Street Oval 96 - 56
WED 26/05/1920 10:45 AM Richmond v Collingwood Punt Road Oval 78 - 71 30,000
WED 26/05/1920 3:00 PM South Melbourne v Carlton Lakeside Oval 58 - 39
WED 26/05/1920 3:00 PM St Kilda v Essendon Junction Oval 54 - 63

Round 5 Bye: Melbourne

Round 5 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Fitzroy 1st 4 -0- 1 16 125.2% 333 266
Richmond 2nd 4 -0- 0 16 124.8% 327 262
Melbourne 3rd 3 -0- 1 12 122.4% 251 205
Carlton 4th 2 -0- 3 8 106.2% 307 289
Collingwood 5th 2 -0- 3 8 97.4% 259 266
South Melbourne 6th 2 -0- 2 8 93.8% 225 240
Essendon 7th 2 -0- 3 8 87.4% 292 334
St Kilda 8th 1 -0- 3 4 79.3% 214 270
Geelong 9th 0 -0- 4 0 74.8% 226 302

Round 6

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 05/06/1920 3:00 PM Carlton v Melbourne Princes Park 66 - 84
SAT 05/06/1920 3:00 PM Richmond v South Melbourne Punt Road Oval 61 - 34 19,000
MON 07/06/1920 3:00 PM Collingwood v St Kilda Victoria Park 83 - 52
MON 07/06/1920 3:00 PM Essendon v Geelong East Melbourne 104 - 85

Round 6 Bye: Fitzroy

Round 6 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Richmond 1st 5 -0- 0 20 131.1% 388 296
Fitzroy 2nd 4 -0- 1 16 125.2% 333 266
Melbourne 3rd 4 -0- 1 16 123.6% 335 271
Collingwood 4th 3 -0- 3 12 107.5% 342 318
Essendon 5th 3 -0- 3 12 94.5% 396 419
Carlton 6th 2 -0- 4 8 100.0% 373 373
South Melbourne 7th 2 -0- 3 8 86.0% 259 301
St Kilda 8th 1 -0- 4 4 75.4% 266 353
Geelong 9th 0 -0- 5 0 76.6% 311 406

Round 7

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 12/06/1920 3:00 PM Fitzroy v Essendon Brunswick Street Oval 43 - 93
SAT 12/06/1920 3:00 PM Geelong v Carlton Corio Oval 70 - 79
SAT 12/06/1920 3:00 PM Melbourne v Richmond MCG 68 - 88 27,712
SAT 12/06/1920 3:00 PM St Kilda v South Melbourne Junction Oval 53 - 88

Round 7 Bye: Collingwood

Round 7 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Richmond 1st 6 -0- 0 24 130.8% 476 364
Melbourne 2nd 4 -0- 2 16 112.3% 403 359
Essendon 3rd 4 -0- 3 16 105.8% 489 462
Fitzroy 4th 4 -0- 2 16 104.7% 376 359
Collingwood 5th 3 -0- 3 12 107.5% 342 318
Carlton 6th 3 -0- 4 12 102.0% 452 443
South Melbourne 7th 3 -0- 3 12 98.0% 347 354
St Kilda 8th 1 -0- 5 4 72.3% 319 441
Geelong 9th 0 -0- 6 0 78.6% 381 485

Round 8

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 19/06/1920 3:00 PM Collingwood v Carlton Victoria Park 85 - 66
SAT 19/06/1920 3:00 PM Melbourne v Fitzroy MCG 46 - 108 11,235
SAT 19/06/1920 3:00 PM Richmond v St Kilda Punt Road Oval 129 - 54
SAT 19/06/1920 3:00 PM South Melbourne v Geelong Lakeside Oval 119 - 46

Round 8 Bye: Essendon

Round 8 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Richmond 1st 7 -0- 0 28 144.7% 605 418
Fitzroy 2nd 5 -0- 2 20 119.5% 484 405
South Melbourne 3rd 4 -0- 3 16 116.5% 466 400
Collingwood 4th 4 -0- 3 16 111.2% 427 384
Essendon 5th 4 -0- 3 16 105.8% 489 462
Melbourne 6th 4 -0- 3 16 96.1% 449 467
Carlton 7th 3 -0- 5 12 98.1% 518 528
St Kilda 8th 1 -0- 6 4 65.4% 373 570
Geelong 9th 0 -0- 7 0 70.7% 427 604

Round 9

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 26/06/1920 3:00 PM Geelong v Melbourne Corio Oval 113 - 48
SAT 26/06/1920 3:00 PM Richmond v Essendon Punt Road Oval 95 - 75
SAT 26/06/1920 3:00 PM South Melbourne v Collingwood Lakeside Oval 63 - 67
SAT 26/06/1920 3:00 PM St Kilda v Fitzroy Junction Oval 28 - 102

Round 9 Bye: Carlton

Round 9 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Richmond 1st 8 -0- 0 32 142.0% 700 493
Fitzroy 2nd 6 -0- 2 24 135.3% 586 433
Collingwood 3rd 5 -0- 3 20 110.5% 494 447
South Melbourne 4th 4 -0- 4 16 113.3% 529 467
Essendon 5th 4 -0- 4 16 101.3% 564 557
Melbourne 6th 4 -0- 4 16 85.7% 497 580
Carlton 7th 3 -0- 5 12 98.1% 518 528
Geelong 8th 1 -0- 7 4 82.8% 540 652
St Kilda 9th 1 -0- 7 4 59.7% 401 672

Round 10

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 03/07/1920 3:00 PM Essendon v Collingwood East Melbourne 55 - 62
SAT 03/07/1920 3:00 PM Richmond v Fitzroy Punt Road Oval 60 - 78
SAT 03/07/1920 3:00 PM South Melbourne v Melbourne Lakeside Oval 85 - 41
SAT 03/07/1920 3:00 PM St Kilda v Carlton Junction Oval 57 - 81

Round 10 Bye: Geelong

Round 10 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Richmond 1st 8 -0- 1 32 133.1% 760 571
Fitzroy 2nd 7 -0- 2 28 134.7% 664 493
Collingwood 3rd 6 -0- 3 24 110.8% 556 502
South Melbourne 4th 5 -0- 4 20 120.9% 614 508
Carlton 5th 4 -0- 5 16 102.4% 599 585
Essendon 6th 4 -0- 5 16 100.0% 619 619
Melbourne 7th 4 -0- 5 16 80.9% 538 665
Geelong 8th 1 -0- 7 4 82.8% 540 652
St Kilda 9th 1 -0- 8 4 60.8% 458 753

Round 11

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 10/07/1920 2:45 PM Carlton v Richmond Princes Park 59 - 26
SAT 10/07/1920 2:45 PM Collingwood v Geelong Victoria Park 83 - 41
SAT 10/07/1920 2:45 PM Fitzroy v South Melbourne Brunswick Street Oval 67 - 62
SAT 10/07/1920 2:45 PM Melbourne v Essendon MCG 43 - 60 6,201

Round 11 Bye: St Kilda

Round 11 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Fitzroy 1st 8 -0- 2 32 131.7% 731 555
Richmond 2nd 8 -0- 2 32 124.8% 786 630
Collingwood 3rd 7 -0- 3 28 117.7% 639 543
South Melbourne 4th 5 -0- 5 20 117.6% 676 575
Carlton 5th 5 -0- 5 20 107.7% 658 611
Essendon 6th 5 -0- 5 20 102.6% 679 662
Melbourne 7th 4 -0- 6 16 80.1% 581 725
Geelong 8th 1 -0- 8 4 79.0% 581 735
St Kilda 9th 1 -0- 8 4 60.8% 458 753

Round 12

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 17/07/1920 2:45 PM Fitzroy v Carlton Brunswick Street Oval 75 - 62
SAT 17/07/1920 2:45 PM Geelong v St Kilda Corio Oval 113 - 62
SAT 17/07/1920 2:45 PM Melbourne v Collingwood MCG 59 - 75 9,307
SAT 17/07/1920 2:45 PM South Melbourne v Essendon Lakeside Oval 62 - 49

Round 12 Bye: Richmond

Round 12 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Fitzroy 1st 9 -0- 2 36 130.6% 806 617
Richmond 2nd 8 -0- 2 32 124.8% 786 630
Collingwood 3rd 8 -0- 3 32 118.6% 714 602
South Melbourne 4th 6 -0- 5 24 118.3% 738 624
Carlton 5th 5 -0- 6 20 105.0% 720 686
Essendon 6th 5 -0- 6 20 100.6% 728 724
Melbourne 7th 4 -0- 7 16 80.0% 640 800
Geelong 8th 2 -0- 8 8 87.1% 694 797
St Kilda 9th 1 -0- 9 4 60.0% 520 866

Round 13

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 31/07/1920 2:45 PM Carlton v South Melbourne Princes Park 80 - 53
SAT 31/07/1920 2:45 PM Collingwood v Richmond Victoria Park 36 - 38
SAT 31/07/1920 2:45 PM Essendon v St Kilda East Melbourne 51 - 70
SAT 31/07/1920 2:45 PM Geelong v Fitzroy Corio Oval 33 - 55

Round 13 Bye: Melbourne

Round 13 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Fitzroy 1st 10 -0- 2 40 132.5% 861 650
Richmond 2nd 9 -0- 2 36 123.7% 824 666
Collingwood 3rd 8 -0- 4 32 117.2% 750 640
South Melbourne 4th 6 -0- 6 24 112.4% 791 704
Carlton 5th 6 -0- 6 24 108.3% 800 739
Essendon 6th 5 -0- 7 20 98.1% 779 794
Melbourne 7th 4 -0- 7 16 80.0% 640 800
Geelong 8th 2 -0- 9 8 85.3% 727 852
St Kilda 9th 2 -0- 9 8 64.3% 590 917

Round 14

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 07/08/1920 2:45 PM Carlton v Essendon Princes Park 89 - 62
SAT 07/08/1920 2:45 PM Collingwood v Fitzroy Victoria Park 57 - 71
SAT 07/08/1920 2:45 PM Richmond v Geelong Punt Road Oval 112 - 44
SAT 07/08/1920 2:45 PM St Kilda v Melbourne Junction Oval 21 - 83

Round 14 Bye: South Melbourne

Round 14 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Fitzroy 1st 11 -0- 2 44 131.8% 932 707
Richmond 2nd 10 -0- 2 40 131.8% 936 710
Collingwood 3rd 8 -0- 5 32 113.5% 807 711
Carlton 4th 7 -0- 6 28 111.0% 889 801
South Melbourne 5th 6 -0- 6 24 112.4% 791 704
Essendon 6th 5 -0- 8 20 95.2% 841 883
Melbourne 7th 5 -0- 7 20 88.1% 723 821
Geelong 8th 2 -0- 10 8 80.0% 771 964
St Kilda 9th 2 -0- 10 8 61.1% 611 1,000

Round 15

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 14/08/1920 2:45 PM Geelong v Essendon Corio Oval 94 - 73
SAT 14/08/1920 2:45 PM Melbourne v Carlton MCG 25 - 87 10,653
SAT 14/08/1920 2:45 PM South Melbourne v Richmond Lakeside Oval 61 - 92
SAT 14/08/1920 2:45 PM St Kilda v Collingwood Junction Oval 55 - 113

Round 15 Bye: Fitzroy

Round 15 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Richmond 1st 11 -0- 2 44 133.3% 1,028 771
Fitzroy 2nd 11 -0- 2 44 131.8% 932 707
Collingwood 3rd 9 -0- 5 36 120.1% 920 766
Carlton 4th 8 -0- 6 32 118.2% 976 826
South Melbourne 5th 6 -0- 7 24 107.0% 852 796
Essendon 6th 5 -0- 9 20 93.6% 914 977
Melbourne 7th 5 -0- 8 20 82.4% 748 908
Geelong 8th 3 -0- 10 12 83.4% 865 1,037
St Kilda 9th 2 -0- 11 8 59.8% 666 1,113

Round 16

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 21/08/1920 2:45 PM Carlton v Geelong Princes Park 104 - 41
SAT 21/08/1920 2:45 PM Essendon v Fitzroy East Melbourne 67 - 83
SAT 21/08/1920 2:45 PM Richmond v Melbourne Punt Road Oval 134 - 60
SAT 21/08/1920 2:45 PM South Melbourne v St Kilda Lakeside Oval 83 - 32

Round 16 Bye: Collingwood

Round 16 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Richmond 1st 12 -0- 2 48 139.8% 1,162 831
Fitzroy 2nd 12 -0- 2 48 131.1% 1,015 774
Carlton 3rd 9 -0- 6 36 124.6% 1,080 867
Collingwood 4th 9 -0- 5 36 120.1% 920 766
South Melbourne 5th 7 -0- 7 28 112.9% 935 828
Essendon 6th 5 -0- 10 20 92.5% 981 1,060
Melbourne 7th 5 -0- 9 20 77.5% 808 1,042
Geelong 8th 3 -0- 11 12 79.4% 906 1,141
St Kilda 9th 2 -0- 12 8 58.4% 698 1,196

Round 17

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 28/08/1920 2:45 PM Carlton v Collingwood Princes Park 109 - 57
SAT 28/08/1920 2:45 PM Fitzroy v Melbourne Brunswick Street Oval 108 - 45
SAT 28/08/1920 2:45 PM Geelong v South Melbourne Corio Oval 76 - 73
SAT 28/08/1920 2:45 PM St Kilda v Richmond Junction Oval 52 - 87

Round 17 Bye: Essendon

Round 17 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Richmond 1st 13 -0- 2 52 141.4% 1,249 883
Fitzroy 2nd 13 -0- 2 52 137.1% 1,123 819
Carlton 3rd 10 -0- 6 40 128.7% 1,189 924
Collingwood 4th 9 -0- 6 36 111.7% 977 875
South Melbourne 5th 7 -0- 8 28 111.5% 1,008 904
Essendon 6th 5 -0- 10 20 92.5% 981 1,060
Melbourne 7th 5 -0- 10 20 74.2% 853 1,150
Geelong 8th 4 -0- 11 16 80.9% 982 1,214
St Kilda 9th 2 -0- 13 8 58.5% 750 1,283

Round 18

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 04/09/1920 2:45 PM Collingwood v South Melbourne Victoria Park 108 - 91
SAT 04/09/1920 2:45 PM Essendon v Richmond East Melbourne 41 - 104
SAT 04/09/1920 2:45 PM Fitzroy v St Kilda Brunswick Street Oval 149 - 69
SAT 04/09/1920 2:45 PM Melbourne v Geelong MCG 87 - 116 2,732

Round 18 Bye: Carlton

Round 18 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Richmond 1st 14 -0- 2 56 146.4% 1,353 924
Fitzroy 2nd 14 -0- 2 56 143.2% 1,272 888
Carlton 3rd 10 -0- 6 40 128.7% 1,189 924
Collingwood 4th 10 -0- 6 40 112.3% 1,085 966
South Melbourne 5th 7 -0- 9 28 108.6% 1,099 1,012
Essendon 6th 5 -0- 11 20 87.8% 1,022 1,164
Geelong 7th 5 -0- 11 20 84.4% 1,098 1,301
Melbourne 8th 5 -0- 11 20 74.2% 940 1,266
St Kilda 9th 2 -0- 14 8 57.2% 819 1,432

Final Round 1

Semi Final

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 11/09/1920 2:30 PM Fitzroy v Collingwood MCG 23 - 41 39,845
SAT 18/09/1920 2:30 PM Richmond v Carlton MCG 30 - 53 62,220

Final Round 2

Preliminary Final

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 25/09/1920 2:30 PM Carlton v Collingwood MCG 59 - 83 58,255

Final Round 3

Grand Final

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 02/10/1920 2:50 PM Collingwood v Richmond MCG 35 - 52 53,908