Victorian Football League

This article is about the present day Victorian state football league. For the league known as the Victorian Football League until 1990, see Australian Football League.

"VFL" redirects here. For other uses, see VFL (disambiguation).

Victorian Football League

150px
Formerly	Victorian Football Association (1877-1995)
Sport	Australian rules football
Founded	17 May 1877 Melbourne, Victoria
Inaugural season	1877
No. of teams	15
Country	Australia
Most recent champion(s)	Williamstown (14th title)
Most titles	Port Melbourne (16 titles)
TV partner(s)	Seven Network
Official website	www.vfl.com.au

The Victorian Football League (VFL) which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association (VFA), taking its new name as from the 1996 season, is the major state-level Australian rules football league in Victoria. For historical purposes, the present VFL is sometimes referred to as the VFA/VFL, to distinguish it from the present day Australian Football League (AFL), which was known until 1990 as the Victorian Football League. The VFA was formed in 1877, immediately after the foundation of a similar body in South Australia and is the second-oldest Australian rules football league, replacing the loose affiliation of clubs that had been the hallmark of the early years of a game which was first played as early as the 1850s.

Today, the VFL is one of many regional Australian semi-professional competitions. From 2015 it will comprise 15 teams from throughout Victoria, nine of which have a continuous VFA heritage. Many Victorian-based clubs in the fully professional AFL are affiliated with VFL clubs, and as a result, the league partly serves as a reserves competition for the AFL.

History

Formative years

Brunswick during the early 1900s. The highlighted section in the bottom right-hand corner shows the future Australian Prime Minister John Curtin

The Victorian Football Association (VFA) was founded in 1877 on 17 May. The new governing body replaced an earlier system where club delegates met informally to decide on the rules, the selection of the winner of the Challenge Cup, the division of clubs into Senior and Junior status, and other matters of mutual interest. The VFA continued to list its teams as being of either Senior or Junior status.

Foundation senior clubs of the VFA in the Melbourne metropolitan area were Albert-park, Carlton, Hotham, Melbourne and St Kilda; regional senior clubs including Geelong, Barwon, Ballarat, Beechworth, Castlemaine, Rochester and Inglewood also competed. Foundation junior clubs included Essendon, Hawthorn, Northcote, South Melbourne, Standard, Victoria United, Victorian Railways and Williamstown. During its early years, many clubs dropped in and out and there were erratic promotions between the Senior and Junior sections.

Scheduling was chaotic. Based on a system that had evolved before the emergence of the Association, the compilation of fixtures was not done by the VFA but was the responsibility of each club secretary. In a typical season a club would play against other VFA teams, both Senior and Junior, non-VFA Victorian clubs, and even intercolonial teams. At the end of each season, the VFA announced the Premier team. This was usually the club with the most wins, but there were some seasons where the VFA judged the leading team had had too many wins against junior clubs, and awarded the Premiership to the club with the second-highest number of wins.

From 1878 the Association recorded the number of behinds, but with only goals counting towards a win, thus the number of draws was much higher than under the modern scoring system. The number of players on the field was usually twenty but when a Senior and Junior team met, the Junior club was usually allowed to field extra players; there were no reserves and if a player was injured the team was a man short.

After 1889, the often-changeable collection of clubs in the VFA became settled at twelve consistent clubs: Carlton, Essendon, Fitzroy, Footscray, Geelong, Melbourne, North Melbourne, Port Melbourne, Richmond, St Kilda, South Melbourne and Williamstown; they were joined by a thirteenth club, Collingwood, in 1892.

Split

After the 1896 season, eight of the thirteen clubs broke away to form the Victorian Football League (VFL): Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong, Melbourne, St Kilda and South Melbourne. All twenty VFA premierships to that stage had been shared by six of those eight clubs. The VFA continued to be an independent body, with only five of its pre-1897 clubs – Footscray, North Melbourne, Port Melbourne, Richmond and Williamstown – but within five years it had expanded to ten clubs, a size it maintained until the 1920s. Although its size was constant, its membership was not, with many new clubs lasting only a few years before leaving, and four clubs switching to the VFL: Richmond in 1908, and North Melbourne, Footscray and Hawthorn (who joined the VFA in 1914) in 1925.

A number of rule changes were adopted during the last years of the 19th Century and the first years of the 20th:

• From 1897 behinds (1 point) were counted towards the score. (The VFL also changed its scoring system in the same year.)
• The 'little mark' was abolished in 1897. A 'little mark' was taken when a player passed the ball by foot at least two yards (1.83 m) generally from a pack of players. It was difficult for umpires to pick out 'little marks' in scrimmages. It was abolished to open up play. (The VFL also abolished it in the same year.)
• Also in 1897 the number of players was reduced from 20 to 18. This worked well as it gave players more freedom around the packs. Since then there have been a few modifications to the VFA's on-field numbers: 1908 – to 17; 1912 – to 16; 1918 – reverted to 18; 1959 – to 16; 1992 – reverted to 18. (The VFL changed from 20 to 18 two years after the VFA [1899] and has had 18 players on the ground ever since.)
• An order-off rule was also introduced in 1898 but only lasted for two seasons as it was not popular with either players or umpires. Umpires were never sure how rough things had to get before they could order a player off, rather than awarding a free kick to an opponent. (The VFL has never had an order-off rule.)
• In 1903 the VFA introduced its first finals. Prior to this, the four teams at the top of the ladder at the end of what are now called home-and-away games made up the 'final four'. (The VFL had introduced finals in 1897.)

A number of clubs competed for short lengths of time in the late 19th and early 20th centuries:

• Essendon Town 1900-1921, Name changed to Essendon (Association) in 1905;
• Geelong 1922-1927. Officially the Geelong Football Club, the team was known as Geelong (Association) or as Geelong A.
• Hawthorn 1913-1925;
• Melbourne City 1912-1913. The club lost all of the 36 games played;
• West Melbourne 1879-1880 and 1899-1907.

Between at least 1900 and 1902, there was a short-lived VFA 2nd Division consisting of junior clubs such as Heidelberg.

In the late 1920s, the VFA expanded to twelve teams, including six new clubs, and those twelve teams remained unchanged for several decades thereafter. Those clubs were: Port Melbourne; Williamstown; Brunswick (joined 1897); Prahran (1899); Brighton (1908); Northcote (1908); Coburg (1925); Camberwell (1926); Preston (1926, after a temporary period between 1903-1911); Yarraville (1928); Oakleigh (1929); Sandringham (1929).

The first regular radio broadcasts of VFA games were made by 3XY, a little after the station commenced operations in 1935. The commentator was Wallace ("Jumbo") Sharland who had earlier been the first to describe VFL matches, that being on 3AR in 1923. (Jumbo Sharland was a former Geelong player and, at one time, a newspaper football reporter.) In 1954 3AK began broadcasting VFA games, albeit only for a season or two. In 1966 Network Ten began to televise Sunday games. The 1970s also saw broadcasts on 3UZ, while local Geelong station, 3GL, broadcast all Geelong West matches. In 1982, the then-dominant Melbourne sports radio station, 3AW, broadcast the Grand Final. In 2003 3AK evolved into sports radio station SEN 1116, and provided a coverage of VFL matches, but this was discontinued after they won the rights to broadcast the AFL (Australian Football League), as from the 2007 season. In the 2007 and 2008 seasons, Radio 1611 Double X began broadcasting VFL matches. The station was the first to podcast replays. (Details of current broadcasts are found below – "Radio".)

File:Northcote 1929.jpg

Northcote's 1929 premiership side. Second from right, front row, is Doug Nicholls.

File:Oakleigh1950.jpg

Oakleigh's 1950 premiership side ([2]; [3]).

Throw pass era

Main article: Australian rules football schism (1938–1949)

In 1938, the VFA made a bold rule change by legalising throwing of the football in general play, provided the throw was underarm with both hands below shoulder height. The change helped to speed up the game, and introduced more run-and-carry play in an era which had previously been dominated by a long-kicking style, proving popular with many spectators. Additionally, the VFA ended its permit agreement with the VFL, and began to aggressively recruit star players from the VFL – including Laurie Nash and Ron Todd, who were in the primes of their careers and were both considered amongst the best players in the country. These changes gave the VFA a product which could compete with the VFL for public interest, and it made the late 1930s and 1940s one of the most successful periods in the VFA's history. The VFA competition went into recess from 1942 until 1944 due to World War II, but continued to perform strongly upon returning in 1945.

While the throw-pass was in effect, particularly during the early 1940s, there were talks between the VFA and VFL towards an amalgamation of the two bodies. Although the throw-pass had been a great success for the VFA, it was felt that a single controlling body for football in Victoria playing under a uniform set of rules was in the best interests of football as a whole. Negotiations for an amalgamation took place over several years, but broke down several times over a variety of issues, including representation at board level, Australian National Football Council representation, and a promotion and relegation structure between the VFA and VFL.

In the end, the two bodies never amalgamated, but the schism ended in 1949 when the bodies agreed to recognize each other's clearances and the VFA was granted a seat on the Australian National Football Council; but, as a condition of joining, it was forced to abandon the throw-pass rule and adopt the national standard rules. While these changes did benefit Victorian football as a whole, it effectively stripped the VFA of the on-field distinctions which allowed it to compete with the VFL for fans; this, coupled with the increased mobility of suburban Melburnians – who, due to the increased affordability of cars and the lifting in 1950 of wartime travel restrictions, were no longer captive audiences for their local VFA teams – resulted in a significant downturn in most VFA clubs during the 1950s. On-field, the competition became dominated by the few clubs with strong community links (such as Port Melbourne, Williamstown, Moorabbin and Oakleigh), and the gap between those clubs and the weaker clubs grew large.

Expansion

During the 1950s and 1960s, as Melbourne expanded geographically, the VFA embarked on a deliberate plan to establish its presence in new areas by expanding the number of teams, most of these coming from the newer, outer suburbs. By 1960, the league had expanded to seventeen teams; when the eighteenth club joined in 1961, the VFA was split into First and Second Divisions, the First Division originally having 10 teams, and Second Division eight. There was a promotion and relegation system between the two Divisions, with one team promoted and one relegated each season. The league was constant at twenty teams during the 1970s, and expanded again into the outer eastern suburbs in the 1980s. At its peak in 1983, there were 24 teams competing across two divisions in the VFA.

In 1960, the VFA first allowed premiership matches to be played on Sundays. After years of losing ground to the VFL, the VFA's launch of Sunday games was a turning point for the better, as it allowed matches to be played without competing the VFL for spectators. Within a few years, clubs found that Sunday matches were as much as three to four times more lucrative than Saturday games. Eventually, most games were played on a Sunday, while the VFL played its games on Saturdays. This was similar to the College/Pro football day divide still present in the US. The Victorian Government supported the VFA's new-found vigour, and rejected requests by the VFL to hold games on Sundays.

Decline

The decline of the VFA is often said to have commenced in 1982 when the VFL's struggling South Melbourne Swans moved to Sydney, as all Sydney Swans home games were played on Sunday and televised, ending the VFA's monopoly on Sunday football; and Network Ten ended its weekly VFA coverage in the same year. However, this was not the sole cause for decline, which had started a few years before 1982: changing demographics meant that many traditional clubs had slowly found themselves in areas with high migrant populations, which either made it difficult to compete with soccer for local for fans and players, or simply brought a level of cultural apathy towards the sport in general; VFA historian Marc Fiddian also noted a decline in the number of ex-VFL players signing with VFA clubs through the late 1970s, which reduced the Associations drawing power, and an increasing gulf in quality between the best and worst clubs. Player payments increased through the 1980s, and declining financial support and sponsorship began to force clubs to out of the Association, with some leaving voluntarily, some folding, and some expelled for failing to meet the VFA's minimum standards. With fifteen teams remaining at the start of 1989, the VFA reverted to a single division.

Network Ten began broadcasting VFA finals and late-season matches again in 1984, before the role was taken on by the ABC in 1987. The ABC expanded its coverage to include match of the round throughout the season starting from 1988, and was the primary broadcaster until 2014.

The early 1990s continued to be a difficult period for the VFA; only twelve teams remained after 1991, and most were in a perilous financial situation.

Merger with the VSFL

At the end of the 1994 season, the VFA was formally disbanded in an administrative capacity. Administration of the competition was turned over to the Victorian State Football League, which managed oversaw football at all levels in Victoria, and also ran the statewide under-18s competition (the TAC Cup) and the AFL reserves competition in Victoria. This ended the VFA's independence from the AFL, but created a unified structure for state-level football in Victoria. The VSFL set about aligning the VFA with the TAC Cup, and cut the number of metropolitan teams to nine in 1995, with Prahran, Oakleigh and Dandenong departing. The remaining clubs had joined in various eras: two (Port Melbourne and Williamstown) had been in the VFA prior to 1897, three (Preston, Coburg and Sandringham) represented the 1920s expansion, and four (Box Hill, Frankston, Springvale and Werribee) were admitted during the last few decades. The VFA name was retained for the on-field competition during its first season under VSFL administration; then, in 1996, the competition was renamed the Victorian Football League (VFL) – the same name which had been used by the rival VFL/AFL competition until 1990. Despite the change in name and administrative structure, the on-field competition is considered continuous, and VFA records are recognised in the VFL era.

In 1996, the VFL began a period of expansion into regional areas as part of its alignment with the TAC Cup competition, with existing powerhouse country clubs North Ballarat and Traralgon joining the nine metropolitan teams. Traralgon's tenure was short-lived but they were soon replaced by another regional club, Bendigo.

Merger with the AFL reserves

See also: Australian Football League reserves affiliations

From 1995 until 1999, the VSFL had operated its two open-age competitions – the VFL and the Victorian AFL reserves competition – separately. Following the 1999 season, under the administration's new name Football Victoria (later AFL Victoria), those two competitions were merged into a single competition still known as the Victorian Football League. Since this time, the VFL has been contested by a mixture of:

• VFL clubs, operating on a stand-alone basis and maintaining a complete list of players
• The reserves teams of AFL clubs
• VFL clubs operating under an affiliation arrangements with an AFL clubs, whereby players from the AFL club would join the senior team of the VFL club when not selected to play in the AFL.

The affiliation deals greatly improved the financial viability of the clubs in question, but they diluted their ability to represent their suburb. There have been many changes to the affiliation arrangements in the decade since the VFL and VSFL merged. Initially, only four of the ten Victorian AFL clubs were involved in a VFL affiliation, with the rest fielding reserves teams. At its peak of between 2003-2006, nine of the ten Victorian AFL clubs were involved in an affiliation, with only Geelong fielding its own reserves team. Many clubs have since migrated away from this model, and from 2014 there will be five AFL clubs fielding stand-alone reserves teams in the VFL.

Also notable, but short-lived feature of the new competition was the playing of feature matches on Monday nights, a time-slot in which no AFL matches were played. However, these matches were not shown on free-to-air television, but on Channel 7's C7 Sport subscription channel. This was at a time when pay TV penetration was very poor; there was no access to this channel in most of Melbourne, and in the parts of Melbourne that could receive it there was a much more popular competing subscription platform, Foxtel.

There was also a small continuation of the expansion of the league into regional areas, with the Murray Kangaroos Football Club representing the Ovens & Murray Football League and an expansion into Tasmania, but both of these teams have since folded.

These days the VFL is moderately popular in Victoria, although not nearly as well-supported as the dominant Australian Football League. Matches now attract both traditional fans of the VFA/VFL clubs, and fans of affiliated AFL clubs keen to watch their reserves players in action.

Awards

Best and fairest

Main article: J. J. Liston Trophy

The first award for the Association best and fairest player was the Recorder Cup, first awarded in 1923. Starting from 1933, a second award, the V.F.A. Medal, was awarded concurrently; the awards were both based on the votes of the umpires, but were based on different voting systems. In 1940, the Association dispensed with the Recorder Cup voting system, and awarded both trophies to the same player based on the same set of votes.

Since 1945, the award for the best and fairest player in each VFA/VFL season has been the J. J. Liston Trophy, named after long-term Association president John James Liston, who died in 1944.

Other awards

• The Jim 'Frosty' Miller Medal is awarded annually to the leading goal-kicker in the VFL season; named after Jim 'Frosty' Miller, who kicked 885 goals for Dandenong between 1966 and 1974.
• The Norm Goss Memorial Medal, awarded annually to the player voted best afield in the VFL grand final; named after Norm Goss, Sr., a senior administrator in both the VFA and the Port Melbourne Football Club.
• The Fothergill-Round Medal, awarded annually to the most promising young talent in the VFL competition; named after Des Fothergill and Barry Round, who both won Brownlow Medals in the VFL before switching to the VFA and winning a Recorder Cup/Liston Trophy with Williamstown.
• The Frank Johnson Medal, awarded to the player voted best afield for the VFL in interstate football games; named after Frank Johnson, the only VFA player ever selected as captain of an All-Australian Team.

Salary cap

The VFL is classed as a semi-professional competition.

In 2007 the league had a salary cap of $185,000 excluding service payments. There are a significantly higher number of AFL reserves due to affiliations with Victorian clubs, but player payments for these appearances is apparently not included in the VFL's salary cap. Following the 2013 VFL season, it was revealed that several clubs were lobbying VFL executives to increase the salary cap in a bid to keep high-level players who had relieved themselves of participating in the league in order to accept more attractive financial offers in local football competitions, where such caps are far less regulated.

Attendance

Attendances are small by AFL standards, and generally less than the SANFL and WAFL, with an average of between 500–1,000 in attendance. Crowds for many finals matches however tend to average in the 2,000-6,000 range, with the Grand Final typically attracting a crowd in the 10,000-12,000 mark.

The VFL does not publish home and away attendance figures as some games are played as AFL curtain raisers, however various sources quote attendances for some games of the stronger clubs that maintain home records of their own.

Recent Grand Finals

Season	Premier	Result	Runner up	Result	Venue	Crowd	Norm Goss Memorial Medal
2015	Williamstown	18.12 (120)	Box Hill Hawks	8.18 (66)	Etihad Stadium	12,900	Michael Gibbons (Williamstown)
2014	Footscray	16.13 (109)	Box Hill Hawks	13.9 (87)	Etihad Stadium	23,816	Brett Goodes (Footscray)
2013	Box Hill Hawks	14.15 (99)	Geelong	11.12 (78)	Etihad Stadium	15,100	Jonathan Simpkin (Box Hill)
2012	Geelong	14.24 (108)	Port Melbourne	11.9 (75)	Etihad Stadium	14,536	George Horlin-Smith (Geelong)
2011	Port Melbourne	22.12 (144)	Williamstown	13.10 (88)	Etihad Stadium	11,804	Toby Pinwill (Port Melbourne)
2010	North Ballarat	20.13 (133)	Northern Bullants	13.8 (86)	Etihad Stadium	11,000	Myles Sewell (North Ballarat)
2009	North Ballarat	14.7 (91)	Northern Bullants	10.8 (68)	Etihad Stadium	14,026	Orren Stephenson (North Ballarat)
2008	North Ballarat	18.12 (120)	Port Melbourne	11.9 (75)	Telstra Dome	11,641	Josh Smith (North Ballarat)
2007	Geelong	17.24 (126)	Coburg	7.10 (52)	MC Labour Park	13,842	Tom Lonergan (Geelong)
2006	Sandringham	13.13 (91)	Geelong	11.7 (73)	Optus Oval	6,000	Phillip Read (Sandringham)
2005	Sandringham	11.17 (83)	Werribee	11.8 (74)	Optus Oval	9,000	Daniel Ward (Sandringham)

Media coverage

Television

As of the 2015 season, the VFL's exclusive broadcaster is the Seven Network.

From 1988 until 2014, ABC Victoria (branded ABC) broadcast the match of the round live from 1pm on Saturday afternoons during the home and away season, as well as broadcasting six finals each year, including the Grand Final. In 2012 and 2013 ABC replayed each match fully to national audience during the early hours of Wednesday. This was previously done in 2006 and 2007 during the early hours of Thursday on ABC2.

The ABC's coverage of VFL football ended after the 2014 season. Ahead of the 2015 season, the VFL announced that the Seven Network will broadcast the match of the round each week, along with most finals matches and the Grand Final. It follows the network's decision to provide identical coverage of the SANFL from 2014.

Radio

VFL Radio is produced by BPM Media who broadcast live at least one game a week during the regular season plus each day of the finals series. The coverage is broadcast on the Vision Australia Radio network throughout Victoria on analogue radio, by Aussie digital radio (SEN 2) and on the internet at vfl.com.au or bpmmedia.com.au.

In 2008, 3WBC 94.1 FM began broadcasting Box Hill Hawks home games and from 2009 to today they broadcast all Box Hill Hawks games. In 2013 This began with the Round 2 game between Box Hill Hawks and Tasmania. This coverage can also be heard on the web at www.3wbc.org.au.

During the football season each Thursday night from 8.30pm to 9pm, 1116 SEN broadcasts the Peter Jackson VFL Show. Hosted by Mark Fine and Mark Stone the show features news from around the VFL and includes special guests and a preview of the upcoming round of football. SEN 1116 broadcasts the VFL Grand Final and any finals matches that do not conflict with its AFL broadcast schedule. The station had previously broadcast matches on a regular basis from 2004 to 2006.

Commencing in 1993, 3SER-fm (Casey FM) has broadcast at least one VFL match per weekend. It was the only radio station to cover both the VFL reserves and seniors Grand Finals. Their coverage can be picked up on radio on 97.7 FM or on the internet at www.3ser.org.au.

Details of earlier broadcasts are listed in the History section (above).

Clubs

Williamstown

Port Melb.

Coburg

Northern Blues

Sandringham

Box Hill

Werribee

Casey

Collingwood

Essendon

Footscray

Frankston

Richmond

Current VFL clubs (metropolitan Melbourne)

Geelong

North Ballarat

Current VFL clubs (regional Victoria)

In 2016, the VFL will be contested by fifteen teams.

Club	Nickname	Location	Stadium	Founded	First Season	VFA/VFL Premierships	VFA Division 2 Premierships (1961-1988)	2015	AFL Affiliate
Box Hill	Hawks	Box Hill, Melbourne	Box Hill City Oval	1936	1951	2	2	1	Hawthorn
Casey	Scorpions	Cranbourne, Melbourne	Casey Fields	1903	1982	5	1	8	Melbourne
Coburg	Lions	Coburg, Melbourne	Coburg City Oval	1891	1925	6	2	12	none
Collingwood reserves	Magpies	Collingwood, Melbourne	Victoria Park	1892	2000	0	-	6	Collingwood
Essendon reserves	Bombers	Essendon, Melbourne	Windy Hill	1871	2000	0	-	5	Essendon
Footscray reserves	Bulldogs	Footscray, Melbourne	Whitten Oval	1877	2014	1	-	4	Western Bulldogs
Frankston	Dolphins	Frankston, Melbourne	Frankston Park	1887	1966	0	1	15	none
Geelong reserves	Cats	Geelong	Kardinia Park	1859	2000	3	-	11	Geelong
North Ballarat	Roosters	Ballarat	Eureka Stadium	1882	1996	3	-	9	none
Northern Blues	Blues	Preston, Melbourne	Preston City Oval Ikon Park	1882	1903	4	2	14	Carlton
Port Melbourne	Borough	Port Melbourne, Melbourne	North Port Oval	1874	1886	16	0	10	none
Richmond reserves	Tigers	Richmond, Melbourne	Punt Road Oval	1885	2000	0	-	13	Richmond
Sandringham	Zebras	Sandringham, Melbourne	Trevor Barker Beach Oval	1929	1929	10	0	2	St Kilda
Werribee	Tigers	Werribee, Melbourne	Chirnside Park	1964	1965	1	0	7	North Melbourne
Williamstown	Seagulls	Williamstown, Melbourne	Williamstown Cricket Ground	1864	1884	14	2	3	none

Future clubs

From 2015, the VFL has only one team is bidding for entry.

Club	Moniker	Location	Stadium	Founded	First Season	VFA/VFL Premierships	VFA Division 2 Premierships (1961-1988)	2015	AFL Affiliate
St Kilda reserves	Saints	St Kilda, Melbourne	Moorabbin Oval	1873	2000	0	-	-	St Kilda Expected to join after the 2016 season

Guernseys

Home guernseys

• Hawthorn Hawks Jumper.png

  Box Hill Hawks

• 

  Casey Scorpions

• 

  Coburg Lions

• 

  Collingwood Magpies

• 

  Essendon Bombers

• 

  Footscray Bulldogs

• 

  Frankston Dolphins

• 

  Geelong Cats

• North Ballarat Roosters Jumper.svg

  North Ballarat Roosters

• 

  Northern Blues

• Port Melbourne Borough Jumper.svg

  Port Melbourne Borough

• Sandringham Zebras Jumper.svg

  Sandringham Zebras

• 

  Werribee Tigers

• Williamstown Seagulls Jumper.svg

  Williamstown Seagulls

Clash guernseys

• 

  Box Hill Hawks

• 

  Casey Scorpions

• 

  Coburg Lions

• 

  Collingwood Magpies

• 

  Essendon Bombers

• 

  Footscray Bulldogs

• 

  Frankston Dolphins

• 

  Geelong Cats

• 

  North Ballarat Roosters

• 

  Northern Blues

• Port Melbourne Borough Jumper.svg

  Port Melbourne Borough

• 

  Sandringham Zebras

• 

  Werribee Tigers

• 

  Williamstown Seagulls

Former clubs

The VFL has undergone significant format changes since its induction which means several clubs have either left the league or changed identity for different reasons.

• Albert-park Football Club
• Ballarat Football Club
• Ballarat Imperial Football Club
• Barwon Football Club
• Beechworth Football Club
• Bendigo Diggers (changed name to Bendigo Bombers, then Bendigo Gold)
• Berwick Football Club (the Trojans 1983–85 and Gippslanders 1986–87)
• Brighton Football Club (later Brighton-Caulfield Football Club)
• Brunswick Football Club (later Brunswick-Broadmeadows Football Club) (the Pottery Workers or Brickfielders 1897–1908 and Magpies 1909–1990)
• Camberwell Football Club (the Tricolors 1926–78 and the Cobras 1979–1991)
• Carlton Football Club (breakaway club to the VFL/AFL)
• Castlemaine Football Club
• Caulfield Football Club (Brighton-Caulfield Penguins 1962–1964, Caulfield Bears 1965–1988)
• Collingwood Football Club (breakaway club to the VFL/AFL but the reserves side now plays in the VFL as of 2008)
• Dandenong Football Club (Redlegs 1958–1992. Disbanded, reformed as new Dandenong Redlegs 1993-1994).
• East Melbourne Football Club
• Essendon Football Club (breakaway club to the VFL/AFL)
• Essendon Town Football Club (later Essendon Association Football Club) (the Dreadnaughts 1900–1921)
• Fitzroy Football Club (breakaway club to the VFL/AFL)
• Footscray Football Club (joined the VFL/AFL in 1925 but the reserves side now plays in the VFL as of 2014)
• Geelong Football Club (breakaway club to the VFL/AFL but the reserves side now plays in the VFL)
• Geelong Association Football Club
• Geelong West Football Club (the Roosters 1963–1988)
• Gold Coast Football Club (played one season as preparation for joining the Australian Football League in 2011)
• Hawthorn Football Club (an original Junior Club, re-joined 1913, the joined the VFL/AFL in 1925)
• Heidelberg Football Club (competed 1900–1902 in the short-lived VFA 2nd Division)
• Inglewood Football Club (Foundation member 1877, member until 1879)
• Kilsyth Football Club (the Cougars VFA 1982/83/84 now playing in the EFL)
• Melbourne Football Club (breakaway club to the VFL/AFL)
• Melbourne City Football Club (Disbanded after two seasons without a win.)
• Moorabbin Football Club (the Kangaroos 1951–1964, 1983–1988)
• Mordialloc Football Club (the Bloodhounds 1957–1988)
• Murray Kangaroos
• North Melbourne Football Club (initially known as Hotham; joined the VFL/AFL in 1925)
• Northcote Football Club (originally the Brickfielders, then Rosellas, and later the Dragons)
• Oakleigh Football Club (originally the Purple and Golds, and later the Devils)
• Prahran Football Club (the Two Blues 1886–1887, 1899–1959, 1960–1995)
• Richmond Football Club (joined the VFL/AFL in 1908)
• Rochester Football Club
• St Kilda Football Club (breakaway club to the VFL/AFL)
• South Ballarat Football Club
• Standard Football Club (an original Junior Club, albeit short-lived)
• South Melbourne Football Club (breakaway club to the VFL/AFL)
• South Williamstown Football Club (amalgamated with Williamstown Football Club in 1888)
• Sunshine Football Club (the Crows 1959–1989)
• Tasmanian Devils Football Club
• Traralgon Football Club (the Maroons 1996–1997)
• University Football Club
• Victoria United Football Club (an original Junior Club, albeit short-lived)
• Victorian Railways Football Club (an original Junior Club, albeit short-lived)
• Waverley Football Club (the Panthers 1961–1988)
• West Melbourne Football Club
• Yarraville Football Club (the Villains 1927–1948, the Eagles 1949–1984)

Club participation timeline

Season results

VFA 1877–1994

From 1888, the VFA published a list of the final four clubs at the end of what are now called home-and-away matches. The listings (below) for 1877 to 1887 are based on various newspaper reports as researched by Graeme Atkinson and published in his book Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Australian Rules Football ... (1982, The Five Mile Press, Melbourne).

Finals series (initially the Argus system, and from 1933 the Page-McIntyre system) were introduced in 1903 and, therefore from that date, the listing (below) reflects that situation after the finals.

The VFA conducted a Page-McIntyre Final Four from 1933 to 1988 (including both Division One and Division Two from 1961 to 1988) with the exception of 1960 when a Final Six for the single Division of 17 teams was held.

In 1989 the VFA reverted to a single Division with a Final Five.

Year	PREMIER	RUNNER-UP	THIRD	FOURTH
1877	Carlton	Melbourne	Hotham	Albert-park
1878	Geelong	Melbourne	Carlton	Hotham
1879	Geelong	Carlton	South Melbourne	Melbourne
1880	Geelong	South Melbourne	Carlton	Melbourne
1881	South Melbourne	Geelong	Carlton	Melbourne
1882	Geelong	Essendon	South Melbourne	Carlton
1883	Geelong	South Melbourne	Carlton	Melbourne
1884	Geelong	Essendon	Hotham	South Melbourne
1885	South Melbourne	Essendon	Geelong	Carlton
1886	Geelong	South Melbourne	Carlton	Port Melbourne
1887	Carlton	Geelong	South Melbourne	Fitzroy
1888	South Melbourne	Geelong	Williamstown	Carlton
1889	South Melbourne	Carlton	Port Melbourne	Essendon
1890	South Melbourne	Carlton	Essendon	Fitzroy
1891	Essendon	Carlton	Fitzroy	South Melbourne
1892	Essendon	Fitzroy	Geelong	Melbourne
1893	Essendon	Melbourne	Geelong	South Melbourne
1894	Essendon	Melbourne	South Melbourne	Fitzroy
1895	Fitzroy	Geelong	Melbourne	Collingwood
1896	Collingwood	South Melbourne	Essendon	Melbourne
1897	Port Melbourne	North Melbourne	Footscray	Williamstown
1898	Footscray	North Melbourne	Port Melbourne	Richmond
1899	Footscray	North Melbourne	Port Melbourne	Williamstown
1900	Footscray	Williamstown	Richmond	Prahran
1901	Port Melbourne	Richmond	North Melbourne	Williamstown
1902	Richmond	Port Melbourne	North Melbourne	Williamstown
1903	North Melbourne	Richmond	Footscray	West Melbourne
1904	North Melbourne	Richmond	Footscray	Port Melbourne
1905	Richmond	North Melbourne	Williamstown	Port Melbourne
1906	West Melbourne	Footscray	Richmond	North Melbourne
1907	Williamstown	West Melbourne	Richmond	Footscray
1908	Footscray	Brunswick	Essendon Association	Williamstown
1909	Brunswick	Prahran	Essendon Association	Footscray
1910	North Melbourne	Brunswick	Essendon Association	Prahran
1911	Essendon Association	Brunswick	North Melbourne	Prahran
1912	Essendon Association	Footscray	North Melbourne	Brunswick
1913	Footscray	North Melbourne	Essendon Association	Brunswick
1914	North Melbourne	Footscray	Essendon Association	Williamstown
1915	North Melbourne	Brunswick	Williamstown	Port Melbourne
1916	In recess – WW1
1917	In recess – WW1
1918	North Melbourne	Prahran	Brunswick	Port Melbourne
1919	Footscray	North Melbourne	Brunswick	Northcote
1920	Footscray	Brunswick	North Melbourne	Port Melbourne
1921	Williamstown	Footscray	Port Melbourne	Brunswick
1922	Port Melbourne	Footscray	North Melbourne	Williamstown
1923	Footscray	Port Melbourne	Williamstown	Hawthorn
1924	Footscray	Williamstown	Northcote	Brunswick
1925	Brunswick	Port Melbourne	Northcote	Coburg
1926	Coburg	Brighton	Northcote	Port Melbourne
1927	Coburg	Brighton	Port Melbourne	Preston
1928	Coburg	Port Melbourne	Brighton	Preston
1929	Northcote	Port Melbourne	Preston	Brunswick
1930	Oakleigh	Northcote	Williamstown	Yarraville
1931	Oakleigh	Northcote	Preston	Port Melbourne
1932	Northcote	Coburg	Camberwell	Preston
1933	Northcote	Coburg	Port Melbourne	Yarraville
1934	Northcote	Coburg	Preston	Prahran
1935	Yarraville	Camberwell	Northcote	Coburg
1936	Northcote	Prahran	Brunswick	Camberwell
1937	Prahran	Brunswick	Brighton	Yarraville
1938	Brunswick	Brighton	Northcote	Prahran
1939	Williamstown	Brunswick	Prahran	Northcote
1940	Port Melbourne	Prahran	Williamstown	Preston
1941	Port Melbourne	Coburg	Prahran	Preston
1942	In recess – WWII
1943	In recess – WWII
1944	In recess – WWII
1945	Williamstown	Port Melbourne	Coburg	Camberwell
1946	Sandringham	Camberwell	Williamstown	Port Melbourne
1947	Port Melbourne	Sandringham	Williamstown	Prahran
1948	Brighton	Williamstown	Brunswick	Northcote
1949	Williamstown	Oakleigh	Brighton	Northcote
1950	Oakleigh	Port Melbourne	Brighton	Williamstown
1951	Prahran	Port Melbourne	Oakleigh	Sandringham
1952	Oakleigh	Port Melbourne	Coburg	Yarraville
1953	Port Melbourne	Yarraville	Williamstown	Prahran
1954	Williamstown	Port Melbourne	Northcote	Moorabbin
1955	Williamstown	Port Melbourne	Preston	Moorabbin
1956	Williamstown	Port Melbourne	Box Hill	Brunswick
1957	Moorabbin	Port Melbourne	Williamstown	Preston
1958	Williamstown	Moorabbin	Port Melbourne	Box Hill
1959	Williamstown	Coburg	Sandringham	Oakleigh

Year	PREMIER	RUNNER-UP	THIRD	FOURTH	FIFTH	SIXTH
1960	Oakleigh	Sandringham	Williamstown	Yarraville	Coburg	Moorabbin

Year	Division	PREMIER	RUNNER-UP	THIRD	FOURTH
1961	1st 2nd	YARRAVILLE Northcote	WILLIAMSTOWN Dandenong	MOORABBIN Camberwell	SANDRINGHAM Preston
1962	1st 2nd	SANDRINGHAM Dandenong	MOORABBIN Prahran	COBURG Preston	WILLIAMSTOWN Box Hill
1963	1st 2nd	MOORABBIN Preston	SANDRINGHAM Waverley	YARRAVILLE Prahran	COBURG Sunshine
1964	1st 2nd	PORT MELBOURNE Geelong West	WILLIAMSTOWN Sunshine	COBURG Mordialloc	SANDRINGHAM Brighton-Caulfield
1965	1st 2nd	WAVERLEY Preston	PORT MELBOURNE Mordialloc	DANDENONG Northcote	SANDRINGHAM Sunshine
1966	1st 2nd	PORT MELBOURNE Prahran	WAVERLEY Geelong West	PRESTON Northcote	YARRAVILLE Sunshine
1967	1st 2nd	DANDENONG Oakleigh	PORT MELBOURNE Geelong West	SANDRINGHAM Frankston	PRESTON Sunshine
1968	1st 2nd	PRESTON Geelong West	PRAHRAN Williamstown	SANDRINGHAM Sunshine	DANDENONG Werribee
1969	1st 2nd	PRESTON Williamstown	DANDENONG Sunshine	PORT MELBOURNE Coburg	SANDRINGHAM Box Hill
1970	1st 2nd	PRAHRAN Coburg	WILLIAMSTOWN Box Hill	WAVERLEY Sunshine	PORT MELBOURNE Brunswick
1971	1st 2nd	DANDENONG Sunshine	PRESTON Brunswick	SANDRINGHAM Caulfield	OAKLEIGH Yarraville
1972	1st 2nd	OAKLEIGH Geelong West	DANDENONG Caulfield	WILLIAMSTOWN Yarraville	PRESTON Brunswick
1973	1st 2nd	PRAHRAN Caulfield	OAKLEIGH Brunswick	DANDENONG Waverley	PORT MELBOURNE Camberwell
1974	1st 2nd	PORT MELBOURNE Coburg	OAKLEIGH Brunswick	GEELONG WEST Waverley	DANDENONG Camberwell
1975	1st 2nd	GEELONG WEST Brunswick	DANDENONG Camberwell	PORT MELBOURNE Sunshine	COBURG Frankston
1976	1st 2nd	PORT MELBOURNE Williamstown	DANDENONG Mordialloc	PRESTON Frankston	CAULFIELD Northcote
1977	1st 2nd	PORT MELBOURNE Mordialloc	SANDRINGHAM Yarraville	C0BURG Camberwell	BRUNSWICK Oakleigh
1978	1st 2nd	PRAHRAN Frankston	PRESTON Camberwell	PORT MELBOURNE Oakleigh	DANDENONG Yarraville
1979	1st 2nd	COBURG Camberwell	GEELONG WEST Oakleigh	PORT MELBOURNE Mordialloc	PRAHRAN Williamstown
1980	1st 2nd	PORT MELBOURNE Brunswick	COBURG Yarraville	GEELONG WEST Waverley	SANDRINGHAM Williamstown
1981	1st 2nd	PORT MELBOURNE Camberwell	PRESTON Waverley	SANDRINGHAM Mordialloc	FRANKSTON Werribee
1982	1st 2nd	PORT MELBOURNE Northcote	PRESTON Caulfield	COBURG Oakleigh	GEELONG WEST Brunswick
1983	1st 2nd	PRESTON Springvale	GEELONG WEST Brunswick	PORT MELBOURNE Mordialloc	SANDRINGHAM Oakleigh
1984	1st 2nd	PRESTON Box Hill	FRANKSTON Oakleigh	GEELONG WEST Brunswick	CAMBERWELL Caulfield
1985	1st 2nd	SANDRINGHAM Brunswick	WILLIAMSTOWN Oakleigh	COBURG Sunshine	PRESTON Caulfield
1986	1st 2nd	WILLIAMSTOWN Box Hill	COBURG Sunshine	FRANKSTON Prahran	PRESTON Oakleigh
1987	1st 2nd	SPRINGVALE Prahran	PORT MELBOURNE Waverley	WILLIAMSTOWN Werribee	FRANKSTON Sunshine
1988	1st 2nd	COBURG Oakleigh	WILLIAMSTOWN Sunshine	PRESTON Werribee	PORT MELBOURNE Dandenong

Year	PREMIER	RUNNER-UP	THIRD	FOURTH	FIFTH
1989	Coburg	Williamstown	Box Hill	Springvale	Frankston
1990	Williamstown	Springvale	Preston	Coburg	Werribee
1991	Dandenong	Werribee	Box Hill	Springvale	Port Melbourne
1992	Sandringham	Williamstown	Prahran	Box Hill	Werribee
1993	Werribee	Port Melbourne	Springvale	Prahran	Frankston
1994	Sandringham	Box Hill	Springvale	Dandenong Redlegs	Frankston

VFL 1995–present

Year	PREMIER	RUNNER-UP	THIRD	FOURTH	FIFTH	(SIXTH)	(SEVENTH)	(EIGHTH)
1995	Springvale	Sandringham	Port Melbourne	Frankston	Werribee
1996	Springvale	Frankston	Werribee	Williamstown	Port Melbourne
1997	Sandringham	Frankston	Springvale	Port Melbourne	Werribee
1998	Springvale	Werribee	North Ballarat	Frankston	Preston
1999	Springvale	North Ballarat	Sandringham	Frankston	Williamstown
2000	Sandringham	North Ballarat	St Kilda	Carlton	Geelong	Williamstown	Box Hill Hawks	Springvale
2001	Box Hill Hawks	Werribee	Springvale	Murray Kangaroos	Carlton	Frankston	Coburg Tigers	Essendon
2002	Geelong	Port Melbourne	Werribee	Coburg Tigers	Murray Kangaroos	Sandringham	Box Hill Hawks	Williamstown
2003	Williamstown	Box Hill Hawks	Port Melbourne	Sandringham	Tasmania	Werribee	Springvale	Geelong
2004	Sandringham	Port Melbourne	Tasmania	Box Hill Hawks	Werribee	North Ballarat	Coburg Tigers	Bendigo Bombers
2005	Sandringham	Werribee	Northern Bullants	Bendigo Bombers	Port Melbourne	Tasmania	Frankston	Box Hill Hawks
2006	Sandringham	Geelong	Northern Bullants	Williamstown	North Ballarat	Frankston	Werribee	Coburg Tigers
2007	Geelong	Coburg Tigers	Williamstown	North Ballarat	Sandringham	Port Melbourne	Casey Scorpions	Bendigo Bombers
2008	North Ballarat	Port Melbourne	Williamstown	Werribee	Casey Scorpions	Frankston	Coburg Tigers	Northern Bullants
2009	North Ballarat	Northern Bullants	Port Melbourne	Collingwood	Williamstown	Box Hill Hawks	Casey Scorpions	Geelong
2010	North Ballarat	Northern Bullants	Williamstown	Box Hill Hawks	Casey Scorpions	Port Melbourne	Collingwood	Bendigo Bombers
2011	Port Melbourne	Williamstown	Werribee	Northern Bullants	North Ballarat	Casey Scorpions	Bendigo Bombers	Box Hill Hawks
2012	Geelong	Port Melbourne	Werribee	Williamstown	Casey Scorpions	Box Hill Hawks	Sandringham	Bendigo Gold
2013	Box Hill Hawks	Geelong	Williamstown	Werribee	Casey Scorpions	Port Melbourne	Collingwood	Essendon
2014	Footscray	Box Hill Hawks	Port Melbourne	Williamstown	Werribee	Sandringham	Collingwood	North Ballarat
2015	Williamstown	Box Hill Hawks	Sandringham	Essendon	Footscray	Collingwood	Werribee	Casey Scorpions

VFA/VFL All-Time Final Placings

Single Division 1877 to 1960 and 1989 to 2015; VFA Division One 1961 to 1988

Team	PREMIERS	RUNNERS-UP	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	TOTAL
Port Melbourne	16	21	15	13	3	3	-	-	71
Williamstown	14	11	17	12	2	1	-	1	58
Sandringham	10	5	7	8	1	1	1	-	33
Footscray	9	5	3	2	-	-	-	-	19
Geelong	7	4	3	-	-	-	-	-	14
Coburg	6	8	7	6	1	-	3	1	32
Hotham / North Melbourne	6	6	8	2	-	-	-	-	22
Oakleigh	6	3	1	2	-	-	-	-	12
Prahran	5	5	3	9	-	-	-	-	22
South Melbourne	5	4	4	3	-	-	-	-	16
Northcote	5	2	6	4	-	-	-	-	17
Springvale / Casey	5	1	4	2	4	1	3	2	22
Preston / Northern	4	6	10	11	1	-	-	1	33
Essendon	4	3	2	1	-	-	-	-	10
Brunswick	3	7	4	7	-	-	-	-	21
Dandenong	3	4	2	4	-	-	-	-	11
North Ballarat	3	2	1	1	2	1	-	-	10
Geelong reserves	3	2	-	-	1	-	-	2	8
Carlton	2	4	5	3	-	-	-	-	14
Richmond	2	3	3	1	-	-	-	-	9
Box Hill	2	4	3	4	-	2	2	2	19
Moorabbin	2	2	1	2	-	1	-	-	8
Yarraville	2	1	1	6	-	-	-	-	10
Essendon Association	2	-	5	-	-	-	-	-	7
Werribee	1	4	4	2	5	1	2	-	19
Brighton	1	3	4	-	-	-	-	-	8
Geelong West	1	2	3	1	-	-	-	-	7
West Melbourne	1	1	-	1	-	-	-	-	3
Fitzroy	1	1	1	3	-	-	-	-	6
Waverley	1	1	1	-	-	-	-	-	3
Collingwood	1	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	2
Footscray reserves	1	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	2
Melbourne	-	4	1	6	-	-	-	-	11
Frankston	-	3	1	5	3	3	1	-	16
Camberwell	-	2	1	3	-	-	-	-	6
Carlton reserves	-	-	-	1	1	-	-	-	2
Tasmania	-	-	1	-	1	1	-	-	3
Albert-park	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	1
Caulfield	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	1
Hawthorn	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	1
Murray Kangaroos	-	-	-	1	1	-	-	-	2
Bendigo	-	-	-	1	-	-	1	4	6
St Kilda reserves	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	1
Essendon reserves	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	2	3
Collingwood reserves	-	-	-	1	-	1	2	-	4
Richmond reserves	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	0

VFA/VFL All-Time Final Placings (VFA Division Two 1961 to 1988)

Team	PREMIERS	RUNNERS-UP	3rd	4th	TOTAL
Brunswick	3	4	1	3	11
Geelong West	3	2	-	-	5
Oakleigh	2	3	2	3	10
Camberwell	2	2	2	2	8
Prahran	2	1	2	-	5
Williamstown	2	1	-	2	5
Box Hill	2	1	-	2	5
Northcote	2	-	2	1	5
Preston	2	-	1	1	4
Coburg	2	-	1	-	3
Sunshine	1	4	4	5	14
Mordialloc	1	2	4	-	7
Caulfield	1	2	1	2	6
Dandenong	1	1	-	1	3
Frankston	1	-	2	1	4
Springvale	1	-	-	-	1
Waverley	-	3	3	-	6
Yarraville	-	2	1	2	5
Werribee	-	-	2	2	4
Brighton-Caulfield	-	-	-	1	1

VFA Presidents

The following men served as president of the VFA between its establishment in 1877 and its merger with the VSFL in 1994.

No.	President	Club	Tenure
1	William Clarke, MLC		1877–1881
2	Cr James Garton		1882–1886
3	Frank Grey Smith	Melbourne	1887–1896
4	Theodore Fink, MLA	Richmond	1897–1900
5	James Hall	Williamstown	1901–1902
6	Cr John George Aikman	Essendon (A.)	1903–1928
7	Cr John James Liston	Williamstown	1929–1944
8	Henry Zwar, MLA	Preston	1944–1946
9	Squire Reid, MLA	Oakleigh	1947–1949
10	Dr Frank Hartnett	Camberwell	1949–1950
11	Lewis Page	Brighton	1951–1953
12	Cr Alex Gillon	Brunswick	1954–1980
13	Alan Wickes	Frankston	1981–1984
14	Brook Andersen	Brunswick	1985–1989
15	John Grieve	Williamstown	1989–1992
16	Tony Hannebery	Williamstown	1993–1994

AFL Victoria Development League

The VFA and VFL have operated a seconds or reserves competition since the 1920s. From its inception until 1979, the seconds team played on Saturday afternoons, playing at home when the senior team played away and vice versa. Since 1980, seconds matches have been played as curtain-raisers to senior matches, on Saturdays or Sundays as necessary. The competition was later renamed the reserves, and then from the beginning of the 2012 season it has been known as the AFL Victoria Development League, a move that coincided with the introduction of the AFL Victoria Development Academy which provides development opportunities for up to 25 selected VFL players per year. Since 2014, only nine of the VFL's clubs have fielded a team in the Development League. These are the nine clubs from metropolitan Melbourne with a continuous VFA heritage: Box Hill, Casey, Coburg, Frankston, Northern Blues, Port Melbourne, Sandringham, Werribee and Williamstown.

See also

• Early VFL Final systems
• History of Australian rules football in Victoria (1859-1900)

External links

• VFL official website
• VFL official history
• List of VFA/VFL premiers since 1877
• VFA and VFL statistics and history at Full Points Footy
• VFL Mark of the Year competition
• History of the VFL