Victorian Junior Football Association (Vic)

Quick Premiers List :
Note: Especially in early seasons, the premier team was simply the team which the media had decided were the leading team for the year.

Unnofficial Early Years : 1873 - North Melbourne. 1874 - East Melbourne. 1875 - ?. 1876 - Essendon. 1877 - ?. 1878 - Hawthorn. 1879 - ?. 1880 - Rising Sun. 1881 - ?. 1882 - Britannia.

Established Seasons : 1883 - ?. 1884 - Star of Carlton. 1885 - ?. 1886 - North Park. 1887 - North Park. 1888 - North Park. 1889 - North Park. 1890 - North Park. 1891 - Marylebone. 1892 - North Williamstown. 1893 - Napier Imperial. 1894 - Fitzroy Juniors. 1895 - Albion United. 1896 - Albert Park.

1897 - Albert Park. 1898 - West Melbourne. 1899 - Melbourne Juniors. 1900 - Preston. 1901 - Preston. 1902 - Preston. 1903 - ?. 1904 - Northcote. 1905 - ?. 1906 - Northcote. 1907 - ?. 1908 - Yarraville Jrs. 1909 - ?. 1910 - ?.

1911 - ?. 1912 - ?. 1913 - ?. 1914 - ?. 1915 - ?. 1916 - ?. 1917 - Williamstown Jrs. 1918 - ?. 1919 - ?. 1920 - ?. 1921 - ?. 1922 - ?. 1923 - ?. 1924 - ?.

1925 - ?. 1926 - ?. 1927 - ?. 1928 - ?. 1929 - ?. 1930 - ?. 1931 - ?. 1932 - ?. 1933 - ?. 1934 - ?. 1935 - ?.

Timeline :
1873 :
A rough ladder for the junior teams would look as follows :
 1. North Melbourne,
 2. Southern,
 3. Carlton Imperial,
 4. St. Kilda,
 5. Richmond,
 6. East Melbourne,
 7. Essendon,
 8. Studley Park,
 9. Southpark,
 10. Williamstown,
 11. Collingwood and
 12. Hawthorn.

1874 :
The leading junior teams, in order, were reputedly :
 1. East Melbourne,
 2. Richmond,
 3. Carlton Imperial,
 4. Hawthorn (5w/6l/6d) and
 5. Essendon.

1875 - ?.

1876 :
Arguable ladder of top 3 junior clubs :
 1. Essendon,
 2. West Melbourne and
 3. Hawthorn.

1877 - ?.
1878 - Hawthorn was spoken of as being the best of the junior teams.

1879 :
Leading junior teams for 1879 were :
 - Carlton United,
 - Clifton,
 - East Melbourne (late Clarendon),
 - East Saint Kilda,
 - Hawthorn,
 - Hotham United,
 - Northcote,
 - Star of Carlton,
 - Toorak and
 - Williamstown.

1880 :
The junior teams were listed by one source in the following order :
 1. Rising Sun,
 2. Northcote,
 3. Toorak,
 4. South Yarra,
 5. Saint Kilda,
 6. Clifton,
 7. Hawthorn,
 8. Hotham United,
 9. Hotham Hill,
 10. Sandridge and
 11. Williamstown.

1881 :
The best of the juniors were given by the media as follows (possibly in order but not necessarily) :
 - South Park,
 - South Yarra,
 - Hotham United,
 - Waverley,
 - Britannia,
 - Royal Park,
 - Powlett,
 - Star of Carlton,
 - Sandridge,
 - Williamstown.
 - Battery United,
 - Southern,
 - Northcote,
 - Hawthorn,
 - Brunswick and
 - South Carlton.

1882 :
Estimated Juniors ladder :
 1. Britannia,
 2. Hotham United,
 3. Northcote,
 4. Powlett,
 5. Royal Park,
 6. Sandridge,
 7. South Park,
 8. South Yarra,
 9. Star of Carlton,
 10. Toorak,
 11. Waverley and
 12. Williamstown.

1883 :
The Victorian Junior Football Association was formed in an official sense.
'Stronger' teams included :
 - Britannia,
 - Brunswick,
 - Clifton,
 - Fortrose,
 - Normanby,
 - Northcote,
 - North Park,
 - Powlett,
 - Royal Park,
 - Sandridge,
 - South Park,
 - South Yarra,
 - Star of Carlton,
 - Toorak,
 - Waverley and
 - Williamstown.
Other clubs included :
 - Footscray (debut, changed name from Prince Imperials).

1884 :
Participating clubs in final ladder order (presumed, per Australian newspaper) were (complete) :
 1. Star of Carlton,
 2. Port Melbourne,
 3. Britannia,
 4. Brunswick,
 5. North Park,
 6. South Melbourne Juniors,
 7. South Yarra,
 8. Royal Park,
 9. Footscray,
 10. Toorak,
 11. Moonee Ponds,
 12. Normanby,
 13. Evansdale and
 14. Richmond Union.

1885 :
(probably First)-Rate :
Participating clubs included :
 - Britannia ('strong' team),
 - Brunswick ('strong' team),
 - Footscray ('strong' team),
 - Northcote ('strong' team),
 - North Park,
 - Port Melbourne ('strong' team),
 - Royal Park ('strong' team),
 - South Melbourne Juniors ('strong' team),
 - Star of Carlton ('strong' team) and
 - Williamstown Juniors.
Williamstown Juniors were premiers.
?-Rate :
Participating clubs included :
 - Riversdale,
 - Windsor and
 - Windsor Union.
This was the first season of the VJFA in which a premiership was officially awarded.

1886 :
First Rate :
Participating clubs in final ladder order were (complete, assuming 1st Rate) :
 1. North Park,
 2. Richmond Juniors,
 3. Elgin Union,
 4. South Melbourne Juniors,
 5. Britannia and
 6. Normanby.
Second Rate :
Participating clubs included Bellevue.^{[source][source]}

1887 - Participating clubs included North Park (premiers).

1888 :
First Rate - Participating clubs included North Park (premiers, assuming 1st Rate).
Second Rate - Participating clubs included Bellevue.^{[source][source]}

1889 :
A divisional system, built on all clubs being 'rated', was put in place from 1889. There may have been four rates.
Clubs in final ladder order (probably exhaustive) :
 1. North Park (premiers),
 2. East Richmond,
 3. Britannia,
 4. Saint Kilda Esplanade,
 5. Camberwell,
 6. Albion United,
 7. Union Jack,
 8. South Saint Kilda,
 9. Coburg,
 10. South Brunswick,
 11. Fitzroy Imperial,
 12. Brunswick,
 13. Brighton,
 14. Essendon District,
 15. Parkside,
 16. Fernside,
 17. Marylebone,
 18. Clifton,
 19. Moonee Ponds,
 20. Kew,
 21. North Carlton Imperials,
 22. Marlton,
 23. Star of Brunswick,
 24. South Park,
 25. Ascot Vale and
 26. Coast.
First Rate :
Participating clubs included Hawthorn.
Third Rate :
Participating clubs included Glenferrie.
? Rate :
Participating clubs included Riversdale, who 'was becoming a club to be reckoned with amongst the junior grades'.

1890 :
First Rate :
Clubs in final ladder order (probably exhaustive) :
 1. North Park (premiers),
 2. Marylebone,
 3. Albion United,
 4. Napier Imperial,
 5. Britannia,
 6. East Richmond,
 7. Preston,
 8. Camberwell,
 9. Essendon District,
 10. South Saint Kilda,
 11. Parkside,
 12. South Brunswick,
 13. Union Jack,
 14. Saint Kilda Esplanade,
 15. Star of Brunswick,
 16. Clifton,
 17. Brighton,
 18. South Melbourne Juniors,
 19. Marlton,
 20. North Fitzroy,
 21. Brunswick,
 22. Fernside,
 23. Kew,
 24. Moonee Ponds,
 25. Saint Kilda Grosvenor,
 26. Coburg,
 27. Ascot Vale and
 28. South Park.
Third Rate :
Participating clubs included Glenferrie.

1891 :
First Rate :
Clubs in final ladder order (probably exhaustive) :
 1. Marylebone,
 2. Britannia,
 3. North Park,
 4. Napier Imperial,
 5. Essendon District,
 6. Brunswick,
 7. North Williamstown,
 8. Camberwell,
 9. Austral,
 10. South Melbourne Juniors,
 11. Albion United,
 12. Star of Brunswick,
 13. South Saint Kilda,
 14. Preston,
 15. Union Jack,
 16. Clifton,
 17. Northcote,
 18. Parkside,
 19. Coburg,
 20. Prahran,
 21. Brighton,
 22. East Richmond (disbanded partway into season),
 23. Electric Telegraph (disbanded partway into season) and
 24. Kew (disbanded partway into season).
Second Rate :
Participating clubs included :
 - Burwood,
 - Glenferrie (2nd on ladder as at July),
 - Rainbow and
 - 21 others (at least 4 of which had disbanded by July).
Third Rate :
Participating clubs included Wakefield.
? Rate :
Clubs in this section were probably VJFA clubs.
Participating clubs included Kinkora (probably).

1892 :
General :
The VJFA was split into two halves. The top teams from each section would then meet in a finals round to determine the premier.
First Rate :
A Section :
Participating clubs in final ladder order were (complete) :
 1. Napier Imperial (3rd overall),
 2. Marylebone (2nd overall),
 3. Fitzroy Juniors (debut),
 4. Camberwell,
 5. Coburg,
 6. Clifton,
 7. Brunswick,
 8. Edlington (debut) and
 9. South Saint Kilda.
B Section :
Participating clubs in final ladder order were (complete) :
 1. North Williamstown (1st overall),
 2. Albion United (4th overall),
 3. North Park,
 4. Austral,
 5. Rainbow,
 6. Union Jack,
 7. Essendon District,
 8. Carlton Juniors (debut) and
 9. Brighton.
? Rate :
Clubs in this section were probably VJFA clubs, and probably in the same 'rate'.
Participating clubs included :
 - Auburn (probably),
 - Berwick (probably),
 - Brighton Excelsior (probably),
 - Claremont (probably),
 - Ivanhoe (probably),
 - Lewisham (probably),
 - Mordialloc (probably),
 - Saint James (probably) and
 - Waltham (probably).

1893 :
General :
The VJFA was split into two halves. The top teams from each section would then meet in a finals round to determine the premier.
First Rate :
A Section :
Participating clubs in final ladder order were (complete) :
 1. Fitzroy Juniors,
 2. Austral,
 3. North Melbourne Juniors,
 4. Marylebone,
 5. North Williamstown,
 6. University,
 7. Carlton Juniors,
 8. Union Jack,
 X. Edlington (disbanded partway into season) and
 X. Coburg (disbanded partway into season).
B Section :
Participating clubs in final ladder order were (complete) :
 1. Napier Imperial,
 2. Albion United,
 3. Collingwood Juniors,
 4. Hawthorn (debut),
 5. Essendon District,
 6. Brunswick,
 7. Rainbow,
 8. Brighton,
 9. Preston and
 10. Camberwell.
Grand Final - Napier Imperial defeated Fitzroy Juniors.
Third Rate :
Participating clubs included Claremont (debut).

1894 :
General :
The VJFA was split into two halves. The top teams from each section would then meet in a finals round to determine the premier.
First Rate :
A Section :
Participating clubs in final ladder order were (complete) :
 1. Austral (3rd overall),
 2. Napier Imperial (4th overall, final season due to merger),
 3. Essendon District,
 4. North Williamstown (final season),
 5. South Yarra (final season),
 6. Collingwood Juniors,
 7. Brighton and
 8. Ascot Vale (final season).
 X. University (disbanded partway into season) and
 X. Camberwell (disbanded partway into season).
B Section :
Participating clubs in final ladder order were (complete) :
 1. Fitzroy Juniors (1st overall),
 2. Albion United (2nd overall),
 3. North Melbourne Juniors (final season),
 4. Marylebone (final season due to merger),
 5. West Melbourne Juniors,
 6. Richmond City,
 7. Hawthorn,
 8. Carlton Juniors (final season),
 9. Brunswick and
 10. Preston.
Fourth Rate :
Teams listed here are minor clubs, which were in most cases listed under the VJFA. If it was certain they were a VJFA side, 'confirmed' is shown beside them.
The fourth rate was not a competition. Fourth-rate teams played in local leagues.
Participating clubs included The Grove.

1895 :
First Rate :
The first rate competition was reduced to a one-grade, 12-team competition.
Participating clubs in ladder order were (complete) :
 1. Albion United,
 2. West Melbourne Juniors,
 3. Albert Park (debut, result of merger),
 4. Hawthorn,
 5. Fitzroy Juniors,
 6. Richmond City,
 7. Austral (final season),
 8. Collingwood Juniors,
 9. Brunswick,
 10. Essendon District,
 11. Brighton (final season) and
 12. Preston.
Fourth Rate :
Teams listed here are minor clubs, which were in most cases listed under the VJFA. If it was certain they were a VJFA side, 'confirmed' is shown beside them. It is not guaranteed they were fourth-rate, even if they were VJFA.
The fourth rate was not a competition. Fourth-rate teams played in local leagues.
Participating clubs included :
 - Edlington (debut) and
 - The Grove.

1896 :
First Rate :
Participating clubs in ladder order were (complete) :
 1. Albert Park,
 2. Albion United,
 3. Fitzroy Juniors,
 4. Richmond City,
 5. Brunswick (final season),
 6. West Melbourne Juniors,
 7. Collingwood Juniors,
 8. Preston,
 9. Hawthorn and
 10. Essendon District (final season),
Grand Final - Albert Park defeated Albion United.
Third Rate :
Participating clubs included Hawthorn Juniors.
Fourth Rate :
Teams listed here are minor clubs, which were in most cases listed under the VJFA. If it was certain they were a VJFA side, 'confirmed' is shown beside them. It is not guaranteed they were fourth-rate, even if they were VJFA.
The fourth rate was not a competition. Fourth-rate teams played in local leagues.
Participating clubs included :
 - Edlington and
 - The Grove.
Fifth Rate :
Participating clubs included Clendon.

1897 :
First Rate :
Participating clubs in ladder order were (complete) :
 1. Albert Park,
 2. Fitzroy Juniors,
 3. Montague Juniors (debut),
 4. West Melbourne (Juniors?),
 5. Albion United,
 6. Richmond City,
 7. Collingwood Juniors,
 8. Hawthorn,
 9. Royal Park Crescent (debut) and
 10. Preston.
? Rate :
Participating clubs included Booroondara.

1898 :
Participating clubs in final ladder order were (complete) :
 1. West Melbourne,
 2. Albert Park,
 3. Melbourne Juniors,
 4. Montague,
 5. Fitzroy Crescent,
 6. Richmond City,
 7. Preston,
 8. Collingwood Juniors and
 9. Hawthorn (final season).

1899 :
Participating clubs in final ladder order were (complete) :
 1. Melbourne Juniors,
 2. Collingwood Juniors,
 3. Fitzroy Crescent,
 4. Montague,
 5. Preston,
 6. Richmond City and
 7. Northcote.

1900 :
Participating clubs in final ladder order were (complete) :
 1. Preston,
 2. Collingwood Juniors,
 3. Fitzroy Crescent,
 4. Melbourne Juniors,
 5. Carlton Juniors,
 6. Richmond City,
 7. Northcote,
 8. Footscray Juniors and
 9. West Richmond.

1901 :
Participating clubs in final ladder order were (complete) :
 1. Preston,
 2. Blenheim,
 3. Collingwood Jrs,
 4. Footscray Jrs,
 5. South Melbourne Jrs,
 6. Northcote,
 7. Fitzroy Crescent,
 8. Carlton Jrs,
 9. Richmond City,
 10. West Richmond and
 11. Coburg.

1902 - Participating clubs included Preston (premiers^[source]).
1903 - ?.

1904 (First Division) :
Participating clubs included :^[source]
 - Northcote (premiers) and
 - Rose Of Northcote (debut, 3rd).

1905 (First Division) :
Participating clubs included :^[source]
 - Northcote and
 - Rose Of Northcote.

1906 (First Division) :
Participating clubs included : ^{[source] [source]}
 - Carlton Juniors,
 - Coburg,
 - Fitzroy Jrs,
 - Footscray Jrs,
 - Northcote (premiers),
 - Pembroke,
 - Rose Of Northcote and
 - Yarraville Jrs.

1907 :
First Division :
Participating clubs included :^[source]
 - Northcote (final season) and
 - Rose Of Northcote.
? Division :
Participating clubs included Preston Districts (debut^[source]).

1908 (First Division) :^[source]
Participating clubs included :
 - Rose Of Northcote (made finals),
 - Northcote Wednesday (debut) and
 - Yarraville Jrs (premiers).
? Final - Yarraville Jrs defeated Rose Of Northcote.

1909-12 - ?.

1913 :
Participating clubs were (complete) :
 - Brighton Jrs,
 - Camberwell Jrs,
 - Essendon Jrs,
 - Footscray Jrs,
 - North Melbourne Jrs,
 - Port Melbourne Jrs,
 - Prahran Jrs,
 - Preston District (rejoined),
 - Williamstown Jrs and
 - Yarraville Jrs.

1914-16 - It is reported that the VJFA did continue to operate throughout the WW1 period.^[source]

1917 (? Grade) :
It is reported that the VJFA did continue to operate throughout the WW1 period.^[source]
Participating clubs included : (note that the source did not confirm the name of this competition)^[source]
 - Footscray Jrs,
 - Fairfield (District?),
 - Preston,
 - Williamstown Jrs (premiers^[source]) and
 - Yarraville Jrs.
This competition operated with a final 4.

1918 (? Grade) :
It is reported that the VJFA did continue to operate throughout the WW1 period.^[source]
Participating clubs included : (note that the source did not confirm the name of this competition)^[source]
 - Williamstown Jrs and
 - Yarraville Jrs.

1919 - It is reported that the VJFA did continue to operate throughout the WW1 period.^[source]
1920 - Participating clubs included Kew (debut).
1921 - Participating clubs included Kew.
1922 - Participating clubs included Kew (runners-up).
1923-25 - Participating clubs included Kew.

1926 :
VJFA Section :
Participating clubs included :^[source]
 - Ascotvale,
 - Carnegie,
 - Kew (final season).
 - Kingsville,
 - Newport COR,
 - North Melbourne Jrs,
 - North Melbourne Laurels,
 - Sunshine,
 - Williamstown Shell and
 - Yarraville Jrs.
First Semi-Final - Yarraville Jrs v Sunshine @ Williamstown.^[source]
VFA Section :
Participating clubs included :^[source]
 - Brighton Jrs,
 - Brunswick Jrs,
 - Camberwell Jrs,
 - Coburg Jrs,
 - Northcote Jrs (minor premiers^[source]),
 - Port Melbourne Jrs,
 - Prahran Jrs,
 - Preston-Reservoir and
 - Williamstown Jrs.
Finals Series : ^{[source] [source]}
 - First Semi-Final - Port Melbourne Jrs defeated Coburg Jrs @ Yarraville.
 - Final - Northcote Jrs v Port Melbourne Jrse @ Motordrome.

1927 - ?.

1928 :
Participating clubs included :^[source]
 - Brighton Jrs,
 - Brunswick Jrs,
 - Camberwell Jrs,
 - Coburg Jrs,
 - Northcote Jrs,
 - Port Melbourne Jrs,
 - Prahran Jrs,
 - Preston Jrs,
 - Williamstown Jrs and
 - Yarraville Jrs.

1929-34 - ?.

1935 :^[source]
First Grade :
Finals Series :
 - Semi-Final - Richmond City 13.6.84 defeated South Kensington 9.22.76.
 - Semi-Final - South Richmond 11.15.81 defeated Burnley 7.11.53.
Second Grade :
Grand Final - Fawkner 12.20.92 defeated East Brunswick 9.4.58.

Other Clubs :
Other clubs to have participated, season(s) unknown, include Rose Of Northcote (late 1880s, Second Rate division).^[source]