| 1897 MJFA season | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 9 |
| Premiers | South St Kilda 4th premiership |
| Minor premiers | South St Kilda 4th minor premiership |
The 1897 MJFA season was the sixth season of the Metropolitan Junior Football Association (MJFA). [1] [2]
South St Kilda won its fourth MJFA premiership, having finished won 15 of its 16 games. [3] [4] This was the club's final premiership before it disbanded during the 1899 season. [5] [6]
Nine clubs competed in the MJFA in 1897, one less than the previous season in 1896. Malvern and Old Melburnians both withdrew after their inaugural seasons, while Nunawading also left after three seasons in the competition. [7]
South Yarra and Boroondara were both admitted into the association. [8]
On 5 June, Waltham were scheduled to play against Caulfield but did not appear, with the match awarded to Caulfield. [9] The club formally withdrew prior to the next round on 12 June, having lost all of its four games, and disbanded three days later on 15 June. [7] [10] [11]
Boroondara appears to have withdrawn sometime in the latter half of the season, and were not included in end-of-season ladders published by the Oakleigh Leader and Brighton Southern Cross . [12] The club did not play any recorded games in September 1897. [13] [14]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South St Kilda (P) | 16 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 104 | 37 | 60 |
| 2 | Collegians | 16 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 96 | 37 | 52 |
| 3 | Caulfield | 16 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 50 | 52 | 40 |
| 4 | South Yarra | 16 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 68 | 54 | 36 |
| 5 | Brighton | 16 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 56 | 73 | 34 |
| 6 | St Mary's | 16 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 42 | 58 | 28 |
| 7 | Windsor | 16 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 32 | 53 | 26 |
| − | Boroondara (W) | 12 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 17 | 59 | 12 |
| − | Waltham (W) | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 17 | 0 |
The honors for this premiership are almost certain to be carried off by the South St. Kilda, who up to the present are unbeaten. They have only to win or draw today against Caulfield to make a certainty of the honour.
The premiership in this competition has been easily won by the South St. Kilda, who have an unbeaten record up to date.
The Waltham club have disbanded, and consequently there are only six clubs left in for the remainder of the matches.