# 1919 VJFL season

The 1919 VJFL season was the inaugural season of the Victorian Junior Football League (VJFL), the Australian rules football competition operating as the second-tier competition to the Victorian Football League (VFL).
Collingwood District won the first grand final, finishing the season undefeated.

## Background

The Victorian Junior Football League was established to bring a junior club affiliated with each of the VFL senior clubs into a single competition – at this time, junior was the term used for open age football of a lower standard than senior football, rather than for under age football. The league was intended to bring a junior club affiliated with each of the Victorian Football League (VFL) senior clubs into a single competition, and to adopt the same district eligibility scheme which the VFL had introduced in 1916. Player permit rules allowed for automatic transfers between the junior and senior clubs until July, allowing the juniors to serve as second eighteens for the seniors. The junior and senior clubs shared a home ground, with the juniors playing home when the seniors played away.
For the inaugural season, four existing junior clubs – the Fitzroy Juniors, Collingwood District (also known as Collingwood Juniors) and Leopold (affiliated with South Melbourne) and Caulfield (affiliated with Melbourne) – initially crossed to the new league from the Metropolitan Amateur Association; West Melbourne was affiliated with Essendon; and new junior clubs were formed in Carlton, Richmond and St Kilda. University, which had left the VFL senior competition after 1914, also entered a stand-alone junior team in the competition.
Shortly before the season, Caulfield withdrew, and a second University team was quickly arranged to take its place for the 1919 season. As was the case in the seniors, once the home-and-away season had finished, the VJFL premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the amended "Argus system".

## Pre-season

A number of practice matches were held before the start of the season, including against several Victorian Football Association clubs.
| | Pre-season | Pre-season | Pre-season | |
| Saturday, 5 April | Richmond 11.8 (74) | def. | Camberwell 3.6 (24) | |
| Saturday, 12 April | Hawthorn | v | Richmond | St James Park |
| Saturday, 19 April | Richmond | v | Richmond (seniors) | Richmond City Reserve |
| Monday, 21 April | Ballarat Association 9.14 (68) | def. by | Carlton District 12.25 (97) | Eastern Oval |
| Saturday, 26 April | Prahran 6.10 (46) | def. by | Richmond 7.5 (47) | Toorak Park |
| Saturday, 26 April (3:30 pm) | Carlton | v | Carlton District | |

## Home-and-away season
### Round 1

| | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | |
| Saturday, 3 May | Fitzroy Juniors 6.6 (42) | def. by | Carlton District 9.9 (63) | Fitzroy Cricket Ground |
| Saturday, 3 May | West Melbourne 7.9 (51) | def. | Richmond 4.8 (32) | East Melbourne Cricket Ground |

### Round 2

| | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 | |
| Saturday, 10 May | Carlton District 10.6 (66) | def. | West Melbourne 5.14 (44) | |
| Saturday, 10 May | Richmond 6.10 (46) | def. by | University A 14.15 (99) | Richmond Cricket Ground |

### Round 3

| | Round 3 | Round 3 | Round 3 | |
| Saturday, 17 May | Richmond 6.10 (46) | def. by | University B 15.11 (101) | Richmond Cricket Ground |
| | Bye Carlton District | Bye Carlton District | Bye Carlton District | |

### Round 4

| | Round 4 | Round 4 | Round 4 | |
| Saturday, 24 May | University A 8.8 (56) | def. | Carlton District 6.10 (46) | University Oval |
| Saturday, 24 May | Collingwood District 9.20 (74) | def. | Richmond 3.5 (23) | Victoria Park |

### Round 5

| | Round 5 | Round 5 | Round 5 | |
| Saturday, 31 May | University B 13.13 (91) | def. | Carlton District 4.4 (28) | University Oval |
| Saturday, 31 May | Fitzroy Juniors 6.10 (46) | def. | Richmond 1.10 (16) | |

### Round 6

| | Round 6 | Round 6 | Round 6 | |
| Saturday, 7 June | Carlton District 6.9 (45) | def. | St Kilda District 4.12 (36) | |
| Saturday, 7 June | Leopold 14.10 (94) | def. | Richmond 1.8 (14) | South Melbourne Cricket Ground |

### Round 7

| | Round 7 | Round 7 | Round 7 | |
| Saturday, 14 June | Collingwood District 11.25 (91) | def. | Carlton District 7.4 (46) | Victoria Park |
| Saturday, 14 June | Richmond 6.14 (50) | def. | St Kilda District 4.6 (30) | Richmond Cricket Ground |

### Round 8

| | Round 8 | Round 8 | Round 8 | |
| Saturday, 21 June | Carlton District 4.16 (40) | def. by | Leopold 6.15 (51) | Princes Park |

### Round 9

| | Round 9 | Round 9 | Round 9 | |
| Saturday, 28 June | Richmond 5.14 (55) | def. by | Carlton District 12.7 (79) | Richmond Cricket Ground |

### Round 10

| | Round 10 | Round 10 | Round 10 | |
| Saturday, 5 July | Carlton District | v | Fitzroy Juniors | Princes Park |

### Round 11

| | Round 11 | Round 11 | Round 11 | |
| Saturday, 12 July | Collingwood District | v | Leopold | |
| Saturday, 12 July | St Kilda District | v | University B | |
| Saturday, 12 July | Richmond 5.14 (55) | def. by | West Melbourne 12.7 (79) | Richmond Cricket Ground |

### Round 12

| | Round 12 | Round 12 | Round 12 | |
| Saturday, 19 July | Collingwood District 30.18 (198) | def. | St Kilda District 3.6 (24) | |
| Saturday, 19 July | Carlton District 5.12 (42) | def. by | West Melbourne 6.12 (48) | |
| Saturday, 19 July | University A 12.15 (87) | def. | Richmond 4.10 (34) | University Oval |

### Round 13

| | Round 13 | Round 13 | Round 13 | |
| Saturday, 26 July | University B 13.10 (88) | def. | Richmond 8.9 (57) | Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| Saturday, 26 July | Carlton District 5.10 (40) | def. by | University A 8.11 (59) | Princes Park |

### Round 14

| | Round 14 | Round 14 | Round 14 | |
| Saturday, 9 August | Carlton District 7.9 (51) | def. | University B 6.11 (47) | Princes Park |

### Round 15

| | Round 15 | Round 15 | Round 15 | |
| Saturday, 16 August | St Kilda District 7.10 (52) | def. by | Carlton District 8.9 (57) | Junction Oval |
| Saturday, 16 August | Fitzroy Juniors 11.18 (84) | def. | Richmond 3.6 (24) | Fitzroy Cricket Ground |

### Round 16

| | Round 16 | Round 16 | Round 16 | |
| Saturday, 23 August | Carlton District 3.5 (23) | def. by | Collingwood District 10.12 (72) | Princes Park |
| Saturday, 23 August | Richmond 4.14 (38) | def. by | Leopold 11.23 (89) | Richmond Cricket Ground |

### Round 17

| | Round 17 | Round 17 | Round 17 | |
| Saturday, 30 August | St Kilda District 10.11 (71) | def. | Richmond 8.11 (59) | St Kilda Cricket Ground |
| Saturday, 30 August | Leopold 7.13 (55) | def. | Carlton District 2.8 (20) | South Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| Saturday, 30 August | Collingwood District 31.16 (202) | def. | University B 4.1 (25) | |

### Round 18

| | Round 18 | Round 18 | Round 18 | |
| Saturday, 6 September (1:00 pm) | Richmond 6.7 (43) | def. by | Carlton District 6.14 (50) | Richmond Cricket Ground |

## Ladder

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | Pts |
| 1 | Collingwood District (P) | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 64 |
| 2 | University A | 16 | | | | 44 |
| 3 | Leopold | 16 | | | | 40 |
| 4 | University B | 16 | | | | 40 |
| 5 | Fitzroy Juniors | 16 | | | | 36 |
| 6 | Carlton District | 16 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 32 |
| 7 | West Melbourne | 16 | | | | 20 |
| 8 | St Kilda District | 16 | | | | 8 |
| 9 | Richmond | 16 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 4 |

## Finals series
### Week 1

| | Week 1 | Week 1 | Week 1 | |
| Saturday, 27 September | University A | def. | University B | Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| Saturday, 27 September | Collingwood District | def. | Leopold | |

### Week 2

| | Week 2 | Week 2 | Week 2 |
| Saturday, 4 October | Leopold | def. | Collingwood District |
| Under the amended "Argus system", Collingwood District had the right to challenge as the minor premier. ||||||

### Grand Final

| | Grand final | Grand final | Grand final | |
| Saturday, 11 October | Collingwood District 6.11 (47) | def. | University A 4.8 (32) | Melbourne Cricket Ground |