1899 MJFA season

The 1899 MJFA season was the 8th season of the Metropolitan Junior Football Association (MJFA).^[1] The season began on 22 April and ended on 9 September.^[2]

1899 MJFA season
Date	22 April − 9 September 1899
Teams	9
Premiers	Collegians 4th premiership
Minor premiers	Collegians 4th minor premiership
Wooden spooners	Caulfield
← 1898 1900 →

Collegians won the MJFA premiership for the fourth time and the second year in a row, finishing first on the ladder with only one loss for the season.^[3]

Association membership

Like the previous season in 1898, a total of nine teams competed in the MJFA. St Mary's had been expelled in June 1898, while South Yarra withdrew one month later.^[4][5]

Two new clubs entered the MJFA at the start of the 1899 season − Parkville and St Francis Xavier.^[6]

St Francis Xavier withdrawal

In May 1899, after the completion of round 4, St Francis Xavier disbanded.^[7][8][9] The Xaverian noted at the time that "we played one or two matches and some practice matches in this Association; but we were invariably beaten. We had no chance − boys played against men, the result was evident from the beginning. Repeated defeats caused our boys gradually to lose heart. The committee were consulted and thinking "discretion the better part of valour" we reluctantly resigned our place in the Association."^[10] One of St Francis Xavier's defeats included a 16.16 to 2.0 loss to Collegians.^[11]

Kew Football Club was chosen to fill the vacancy, having been competing in the Suburban Junior Football Association until that point, and it played in the MJFA for the remainder of the season.^[12][13][14]

South St Kilda withdrawal

One month later in July, South St Kilda − who had been MJFA premiers four times, including as recently as 1897 − also disbanded.^[15] They were not replaced by any other club during the season.^[16]

Ladder

Kew was not included in the ladder at the end of the season published in The Age.^[17] The VAFA's official history stated that the "top two sides played off for [the] premiership", although this is not supported by contemporary sources.^[7]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	D	PF	PA	Pts
1	Collegians (P)	17	14	1	2			60
2	Leopold	17	10	4	3			46
3	Brighton	17	10	5	2			44
4	Parkville	17	7	6	4			36
5	Beverley	14	5	7	2	443	471	24
6	Caulfield	14	6	8	0			24
−	Kew
−	South St Kilda (W)
−	St Francis Xavier (W)		0					0

Source: ^[17][18]
(P) Premiers; (W) Club withdrew

References

1. "Football Fixtures For Today". Trove. The Age. 24 May 1899. p. 3. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
2. "Football Notes". Trove. Brighton Southern Cross. 22 April 1899. Retrieved 25 July 2024. The teams entered for the Metropolitan Associations pennant are the Brighton, Wesley Collegians, Beverley, South St. Kilda, Caulfield, Leopold, St. Francis Xaviers (Kew) and Parkville.
3. "Our History". Collegians Football Club. Archived from the original on 25 July 2024. Retrieved 25 July 2024. The Club has been Premiers of the M.J.F.A. in 1892, 1896, 1898, 1899, 1902 and 1904
4. "FOOTBALL". Trove. Brighton Southern Cross. 11 June 1898. p. 4. Retrieved 12 August 2024. St Mary's team was disqualified for rough play at last meeting of the association. Severe, but necessary in the best interests of the game.
5. Rover (9 July 1898). "FOOTBALL". The Prahran Telegraph. p. 2. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
6. "VAFA club's history 1892-2007". GameDay. Victorian Amateur Football Association. Archived from the original on 9 June 2024. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
7. "A BRIEF HISTORY" (PDF). Victorian Amateur Football Association. 9 April 2009. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
8. "METROPOLITAN JUNIOR FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION". The Age. 22 August 1899. Retrieved 25 July 2024. South St. Kilda, Leopold disbanded.
9. "FOOTBALL". The Age. 23 August 1899. In today's issue the position of clubs reads that South St. Kilda and Leopold clubs have disbanded. This should read, 'South St. Kilda and St. Francis Xaviers disbanded.' You will notice that Leopold is third on the list of clubs.
10. "1899". Old Xaverians Football Club. Archived from the original on 27 October 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
11. "Football Notes". Trove. Brighton Southern Cross. 20 May 1899. Retrieved 25 July 2024. Collegians, 16 goals 16 behinds v. St. Francis Xavier's, 2 goals.
12. "CLUB HISTORY". Kew Football Club. Archived from the original on 19 April 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2024. Resuming in 1899 in the Suburban Junior Football Association the club quickly changed competitions after Round 4 when a vacancy occurred in the more senior Metropolitan Junior Football Association (now VAFA) replacing the St Francis Xavier (now Xavier College) club.
13. "Football". The Argus. 11 July 1899. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
14. "Football". Trove. The Age. 2 August 1899. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
15. "Football Notes". Trove. Brighton Southern Cross. 27 May 1899. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
16. "Football". The Age. 19 July 1899. p. 5. Retrieved 25 July 2024. South St. Kilda and St. Francis Xavier's disbanded.
17. "METROPOLITAN JUNIOR FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION". The Age. 13 September 1899. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
18. "Beverley Football Club". Richmond Guardian. 14 April 1900. p. 2. Retrieved 13 August 2024. The number of matches played was 14, of which five were won, seven lost, and two drawn. Sixty-two goals 71 behinds were scored as against 64 goals and 87 behinds.