The season was opened on 2 May, and concluded on 3 October with a playoff match for the premiership between the top two teams, in which Collingwood defeated South Melbourne by one goal.

It is often said that this playoff match was required because, in addition to having equal win–loss records, Collingwood and South Melbourne had finished with an equal record of goals scored and goals conceded and therefore could not be split on a tie-breaker; while this version of events is given in several modern references,[45][46] contemporary sources reveal this to be a myth.

[48] Additionally, the clubs' for-and-against records were not quite identical: Collingwood had scored one goal more than South Melbourne for the season,[44] but the fact that the tallies were so close helped to perpetuate the myth.

However, on the Tuesday, delegates from all Association clubs voted 11–8 in favour of postponing the playoff match to Saturday 3 October, the following weekend.

[47] Subsequently, Collingwood arranged to play Bendigo Football League premiers Eaglehawk at Victoria Park during Round 20, winning 6.7 – 3.6, while South Melbourne used the week as a bye.

[44] The playoff match itself was played at a high standard in front of 12,000 spectators at the East Melbourne Cricket Ground.