The inaugural Championship was a best-of-three-game series but all future tournaments were decided by a Grand Final.

[2] In 1976, the National Football League abandoned the post-season Championship of Australia concept by establishing the NFL Night Series.

It was contested on weekday nights concurrently with the 1976 premiership season by twelve clubs – five from the VFL, four from the SANFL and three from the WAFL – who qualified based on their 1975 positions.

It is sometimes seen as a natural extension of the Championship of Australia, although 13 of the 15 games in the series were played in Adelaide which continued to provide the SANFL clubs with an advantage over their VFL and WAFL counterparts.

* Prior to 1897, behinds, although recorded, were not added to a team's score, as whoever kicked more goals won the game.