The Victorian Junior Football Association (VJFA) was an open age Australian rules football competition and administrative body. It was the first successful junior football competition in Melbourne, and was in existence from 1883 until 1932.
For most of its history, the VJFA was a competition of independent junior level clubs, before it eventually transitioned to become the second eighteens competition for the senior Victorian Football Association (VFA).
History During the 1870s in Victoria, junior football – which was the term used at the time for open age football of a lower standard than senior football, rather than for under age football – was mostly administered on an ad hoc basis. Several short-lived junior associations had been attempted, but none were successful until the Victorian Junior Football Association was established on 26 April 1883. Eleven clubs – , , , , , , , , , and – were represented at the inaugural meeting.
The VJFA, in addition to serving as an administrative body for junior football, ran the junior premiership. At its peak in the early 1890s when it was the only top junior football competition, more than twenty-five clubs competed, and from 1892 until 1894 the competition ran in two divisions to manage its numbers. The establishment of other junior football competitions – including the Victorian Second-Rate (1890), Third-Rate (1892) and Fourth-Rate (1893) Junior Football Associations and the Metropolitan Junior Football Association (1892) – saw numbers in the VJFA premiership decline rapidly through the 1890s, and by 1899 only seven clubs competed in the VJFA. Eight to twelve teams typically contested the premiership thereafter.
At the 1895 VJFA AGM, the competition was reduced from 20 teams to 12 teams. Those who survived were Albert-park, Albion United, Austral, Brighton, Brunswick, Collingwood Juniors, Essendon District, Fitzroy Juniors, Hawthorn, Preston, Richmond City, and West Melbourne Juniors. Some of these clubs, including Camberwell, were later readmitted to the competition.
The competition typically featured smaller clubs from districts already represented in senior football, or the top clubs from other districts. Four successful VJFA clubs from growing districts – West Melbourne, Preston, Northcote and Yarraville – ultimately went on to play senior football in the Victorian Football Association. In 1905, John Wren donated a silver shield to serve as a semi-perpetual trophy for the VJFA premiers; like many trophies of the era, it was held temporarily by the reigning premiers, then won permanently by the first team to win it three times. A total of five Wren Shields were awarded during the trophy's history.
1912 grand final
The 1912 grand final was especially controversial. Port Melbourne Railway United won the match by three points, but Yarraville successfully protested one of Railway United's second quarter goals on the grounds of goal umpire error, and the match was reversed to a three-point Yarraville victory.
Although they had the right to challenge, Railway United refused to play as its own act of protest. At a special meeting of the VJFA, it was proposed that "the club, office bearers and registered players for 1912 be disqualified for life". Although Yarraville offered to play a substitute team, it was decided that no match would be held, and Yarraville retained the 1912 premiership.
Railway United was ultimately not expelled from the VJFA, and went on to win the VJFA premiership the following season, defeating Yarraville in the 1913 grand final.
Transition to VFA seconds The VJFA had ties to the VFA from early on, with many clubs serving as the reserves team for a senior VFA club. In 1912, a rule was in place mandating that clubs align themselves to a VFA club, although that requirement was dropped in 1913.
The VJFA eventually formally transitioned to become the VFA Second Eighteens during the 1920s. This began in 1924, when the competition expanded from twelve teams to eighteen in two divisions – one division set aside for clubs who played on the same grounds as their senior VFA counterparts, and one for clubs with their own grounds. All Melbourne-based senior VFA clubs were required to affiliate with a junior team in the VJFA, and an agreement was put in place to lift some restrictions on in-season player movements between the senior or junior clubs, making the affiliated junior clubs functionally closer to seconds teams.
The divisions were called Division 1 and Division 2 in 1924, but from 1925 onwards they were known as the VJFA Section and the VFA Section.
In 1926, after the 1924 player transfer agreement ended, the VFA moved to convert its affiliated junior clubs into genuine second eighteens controlled by the senior clubs; and, starting from 1928, all other clubs were excluded and the VJFA served wholly as a VFA seconds competition, with free player interchanges between senior and junior level permitted until 1 August each year.
The VJFA can be considered to have ceased to exist, replaced by the VFA Second Eighteens, starting from the 1928 season; however, the VJFA name and the Wren Shield as a premiership trophy were both retained until the end of 1932. It was only at this point that competition was formally renamed the VFA Second Eighteens and the Wren Shield was discontinued. The VFA Second Eighteens and its successors, continued to operate until the end of the 2017 season.
Clubs Over 100 clubs are believed to have competed in the VJFA (the below list is incomplete).
Club Colours Moniker Home venue Formerleague Formed Years in VJFA VJFA premierships Fate Total Most recent Brighton Penguins Brighton Beach Oval, Brighton — 1881 1889−1891 0 — Moved to the MJFA in 1892 Britannia Brits Victoria Park, Abbotsford — 1877 1883−1891 0 — Folded in 1892 City of Northcote Croxton Park, Northcote — 1915 1915−1916;1918 0 — Folded in 1918 Collingwood District Districts Victoria Park, Abbotsford MJFA 1915 1918 0 — Moved to the VJFL in 1919 Kew Bears Victoria Park, Kew RDFA 1870 1889−1896;1920−1926 0 — Moved to the VFLSD in 1927 Port Melbourne Railway United Portsmen Richmond City Reserve, Richmond — 1902 1907−1915;1917−1927 3 1914 Folded in 1939 South Melbourne Districts Bloods — — 1912 1914−1926 1 1924 Moved to the VFLSD in 1927 Yarraville Eagles Yarraville Oval, Yarraville — 1903 1903−1927 7 1926 Moved to the VFA in 1928
Club Colours Moniker Est. Seasons Premierships Years of premierships Current league Albert Park Parkites 1895 1895−1??? 2 1896, 1897 Folded Albion United 1883 1883−1890s 0 Folded Ascot Vale 18?? 18??−1???; 1916−19?? 0 Austral 1890s−1890s 0 Folded Brighton 1885 1889−1895 0 Folded Britannia Brits 1877 1883−1891 0 Brunswick District 1915 0 Brunswick seconds Brickfielders 1865 19??−1932 2 1931, 1932Folded Camberwell Tricolours 1886 1888−94; 1913−14; 1916−19 0 Folded Cambridge Star 18?? 18??−1??? 0 Carnegie 1920s 1923−192? 0 Folded City of Northcote 1915 1915−16; 1918 0 Folded Clifton 18?? 18??−1??? 0 Coast 18?? 18??−1??? 0 Coburg 18?? 18??−1??? 0 Coburg 1891 1891−1912 0 VFL Coburg seconds 1891 1925−1932 3 1928, 1929, 1930In recess Districts 1906 1918 0 Merged Collingwood Juniors Magpies 1893 1893−1905 0 VFL East Richmond 18?? 18??−1??? 0 Electric Telegraph 18?? 18??−1??? 0 Essendon District Dons 1890s−1900s 0 Essendon Juniors Dreadnoughts 1921 0 Folded Fairfield 1??? 1916−19?? 0 Fernside 18?? 18??−1??? 0 Fitzroy Crescent 18?? 18??−1??? 0 Fitzroy Imperials 18?? 18??−1??? 0 Fitzroy Juniors Maroons 1883 2 1894, 1911 VAFA Footscray Juniors Bulldogs 1877 1883−1924 2 1907, 1915, 1918VFL Hawthorn (original) 1893 1893−1898 0 Folded Hawthorn Juniors Mayblooms 1902 1924 0 In recess Kew Bears 1876 1889−96; 1920−26 0 VAFA Kingsville 1900s−1927 1 1927 Marylebone 1883 1883−1890s 1 1891 Melbourne Juniors Redlegs 1858 1885−1924 1 1922 In recess Moonee Ponds 18?? 18??−1??? 0 Montague 18?? 18??−1??? 0 Napier Imperial 1880s−1895 1 1893 North Carlton 18?? 18??−1??? 0 North Melbourne Juniors Shinboners 1858 1890s−1??? 1 1899VFL North Park 1883 1883−1??? 5 1886, 1887, 1888, 1889, 1890 North Williamstown 1 1892 Northcote Cotes 1869 1880s−1907 2 1904, 1906Folded Northcote Diggers Diggers 19?? 1921−19?? 0 Parkside 18?? 18??−1??? 0 Pembroke 1??? 19??−1??? 0 Port Melbourne Railway United Portsmen, Ways 1902 1907−1915;1917−1927 3 1910, 1913, 1914 Folded Prahran Juniors Two Blues 1899 1920−19?? 0 Preston Tonners 1882 1912−25 5 1900, 1901, 1902, 1921, 1923VFL Preston Districts 1905 1907−1915 0 Merged Preston Star 18?? 18??−1??? 0 Richmond City Richmondites 1880s 1883−1901 0 Merged Richmond Juniors Tigers 1902 1902−1920s 0 VFL Rose of Northcote 1904 1904−1908 0 South Brunswick 18?? 18??−1??? 0 South Melbourne Districts Bloods 1912 1914−1926 1 1924 VAFA South Melbourne Juniors Southerers 1900 1901−19?? 1 1903 South Park 18?? 18??−1??? 0 South St Kilda 1883−18?? 0 Folded St Kilda Esplanade 18?? 18??−1??? 0 St Kilda Grosvenor 18?? 18??−1??? 0 Star of Brunswick 18?? 18??−1??? 0 Star of Carlton 1875 1883−1907 1 1884 Union Jack 18?? 18??−1??? 0 Waverley 1883 1883−1??? 1 1883 Werribee 1??? 1909−19?? 0 West Melbourne Westeners 1874 1880s−1908 1 1898Folded West Richmond Richmondites 1???−1901 0 Merged Williamstown seconds Seagulls, Town 1864 1885−1???; 192?−1932 4 1885, 1916, 1917, 1919 In recess Yarraville Eagles 1903 1903−1932 7 1905, 1908, 1909, 1912, 1920, 1925, 1926
Premiers The premiers of the VJFA from 1883 until the discontinuation of the Wren Shield in 1932 are given below. Premierships between 1928 and 1932 are included, but overlap with the commonly recognised VFA seconds premierships.
GF Premiership decided by a grand final where a challenge was not needed Premiership decided by a grand final replay, after the scheduled grand final was drawn Premiership decided based on the minor premiers, with no grand final required as the ladder leader was at least two wins ahead of the second-placed club Premiership decided by a challenge final under the Argus system Premiership decided by a grand final which was contested by the premiers of each division/section (1924−1927) W/L Premiership decided by full season win–loss record GF (C) Premiership decided by a game that could have been challenged by the runner-up, but wasn't
VJFA premiers