1897 MJFA season
The 1897 MJFA season was the sixth season of the Metropolitan Junior Football Association.
South St Kilda won its fourth MJFA premiership, having finished won 15 of its 16 games. This was the club's final premiership before it disbanded during the 1899 season.
Association membership
Nine clubs competed in the MJFA in 1897, one less than the previous season in 1896. Malvern and Old Melburnians both withdrew after their inaugural seasons, while Nunawading also left after three seasons in the competition.South Yarra and Boroondara were both admitted into the association.
Waltham withdrawal
On 5 June, Waltham were scheduled to play against [East East Caulfield Football Club|Caulfield Football Club|Caulfield] but did not appear, with the match awarded to Caulfield. The club formally withdrew prior to the next round on 12 June, having lost all of its four games, and disbanded three days later on 15 June.Ladder
Boroondara appears to have withdrawn sometime in the latter half of the season, and were not included in end-of-season ladders published by the Oakleigh Leader and Brighton Southern Cross. The club did not play any recorded games in September 1897.| Team | ||||||||
| 1 | South St Kilda ' | 16 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 104 | 37 | 60 |
| 2 | Collegians | 16 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 96 | 37 | 52 |
| 3 | Caulfield | 16 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 50 | 52 | 40 |
| 4 | South Yarra | 16 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 68 | 54 | 36 |
| 5 | Brighton | 16 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 56 | 73 | 34 |
| 6 | St Mary's | 16 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 42 | 58 | 28 |
| 7 | Windsor | 16 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 32 | 53 | 26 |
| − | Boroondara ' | 12 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 17 | 59 | 12 |
| − | Waltham | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 17 | 0 |
Notable events
- A combined MJFA team played a game against the Fitzroy Football Club, with Fitzroy winning 5.16 to 3.11. The MJFA received 2 pounds, 12 shillings and 6 pence as its share of gate receipts from the game.