Home Grounds: University Cricket Ground, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Victoria Park, Richmond City Reserve
| Round | Opponent | Venue | Date / Time | Home / Away | Result (Behinds Not Counted) |
| Bye | Ballarat Imperial | Saxon Paddock, Ballarat | May 2 | Away | Lost by 2 goals (4.5 - 6.5) |
| 1 | Essendon | East Melbourne Cricket Ground | May 9 | Away | Lost by 11 goals (0.7 - 11.17) |
| 2 | North Melbourne | University Cricket Ground | May 16 | Home | Lost by 4 goals (2.6 - 6.4) |
| 3 | Richmond | Punt Road | May 23 | Away | Won by 3 goals (6.5 - 3.2) |
| 4 | Collingwood | University Cricket Ground | May 30 | Home | Lost by 1 goal (3.10 - 4.8) |
| Bye | VFA Charity Day | M.C.G. | June 6 | N/A | Ess v Coll. Port v South. |
| 5 | St.Kilda | St.Kilda | June 13 | Away | Lost by 2 goals (3.2 - 5.11) |
| 6 | Geelong | Melbourne Cricket Ground | June 20 | Home | Drawn (1.1 - 1.13) |
| 7 | Port Melbourne | University Cricket Ground | June 27 | Home | Drawn (3.5 - 3.6) |
| 8 | Fitzroy | Melbourne Cricket Ground | July 4 | Home | Lost by 2 goals (1.2 - 3.9) |
| 9 | Footscray | University Cricket Ground | July 11 | Home | Lost by 2 goals (3.10 - 5.2) |
| 10 | South Melbourne | South Melbourne Cricket Ground | July 18 | Away | Lost by 2 goals (1.3 - 3.16) |
| 11 | Melbourne | Melbourne Cricket Ground | July 25 | Away | Lost by 4 goals (3.1 - 7.11) |
| 12 | Williamstown | University Cricket Ground | August 1 | Home | Lost by 1 goal (2.3 - 3.7) |
| Bye | N/A | N/A | August 8 | N/A | N/A |
| 13 | Footscray | Footscray | August 15 | Away | Lost by 3 goals (4.2 - 7.8) |
| 14 | St.Kilda | University Cricket Ground | August 22 | Home | Won by 2 goals (5.4 - 3.7) |
| Bye | All Matches Postponed | Due to weather | August 29 | N/A | Round played next week |
| 15 | North Melbourne | Arden Street | September 5 | Away | Lost by 5 goals (1.9 - 6.6) |
| 16 | Collingwood | Victoria Park | September 12 | Away | Lost by 8 goals (1.3 - 9.15) |
| 17 | Richmond | Richmond City Reserve, moved from University | September 19 | Home | Lost by 3 goals (2.6 - 5.5) |
| 18 | Williamstown | Williamstown Cricket Ground | September 26 | Away | Lost by 1 goal (5.3 - 6.4) |
| Pos | Team | Played | Wins | Losses | Draws | Goals For | Goals Against | Points |
| 1 | Collingwood | 18 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 86 | 55 | 58 |
| 2 | South Melbourne | 18 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 86 | 55 | 58 |
| 3 | Essendon | 18 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 122 | 64 | 56 |
| 4 | Melbourne | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 119 | 74 | 48 |
| 5 | Fitzroy | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 80 | 59 | 48 |
| 6 | North Melbourne | 18 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 92 | 80 | 34 |
| 7 | Port Melbourne | 18 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 70 | 65 | 34 |
| 8 | Williamstown | 18 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 64 | 93 | 34 |
| 9 | St.Kilda | 18 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 69 | 88 | 26 |
| 10 | Footscray | 18 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 69 | 84 | 26 |
| 11 | Geelong | 18 | 4 | 11 | 3 | 87 | 93 | 22 |
| 12 | Carlton | 18 | 2 | 14 | 2 | 46 | 90 | 12 |
| 13 | Richmond | 18 | 3 | 15 | 0 | 52 | 131 | 12 |
Collingwood and South Melbourne amazingly had the same Wins, Losses, Draws, Goals For and Goals Against, and top spot could not be determined.
A playoff to decided the premiership was agreed, so the first Grand Final was played.
At the bottom of the ladder, both Carlton and Richmond finished on the same number of points, 12.
The Blues' percentage was 51.11%. Richmond with a percentage of 39.69% took out the 1896 wooden spoon.