Lead-up
According to the 1898 premiership system the eight teams in the VFL competition were divided into two sections based on their positions on the ladder: the first group were the teams that finished first, third, fifth, and seventh, and the second group were the teams that finished second, fourth, sixth, and eighth.
The teams in the two sections played three rounds of four round-robin matches on three consecutive Saturdays:
- Round One: (1) v (3), (2) v (4), (5) v (7), and (6) v (8).
- Round Two: (1) v (5), (2) v (6), (3) v (7), and (4) v (8).
- Round Three: (1) v (7), (2) v (8), (3) v (5), and (4) v (6).
The winners of the two sections were Fitzroy and Collingwood respectively (for results of all of the round-robin matches and, a week later (17 September 1898), the two teams played each other at the Brunswick Street Oval, with Fitzroy winning the match 2.10 (22) to 1.5 (11).
Read more about this topic: 1898 VFL Grand Final