Although Melbourne only won six of its fourteen home-and-away fixtures to finish sixth on the ladder, it won its sectional round-robin and defeated the other sectional winner, Essendon, in the semi-final for the right to face the minor premiers, Fitzroy, in the Grand Final; Fitzroy had won the previous two premierships and was aiming for a third premiership in a row.
The winner of this match would win the premiership.
Ross, J. (ed), 100 Years of Australian Football 1897-1996: The Complete Story of the AFL, All the Big Stories, All the Great Pictures, All the Champions, Every AFL Season Reported, Viking, (Ringwood), 1996. ISBN0-670-86814-0
Fitzroy's AFL operations merged with the Brisbane Bears in 1996 to form the Brisbane Lions
Fitzroy merged with the Fitzroy Reds in 2008 and has competed in the VAFA since 2009