The 1901 VFL season was the fifth season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured eight clubs, ran from 4 May until 7 September, and comprised a 17-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top four clubs. The premiership was won by the Essendon Football Club for the second time, after it defeated by 27 points in the 1901 VFL Grand Final. Premiership season In 1901, the VFL competition consisted of eight teams of 18 on-the-field players each, with no "reserves", although any of the 18 players who had left the playing field for any reason could later resume their place on the field at any time during the match. Each team played each other twice in a home-and-away season of 14 rounds. Then, based on ladder positions after those 14 rounds, three further 'sectional rounds' were played, with the teams ranked 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th playing in one section and the teams ranked 2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th playing in the other. Once the 17 rounds of the home-and-away season had finished, the 1901 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the original Argus system. Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6 Round 7 Round 8 Round 9 Round 10 Round 11 Round 12 Round 13 Round 14 Sectional Rounds Sectional Round 1 (Round 15) Sectional Round 2 (Round 16) Sectional Round 3 (Round 17) Ladder Semi finals 1st Semi Final 2nd Semi Final Grand final Awards The 1901 VFL Premiership team was Essendon. The VFL's leading goalkicker was Fred Hiskins of Essendon with 34 goals. St. Kilda took the "wooden spoon" in 1901. Notable events Fitzroy lodged an official protest against the result of the Second Semi-Final, which it lost against Essendon by one point, alleging that the goal umpire had erred in awarding Essendon's first goal because the ball had hit the post. Later in the week, Fitzroy withdrew its protest against the result, and the scheduling of the Final was not affected; an inquiry later in September found that the goal umpire had made a mistake, but no change was made to the score after the finding. Against South Melbourne in Round 6, Essendon kicked 17 behinds between its first and second goals. Only Geelong against St. Kilda in 1919 and