a football premiership final appeared to be called a "grand final" only when the losers of a final were the minor premiers and they exercised the "right to challenge" the winners to a second premiership decider. Victorian Football Association In the Victorian Football Association, which was Victoria's top level of senior football from 1877 until 1896, the premiership was typically awarded solely on the basis of the rostered premiership matches (known today as the home-and-away season). However, the VFA's rules stipulated that where two or more teams finished equal on premiership points, a playoff match or matches would be scheduled amongst those teams to decide the premiership. This was required in 1896, when and finished level on top of the ladder with records of 14 wins and one draw. The playoff match between them, which is retrospectively treated as Victoria's first Grand Final (it was actually the first match referred to as such), saw Collingwood defeat South Melbourne by 6.9 – 5.10 to win the club's first ever premiership. While there had been one previous premiership playoff match during this time in the VFA, between and in 1878, this match did not break a tie at the top of the ladder, as Geelong had a superior win–loss record to Melbourne: the match was organized to resolve a dispute between the two clubs. Victorian Football League and Australian Football League In 1897, when eight teams broke away from the VFA to form the VFL, the concept of finals football was high on the agenda, with teams buoyed by the success and attendance from the 1896 Grand Final. Over the following ten years, all top-level Australian football leagues adopted a finals structure. In 1931, the VFL adopted a system, the Page–McIntyre system, which ensured a Grand Final, and the concept became entrenched. South Australian Football Association Prior to 1889, the South Australian Football Association (SAFA, now SANFL) was awarded to the team that finished top of the end-of-season ladder placings. In 1889, Norwood and Port Adelaide finished equal first with 14 wins and one draw, meaning a play-off was required to determine the premiership. In promoting the play-off, the local press referred to it as a "premiership match". This was played on October 5, and Norwood won the match 7.4 to 5.9. In 1894, Norwood and South Adelaide finished with a 13–5 record from their 18 matches. The play-off match was fixed