the weakened Association, those clubs also ended their affiliations prior to 1897. A committee set up in 1896 prior to the secession, featuring delegates both from teams which did secede and teams which did not, developed a series of rule changes which were implemented in 1897: however, since the rules were not adopted until after the secession, the two bodies elected to adopt some slightly different rule changes. Key changes were: The modern system of scoring was introduced, with six points awarded for a goal and one point for a behind, replacing the system where games were decided solely on the number of goals scored. (Adopted by both bodies) The "little mark" was abolished, with the minimum length required for a kick to be claimed as a mark increased from two yards to ten yards (Adopted by both bodies) The number of players in a team was reduced from twenty to eighteen, with two follower positions eliminated. (Later adopted by the League in 1899) Season results 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 Round 15 Round 16 Round 17 Round 18 Round 19 Round 20 Ladder Notable events Representative games The Association played one representative match during 1897, against the Ballarat Football Association at the Eastern Oval on 31 July. Other notable events Theodore Fink, MLA replaced Sir Frank Grey Smith as president of the Association. Smith had been president since 1887. Owing to work to upgrade the venue, the North Melbourne Recreation Reserve was not available during the season. played most of its home games for the season at the East Melbourne Cricket Ground, sharing it with the League's Essendon Football Club; it also played one home game at Footscray when East Melbourne was unavailable. In Round 12, only nine of the Footscray team arrived for their match against Brunswick; Footscray was forced to call on trainers, reserves and about half a dozen willing spectators to take the field in order to field a full team. Despite this unusual handicap, Footscray still comfortably won the game. The Association introduced premiership medals to be award to players of the premier club for the first time, replacing the existing practice of awarding a premiership cap to each player. See also Victorian Football League (1897–1989) List of VFA premiers History of