In 1940, the VFL competition consisted of twelve teams of 18 on-the-field players each, plus onesubstitute player, known as the 19th man. A player could be substituted for any reason; however, once substituted, a player could not return to the field of play under any circumstances. Teams played each other in a home-and-away season of 18 rounds; matches 12 to 18 were the "home-and-way reverse" of matches 1 to 7. Once the 18 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1940 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the Page-McIntyre 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
Round 15
Round 16
Round 17
Round 18
Ladder
Finals
Semi finals
Preliminary Final
Grand final
defeated Richmond 15.17 to 10.8, in front of a crowd of 69,061 people..
*The rules of the award stated that there was only one medal to be awarded in any one season. A count-back revealed that each had the same number of 3, 2, and 1 votes; and, although the controversy associated with such a criterion being applied in the case of Stan Judkins in 1930 meant that it was never used again, having played the whole 18 home-and-away matches each, they could not have been separated on the basis of the number of matches played anyway.
*The VFL announced the tied result and neither player received a medallion, but as a consequence of its 1981 decision to change its rules relating to tied Brownlow Medal contests, the AFL awarded retrospective medals to Matthews and Fothergill in 1989.
The seconds premiership was won by. Collingwood 6.16 defeated 3.12 in the Grand Final, played as a curtain-raiser to the seniors Grand Final on Saturday 28 September at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Notable events
In April 1940, Essendon adopted the nickname The Bombers.
In Round 7, Melbourne set a new record for most behinds in a match, kicking 34 behinds in a score of 12.34. This record stood until 1977.
The Round 10 match between Melbourne and Geelong produced an aggregate score of 46.29. It was the first VFL match ever to see an aggregate of more than 300 points scored.
The VFL suspended its round 15 matches and conducted a one-day lightning carnival, known as the Patriotic Premiership, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday 3 August 1940 to raise money for the war effort. Each match was played over a single twenty-minute period without time-on. 4.2 defeated 0.2 in the final. The carnival raised almost £3,000 for the war effort.
The ANFC decided to cancel the 1940 Interstate Carnival, which was scheduled to have been held in Hobart, because of the war.
In one of the most rugged seasons ever, 47 players were reported to the VFL Tribunal.
In the last quarter of the Grand Final, Jack Titus scored a goal with his last kick, bringing his season's total to 100 goals.
