War had restricted the competition to just six clubs during the home and away season and Fitzroy, despite winning just six of their 15 games, qualified for the final by finishing fourth.
Fitzroy made it into the Grand Final by defeating minor premiers Collingwood by a goal a week earlier but Collingwood this time won comfortably, dominating from the opening quarter.
Alec Mutch of Collingwood was playing his 100th VFL game.
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
