1996 VFL season
| 1996 VFL season | |
|---|---|
| Date | 6 April – 22 September 1996 |
| Teams | 18 |
| Premiers | Springvale 3rd premiership |
| Runners-up | Frankston 2nd runners-up result |
| Minor premiers | Frankston 1st minor premiership |
| J. J. Liston Trophy | Paul Dooley (Williamstown – 19 votes) |
| Leading goalkicker | Jack Aziz (Werribee – 74 goals) |
The 1996 VFL season was the 115th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), an Australian rules football competition played in the state of Victoria. The season began on 6 April and concluded on 22 September, comprising an 18-match home-and-away season over 20 rounds, followed by a four-week finals series.
Springvale won the premiership for the second consecutive season and the third time overall, defeating Frankston by three points in the 1996 VFL Grand Final.
The 1996 season was first season in which the competition was known as the "Victorian Football League", after having previously been known as the "Victorian Football Association" (VFA) – although it was the second season contested after the VFA's board of management was dissolved and administration of the competition was turned over to the Victorian State Football League (VSFL). Under the VSFL, the competition was restructured as a state league to serve as a supporting and developmental competition for the Victorian clubs in the Australian Football League (AFL), with the league beginning a new expansion into regional Victoria from this season.