Among the metropolitan clubs, had the best record, finishing with eleven wins and five draws from its twenty-three matches, ahead of , whose record was seventeen wins and one draw from twenty-four matches. Despite Carlton having a superior record, at the time, Melbourne and Carlton were considered to be by far the strongest of the metropolitan clubs, with Melbourne's position as the top club based almost entirely on the head-to-head matches between the two clubs, of which Melbourne won all four. Among the provincial clubs, was by far the strongest, having gone through the season undefeated with fifteen wins and one draw from sixteen matches. However, Geelong had played only three games against metropolitan clubs (wins against West Melbourne, Carlton and Hotham), while its provincial opponents were not considered as strong as the metropolitan competition. To resolve the matter of the premiership, Melbourne and Geelong scheduled a premiership play-off match — the first in Association history — for 5 October, the week after the season was to have finished, at the MCG. Geelong won the play-off match by four goals to win the premiership.
Club records The below table details the playing records of the seven senior metropolitan clubs and in all matches during the 1878 season. Two sets of results are given: •
Senior results: based only upon games played against VFA senior metropolitan clubs •
Total results: including senior games, and games against intercolonial, up-country and junior clubs. The clubs are listed in the order in which they were ranked in
The Australasian. The VFA had no formal process by which the clubs were ranked, so the below order should be considered indicative only, particularly since the fixturing of matches was not standardised; however, the top three placings were later acknowledged in publications including the
Football Record and are considered official. The senior records include the premiership playoff match.
Playoff match == Notable events ==