The current pre-season competition has its origins in a post-season competition which began in 1956 as the VFL Night Premiership. The Night Series was originally contested by the eight teams that missed the VFL finals (1956-71).
In 1977, the Night Series returned in a completely new format, as a mid-season competition with some pre-season games, and able to be contested by teams from outside the VFL. Eventually, as this format fell out of favour, the entire competition was switched to the pre-season.
All three formats are considered to be equivalent; that is, a team will usually speak of its night premierships and pre-season premierships collectively, despite the widely different formats under which they were won.
| Year | Pre-Season/ Night Series Grand Finals |
|---|---|
| 1979 | Collingwood 12.8 (80) def. Hawthorn 7.10 (52) |
| 2011 | Collingwood 1.15.9 (108) def. Essendon 0.13.8 (86) |