geelong (0-3) vs carlton (0-3) corio oval
geelong won their first win over carlton by 22 points. geelong (1-3) host south while carlton (0-4 play melbourne.
| Geelong | 1.2 | 4.7 | 5.9 | 5.14 | 44 | Sat 29-May-1897 3:00 pm | Corio Oval | |
| Carlton | 1.1 | 1.1 | 2.2 | 3.4 | 22 | Geelong won by 22 points | ||
south (2-1) vs collingwood (3-0) lake oval
south give collingwood their first loss by 8 points. south (3-1) travel to geelong. collingwood (3-1) host fitzroy.
| South Melbourne | 1.3 3.7 5.11 5.11 | 41 | Sat 29-May-1897 3:00 PM Venue: Lake Oval |
| Collingwood | 1.1 3.1 4.1 5.3 | 33 | South Melbourne won by 8 pts |
fitzroy (2-1) vs essendon (2-1) bruniswick street
essendon beat fitzroy by 22 points. essendon (3-1) play st kilda next. fitzroy (2-2) play collingwood next.
| Fitzroy | 0.1 1.2 1.3 2.8 | 20 | Sat 29-May-1897 3:00 PM Venue: Brunswick St |
| Essendon | 1.1 3.3 5.5 6.6 | 42 | Essendon won by 22 pts |
melbourne (3-0) vs st kilda (0-3) mcg
a much better scoring st kilda were still no match for leaders melbourne by 30 points. melbourne (4-0) host carlton next. st kilda (0-4) host essendon next.
| Melbourne | 2.3 6.6 7.7 11.10 | 76 | Sat 29-May-1897 3:00 PM Venue: M.C.G. |
| St Kilda | 2.0 3.1 5.2 7.4 | 46 | Melbourne won by 30 pts |
ladder
| ME | 4 | 16 | 178.6 |
| ES | 4 | 12 | 145.9 |
| SM | 4 | 12 | 145.2 |
| CW | 4 | 12 | 133.1 |
| FI | 4 | 8 | 129.9 |
| GE | 4 | 4 | 71.3 |
| CA | 4 | 0 | 54.5 |
| SK | 4 | 0 | 37.2 |
round 5 matches
melbourne v carlton MCG
geelong v south CO
st kilda v essendon JO
collingwood v fitzroy VP