The Division 1 home-and-away season was played over eighteen rounds; the top four then contested the finals under the Page–McIntyre system. The finals were played at the Junction Oval.
Ladder
Finals
Awards
The leading goalkicker for the season was Jamie Shaw, who kicked 135 goals during the home-and-away season, and 145 goals overall.
The J. J. Liston Trophy was won by Tony West, who polled 18 votes. West finished ahead of Jeff Sarau, who polled 15 votes, and Brett Chadband and Jamie Shaw, who each polled 13 votes.
Williamstown won the seconds premiership. Williamstown 20.16 defeated Preston 18.15 in the Grand Final, held on Sunday 21 September.
Williamstown also won the thirds premiership, giving it premierships in all three grades in the same season.
Division 2
The Division 2 home-and-away season was played over eighteen rounds; the top four then contested the finals under the Page–McIntyre system. The finals were played at Junction Oval.
Ladder
Finals
Awards
The leading goalkicker for Division 2 was Rino Pretto, who kicked 146 goals in the home-and-away season, and 151 goals overall.
The J. Field Medal was won by Darren Hall for the second consecutive year. Hall polled 30 votes to finish ahead of Pepe Protetto, who polled 25 votes, and Chris Rourke, who polled 23 votes.
Dandenong won the Seconds premiership. Dandenong 14.19 defeated Waverley 9.8 in the Grand Final, played as a curtain-raiser to the Division 1 Seconds Grand Final on 21 September.
In the Thirds competition, the second division was re-established from the 1986 season. The Thirds had played as a single division for the previous two seasons, after the second division was abandoned at the start of 1984.
In its first home game, at which its 1985 Division 2 flag was unfurled, Brunswick led Williamstown by fifty points late in the third quarter, before Williamstown staged a comeback to win by two points; Williamstown 20.12 d. Brunswick 20.10.
During the season, Brunswick recruited former VFL and WAFL player Mark 'Jacko' Jackson, a strong full forward better known for his larrikinism and on-field antics. Jackson's celebrity status was a drawcard for Brunswick; his first match for the club on 18 May drew a crowd of more than 10,000 to Gillon Oval, and helped the club secure $50,000 in sponsorships. Jackson was sacked by the club in mid-July after missing training.
On Saturday 19 July, the Association attempted an innovation by staging two matches as a double-header at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It was the first time an Association game had been played at the venue since the 1961 Anzac Day game, and it was the first time an Association match had been played on Saturday for more than a decade. The Association needed a crowd of 15,000 to break even on the venture, and hoped to achieve it with three of the clubs who were then in the top four on display, and with only two VFL matches scheduled for the day due to a split-round; but the crowd was a disappointing 6,253, resulting a large financial loss. In the two games, Sandringham 26.8 d. Brunswick 19.13, and Coburg 20.20 d. Frankston 18.13.
On 3 August, Mordialloc player Graeme Pelikan, playing his first senior game, was suspended for life for striking field umpire Greg Hutchinson. Hutchinson had reported Pelikan for striking two Caulfield opponents in a melee – for each of which Pelikan was suspended for four weeks – and in retaliation Pelikan punched Hutchinson in the side of the head, concussing him.
On 10 August, Williamstown set new records for the highest score and greatest winning margin in Association history, when it defeated Camberwell by the score of Williamstown 55.17 d. Camberwell 4.8. Both records still stand as of 2019.
Three separate players scored hauls of twenty or more goals in matches during the 1986 season:
*On 20 April, Rino Pretto scored twenty goals against Mordialloc – despite feeling so ill that he collapsed after the game and spent the following week in hospital with a diabetic condition.
*On 27 July, Hugh Litchfield scored twenty goals against Mordialloc.
*On 10 August, Andrew Gibson scored twenty-two goals against Camberwell.
Network Ten expanded its coverage of Association games to include one match in each of the last four rounds of the home-and-away season, plus all of the finals.
