AFL Victoria Country
AFL Victoria Country is an Australian rules football governing body with jurisdiction over the state of Victoria outside metropolitan Melbourne on behalf of AFL Victoria. As well as administering and promoting the code in the regions, it often arbitrates disputes in areas such as player clearances and club movements between country leagues, and may also be called upon as a higher authority of appeal. The organisation was formed as a result of a merger between Victorian Country Football League (VCFL) and AFL Victoria in November 2012.[1]
The then-VCFL aired telecasts beginning in 2010 on C31 Melbourne, along with Geelong Football League and Geelong & District Football League. The women's netball coverage also was broadcast on community TV in 2010.
Victorian Country Championships[]
It also organises the interleague Victorian Country Football Championships. The Country Championship were discontinued from 1975 before being re-established in 1978. From 2004 to 2008 the championships were decided at a carnival round-robin competition at one venue over a single weekend, with each of the four sides playing the others in matches of two twenty-minute halves. The team on top of the ladder, based on points (4 for a win, 2 for a draw) and then percentage (points scored over points conceded) after these three matches, were declared the winner. Leagues not represented in the top four pools of four participated in other interleague matches organised by the VCFL. In 2009, the championships reverted to head to head full matches on a rankings scale per year.
The winning league earned the right to hold the Ash-Wilson Trophy.
- 1954: Ovens & Murray FL
- 1955: Ovens & Murray FL
- 1956: Ballarat FL
- 1957: Ovens & Murray FL
- 1958: ?
- 1959: ?
- 1961: ?
- 1962: Bendigo FL
- 1963: ?
- 1964: South Western DFL
- 1965: ?
- 1966: Hampden FL
- 1967: Ovens & Murray FL
- 1968: Ovens & Murray FL
- 1969: ?
- 1970: Hampden FL
- 1971: ?
- 1972: Bendigo FL
- 1973: ?
- 1974: North Central FL
- 1975: N/A
- 1976: N/A
- 1977: N/A
- 1978: Goulburn Valley FL
- 1979: Latrobe Valley FL
- 1980: Latrobe Valley FL
- 1981: Ballarat FL
- 1982: Ballarat FL
- 1983: Ballarat FL
- 1984: Goulburn Valley FL
- 1985: Ovens & Murray FL
- 1986: Ballarat FL
- 1987: Ovens & Murray FL
- 1988: Geelong FL
- 1989: Bendigo FL
- 1990: Latrobe Valley FL
- 1991: Hampden FL
- 1992: Geelong FL
- 1993: Geelong FL
- 1994: Ovens & Murray FL
- 1995: Gippsland Latrobe FL
- 1996: Ovens & Murray FL
- 1997: Ovens & Murray FL
- 1998: Ovens & Murray FL
- 1999: Ovens & Murray FL
- 2000: Geelong FL
- 2001: Ovens & Murray FL
- 2002: Mornington Peninsula Nepean FL
- 2003: Ballarat FL
- 2004: Geelong FL
- 2005: Goulburn Valley FL (venue: Kardinia Park, Geelong)
- 2006: Ovens & Murray FL (venue: Lavington Sports Ground, NSW)
- 2007: Ovens & Murray FL
- 2008: Ovens & Murray FL
- 2009: Ovens & Murray defeated Goulburn Valley FL
- 2010: Goulburn Valley FL defeated Ovens & Murray FL
- 2011: Goulburn Valley FL defeated Geelong FL
- 2012: Goulburn Valley FL defeated Mornington Peninsula FL
- 2013: Geelong FL defeated Goulburn Valley FL
- 2014: Geelong FL defeated Peninsula FL
- 2015: Geelong FL defeated Goulburn Valley FL
- 2016: Geelong FL defeated Eastern FL
- 2017: Geelong FL defeated Mornington Peninsula Nepean FL
- 2018: Eastern FL defeated Geelong FL
Representative Sides[]
On occasion, a Victoria Country representative side may be selected to play in one-off fixtures against other representative teams such as interstate counterparts or the Victorian Amateur Football Association,[2] as well as the Australian Country Football Championships.
Affiliated Boards & Leagues[]
Note:[3] "Major Leagues" are shown in "Bold" / "District Leagues" are shown in "Italic".
Ballarat[]
- Ballarat Football League (Est. 1893)
- Central Highlands Football League (Est. 1979)
Bendigo[]
- Bendigo Football League (Est. 1880)
- Heathcote District Football League (Est. 1907)
- Loddon Valley Football League (Est. 1903)
- Maryborough Castlemaine District Football League (Est. 1907)
Central Murray and North Central[]
- Central Murray Football League (Est. 1997)
- Golden Rivers Football League (Est. 1919)
- North Central Football League (Est. 1930)
East Gippsland[]
- East Gippsland Football League (Est. 1974)
- Mid Gippsland Football League (Est. 1935)
- North Gippsland Football League (Est. 1955)
- Omeo & District Football League (Est. 1893)
Geelong[]
- Bellarine Football League (Est. 1971)
- Geelong Football League (Est. 1979)
- Geelong & District Football League (Est. 1879)
Goulburn Murray[]
- Goulburn Valley Football League (Est. 1894)
- Kyabram & District Football League (Est. 1932)
- Murray Football League (Est. 1931)
- Picola & District Football League (Est. 1934)
Hampden[]
- Colac & District Football League (Est. 1937)
- Hampden Football Netball League (Est. 1930)
- Warrnambool District Football League (Est. 1946)
Latrobe Valley[]
- Alberton Football Netball League (Est. 1946)
- Ellinbank & District Football League (Est. 1937)
- Gippsland Football League (Est. 1902)
North East Border[]
- Ovens & King Football League (Est. 1903)
- Ovens & Murray Football League (Est. 1893)
- Tallangatta & District Football League (Est. 1945)
- Upper Murray Football Netball League (Est. 1893)
- AFLNEB Youth Girls League (Est. 2014)
- Albury Wodonga Junior Football League (Est. ?)
- Wangaratta & District Junior Football League (Est. 1938)
South East[]
- Mornington Peninsula Nepean Football League (Est. 1987)
- Yarra Valley Mountain District Football and Netball League (Est. 1966)
South West[]
- Mininera & District Football League (Est. 1925)
- South West District Football League (Est. 1970)
- Western Border Football League (Est. 1964)
Sunraysia[]
- Millewa Football League (Est. 1926)
- Sunraysia Football League (Est. 1945)
Wimmera[]
- Horsham & District Football League (Est. 1937)
- Mallee Football League (Est. 1997)
- Wimmera Football League (Est. 1937)
References[]
- ^ "Around the Regions" (PDF). AFL Annual Report 2013. Australian Football League. p. 102. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 July 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
- ^ "Far and away, the season's clash of two cultures - Features - www.realfooty.com.au". Archived from the original on 4 March 2007.
- ^ http://www.aflvic.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Review_of_Country_Football_Report_Master_FINAL1.pdf Page 12
External links[]
- Australian rules football governing bodies
- Australian rules football in Victoria (Australia)