Australian rules football in New South Wales

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Australian rules football in New South Wales
Ar contesting-web.jpg
Two ruckmen contest the bounce in a suburban western Sydney AFL game between the East Coast Eagles AFC and Campbelltown Kangaroos AFC
Representative team
First played1877, Sydney
Registered players95,100 (total)
7,225 (adult)
Club competitions
Sydney AFL
Ovens & Murray Football League
Black Diamond Australian Football League
AFL Canberra
Sapphire Coast Australian Football League
South Coast Australian Football League
North Coast Australian Football League
Summerland Australian Football League
Tamworth Australian Football League
Audience records
Single match72,393 (2003). Sydney Swans Football Club v. Collingwood Football Club. (Telstra Stadium, Sydney)

Australian rules football has been played in New South Wales continuously since the 1870s, though for much of the 20th century it was a minor sport compared to the rugby football codes and association football. There are strongholds in the Riverina (the region of New South Wales closest to Victoria), Broken Hill/Barrier region (located near the South Australian border), the far south coast and a small but strong presence in the Newcastle and Hunter region. Among many of the state's population less familiar with the sport, particularly in Sydney, people refer to it as "AFL" as this is the name that is promoted by the governing body the Australian Football League.

The code's more recent growth in popularity in the state's capital Sydney (where the majority of the state's population lives) has been attributed to greatly to the success of the Sydney Swans[1] which relocated from South Melbourne in 1982. The Sydney Swans' first grand final in 1996, successive finals appearances and particularly its premierships in 2005 and 2012 generated wider local media and public interest in the sport.[citation needed]

Australian regional rivalries hampered the sport's growth in parts of New South Wales to such an extent that an Australian Senate enquiry into the Tasmanian AFL Bid concluded that Sydney had "insurmountable cultural barriers" to the establishment of a second AFL team in Sydney.[2] In spite of this, a second AFL team in Sydney was successfully established, GWS Giants, by the AFL in 2012.

History[]

Sydney[]

The first recorded game of Australian rules football in Sydney was between the Waratah rugby club and the Carlton Football Club in 1877, two days after a rugby game between the two clubs and 14 years after rugby was first played in the state.

Waratah and some others claimed that the Australian rules resulted in a more exciting game, but the rugby interests repeatedly rejected suggestions to switch codes or even play intercolonial matches under alternating rules against Victoria. In response, the proponents of the Australian game formed the New South Wales Football Association (NSWFA) in 1880 and in 1881 the first Australian rules game between NSW and Victoria was played in Sydney. The NSWFA was small, with only a few clubs, including Waratah which switched code in 1882, and competition did not begin in earnest until 1889, when clubs competed for the Flanagan Cup. The NSWFA had trouble gaining access to enclosed grounds and therefore gate receipts and, with antagonism between its clubs, it collapsed in 1893.[3]

The NSW Football League, later the NSW Australian Football League (NSWAFL), was formed on 12 February 1903 at a meeting held in the YMCA Hall in George St. The NSWAFL promoted the game in schools and the Victorian Football League (VFL) held premiership matches in Sydney in an effort to expand the code. In 1908, largely through the switch of the popular and talented Dally Messenger to the paid football code of rugby league, that sport established itself into the culture of Sydney. Although Australian football remained popular, the NSWAFL was still denied access to enclosed grounds and the new professional code of rugby league further lured players from Australian rules. By 1911, Australian rules had achieved more support than rugby union, according to The Referee but only because support had shifted to rugby league.[4]

The Australian National Football carnival of 1933 was held at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Several matches drew large crowds, particularly those involving New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and West Australia.

A New South Wales player marks over a West Australian opponent in the goal square at the 1933 Australian Football Carnival held at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The teams are New South Wales and Western Australia. (Photographer: Sam Hood.)

Following the successful interstate football carnival, in 1933 a proposal by the New South Wales Rugby League to amalgamate Australian football and rugby league was investigated and a report, with a set of proposed rules, known as Universal football, was prepared by the secretary of the NSWRL, Harold R. Miller and sent to the Australian National Football Council. A trial game was held in secret, but the plans were never instituted.

Three of the original NSWAFL clubs are still in existence and currently play in the Sydney AFL — North Shore, East Sydney (now UNSW-ES) and Balmain, but the league remained almost entirely amateur with limited audience following and sponsorship.

The St. George and Sutherland Shire Junior Australian Football Association was established in southern Sydney and consisted of Penshurst Junior Australian Football Club (JAFC) "Panthers", Miranda JAFC "Bombers", St. Patricks Ramsgate later Ramsgate JAFC "Rams", Heathcote JAFC "Hawks", Cronulla JAFC "Sharks" and, earlier, Peakhurst, Como-Jannali, Boys' Town, Cronulla "Blues" clubs and St. Patricks Sutherland.

The first professional VFL/AFL players from Sydney and the Sydney AFL did not begin to emerge until the 1980s. Russell Morris was one of the early players to make the grade, followed by Sanford Wheeler, Mark Roberts, Greg Stafford, Nick Davis and Lenny Hayes. In recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in AFL players coming from the Sydney region, and in 2007, a total of 11 AFL players identified themselves as coming from this region.[5]

Riverina[]

Australian Football was introduced to the Riverina region of New South Wales in Wagga Wagga in 1881 with a match between sides from Wagga Wagga and Albury. Subsequently, a local competition formed in 1884 around Wagga Wagga. The league went through many incarnations including the Murrumbidgee District Football Association (1897), Wagga United Football Association (1898–1921), Riverina Mainline Competition (1922–24), Rock and District Association (1925–1926), Wagga and District Association (1926), Wagga Football Association (1928–1957).

In these early days, the league produced champion players including Haydn Bunton, Sr..

The South Western District Football League commenced in 1894 and the Farrer Football League commenced in 1957.

During the 1970s, the region produced many great footballers including the famous Daniher family, Terry Daniher, Neale Daniher, Anthony Daniher and Chris Daniher.

In 1982, at the instigation of the Victorian Country Football League (who had jurisdiction over the area at the time), the South Western District Football League, the Farrer Football League and the Central Riverina Football League were all combined into the Riverina Football League and the Riverina District Football League. The district league reverted to the Farrer Football League in 1985.

In 1995, these two leagues came under one umbrella of the .

Further south towards the Murray River, the Ovens & Murray Football League including teams from Albury formed as the Ovens & Murray Football Association in the early 1900s. Clubs also formed in the smaller towns around 1900 and played ad hoc fixtures against each other, as well as organising formal competitions during the 1900s and 1910s in southern Riverina such as the Coreen & District Football League (formed as the Coreen Football Association), the Hume Football League and the Albury & District Football League. At the conclusion of the 2007 season the Coreen league was disbanded with most of its clubs joining the Hume league for the 2008 season.

In the modern era, the Riverina has produced a wealth of players for the VFL/AFL, including champion players including Wayne Carey, Paul Kelly, Dennis Carroll, John Longmire, Leo Barry, Shane Crawford and Brett Kirk. Some other players from the region to have played AFL level football include Isaac Smith (footballer), Luke Breust, Zac Williams, Dean Terlich and Sam Rowe.

Australian rules football is the most popular sport in Albury and equal in popularity with rugby league in Wagga Wagga, but is behind rugby league as the largest sport in Griffith.

Western New South Wales[]

Australian football was first played in Broken Hill in 1885 between Day Dream and Silverton. Informal competition began in 1888 between 4 clubs. The Barrier Ranges Football Association formed in 1890, which later became the Broken Hill Football League. In recent years, the area has produced such players as Dean Solomon, Brent Staker and Taylor Walker. Stephen Hywood played on the Half Back Flank for Richmond in the 1972 Grand Final losing to Carlton. Due to transfer problems he resumed his career at Glenelg in 1973 and played in the 1973 Glenelg Premiership team. Hywood was seen as one of the best Back Flankers ever to play the game.

[1]

Newcastle[]

Australian football was introduced to Newcastle, New South Wales in 1883 when the Wallsend and Plattsburg Football Club was formed by miners from Ballarat.[6]

In 1888, the , Australia's oldest existing and active sporting trophy, was first awarded to the champion team in the region.[6][7][8] In 1889 a donation of five guineas by Northern Districts Football Association (Australian Rules) patron[9] Mr. Stewart Keightley and a further donation of five guineas by the proprietors of the Newcastle Morning Herald led to the procurement of the Junior Challenge Cup.[10] This Cup was supplied by A. J. Potter (Alfred John Potter), watchmaker and jeweller of Hunter Street Newcastle.[11]

Five clubs were established in the Newcastle area: Newcastle City, Wallsend and Plattsburg, Northumberland, Lambton, and Singleton.

In 1883, a touring South Melbourne Football Club defeated a combined Northern District team by only one goal.

In 1888, a touring c defeated Wallsend by 10 goals to 5. The following year, Wallsend defeated Fitzroy.

Isaac Heeney was drafted by the Sydney Swans in 2014 making him the first Newcastle-born footballer to play in the AFL.

South Coast[]

The game was first played at a senior level in 1969.[2] There are eight teams that compete in the AFLSC senior's competition and eleventeams in the reserves. In terms of junior numbers there has been a significant expansion since 1999. [3] AFL players to have come from the South Coast include Arthur Chilcott, Aidan Riley and Ed Barlow.[12]

North Coast[]

The game was first played in the Coffs Harbour area as late as 1978. The North Coast Australian Football League was formed in 1982 and grew rapidly with up to 8 clubs by 2000. In recent years the number of clubs has declined due to Woolgoolga, Nambucca, Kempsey and Urunga folding. North Coffs and South Coffs were forced to merge before the start of the 2015 season due to lack of player numbers. The area has produced AFL players including Sam Gilbert.

VFL / AFL competition in NSW[]

Sydney Swans[]

The debt ridden South Melbourne Football Club's team was moved to Sydney in 1982 and was renamed the Sydney Swans. It became the first team based outside of Victoria and represented the VFL's first serious attempt to broaden its competition, culminating in its extension into a national competition and renaming to the Australian Football League. One of the unfortunate consequences of the relocation of Swans from South Melbourne to Sydney was the attraction of support, including sponsorship away from the local Australian rules football clubs and leagues and there was an initial decline in the sport locally. The Swans' debt, much of it to the AFL not only hung over attempts to establish the Sydney Swans but now burdened Australian rules football in New South Wales.

On 31 July 1985, Dr Geoffrey Edelsten, through Powerplay Limited, bought the Sydney Swans for $2.9 million in cash with debt payments, funding and other payments spread over five years (rumoured to be a total of $6.3 million). Powerplay was floated and sold shares to supports and the public but with only a licence to the team and debts the uptake was poor. Within less than twelve months, Edelsten resigned as chairman and by 1988 the licence was sold back to the VFL for just $10. Losses were in the millions. The AFL appointed a board to operate the team. Board members Mike Willesee and Craig Kimberley together with Basil Sellers, Peter Weinert as a consortium known as the Private Ownership Group purchased the licence and operated the Sydney Swans until 1993, when the AFL again took over ownership of the team.

With substantial monetary and management support from the AFL, the Sydney Swans continued and with player draft concessions in the early 1990s, has fielded a competitive team throughout the decade. In 1996 the Swans lost the grand final to North Melbourne, which had been their first appearance in a grand final since 1945. The game was played in front of 93,102 at the MCG. Since 1996, the Swans have made the finals in each season except 2000, 2002, 2009 and 2019.

The culmination of the recent success was the 2005 premiership against the West Coast Eagles played in front of 91,898 at the MCG, taking the flag to Sydney for the first time and breaking a 72-year drought for the club from when it was based in South Melbourne. It also broke the longest premiership drought in the history of the competition.[13] Another flag followed not long after, in 2012.[14]

The AFL had eventually established the Swans in Sydney but the model of off-loading a debt-laden team to a new market had resulted in enormous cost to the AFL passed on to its other member clubs and ultimately supporters. Despite the eventual success of the Swans, the former Melbourne based club had struggled for many years to gain support of the Sydney public and the AFL and Australian rules football are still behind rugby league in the Sydney market.

Greater Western Sydney Giants[]

The Australian Football League expressed intentions to invest in junior development in the growing Sydney market, particularly in Sydney's west and compete head on with the established rugby football codes.

A second team in Sydney became a key strategy of the AFL. North Melbourne Football Club, which was suggested as a likely candidate for relocation, played several home games in Sydney in 1998 but poor crowds led to the Kangaroos abandoning this. The Western Bulldogs have been also suggested as a candidate for relocation.

In 2005, the AFL went on a Sydney-centric recruitment drive, offering a NSW scholarships program and young apprentice scheme.[15] By 2007, at least two of the NSW and ACT scholarship recipients had been officially promoted to AFL rookie lists, qualifying them for selection in the senior squad in the event of long term injury to listed players.

In 2008, the AFL stated their intention to establish a second team in Sydney to be based in the western suburbs, as part of the expansion of the competition. This process was completed with the establishment of the Greater Western Sydney Giants who played for a season in the North East Australian Football League prior to commencing competition in the Australian Football League in 2012. The Giants struggled in their early years, winning only three games in their first two seasons, but since then made gradual progress up the ladder, culminating in a Grand Final appearance in 2019.[16] Although the Giants have been somewhat successful, the club has done little to influence the strength of rugby league in the Western Sydney area.

AFL NSW/ACT Commission Limited[]

The AFL established the AFL NSW/ACT Commission Limited to govern its expansion in NSW and the ACT.

Participation[]

In 2007, there were 7,225 senior players in NSW and the ACT and in 2006 a total of around 95,100 participants.[17] Although Australian rules football was one of the fastest growing sports in the state, the overall participation per capita was only about 1%, the lowest in Australia. [4][permanent dead link].

The Australian Bureau of Statistics "Children's Participation in Cultural and Leisure Activities, Australia, Apr 2009" estimated 18,000 Australian rules football participants in NSW and 1,400 in the ACT.[18](table 22) The ABS utilised a small sample size of 20,126 private dwelling in obtaining their data of participation numbers for 2011/12.[19]

The AFL reported that for 2011, 131,829 people played Australian rules football in NSW and the ACT. This figure included 41,626 Auskick registrations. In 2012, the figure was 148,230 people of which 48,965 were Auskick registrations.[20] In 2013, the number of Australian football participants in NSW and the ACT had jumped up to 177,949 of which 47,888 were Auskick participants. According to the AFL Football Record this means that the only state that has more Australian football players is Victoria. NSW has now eclipsed Western Australia in participation.[21]

Audiences[]

Attendance Record[]

Attendances[]

In 2006, the Sydney Swans averaged 41,205 people through the gate per home match. In 2013, the average had decreased to 29,104 with the suggestion that this was partly due to the redevelopment of the Bradman Stand at the SCG.[22]

Major Australian rules football events in New South Wales[]

  • Australian Football League premiership season (Sydney Swans and Greater Western Sydney Giants)
  • Australian Football League NSW Derby – Swans v Giants (held twice annually at ANZ Stadium starting in 2012)
  • Annual Exhibition Match (North Sydney Oval) Sydney Swans vs Essendon

Notable players[]

See also: Category:Australian rules footballers from New South Wales
Australian football pioneer Tom Wills was born in New South Wales.

A number of notable players have been born in New South Wales or played the majority of their junior careers in New South Wales; many of these players have been from the traditional Australian rules football areas of Broken Hill or the Riverina. Australian football pioneers Tom Wills and H. C. A. Harrison were born in New South Wales in the 1830s.

Notable players from the Riverina include: Australian Football Hall of Fame Legend Haydn Bunton, Sr. (Albury), who was the first player born in New South Wales to win the Brownlow Medal and the Sandover Medal, in 1931 and 1938 respectively; Shane Crawford (Finley), became the second player from New South Wales to win the Brownlow in 1999; and Wayne Carey (Wagga Wagga), won the Leigh Matthews Trophy twice in the 1990s. Notable players from Broken Hill include Dave Low, Robert Barnes and Bruce McGregor, who all won Magarey Medals in the 1910s and 1920s, and Jack Owens, a three-time South Australian National Football League (SANFL) leading goalkicker.

Many notable players have also been recruited from Sydney, as the game has had a long history, having been played in the city since 1880. This pre-dates many other major sports.[23] Despite the lack of media attention the game has received, Sydney has still generated many players of high quality. Some of the best include Roger Duffy (1954 premiership player who was recruited from Newtown), Michael Byrne (1983 premiership player with Hawthorn who was recruited from the Sydney club of North Shore), Bob Merrick (a leading goal kicker in the 1920s recruited from East Sydney), Mark Roberts a 202 game AFL player from 1985 to 1999 who played junior football for Ramsgate AFC and senior football for St. George AFC before playing in the AFL for the Sydney Swans, Brisbane Bears and North Melbourne, notably in their 1996 premiership, Greg Stafford (a 200-game player recruited from Western Suburbs in Sydney), Jarrad McVeigh (2012 AFL premiership captain), Lewis Roberts-Thomson (2005 & 2012 premiership player for the Swans) and Lenny Hayes (2010 Norm Smith Medallist) amongst others.[24]

Representative Team[]

The New South Wales representative team, nicknamed the Blues, played Interstate matches against other Australian states and Territories. The highlight for the Blues came in 1990 when they defeated the traditional powerhouse state of Victoria by 10 points at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The team later merged with the Australian Capital Territory team, to form the NSW/ACT Rams. Notable players to represent NSW/ACT include Brownlow Medalists Shane Crawford and James Hird, as well as Wayne Carey. The team later combined with Northern Territory, Queensland and Tasmania to form Allies. Interstate football ceased in 1999 and has not since returned at senior level, apart from a one off hall of fame tribute match in 2008, to celebrate the 150 anniversary of the sport, and a one off Bushfire Relief Match in 2020 to raise money for victims of the 2019-20 bushfires.

New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory are represented at the under 18 level and in the TAC Cup.

See Also Interstate matches in Australian rules football

Principal venues[]

Sydney Sydney Sydney
Stadium Australia Sydney Cricket Ground Sydney Showground Stadium
Capacity: 82,500 Capacity: 48,000 Capacity: 25,500
ANZ Stadium, Essendon.jpg At the footy (3539361744).jpg Skoda Stadium Scoreboard.jpg

Sydney[]

Regional NSW[]

References[]

  1. ^ https://www.smh.com.au/sport/is-sydney-finally-an-afl-town-20180427-p4zbzl.html Is Sydney finally an AFL town?]
  2. ^ Sydney too weak for second AFL team, Senate says Archived 27 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine from heraldsun.com.au
  3. ^ M. P. Sharp, Football in Sydney before 1914 Archived 3 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine, Sporting Traditions Vol 4 No 1 November 1987.
  4. ^ S. Fagan, 'Rules' Almost Had Sydney's Paddock Archived 17 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine in rl1908.com, 2006.
  5. ^ Hot Spots – Breeding Grounds of Today's AFL Footballers Archived 2 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine from theage.com.au
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b "Football gold mined in coal country". Australian Football 150 Years. Australian Football League. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
  7. ^ "History of football in this league". Black Diamond AFL. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
  8. ^ "Black Diamond Football League Kicking Goals in Grassroots Administration". SportingPulse. 30 September 2002. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
  9. ^ "LOCAL NEWS". The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser. XLVI (6394). New South Wales, Australia. 18 April 1889. p. 5. Retrieved 14 July 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ "NORTHERN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate. XVI (11, 064). New South Wales, Australia. 17 April 1889. p. 3. Retrieved 14 July 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. ^ "A FOOTBALL TROPHY". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate. XVI (11, 106). New South Wales, Australia. 7 June 1889. p. 8. Retrieved 14 July 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. ^ Wilks, M. (2011) Australian football clubs in NSW Bas Publishing. p. 141
  13. ^ "Finals Flashback: 2005 AFL Grand Final". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 26 September 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  14. ^ "Swans snatch victory in classic grand final". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 1 October 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  15. ^ AFL courts Sydney market Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine ABC Radio transcript
  16. ^ McGowan, Marc. "Gargantuan: Depleted Giants shock Pies to reach first Grand Final". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  17. ^ More chase Sherrin than before – realfooty.com.au Archived 4 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 22 May 2016. Retrieved 2010-12-19.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  19. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2013-11-02.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  20. ^ Ed. Michael Lovett (2012) AFL Record Season Guide 2012 & 2013. Slattery Media Group. p 1008 & 1034
  21. ^ Ed. Michael Lovett (2013) AFL Record Season Guide 2013. Slattery Media Group. p 1066
  22. ^ "Sydney Swans Crowds and Match Attendances". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
  23. ^ "CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF NSW FOOTBALL – NSW Australian Football History Society Inc". Archived from the original on 29 July 2016. Retrieved 2014-01-25.
  24. ^ Wilks, M. (2011) Australian football clubs in NSW Bas Publishing. ISBN 9781921496134 p. 61 & 75<

External links[]

Leagues & Clubs[]

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