The 1908 Melbourne Carnival was the inaugural Australian National Football Carnival, an Australian rules football

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

 interstate competition. It was known at the time as the Jubilee Australasian Football Carnival as it commemorated 50 years of Australian rules football.

Teams

The Victorian team was known as the VFL

Australian Football League

The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...

 as only players from that league were eligible. They were part of 'Section A' alongside South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

 and Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

. 'Section B' consisted of the weaker states in New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

, and Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

. They were joined for the only time in carnival history, by a team representing New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

.

Players

Victorian Football League players to take part in the carnival included Barclay Bailes

Barclay Bailes

Barclay 'Titch' Bailes was an Australian rules footballer who played with Fitzroy in the VFL during the early 1900s.A wingman, Bailes transferred to Fitzroy from Perth Football Club and made his debut for the Maroons in the 1905 season...

, George Bruce

George Bruce (footballer)

George Bruce was an Australian rules footballer who played with Carlton in the VFL during the early 1900s.Bruce was a wingman and arrived at Carlton from West Adelaide. He was a member of three successive premiership sides from 1906 to 1908, the last of which came in a year when he represented...

, Bill Busbridge

Bill Busbridge

Bill Busbridge was an Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon in the early days of the VFL. A centre half back and part time ruckman, he was also known by his nickname 'Buzzy'....

, Harvey Kelly

Harvey Kelly

Harvey "Duff" Kelly was an Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne and Carlton in the Victorian Football League ....

, Rod McGregor

Rod McGregor

Rod McGregor was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League.He was a wonderful centreman for the Carlton Football Club with the ability to find targets and elude opponents...

, Dave McNamara

Dave McNamara

David J. "Dave" McNamara was a former Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League .McNamara played with St Kilda as a Centre Half-Forward....

, Robert Nash

Robert Nash (Australian rules footballer)

Robert Henry "Bob" Nash was a former leading Australian rules footballer who captained Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League and captain coached Footscray Football Club in the Victorian Football Association...

 and Joe Pearce

Joe Pearce (footballer)

Arthur Mueller "Joe" Pearce was an Australian rules footballer who played with Melbourne in the Victorian Football League...

. Western Australia had future Hall of Famers Phillip Matson

Phillip Matson

Philip Henry Matson was a highly successful player and coach of Australian rules football in the early 20th century, chiefly in Western Australia.-Early Sporting Life:...

 and Nipper Truscott

William 'Nipper' Truscott

William John "Nipper" Truscott, Jr. was an Australian sportsman...

 as well as North Fremantle's Sam Gravenall

Sam Gravenall

Sam Gravenall was an Australian rules footballer who played with St Kilda in the Victorian Football League .From Wesley College, Gravenall was a forward and had his first season at St Kilda in 1903. He didn't appear for the club again until 1906 and the following year went to Western Australia,...

. Key players for South Australia were Jack Tredrea and Magarey Medal winners Jack Mack

Jack Mack

Jack Mack was an Australian rules footballer who played with Port Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League .A follower, Mack made his debut for Port Adelaide in 1900 and played with the club until 1906 when he spent a season with Central Broken Hill. In 1907 he returned to Port...

 and James Tierney

James Tierney (footballer)

James Michael "Sorry" Tierney was an Australian rules footballer who played in the SAFA and SAFL, mainly with the West Adelaide Football Club....

. Former Collingwood player Tom Wright

Tom Wright (Australian footballer)

Thomas James 'Tom' Wright was an Australian rules footballer who played with Collingwood in the Victorian Football League ....

 was captain of New Zealand.

Results

Day One

Day Two

Day Three

Day Four

Day Five

Day Six

Day Seven

Day Eight

Day Nine

Ladders

Section A

	Team	P	W	L	D	F	A	%	Pts
1	Victoria Victoria Australian rules football team The Victorian Australian rules football team, also known as the Big V is the representative side of Victoria, Australia in the sport of Australian rules football....	3	3	0	0	346	110	314.5	12
2	Western Australia Western Australia Australian rules football team The Sandgropers is the representative side of Western Australia in the sport of Australian rules football. The team is currently the representative team of the West Australian Football League and West Australian under-age footballers.-History:...	3	2	1	0	217	228	95.1	8
3	South Australia South Australia Australian rules football team The Croweaters is the representative side of South Australia in the sport of Australian rules football. The team is currently the representative team of the South Australian National Football League and South Australian under-age footballers.-History:...	3	1	2	0	195	183	106.5	4

Section B

	Team	P	W	L	D	F	A	%	Pts
1	Tasmania	4	3	1	0	349	183	190.7	12
2	New Zealand Australian rules football in New Zealand Australian rules football in New Zealand is currently a minority sport in a nation where rugby union is the national sport and predominant football code...	4	2	2	0	169	352	47.7	8
3	New South Wales	4	1	3	0	265	298	88.9	4
4	Queensland	3	0	3	0	108	295	36.6	0

Best players

Victoria: Shea, Pearce, Busbridge, Luff, McGregor, Bailes, McNamara

Western Australia: Gravenall, Dunne, Matson, Metherell, Orr, Truscott

South Australia: Tredrea, Tierney, Le Mesurier, Gwynne, Chamberlain, Townsend

Tasmania: Lee, Mahoney, Bridges, Webb, Littler, Arnold

New Zealand: Darby, Elvidge, Wilkins, Wright, George

New South Wales: Colley, Robertson, Rahilly, Gluyas, Maxfield

Queensland: Coates, Watts, Kelly, Paget, Hicks