Australian Football League
Encyclopedia
The Australian Football League (AFL) is both the governing body
and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football
. The term is sometimes mistakenly used as the name of the code itself.
The AFL premiership season currently consists of 24 home and away rounds, followed by the finals series and the season concludes with the AFL Grand Final
at which the winning team receives the premiership cup.
The AFL was formerly known as the Victorian Football League (VFL). It was renamed the Australian Football League due to the VFL's governing body's decision to market the competition as an officially national league in 1990. This was following expansion into New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia
in the 1980s.
Through the AFL Commission
it gained control over the game at most levels and controls the Laws of the Game
through the AFL Rules Committee (consisting of members from the AFL Players Association
). The Commission pushes for all affiliated leagues and bodies to co-brand
with the league (although some state and local associations have sternly resisted). The AFL is also recognised as the world governing body of Australian football by the majority of larger international leagues.
The AFL is the most attended sporting league in Australia
and one of the two most watched sports in Australia. It is also currently the third-most attended professional sports league in the world in terms of attendance per match, with an average attendance of 38,417. It is also the most financially strong sports league in the country due to substantial media and corporate sponsorship arrangements.
In national terms, however, Australian football
is not the most popular sport in all areas of the country. In recent decades, the AFL has increasingly focused on regions behind the "Barassi Line
", particularly in metropolitan areas (its "developing markets") where the league and sport has traditionally struggled. The league has granted concessions to teams based in these regions and invested large amounts of development funding. As a result, participation is increasing in New South Wales and Queensland.
Many of the current AFL teams date back to the beginnings of the sport of Australian rules football, including the very first club, Melbourne Football Club
(1859), a foundation VFL/AFL club whose founders also first codified the sport in 1859. The Victorian Football League, commonly known as the VFL, started in 1897 with eight teams from the Victorian Football Association (VFA): Carlton
, Collingwood
, Essendon
, Fitzroy
, Geelong
, Melbourne
, South Melbourne
, and St Kilda. Richmond
and University
entered in 1908, but University disbanded in 1915. In 1925, Footscray (later known as the Western Bulldogs
), Hawthorn
and North Melbourne
entered the competition. It remained in this 12-team single-state configuration until 1982 when South Melbourne relocated to Sydney, New South Wales
to become the Sydney Swans
.
The next phase of national expansion occurred in 1987, with the introduction of the West Coast Eagles
from Western Australia and the Brisbane Bears
from Queensland. The league was renamed the Australian Football League in 1990 to reflect the expanded nature of the competition. South Australia was first represented in 1991 when the Adelaide Football Club joined the league. The Fremantle Football Club
joined as the second WA team in 1995. After the 1996 season the Brisbane Bears merged with Fitzroy, creating the Brisbane Lions
in 1996 and the Port Adelaide Football Club
joined to maintain the league at 16 teams. In 2011, the Gold Coast Football Club joined the AFL, while Greater Western Sydney will expand the competition to 18 teams in 2012.
In March 2008, the AFL won the support of the league's 16 club presidents to establish a side on the Gold Coast
. In June 2008 it was announced that the new team would play in the TAC Cup in 2009 before being promoted to play in the AFL Premiership from 2011. On 31 March 2009 the AFL issued a provisional licence to the Gold Coast Football Club. The team debuted in the TAC Cup as planned in 2009. Their nickname, the Suns, and their playing colours were unveiled on 22 July 2010. Their first official match against other AFL teams was on 19 February 2011, when they played against both the GWS Giants and the Sydney Swans
in a triangular NAB Cup season-opener, comprehensively defeating the GWS Giants and narrowly winning against Sydney. In the AFL premiership season, their debut game was against Carlton
at the Gabba on 2 April 2011, which is the second round of the season as they had a bye
in the first round.
Greater Western Sydney Football Club was granted a licence in 2010 and is due to enter the league in 2012. The introduction of a club from Western Sydney has been met with much skepticism, as it is seen to be disadvantaging other clubs in its push to be successful in the first 10 years, as well as being an unreasonable situation from which to draw an AFL fan base. Nevertheless, they made their professional debut against other AFL teams on 19 February 2011, when they played against and in a triangular NAB Cup season-opener, losing both matches by a significant margin.
The AFL has also considered a bid from the Tasmanian government for a licence for a Tasmanian team
.
In April 2009, the then Premier of Tasmania, Paul Lennon
, had a meeting with the AFL to discuss the possibility of a new team based in Tasmania. Canberra and Darwin are also sometimes suggested as future locations for teams. However they have been ruled out by the AFL primarily on economic and demographic grounds.
They last competed in 1914 and withdrew the following season due to the start of the First World War and did not reapply to join the league after the war ended. They still compete to this day in the Victorian Amateur Football Association
. Two other clubs, the Fitzroy Football Club
(Fitzroy Lions) and the Brisbane Bears
merged in 1996 to form the Brisbane Lions
.
In 1982, South Melbourne Football Club
relocated to Sydney to become the Sydney Swans
and in 1997 the Footscray Football Club was renamed to the Western Bulldogs
. From 1999 to 2006 North Melbourne were known as simply the Kangaroos. These changes are not considered by the AFL to have created new clubs, but just changes in name or location.
† These teams are part-time tenants through commercial/promotional agreements.
~ Greater Western Sydney will play 4 games a year in Canberra for 10 years, under an agreement with the ACT government.
^ These teams are part of a new deal involving the AFL and Northern Territory Government
that will see Melbourne, Richmond and the Western Bulldogs share two regular season matches at Marrara Stadium for seasons 2010 and 2011. Port Adelaide
will be the away team in each of these games.
* There are a number of new stadiums proposed to accommodate AFL matches at various stages of planning, including a new 60,000-seat stadium in Perth and a "boutique stadium" in Melbourne, as well as redevelopments of Bellerive Oval
in Hobart, Adelaide Oval
in Adelaide, and Eureka Stadium
in Ballarat.
The AFL has tight controls over the player lists of each club; each club can have a senior list of 40 players plus up to ten rookie or veteran players. From 2006, up to two international rookies are also permitted. Clubs can only trade players during a "trade week" at the end of each season and can only recruit new players through the AFL Draft
. The rules for the draft have changed every few years since it was introduced in 1986, but the basic philosophy remains in that players are selected by clubs in the reverse of the order of their positions on the ladder at the end of the preceding season. That is, the club that finished last has first draft selection, then the club that finished second last. However, this philosophy has been compromised by giving priority picks to clubs which win fewer than four matches during the season and by allowing clubs to select sons of former players under the Father-Son Rule
which itself has been varied over the years.
A salary cap
(known as the Total Player Payments or TPP) is also in place as part of the league's equalisation policy; in 2011, this is set at A$8,212,500 with a salary floor of A$7,596,562.50 for 2011 (except for the Gold Coast expansion team, whose salary cap will be A$9,212,500 with a salary floor of A$8,596,562.50). Salaries of draft selections are fixed for two years. Salaries for senior players are not normally released to the public, although one report put the average for 2011 at $211,000 and the top few players can expect to earn up to $1,000,000 a year.
The breaches of the salary cap and salary floor regulations outlined by the AFL are exceeding the TPP, falling below the salary floor, not informing the AFL of payments, late or incorrect lodgement or loss of documents, or engaging in draft tampering. Penalties include fines of up to triple the amount involved ($10,000 for each document late or incorrect lodged or lost), forfeiture of draft picks and/or deduction of premiership points; the latter penalty has never been implemented for any of the breaches that have occurred.
In 2002, Carlton were fined $987,500 and barred from receiving priority picks, from the first two rounds of the National Draft for two years and from the 2003 pre-season draft after an AFL investigation found that they had committed serious and systematic breaches of the salary cap totaling $1.37 million between 1998 and 2001. The fine was an Australian sporting record until the Melbourne Storm
NRL team were fined $1.689 million in 2010 for gross long-term salary cap breaches
.
There were 801 players on AFL club senior, veteran, rookie and international lists in 2011, including players from every state and mainland territory of Australia.
drafted as part of the Irish Experiment
. The other two players are Seamus McNamara
and Mike Pyke
, recruited from the United States
and Canada
respectively.
There were also another five overseas-born players who emigrated to Australia at an early age on AFL lists.
An International Rookie List and International Scholarship List were introduced in 2006. The International Rookie List comprises up to two players between the ages of 15–23 who are not Australian citizens. These players may remain on this list for up to three years before they must be transferred to the senior or rookie list. For the first year, payments made to international-rookie-listed players fall outside the salary cap. The International Scholarship List gives AFL clubs the option of recruiting up to eight players from outside Australia (other than Ireland). Irish players are required to either be placed on clubs' senior or rookie list
s. There are currently 14 international scholarship players.
, each team will play 22 games, and have two byes. The McClelland Trophy
is awarded to the team that finishes the home and away rounds in first position (the minor premiership).
At the end of the 24 rounds, the top eight teams compete in the four-week AFL Finals Series
. In the first week the top four teams play in qualifying finals (1st vs 4th and 2nd vs 3rd), the two winning qualifying finals teams progress directly into the two preliminary finals in the third week, with the other four teams playing in elimination finals (5th vs 8th and 6th vs 7th). In the second week the two losing teams from the qualifying finals play the two winning teams from the elimination finals in the semi-finals. The winners of the qualifying finals play the winners of the semi-finals in the preliminary finals. The two winning preliminary final teams play in the grand final in the fourth week of the finals.
The premiership winning team is the team that wins the grand final.
The winning team receives a premiership cup – there is a new one manufactured every year which the winning team gets to keep with the year engraved on it - premiership medallions and a premiership flag.
The premiership flag is a large triangular flag which is blue with a white border and has the AFL logo on it as well as the word "premiers" and the year – there is a new one manufactured every year which the winning club gets to keep. It is tradition to unfurl it at the first home game of the season the following year in front of the home supporters.
The grand final has traditionally been played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
on the last Saturday in September. Recent exceptions to this were in 1991, when the MCG was being redeveloped and the grand final was played at Waverley Park
, and 2000 when the grand final was played in early September as the Sydney Olympics started on 15 September. In 2011, due to the expanded season, the grand final is due to be played on 1 October.
The premiership cup is silver (with the exception of 1996 when a gold cup was awarded instead of the usual silver one in the AFL/VFL's 100th season) and manufactured by Cash's International at their metalworks in Frankston, Victoria
. The cup was first introduced in 1959 by the VFL and, before this, the award was a pennant known by supporters simply as "The Flag". The AFL has since retrospectively awarded the premiers trophies based on the current design. Before the 1960s, premiership players received a personal premiership trophy instead of a medallion.
(where teams play in old style guernseys
). Some matches are also themed for special events. For example, each year Collingwood play Essendon in the annual ANZAC Day match
at the MCG and the game will typically sell out regardless of the positions of the two teams on the ladder due to their strong rivalry and huge followings. Another annual match is the Queen's Birthday game between Melbourne and Collingwood. As of 2006, Richmond and Essendon play in the Dreamtime at the 'G
match. There are separate trophies for the matches between several clubs and former rivalries such as the Lake Trophy between St Kilda and the Sydney Swans.
The pre-season competition has mostly been contested as a four-week knock-out tournament, although with the expansion beyond sixteen clubs in 2011, the first week has been replaced by a three-team round-robin of half-length matches. Teams play exhibition matches on weekends after being eliminated. The competition has frequently been used to trial rule changes.
The final was played at Waverley Park most years until the ground was sold by the league in 1999. Since then, the finals have been mostly played at Docklands Stadium, but interstate clubs can earn the right to host the final, and three of the finals have been played in Adelaide. The player judged best on the ground in the final is awarded the Michael Tuck Medal
, in honour of the footballer who played more league matches (426) than any other.
. Melbourne Football Club
was formed on 14 May that year. At a couple of meetings over the next week or so, at the Parade Hotel in East Melbourne, a group of about seven men, including Tom Wills
, W.J. Hammersley
and J. B. Thompson
, wrote the first rules for Australian football. By 1866, several other clubs had also adopted an updated version of Melbourne's rules. In 1877, the amateur Victorian Football Association
was established.
which was the first Australian rules competition in Victoria, second in the country after the South Australian Football Association. The first games were played in 1897
between the foundation clubs – Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong, Melbourne, St Kilda and South Melbourne.
Jack Elder
was declared the Umpire of the Century to coincide with the Team of the Century. Since the naming of this side, most AFL clubs have nominated their own teams of the century. An Indigenous Team of the Century
was also selected in 2005, featuring the best Aboriginal players of the previous 100 years from both the VFL/AFL and other state leagues.
Being the dominant league drawing many of the country's best players, the Victoria Australian rules football team
(nicknamed the "Big V" and composed mostly of VFL players) dominated interstate matches until the introduction of State of Origin selection criteria by the Australian Football Council (of which the VFL was a member) in 1977.
The AFL Commission assumed control of interstate football in 1993 and co-ordinated an annual State of Origin series typically held during a mid-season bye round. However after the 1999 series, the AFL declared the concept of interstate football "on hold" citing club's unwillingness to release star players and a lack of public interest and shifted its focus of representative football to the International Rules Series where it draws a greater television revenue.
The last time AFL players played interstate football was in the 1999 State of Origin Series when Victoria inflicted a massive defeat on South Australia in wet conditions in front of a crowd of 26,063. Just 10 years earlier, the same match with a plethora of star players attracted a crowd of 91,960.
Some past AFL players participate and help promote the E. J. Whitten Legends Game
, however this event is not affiliated with or promoted by the AFL.
While many fans (particularly those outside Victoria) had hoped for a traditional interstate series, the AFL instead held an All-Star event featuring the senior Victorian team against a composite "Dream Team
".
While the crowd and television audience for the match was impressive and the AFL debated the merits of reintroducing state football, Andrew Demetriou since stated that there is little chance that even an All-Star match will be repeated.
.
is responsible for the administration of the AFL. It was established in December 1985 after club parochialism and self interest threatened to undermine the competition.
The Commission's chairman is Mike Fitzpatrick
, a former Subiaco and Carlton player, and the Chief Executive is Andrew Demetriou
. After playing for North Melbourne and Hawthorn, Demetriou had a successful business career before returning to the football world as chief executive of the AFL Players Association
. He then crossed to the AFL as Manager of Football Operations before succeeding Wayne Jackson.
The Commission's composition remains almost exclusively Victorian based with one exception, Bob Hammond
from South Australia.
In addition to administering the national competition, the AFL is heavily involved in promoting and developing the sport in Australia. It provides funds for local leagues and in conjunction with local clubs, administers the Auskick
program for young boys and girls.
The AFL also plays a leading role in developing the game outside Australia, with projects to develop the game at junior level in other countries (e.g. South Africa) and by supporting affiliated competitions around the world (See Australian football around the world).
The players of the AFL are represented by the AFL Players Association
.
1 Finals total and Finals average include Grand Final crowds.
2 Record.
3 Capacity reduced due to MCG refurbishment.
4 Crowd for the drawn Grand Final.
5 Crowd for the Grand Final Replay, played one week after the drawn Grand Final.
and Network Ten
. They owned the rights to all eight matches per round, but had on-sold four of those to pay-TV providers Foxtel
and Austar
, meaning only two were actually shown on each free-to-air network. Fox Sports
screened the other four matches live across Australia and replays for all eight matches. From 2002 - 2006, the Nine Network
, Network Ten
and Fox Footy Channel
along with their affiliated broadcast partners held the rights to Australian Football League television coverage. All Matches involving teams from Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia have been screened to viewers on free-to-air channels in their home states (including matches covered by Foxtel) during this time, as well as in past broadcast agreements.
From 2012, the AFL competition will expand to 18 teams with a new team, the Greater Western Sydney Giants (also known as the GWS Giants) joining the competition following on from the debut of the Gold Coast Suns
team in 2011. On Friday 30 October 2011, the AFL released its fixture for 2012 and announced that the 2012 home and away season will be played over 23 rounds, with three 'multi-bye' rounds of only six games. The reduced rounds - 11, 12 and 13 - will allow six teams to have a bye in each week of the three-week period. The multi-bye format has been chosen over the traditional split round as a means of giving players a break during the season. http://www.afl.com.au/newsviews/todaysnews/fixturenews/tabid/16783/default.aspx
On Thursday 28 April 2011, the AFL announced that the Seven Network
and Foxtel
and Telstra
had successfully won the rights to broadcast the 2012 - 2017 seasons on their respective networks. Telstra won the rights to broadcast one live match per week via IP Television and on their Telstra Mobile service. The deal was confirmed when the Seven Network, Foxtel and Telstra agreed to pay $A1.253 Billion to the Australian Football League to broadcast every match of every round and all of the Finals Series across their platforms. http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/112560/default.aspx
The reasons for the increased in media rights revenue came from the addition of extra matches due to two more teams joining the competition, Foxtel being granted permission by the Federal Government to bid for nearly all matches to show live, plus an increase from four to five matches shown exclusively on their platform each round, high demand for content from Telstra and the Seven Network`s desire to retain AFL rights by bidding more than Nine Network
and Network Ten
.
As part of the agreement, Austar
will broadcast Foxtel`s AFL coverage in the regional areas of Australia that are not part of Foxtel`s service area. Regional free-to-air broadcasters Prime7, GWN7, Seven Queensland
, Southern Cross Television
and WIN Television
will show Seven's coverage in their respective areas.
Foxtel
and Austar
will broadcast every match from every round of the AFL pre-season tournament, the AFL premiership season and every match of the AFL Finals Series (except for the AFL Grand Final) live across Australia. Matches will be shown live and on replay, along with magazine shows and other australian rules football themed programming through on a re-launched 24-hour a day AFL TV channel to be known as Fox Footy
. Live Match coverage will also screen across Australia on Fox Sports when other games are screening on Fox Footy
. Coverage will also be available via Foxtel`s IP television service (Foxtel on T-Box).
The Seven Network
and affiliated stations will simulcast four games from every round of the regular premiership season on Friday night, Saturday afternoon, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon with Foxtel and Austar. Games played on Public Holidays such as ANZAC Day and the Queens Birthday will also be broadcast by the Seven Network
. Seven will simulcast the AFL Finals Series live with Foxtel
and will broadcast the AFL Grand Final
exclusively live, with Foxtel
broadcasting the Grand Final on replay. Under the terms of the new agreement, the matches that are broadcast by the Seven Network and their affiliates will vary for different regions of Australia.
Matches will be broadcast live into Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory on the free-to-air (digital-only) multi-channel: 7mate
. Matches will be broadcast either live or on delay into all other states on the primary channel (Seven Network and affiliates Prime7, GWN7 and Southern Cross Television
). WIN-TV will show matches for viewers in the Riverland
, Mount Gambier and Limestone Coast
regions of eastern South Australia
only, on a digital multi channel affiliated with the Seven Network`s station in Adelaide, SAS-7.
The finer details regarding coverage in Australia for the 2012 - 2016 seasons according to the Australian Football League website http://www.afl.com.au/ are as follows:
(NB: With the exception of Western Australia, viewers who receive the Viewer Access Satellite Television
service are expected to get the same coverage as Victoria, Tasmania and the Northern Territory).
Victoria, Tasmania and the Northern Territory:
(NB: excluding viewers receiving television services from South Australia)
• Three Matches per week Live on free to air on Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. One match on delay on Saturday afternoon;
• All Nine Matches per week Live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar and Fox IP television and live on mobile via Telstra;
• One match per week live on IP Television via Telstra.
Market Specifics:
Friday night matches live on free to air television and live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar.
Three Sunday matches played. All matches to be shown live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar. One match shown live on free to air television, to commence at 3.15pm.
Two Saturday night matches played. Both matches shown live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar. One match shown live on free to air television.
Two Saturday afternoon matches played. Both matches shown live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar. One match shown on delay on free to air television.
Every game shown live on Foxtel and Austar and on Telstra Mobile.
South Australia
• A minimum of four Matches per week Live or Near Live on free to air;
• All Nine Matches per week Live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar and Fox IP television and live on mobile via Telstra;
• One match per week live on IP Television via Telstra.
Market Specifics:
All 42 matches involving the Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide broadcast on free to air television, either live or on delay. Home matches near live on free to air and live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar.
No matches lost to blackspots on Saturdays or Sundays, with all matches broadcast live into the state from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar.
Friday night matches live or near live on free to air television, and live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar.
Three Sunday matches played. All matches to be shown live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar. A minimum of One match shown live or near live on free to air television.
Two Saturday night matches played. Both matches shown live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar. One match shown live or near live on free to air television.
Two Saturday afternoon matches played. Both matches shown live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar. One match shown on delay on free to air television.
Every game shown live on Foxtel and Austar and on Telstra Mobile.
Western Australia
• A minimum of four Matches per week Live or Near Live on free to air; and
• All Nine Matches per week Live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Fox IP television and live on mobile via Telstra;
• One match per week live on IP Television via Telstra.
Market Specifics:
All 42 matches involving West Coast and Fremantle broadcast on free to air television, either live or on delay. Home matches near live on free to air and live from Fox Footy on Foxtel.
No matches lost to blackspots on Saturdays or Sundays, with all matches broadcast live into the state from Fox Footy on Foxtel.
Friday night matches on free to air television, with a reduced delay time from the previous agreement, and live from Fox Footy on Foxtel.
Three Sunday matches played. All matches to be shown live from Fox Footy on Foxtel. A minimum of one match shown live or near live on free to air television.
Two Saturday night matches played. Both matches shown live from Fox Footy on Foxtel. One match shown live or near live on free to air television.
Two Saturday afternoon matches played. Both matches shown live from Fox Footy on Foxtel. One match shown on delay on free to air television.
Every game shown live on Foxtel and on Telstra Mobile.
New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory
(excluding regions covered by Victorian, South Australian or Queensland television services)
• A minimum of four Matches per week on free to air, with all matches to be shown live
• All Nine Matches per week Live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar and Fox IP television and live on mobile via Telstra;
• One match per week live on IP Television via Telstra.
Market Specifics:
Every game shown live on Foxtel and Austar and on Telstra Mobile.
All 42 matches involving the Sydney Swans and the GWS Giants broadcast on free to air television, either live or on delay. Home matches near live on free to air and live
from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar.
Friday night matches live on free to air multi channels and live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar.
Three Sunday matches played. All matches to be shown live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar. One match shown live on free to air multi channel
Two Saturday night matches played. Both matches shown live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar. One match shown live on free to air multi channel.
Two Saturday afternoon matches played. Both matches shown live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar. One match shown live on free to air multi channel.
No matches lost to blackspots on Saturdays or Sundays, with all matches broadcast live into the state from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar.
Queensland
(NB: variations may apply to viewers receiving Viewer Access Satellite Television
service)
• A minimum of four Matches per week on free to air, with all matches shown live;
• All Nine Matches per week Live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar and Fox IP television and live on mobile via Telstra;
• One match per week live on IP Television via Telstra.
Market Specifics:
Every game shown live on Foxtel and Austar and on Telstra Mobile.
All 42 matches involving the Brisbane Lions and the Gold Coast Suns broadcast on free to air television multi channels, either live or on delay. Home matches near live on free to air and live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar.
Friday night matches live on free to air multi channels and live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar.
Three Sunday matches played. All matches to be shown live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar. One match shown live on free to air multi channel
Two Saturday night matches played. Both matches shown live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar. One match shown live on free to air multi channel.
Two Saturday afternoon matches played. Both matches shown live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar. One match shown live on free to air multi channel.
No matches lost to blackspots on Saturdays or Sundays, with all matches broadcast live into the state from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar.
was given exclusive rights to VFL/AFL games. The only year Seven didn't telecast games was 1987, when the rights were bought by Broadcom, which on-sold the rights to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
(ABC). The exclusive rights were won back by Seven in 1988.
With the launch of subscription television in Australia, AFL match coverage commenced on cable television. Optus Vision bid for and won exclusive pay tv rights from 1996–2001, screening coverage on its own 24 hour AFL channel, branded Sports AFL in Brisbane Sydney and Melbourne (where available). The Sports AFL channel was later closed due to financial issues and relaunched in March 1999 as C7 Sport
by the Seven Network
with AFL match coverage also transferred to the new channel. C7 Sport became available in regional areas not in the Foxtel
or Optus Vision licence area via Austar
soon after the re-launch. The AFL coverage was not available through Foxtel at this time as the Seven Network and Foxtel disagreed on the cost of carrying the C7 channel. These issues regarding C7 and AFL broadcsting rights evolved into a court case between not just the Seven Network and News Limited
, but Seven against the owners of the Nine Network and Network Ten in the years that followed.
In late 2000, the Seven Network's main rivals, the Kerry Packer
led Nine Network
, Network Ten
and pay-tv's Foxtel
set up a consortium which bid $500 million for the right to broadcast the 2002
–2006
seasons inclusive. Seven had purchased a guaranteed right to make the last bid in 1995, but decided not to outbid their rivals. The games were split between the networks, with Nine screening Friday Night Football
and two matches on Sunday, Ten screened a Saturday afternoon and a Saturday night match, with the remaining four matches shown on Foxtel. Foxtel set up it`s own version of a dedicated AFL-only channel, the Fox Footy Channel
, which showed every game on replay during the week as well as many news, talkback
and general interest shows related to australian rules football.
When the rights were offered again in January 2006 for the 2007
to 2011 seasons, Seven formed an alliance with Ten and used its guaranteed last bid rights to match Nine's offer of $780 million to win back the broadcast rights in what was the biggest sport telecasting deal in Australian history at the time. After lengthy negotiations, Foxtel agreed to be a broadcast partner and now showed four live matches each week, although no longer on a dedicated AFL channel. Seven took back the Friday night match and only one game on Sunday, while Ten retained showing two matches on Saturdays. Foxtel showed two games on Saturday and two on Sunday, including a late afternoon or twilight game.
In 2007, after the record domestic television rights deal, the AFL secured an additional bonus: greater international television rights and increase exposure to overseas markets, including a 5 year deal with Setanta Sports
, and new deals with other overseas pay-TV networks.
In the 1980s, VFL matches were shown in the United States on ESPN
for some time. Some other English speaking countries have shown the game, however it has been since 2008 that channels in other countries began televising matches.
The following countries are ranked by the approximate extent of their current television coverage (and whether it is free to air):
, China
and South Africa
so as to create a global following thus creating more exposure for its sponsors in the increasing Asia
n and African markets. On 17 October 2010, AFL clubs Melbourne Demons
and Brisbane Lions
played an exhibition game in front of almost 10,000 people at the Riverside Sports Center in Shanghai
. This was the first professional AFL game to be played in China
.
The AFL has garnered increased interest in Ireland due to the introduction of the International Rules series played between an AFL picked All Australian Team and Ireland. This paved the way for young Irish footballers to be rostered to AFL teams mainly due to the fact that salaries in the AFL are much larger than that of Gaelic Football although most Irish players fail to make the grade into 1st team football. This also paved the way for extended news coverage and increased broadcasting in the UK and Ireland
.
in 1923, the year that broadcasting officially commenced in Australia. The first commentator was Wallace (Jumbo) Shallard, a former Geelong player who went on to have a long and respected career in print and broadcast media. The VFL/AFL has been broadcast every year since then by the ABC and (since 1927) by various commercial stations. The saturation period was the early 1960s when seven of the eight extant radio stations (3AR
, 3UZ
, 3DB, 3KZ
, 3AW
, 3XY and 3AK
) broadcast VFL games each week, as well as broadcasts of Geelong games by local station 3GL
. (At this time, the only alternative that radio listeners had to listening to the football on a Saturday afternoon were the classical music and fine arts programs that were broadcast by 3LO).
Currently, the official radio broadcast partners of the AFL are:
. The AFL also provides exclusive broadband content including streaming video for international fans via its website. Bigpond
also hosts the official websites of all the 17 AFL clubs excluding Essendon.
The service is also provided to international subscribers. Delayed video is available 12 hours or more after the game.
However, the website is frequently derided by users for its convoluted information architecture
and bloated
presentation.
¹Note: In 2001 CUB and Coca-Cola were joint sponsors
.
The AFL Record
is a match-day magazine published by the AFL and is read by around 225,000 people each week.
in Melbourne. AFL members also receive priority access to finals. AFL Members can nominate a club to get priority Grand Final tickets.
. The museum, a licensed off-shoot of the AFL, was originally touted for the MCG, but the Hall of Fame failed to get support from the Melbourne Cricket Club. The new QV shopping centre on Swanston Street was then chosen as the location. However, controversy followed the appointment of an administrator as the museum began running at a loss. Many blamed high entry prices, which were subsequently reduced, and the museum remains open to the public. In early 2006 the name was changed to AFL World. It features various honour boards and memorabilia as well as a range of innovative interactive displays designed to immerse visitors in the experience of elite Aussie Rules. It was closed down in 2008.
s. In recent years national website based tipping competitions have started to replace the traditional, but more labour intensive, office or pub run competitions.
Fantasy football
competitions based on actual player statistics (number of kicks, marks, goals etc.) are also very popular on websites and in newspapers.
Lists:
Statistics and Results
Major AFL news Sites
History
Sport governing body
A sport governing body is a sports organization that has a regulatory or sanctioning function. Sport governing bodies come in various forms, and have a variety of regulatory functions. Examples of this can include disciplinary action for rule infractions and deciding on rule changes in the sport...
and the major professional competition in the sport of 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...
. The term is sometimes mistakenly used as the name of the code itself.
The AFL premiership season currently consists of 24 home and away rounds, followed by the finals series and the season concludes with the AFL Grand Final
AFL Grand Final
The AFL Grand Final is an annual Australian rules football match, traditionally held on the final Saturday in September at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia to determine the Australian Football League premiership champions for that year...
at which the winning team receives the premiership cup.
The AFL was formerly known as the Victorian Football League (VFL). It was renamed the Australian Football League due to the VFL's governing body's decision to market the competition as an officially national league in 1990. This was following expansion into New South Wales, Queensland 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...
in the 1980s.
Through the AFL Commission
AFL Commission
The AFL Commission is the official governing body of the Australian Football League , the elite national Australian rules football competition....
it gained control over the game at most levels and controls the Laws of the Game
Laws of Australian football
The laws of Australian football describe the rules of the game of Australian rules football as they have evolved and adapted, with the same underlying core rules, since 1859....
through the AFL Rules Committee (consisting of members from the AFL Players Association
AFL Players Association
The AFL Players Association, or AFLPA, is the representative body for all current and past professional Australian Football League players....
). The Commission pushes for all affiliated leagues and bodies to co-brand
Co-branding
Co-branding refers to several different marketing arrangements:Co-branding, also called brand partnership, is when two companies form an alliance to work together, creating marketing synergy...
with the league (although some state and local associations have sternly resisted). The AFL is also recognised as the world governing body of Australian football by the majority of larger international leagues.
The AFL is the most attended sporting league in Australia
2010 Australian football code crowds
Australia is home to four professional football codes. This is a comprehensive list of crowd figures for Australian football codes in 2010. It includes several different competitions and matches from Australian rules football, rugby league, football and rugby union...
and one of the two most watched sports in Australia. It is also currently the third-most attended professional sports league in the world in terms of attendance per match, with an average attendance of 38,417. It is also the most financially strong sports league in the country due to substantial media and corporate sponsorship arrangements.
In national terms, however, Australian football
Australian rules football in Australia
Australian rules football originated in Melbourne in 1858. It has continuously in every state and territory of Australia since 1915 and is particularly popular in Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania, where it is the most watched sport, and Northern Territory where it is the...
is not the most popular sport in all areas of the country. In recent decades, the AFL has increasingly focused on regions behind the "Barassi Line
Barassi Line
The Barassi Line was first suggested by Professor Ian Turner in his 1978 Ron Barassi Memorial Lecture to refer to a dividing line in Australia that divides areas where Australian rules is the dominant winter code of football from those where rugby football codes are most popular...
", particularly in metropolitan areas (its "developing markets") where the league and sport has traditionally struggled. The league has granted concessions to teams based in these regions and invested large amounts of development funding. As a result, participation is increasing in New South Wales and Queensland.
Clubs
The AFL operates on a single table system, with no divisions, conferences nor promotion and relegation from other leagues.Many of the current AFL teams date back to the beginnings of the sport of Australian rules football, including the very first club, Melbourne Football Club
Melbourne Football Club
The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....
(1859), a foundation VFL/AFL club whose founders also first codified the sport in 1859. The Victorian Football League, commonly known as the VFL, started in 1897 with eight teams from the Victorian Football Association (VFA): Carlton
Carlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
, Collingwood
Collingwood Football Club
The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
, Essendon
Essendon Football Club
The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
, Fitzroy
Fitzroy Football Club
The Fitzroy Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Lions, is an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League on its inception in 1897...
, Geelong
Geelong Football Club
The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also...
, Melbourne
Melbourne Football Club
The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....
, South Melbourne
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
, and St Kilda. Richmond
Richmond Football Club
The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,...
and University
Melbourne University Football Club
Melbourne University Football Club, often known simply as University is an Australian rules football club.The club achieved prominence by being a member of the game's most elite competition in the early 20th century, the Victorian Football League between 1908 and 1914.Although there are no records...
entered in 1908, but University disbanded in 1915. In 1925, Footscray (later known as the Western Bulldogs
Western Bulldogs
The Western Bulldogs are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based at the Whitten Oval in West Footscray, an inner-western suburb of Melbourne...
), Hawthorn
Hawthorn Football Club
The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League . The club, founded in 1902, is the youngest of the Victorian-based teams in the AFL. The team play in Brown & Gold vertically striped guernseys...
and North Melbourne
North Melbourne Football Club
The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world...
entered the competition. It remained in this 12-team single-state configuration until 1982 when South Melbourne relocated to Sydney, New South Wales
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
to become the Sydney Swans
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
.
The next phase of national expansion occurred in 1987, with the introduction of the West Coast Eagles
West Coast Eagles
The West Coast Eagles are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League. The club is based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and played its first games in the 1987 season. Its current home ground is Subiaco Oval...
from Western Australia and the Brisbane Bears
Brisbane Bears
The Brisbane Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Bears was an Australian rules football club and the first Queensland-based club in the Victorian Football League . The club played its first match in 1987, but struggled on and off the field until it made the finals for the first time in 1995...
from Queensland. The league was renamed the Australian Football League in 1990 to reflect the expanded nature of the competition. South Australia was first represented in 1991 when the Adelaide Football Club joined the league. The Fremantle Football Club
Fremantle Football Club
The Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed The Dockers, is an Australian rules football team which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in the port city of Fremantle at the mouth of the Swan River in Western Australia...
joined as the second WA team in 1995. After the 1996 season the Brisbane Bears merged with Fitzroy, creating the Brisbane Lions
Brisbane Lions
The Brisbane Lions is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club was formed from the merger of the Brisbane Bears and the Fitzroy Lions in 1996...
in 1996 and the Port Adelaide Football Club
Port Adelaide Football Club
The Port Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, which plays in the Australian Football League and the South Australian National Football League...
joined to maintain the league at 16 teams. In 2011, the Gold Coast Football Club joined the AFL, while Greater Western Sydney will expand the competition to 18 teams in 2012.
Current clubs
| Guernsey | Club | Nickname | Location | Training ground | Home ground and capacity |
Official 2011 membership totals |
First season | Premierships |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Adelaide | |
Adelaide Adelaide Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million... , 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... |
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(51,515) |
44,719 | 1991 1991 AFL season Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 1991.See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list.-National Cup:... |
2 – 1997 1997 AFL Grand Final -Match details:-References:... , 1998 1998 AFL Grand Final -Match details:-References:... |
| Brisbane Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club was formed from the merger of the Brisbane Bears and the Fitzroy Lions in 1996... |
|
Brisbane Brisbane Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of... , 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... |
|
(42,000) |
22,163 | 1997 1997 AFL season Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 1997.The Port Adelaide Power joined the competition.The Brisbane Lions also joined the competition after the merger of the and .... ** |
3 – 2001 2001 AFL Grand Final The 2001 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Essendon Football Club and the Brisbane Lions, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 29 September 2001. It was the 105th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football... , 2002 2002 AFL Grand Final The 2002 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Brisbane Lions and the Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 28 September 2002. It was the 106th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football... , 2003 2003 AFL Grand Final The 2003 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Brisbane Lions and the Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 27 September 2003... |
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Carlton Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897... |
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Melbourne Melbourne Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater... , Victoria Victoria (Australia) Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively.... |
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(53,355) |
43,791 | 1897 1897 VFL season Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1897, the inaugural season of the VFL.-Premiership season:In 1897, the VFL competition consisted of eight teams of 20 on-the-field players each, with no "reserves" Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of... |
16 – 1906 1906 VFL Grand Final The 1906 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and Fitzroy Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 22 September 1906. It was the 9th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the... , 1907 1907 VFL Grand Final The 1907 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and South Melbourne Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 21 September 1907. It was the 10th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to... , 1908 1908 VFL Grand Final The 1908 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 26 September 1908. It was the 11th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the... , 1914 1914 VFL Grand Final The 1914 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and South Melbourne Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 26 September 1914. It was the 17th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to... , 1915 1915 VFL Grand Final The 1915 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Collingwood Football Club and Carlton Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 18 September 1915. It was the 18th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine... , 1938 1938 VFL Grand Final The 1938 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 24 September 1938. It was the 42nd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine... , 1945 1945 VFL Grand Final The 1945 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the South Melbourne Football Club and Carlton Football Club, held at Princes Park in Melbourne on 29 September 1945. It was the 49th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers... , 1947 1947 VFL Grand Final The 1947 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 27 September 1947. It was the 51st annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for... , 1968 1968 VFL Grand Final The 1968 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 28 September 1968. It was the 72nd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine... , 1970 1970 VFL Grand Final The 1970 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 26 September 1970. It was the 74th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine... , 1972 1972 VFL Grand Final The 1972 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and Richmond Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 7 October 1972. It was the 76th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the... , 1979 1979 VFL Grand Final The 1979 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 29 September 1979. It was the 83rd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to... , 1981 1981 VFL Grand Final The 1981 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 26 September 1981. It was the 85th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to... , 1982 1982 VFL Grand Final The 1982 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and Richmond Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 25 September 1982. It was the 86th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine... , 1987 1987 VFL Grand Final The 1987 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and Hawthorn Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 26 September 1987. It was the 91st annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine... , 1995 1995 AFL Grand Final The 1995 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Geelong Football Club and Carlton Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 30 September 1995. It was the 99th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football... |
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Collingwood Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League... |
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Melbourne Melbourne Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater... , Victoria Victoria (Australia) Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively.... |
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Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light... (100,018) |
71,271* | 1897 1897 VFL season Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1897, the inaugural season of the VFL.-Premiership season:In 1897, the VFL competition consisted of eight teams of 20 on-the-field players each, with no "reserves" Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of... |
15 – 1902 1902 VFL Grand Final The 1902 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Collingwood Football Club and Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 20 September 1902. It was the 5th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine... , 1903 1903 VFL Grand Final The 1903 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Collingwood Football Club and Fitzroy Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 12 September 1903. It was the 6th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine... , 1910 1910 VFL Grand Final The 1910 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Collingwood Football Club and Carlton Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 1 October 1910. It was the 13th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the... , 1917 1917 VFL Grand Final The 1917 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Collingwood Football Club and Fitzroy Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 22 September 1917. It was the 20th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine... , 1919 1919 VFL Grand Final The 1919 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Collingwood Football Club and Richmond Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 11 October 1919. It was the 22nd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine... , 1927 1927 VFL Grand Final The 1927 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Collingwood Football Club and Richmond Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 1 October 1927... , 1928 1928 VFL Grand Final The 1928 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Collingwood Football Club and Richmond Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 29 September 1928. It was the 32nd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine... , 1929 1929 VFL Grand Final The 1929 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Collingwood Football Club and Richmond Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 28 September 1929. It was the 33rd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine... , 1930 1930 VFL Grand Final The 1930 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Collingwood Football Club and Geelong Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 11 October 1930. It was the 34th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine... , 1935 1935 VFL Grand Final The 1935 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Collingwood Football Club and South Melbourne Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 5 October 1935. It was the 39th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to... , 1936 1936 VFL Grand Final The 1936 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Collingwood Football Club and South Melbourne Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 2 October 1936. It was the 40th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to... , 1953 1953 VFL Grand Final The 1953 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Geelong Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 27 September 1953. It was the 57th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers... , 1958 1958 VFL Grand Final The 1958 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Melbourne Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 20 September 1958. It was the 62nd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the... , 1990 1990 AFL Grand Final The 1990 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Collingwood Football Club and the Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 6 October 1990. It was the 94th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football... , 2010 2010 AFL Grand Final The 2010 AFL Grand Final is either of two Australian rules football contests between the Collingwood Football Club and the St Kilda Football Club. Together they are considered the 114th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football League, and were staged to determine the... |
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Essendon Essendon Football Club The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League... |
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Melbourne Melbourne Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater... , Victoria Victoria (Australia) Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively.... |
Windy Hill, Essendon Windy Hill is an Australian rules football ground located in Essendon, a northwestern suburb of the Melbourne metropolitan area.... |
(53,355) |
50,271* | 1897 1897 VFL season Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1897, the inaugural season of the VFL.-Premiership season:In 1897, the VFL competition consisted of eight teams of 20 on-the-field players each, with no "reserves" Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of... |
16 – 1897 1897 VFL season Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1897, the inaugural season of the VFL.-Premiership season:In 1897, the VFL competition consisted of eight teams of 20 on-the-field players each, with no "reserves" Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of... , 1901 1901 VFL Grand Final The 1901 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Essendon Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Lake Oval in Melbourne on 7 September 1901. It was the 4th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for... , 1911 1911 VFL Grand Final The 1911 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Essendon Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 23 September 1911. It was the 14th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine... , 1912 1912 VFL Grand Final The 1912 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the South Melbourne Football Club and Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 4 October 1912. It was the 15th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to... , 1923 1923 VFL Grand Final The 1923 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Essendon Football Club and Fitzroy Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 20 October 1923. It was the 26th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the... , 1924 1924 VFL season Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1924.-Premiership season:In 1924, the VFL competition consisted of nine teams of 18 on-the-field players each, with no "reserves", although any of the 18 players who had left the playing field for any reason could later resume their... , 1942 1942 VFL Grand Final The 1942 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Essendon Football Club and Richmond Football Club, held at the Princes Park in Melbourne on 19 September 1942. It was the 46th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers... , 1946 1946 VFL Grand Final The 1946 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Essendon Football Club and Melbourne Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 5 October 1946. It was the 50th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for... , 1949 1949 VFL Grand Final The 1949 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 24 September 1949. It was the 53rd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for... , 1950 1950 VFL Grand Final The 1950 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Essendon Football Club and North Melbourne Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 23 September 1950. It was the 54th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the... , 1962 1962 VFL Grand Final The 1962 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Essendon Football Club and Carlton Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 29 September 1962. It was the 66th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine... , 1965 1965 VFL Grand Final The 1965 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Essendon Football Club and St Kilda Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 25 September 1965. It was the 69th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine... , 1984 1984 VFL Grand Final The 1984 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Essendon Football Club and Hawthorn Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 29 September 1984. It was the 88th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine... , 1985 1985 VFL Grand Final The 1985 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Essendon Football Club and Hawthorn Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 28 September 1985. It was the 89th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine... , 1993 1993 AFL Grand Final The 1993 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Essendon Football Club and Carlton Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 25 September 1993. It was the 97th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football... , 2000 2000 AFL Grand Final The 2000 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Essendon Football Club and the Melbourne Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 2 September 2000. It was the 104th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian... |
| Fremantle Fremantle Football Club The Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed The Dockers, is an Australian rules football team which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in the port city of Fremantle at the mouth of the Swan River in Western Australia... |
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Fremantle Fremantle, Western Australia Fremantle is a city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829... , 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... |
Fremantle Oval Fremantle Oval is a stadium in the centre of Fremantle, Western Australia. It currently has a capacity of 17,500 with terracing and a members area holding 750. Fremantle Oval was originally used for cricket, but in 1895 hosted its first game of Australian rules football... |
Subiaco Oval Subiaco Oval , known colloquially as Subi, is the highest capacity sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia... (43,500) |
42,762 | 1995 1995 AFL season Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 1995.-Round 1:-Round 2:-Round 3:-Round 4:*This was the first ANZAC Day clash held between Collingwood and Essendon which famously ended in a draw.-Round 5:-Round 6:... |
0 | |
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Geelong Geelong Football Club The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also... |
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Geelong Geelong, Victoria Geelong is a port city located on Corio Bay and the Barwon River, in the state of Victoria, Australia, south-west of the state capital; Melbourne. It is the second most populated city in Victoria and the fifth most populated non-capital city in Australia... , Victoria Victoria (Australia) Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively.... |
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(28,000) |
39,343 | 1897 1897 VFL season Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1897, the inaugural season of the VFL.-Premiership season:In 1897, the VFL competition consisted of eight teams of 20 on-the-field players each, with no "reserves" Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of... |
9 – 1925 1925 VFL Grand Final The 1925 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Geelong Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 10 October 1925. It was the 29th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine... , 1931 1931 VFL Grand Final The 1931 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Geelong Football Club and Richmond Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 10 October 1931. It was the 35th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the... , 1937 1937 VFL Grand Final The 1937 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Geelong Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 25 September 1937. It was the 41st annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine... , 1951 1951 VFL Grand Final The 1951 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Geelong Football Club and Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 29 September 1951. It was the 55th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for... , 1952 1952 VFL Grand Final The 1952 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Geelong Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 27 September 1952. It was the 56th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers... , 1963 1963 VFL Grand Final The 1963 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Geelong Football Club and Hawthorn Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 5 October 1963. It was the 67th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the... , 2007 2007 AFL Grand Final The 2007 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Geelong Football Club and the Port Adelaide Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 29 September 2007. It was the 111th annual Grand Final of the VFL/AFL, staged to determine the... , 2009 2009 AFL Grand Final The 2009 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the St Kilda Football Club and the Geelong Football Club at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 26 September 2009... , 2011 2011 AFL Grand Final The 2011 Australian Football League Grand Final was an Australian rules football match, played to determine the premiers of the 2011 season. It was contested between the Collingwood Football Club and the Geelong Football Club.... |
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Gold Coast | |
Gold Coast Gold Coast, Queensland Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous... , 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... |
Carrara Stadium Carrara Stadium is a sporting venue on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Carrara.... |
Carrara Stadium Carrara Stadium is a sporting venue on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Carrara.... (25,000) |
11,141 | 2011 2011 AFL season The 2011 Australian Football League season was the 115th season of the Australian rules football competition. It was the debut year for , and was scheduled to be the only season to be played with 17 teams... |
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Hawthorn Hawthorn Football Club The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League . The club, founded in 1902, is the youngest of the Victorian-based teams in the AFL. The team play in Brown & Gold vertically striped guernseys... |
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Melbourne Melbourne Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater... , Victoria Victoria (Australia) Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively.... |
Waverley Park Waverley Park was an Australian rules football stadium in Mulgrave, Victoria, Australia. For most of its history, its purpose was as a neutral venue and used by all Victorian based Victorian Football League/Australian Football League clubs. However, during the 1990s it became the home ground of... |
Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light... (100,018) Aurora Stadium Aurora Stadium York Park is a sports ground in the Inveresk and York Park Precinct, Launceston, Australia. Holding 20,000 people—more than any other stadium in Tasmania—York Park has been known as Aurora Stadium under a six-year naming rights agreement signed with Aurora Energy in 2004... (20,000) |
56,224 | 1925 1925 VFL season Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1925.-New Teams:In 1915, and from 1919 to 1924, there were nine teams in the VFL competition... |
10 – 1961 1961 VFL Grand Final The 1961 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Footscray Football Club and Hawthorn Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 23 September 1961. It was the 65th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to... , 1971 1971 VFL Grand Final The 1971 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Hawthorn Football Club and St Kilda Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 25 September 1971. It was the 75th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine... , 1976 1976 VFL Grand Final The 1976 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Hawthorn Football Club and North Melbourne Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 25 September 1976. It was the 80th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to... , 1978 1978 VFL Grand Final The 1978 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Hawthorn Football Club and North Melbourne Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 30 September 1978. It was the 82nd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to... , 1983 1983 VFL Grand Final The 1983 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Hawthorn Football Club and Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 24 September 1983. It was the 87th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine... , 1986 1986 VFL Grand Final The 1986 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Hawthorn Football Club and Carlton Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 27 September 1986. It was the 90th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine... , 1988 1988 VFL Grand Final The 1988 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Hawthorn Football Club and the Melbourne Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 24 September 1988. It was the 92nd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to... , 1989 1989 VFL Grand Final The 1989 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Hawthorn Football Club and the Geelong Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 30 September 1989. It was the 93rd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine... , 1991 1991 AFL Grand Final The 1991 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Hawthorn Football Club and West Coast Eagles, held at Waverley Park in Melbourne on 28 September 1991. It was the 95th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football League, staged to... , 2008 2008 AFL Grand Final The 2008 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football match contested between the Geelong Football Club and the Hawthorn Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on the 27th of September 2008... |
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Melbourne Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria.... |
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Melbourne Melbourne Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater... , Victoria Victoria (Australia) Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively.... |
Junction Oval The Junction Oval is an historic sports ground in the suburb of St Kilda in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its location near the St Kilda Junction gave rise to its nickname... |
Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light... (100,018) |
36,937 | 1897 1897 VFL season Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1897, the inaugural season of the VFL.-Premiership season:In 1897, the VFL competition consisted of eight teams of 20 on-the-field players each, with no "reserves" Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of... |
12 – 1900 1900 VFL Grand Final The 1900 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Melbourne Football Club and Fitzroy Football Club, held at the East Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 22 September 1900. It was the 3rd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to... , 1926 1926 VFL Grand Final The 1926 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Melbourne Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 9 October 1926. It was the 30th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine... , 1939 1939 VFL Grand Final The 1939 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Melbourne Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 30 September 1939. It was the 43rd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to... , 1940 1940 VFL Grand Final The 1940 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Melbourne Football Club and Richmond Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 28 September 1940. It was the 44th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine... , 1941 1941 VFL Grand Final The 1941 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Melbourne Football Club and Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 27 September 1941. It was the 45th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine... , 1948 1948 VFL Grand Final The 1948 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Melbourne Football Club and Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 2 October 1948. It was the 52nd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for... , 1955 1955 VFL Grand Final The 1955 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Melbourne Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 17 September 1955. It was the 59th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the... , 1956 1956 VFL Grand Final The 1956 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Melbourne Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 15 September 1956. It was the 60th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the... , 1957 1957 VFL Grand Final The 1957 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Melbourne Football Club and Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 21 September 1957. It was the 61st annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers... , 1959 1959 VFL Grand Final The 1959 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Melbourne Football Club and Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 20 September 1959. It was the 63rd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers... , 1960 1960 VFL Grand Final The 1960 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Melbourne Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 25 September of 1960 in extremely wet conditions due to persistent rain during the previous week... , 1964 1964 VFL Grand Final The 1964 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Collingwood Football Club and Melbourne Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 19 September 1964. It was the 68th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to... |
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North Melbourne North Melbourne Football Club The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world... |
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Melbourne Melbourne Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater... , Victoria Victoria (Australia) Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively.... |
Arden Street Oval Arden Street Oval is a sports oval based in Arden Street, North Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is currently the training base of Australian rules team North Melbourne Football Club and up to the end of the 1985 season it was used for elite-level VFL/AFL matches.-History:The North Melbourne... |
(53,355) |
30,202 | 1925 1925 VFL season Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1925.-New Teams:In 1915, and from 1919 to 1924, there were nine teams in the VFL competition... |
4 – 1975 1975 VFL Grand Final The 1975 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the North Melbourne Football Club and Hawthorn Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 27 September 1975. It was the 79th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to... , 1977 1977 VFL Grand Final The 1977 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the North Melbourne Football Club and the Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 24 September 1977... , 1996 1996 AFL Grand Final The 1996 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the North Melbourne Football Club and Sydney Swans, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 28 September 1996. It was the 100th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football... , 1999 1999 AFL Grand Final The 1999 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between and , held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 25 September 1999. It was the 103rd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the... |
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Port Adelaide Port Adelaide Football Club The Port Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, which plays in the Australian Football League and the South Australian National Football League... |
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Adelaide Adelaide Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million... , 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... |
Alberton Oval Alberton Oval is located in Alberton, a north-western suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. The ground is primarily used for Australian rules football and has a capacity of 17,000 people with seated grandstands holding 2,000,... |
(51,515) |
36,624 | 1997 1997 AFL season Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 1997.The Port Adelaide Power joined the competition.The Brisbane Lions also joined the competition after the merger of the and .... |
1 – 2004 2004 AFL Grand Final The 2004 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Port Adelaide Football Club and the Brisbane Lions, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 25 September 2004. It was the 108th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football... |
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Richmond Richmond Football Club The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,... |
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Melbourne Melbourne Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater... , Victoria Victoria (Australia) Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively.... |
Punt Road Oval Punt Road Oval is a sporting ground located in Yarra Park, East Melbourne, Victoria situated only a few hundred metres to the east of the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground.... |
Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light... (100,018) |
40,184 | 1908 1908 VFL season Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1908.Both Richmond Football Club and University Football Club were admitted to the VFL competition .-Premiership season:... |
10 – 1920 1920 VFL Grand Final The 1920 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Richmond Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 2 October 1920. It was the 23rd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine... , 1921 1921 VFL Grand Final The 1921 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and Richmond Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 15 October 1921. It was the 24th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the... , 1932 1932 VFL Grand Final The 1932 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Richmond Football Club and Carlton Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 1 October 1932. It was the 36th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the... , 1934 1934 VFL Grand Final The 1934 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Richmond Football Club and South Melbourne Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 13 October 1934. It was the 38th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to... , 1943 1943 VFL Grand Final The 1943 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Richmond Football Club and Essendon Football Club, held at the Princes Park in Melbourne on 25 September 1943. It was the 47th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers... , 1967 1967 VFL Grand Final The 1967 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Geelong Football Club and Richmond Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 23 September 1967. It was the 71st annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine... , 1969 1969 VFL Grand Final The 1969 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and Richmond Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 27 September 1969. It was the 73rd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine... , 1973 1973 VFL Grand Final The 1973 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Richmond Football Club and Carlton Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 29 September 1973. It was the 77th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine... , 1974 1974 VFL Grand Final The 1974 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Richmond Football Club and North Melbourne Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 28 September 1974. It was the 78th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to... , 1980 1980 VFL Grand Final The 1980 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Richmond Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 27 September 1980. It was the 84th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to... |
| St Kilda | |
Melbourne Melbourne Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater... , Victoria Victoria (Australia) Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively.... |
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39,276 | 1897 1897 VFL season Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1897, the inaugural season of the VFL.-Premiership season:In 1897, the VFL competition consisted of eight teams of 20 on-the-field players each, with no "reserves" Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of... |
1 – 1966 1966 VFL Grand Final The 1966 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Collingwood Football Club and St Kilda Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 24 September 1966. It was the 70th annual grand final of the Victorian Football League , staged to... |
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Sydney Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney... |
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Sydney Sydney Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people... , 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... |
Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian... |
Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian... (46,000) Stadium Australia (81,500) |
27,106 | 1897 1897 VFL season Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1897, the inaugural season of the VFL.-Premiership season:In 1897, the VFL competition consisted of eight teams of 20 on-the-field players each, with no "reserves" Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of... *** |
4 – 1909 1909 VFL Grand Final The 1909 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and South Melbourne Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 2 October 1909. It was the 12th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine... , 1918 1918 VFL Grand Final The 1918 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the South Melbourne Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 7 September 1918. It was the 21st annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to... , 1933 1933 VFL Grand Final The 1933 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Richmond Football Club and South Melbourne Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 30 September 1933. It was the 37th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to... , 2005 2005 AFL Grand Final The 2005 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Sydney Swans and West Coast Eagles, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 24 September 2005. It was the 109th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football League, staged to... |
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West Coast Eagles West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League. The club is based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and played its first games in the 1987 season. Its current home ground is Subiaco Oval... |
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Perth Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000.... , 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... |
Subiaco Oval Subiaco Oval , known colloquially as Subi, is the highest capacity sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia... |
Subiaco Oval Subiaco Oval , known colloquially as Subi, is the highest capacity sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia... (43,500) |
54,745 | 1987 1987 VFL season Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1987.-Night Series: defeated 8.10 to 8.6 in the Final at Waverley Park.-Leading goalkickers:... |
3 – 1992 1992 AFL Grand Final The 1992 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Geelong Football Club and West Coast Eagles, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 26 September 1992. It was the 96th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football League,... , 1994 1994 AFL Grand Final The 1994 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Geelong Football Club and West Coast Eagles, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 1 October 1994. It was the 98th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football League,... , 2006 2006 AFL Grand Final The 2006 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Sydney Swans and West Coast Eagles, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 30 September 2006. It was the 110th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football League, staged to... |
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Western Bulldogs Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based at the Whitten Oval in West Footscray, an inner-western suburb of Melbourne... |
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Melbourne Melbourne Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater... , Victoria Victoria (Australia) Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively.... |
Whitten Oval Whitten Oval is a stadium in the inner-western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia located at 417 Barkly Street, West Footscray. It is the training and administrative headquarters of the Western Bulldogs Football Club, which competes in the Australian Football League.Formerly known as the... |
(53,355) Marrara Stadium (17,000) Manuka Oval Manuka Oval Manuka Oval is a 13,550 capacity ground located in the suburb of Griffith, adjacent to Manuka, a business district of Canberra, Australia's capital.... (15,000) |
32,125 | 1925 1925 VFL season Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1925.-New Teams:In 1915, and from 1919 to 1924, there were nine teams in the VFL competition... |
1 – 1954 1954 VFL Grand Final The 1954 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Footscray Football Club and Melbourne Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 25 September 1954. It was the 58th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers... |
- * denotes club record membership
- ** post merger
- *** club was founded in Melbourne as "South Melbourne Football Club", but relocated to Sydney in 1982.
New clubs
Early in 2008, a meeting held by the AFL discussed having two new teams enter the AFL competition.In March 2008, the AFL won the support of the league's 16 club presidents to establish a side on the Gold Coast
Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...
. In June 2008 it was announced that the new team would play in the TAC Cup in 2009 before being promoted to play in the AFL Premiership from 2011. On 31 March 2009 the AFL issued a provisional licence to the Gold Coast Football Club. The team debuted in the TAC Cup as planned in 2009. Their nickname, the Suns, and their playing colours were unveiled on 22 July 2010. Their first official match against other AFL teams was on 19 February 2011, when they played against both the GWS Giants and the Sydney Swans
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
in a triangular NAB Cup season-opener, comprehensively defeating the GWS Giants and narrowly winning against Sydney. In the AFL premiership season, their debut game was against Carlton
Carlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
at the Gabba on 2 April 2011, which is the second round of the season as they had a bye
Bye (sports)
A bye, in sports and other competitive activities, most commonly refers to the practice of allowing a player or team to advance to the next round of a playoff tournament without playing...
in the first round.
Greater Western Sydney Football Club was granted a licence in 2010 and is due to enter the league in 2012. The introduction of a club from Western Sydney has been met with much skepticism, as it is seen to be disadvantaging other clubs in its push to be successful in the first 10 years, as well as being an unreasonable situation from which to draw an AFL fan base. Nevertheless, they made their professional debut against other AFL teams on 19 February 2011, when they played against and in a triangular NAB Cup season-opener, losing both matches by a significant margin.
| Guernsey | Club | Nickname(s) | Location | Training Ground | Home Ground | Confirmed entry |
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Sydney Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people... , 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... |
Blacktown Olympic Park Blacktown International Sportspark is a multi-sports venue in Doonside, a suburb in western Sydney, Australia. It includes three baseball diamonds, four softball diamonds, an athletics track and a Australian Rules Football/Cricket ground.... |
Sydney Showground (Homebush Bay) The Sydney Showground is a purpose built venue used each year for the Sydney Royal Easter Show. Located at Sydney Olympic Park in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, it was opened in 1998, as a venue for the 2000 Summer Olympics and to replace the ageing old Sydney Showground at Moore Park... |
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The AFL has also considered a bid from the Tasmanian government for a licence for a Tasmanian team
Tasmanian AFL Bid
The bid to establish an Australian Football League team in the state of Tasmania has been ongoing, with fluctuating levels of support, since the then-Victorian Football League began its national expansion in the 1980s and 1990s....
.
In April 2009, the then Premier of Tasmania, Paul Lennon
Paul Lennon
Paul Anthony Lennon is an Australian Labor Party politician. He was Premier of Tasmania from 21 March 2004 until his resignation on 26 May 2008. He was member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly for the seat of Franklin from 1990 until officially resigning on 27 May 2008...
, had a meeting with the AFL to discuss the possibility of a new team based in Tasmania. Canberra and Darwin are also sometimes suggested as future locations for teams. However they have been ruled out by the AFL primarily on economic and demographic grounds.
Former clubs
Since the Australian Football League commenced in 1897 as the Victorian Football League, only one club has left the competition, Melbourne University Football ClubMelbourne University Football Club
Melbourne University Football Club, often known simply as University is an Australian rules football club.The club achieved prominence by being a member of the game's most elite competition in the early 20th century, the Victorian Football League between 1908 and 1914.Although there are no records...
They last competed in 1914 and withdrew the following season due to the start of the First World War and did not reapply to join the league after the war ended. They still compete to this day in the Victorian Amateur Football Association
Victorian Amateur Football Association
The Victorian Amateur Football Association is an Australian rules football league in Victoria, Australia consisting purely of amateur players. Unlike the Victorian Football League and the VFL/AFL, the VAFA has always been strictly a purely amateur league and has affiliations with both AFL Victoria...
. Two other clubs, the Fitzroy Football Club
Fitzroy Football Club
The Fitzroy Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Lions, is an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League on its inception in 1897...
(Fitzroy Lions) and the Brisbane Bears
Brisbane Bears
The Brisbane Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Bears was an Australian rules football club and the first Queensland-based club in the Victorian Football League . The club played its first match in 1987, but struggled on and off the field until it made the finals for the first time in 1995...
merged in 1996 to form the Brisbane Lions
Brisbane Lions
The Brisbane Lions is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club was formed from the merger of the Brisbane Bears and the Fitzroy Lions in 1996...
.
In 1982, South Melbourne Football Club
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
relocated to Sydney to become the Sydney Swans
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
and in 1997 the Footscray Football Club was renamed to the Western Bulldogs
Western Bulldogs
The Western Bulldogs are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based at the Whitten Oval in West Footscray, an inner-western suburb of Melbourne...
. From 1999 to 2006 North Melbourne were known as simply the Kangaroos. These changes are not considered by the AFL to have created new clubs, but just changes in name or location.
| Guernsey | Club | Nickname(s) | Location | Home ground | Years in competition | Premierships | Reason for leaving |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Brisbane Bears Brisbane Bears The Brisbane Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Bears was an Australian rules football club and the first Queensland-based club in the Victorian Football League . The club played its first match in 1987, but struggled on and off the field until it made the finals for the first time in 1995... |
Bears | Brisbane Brisbane Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of... , 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... |
Carrara Stadium Carrara Stadium Carrara Stadium is a sporting venue on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Carrara.... (1987–1992) The Gabba (1991–1996) |
1987 1987 VFL season Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1987.-Night Series: defeated 8.10 to 8.6 in the Final at Waverley Park.-Leading goalkickers:... –1996 1996 AFL season Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 1996.See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list.-Lighting Premiership:... |
Nil | Merged with Fitzroy to become the Brisbane Lions |
 |
Fitzroy Fitzroy Football Club The Fitzroy Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Lions, is an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League on its inception in 1897... |
Maroons (1883–1938) Roys/Royboys (1883–1996) Gorillas (1938–1957) Lions (1957–1996) |
Melbourne, Victoria Victoria (Australia) Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively.... |
Brunswick Street Oval Brunswick Street Oval The Brunswick Street Oval, currently known as WT Peterson Community Oval, also known as the Fitzroy Cricket Ground is a cricket and Australian rules football ground located in Edinburgh Gardens in Fitzroy North, Victoria... (1897–1966) Princes Park (1967–1969, 1987–1993) Junction Oval Junction Oval The Junction Oval is an historic sports ground in the suburb of St Kilda in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its location near the St Kilda Junction gave rise to its nickname... (1970–1984) Victoria Park Victoria Park, Melbourne Victoria Park is a sports venue in Abbotsford a suburb of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. Built for the purpose of both Australian rules football and cricket, the stadium is oval shaped.... (1985–1986) Whitten Oval Whitten Oval Whitten Oval is a stadium in the inner-western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia located at 417 Barkly Street, West Footscray. It is the training and administrative headquarters of the Western Bulldogs Football Club, which competes in the Australian Football League.Formerly known as the... (1994–1996) |
1897 1897 VFL season Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1897, the inaugural season of the VFL.-Premiership season:In 1897, the VFL competition consisted of eight teams of 20 on-the-field players each, with no "reserves" Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of... –1996 1996 AFL season Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 1996.See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list.-Lighting Premiership:... |
1898 1898 VFL Grand Final The 1898 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Essendon Football Club and Fitzroy Football Club, held in Melbourne on 24 September 1898... , 1899 1899 VFL Grand Final The 1899 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Fitzroy Football Club and South Melbourne Football Club, held at the St Kilda Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 16 September 1899. It was the 2nd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to... , 1904 1904 VFL Grand Final The 1904 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Fitzroy Football Club and Carlton Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 17 September 1904. It was the seventh annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine... , 1905 1905 VFL Grand Final The 1905 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Fitzroy Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 30 September 1905. It was the 8th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine... , 1913 1913 VFL Grand Final The 1913 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Fitzroy Football Club and St Kilda Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 27 September 1913. It was the 16th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the... , 1916 1916 VFL Grand Final The 1916 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and Fitzroy Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 2 September 1916. It was the 19th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the... , 1922 1922 VFL Grand Final The 1922 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Fitzroy Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 21 October 1922. It was the 25th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine... , 1944 1944 VFL Grand Final The 1944 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Fitzroy Football Club and Richmond Football Club, held at the Junction Oval in Melbourne on 30 September 1944. It was the 48th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers... |
Merged with the Brisbane Bears to become the Brisbane Lions |
 |
University Melbourne University Football Club Melbourne University Football Club, often known simply as University is an Australian rules football club.The club achieved prominence by being a member of the game's most elite competition in the early 20th century, the Victorian Football League between 1908 and 1914.Although there are no records... |
Students | Melbourne Melbourne Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater... , Victoria Victoria (Australia) Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively.... |
East Melbourne Cricket Ground East Melbourne Cricket Ground The East Melbourne Cricket Ground was a sports venue located at the corner of Wellington Parade and Jolimont Parade, in East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia... (1908–1910) Melbourne Cricket Ground Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light... (1911–1914) |
1908 1908 VFL season Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1908.Both Richmond Football Club and University Football Club were admitted to the VFL competition .-Premiership season:... –1914 1914 VFL season Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1914.-Premiership season:In 1914, the VFL competition consisted of ten teams of 18 on-the-field players each, with no "reserves", although any of the 18 players who had left the playing field for any reason could later resume their... |
Nil | Withdrew due to World War I |
Stadiums
| Name of ground | City | State | Capacity | Current tenant(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melbourne Cricket Ground Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light... |
Melbourne Melbourne Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater... |
Victoria Victoria (Australia) Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively.... |
100,016 | Collingwood Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League... Hawthorn Hawthorn Football Club The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League . The club, founded in 1902, is the youngest of the Victorian-based teams in the AFL. The team play in Brown & Gold vertically striped guernseys... Melbourne Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria.... Richmond Richmond Football Club The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,... Carlton Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897... |
| Stadium Australia | Sydney Sydney Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people... |
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... |
81,500 | Sydney Swans Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney... |
| Docklands Stadium | Melbourne Melbourne Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater... |
Victoria Victoria (Australia) Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively.... |
53,359 | Essendon Essendon Football Club The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League... St Kilda Western Bulldogs Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based at the Whitten Oval in West Footscray, an inner-western suburb of Melbourne... North Melbourne North Melbourne Football Club The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world... Carlton Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897... |
| Football Park | Adelaide Adelaide Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million... |
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... |
51,515 | Port Adelaide Port Adelaide Football Club The Port Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, which plays in the Australian Football League and the South Australian National Football League... Adelaide |
| Sydney Cricket Ground Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian... |
Sydney Sydney Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people... |
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... |
46,000 | Sydney Swans Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney... |
| Subiaco Oval Subiaco Oval Subiaco Oval , known colloquially as Subi, is the highest capacity sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia... |
Perth Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000.... |
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... |
43,500 | West Coast West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League. The club is based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and played its first games in the 1987 season. Its current home ground is Subiaco Oval... Fremantle Fremantle Football Club The Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed The Dockers, is an Australian rules football team which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in the port city of Fremantle at the mouth of the Swan River in Western Australia... |
| The Gabba | Brisbane Brisbane Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of... |
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... |
42,000 | Brisbane Lions Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club was formed from the merger of the Brisbane Bears and the Fitzroy Lions in 1996... |
| Kardinia Park | Geelong | Victoria Victoria (Australia) Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively.... |
27,000 (being upgraded to 34,000) | Geelong Geelong Football Club The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also... |
| Carrara Stadium Carrara Stadium Carrara Stadium is a sporting venue on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Carrara.... |
Gold Coast Gold Coast, Queensland Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous... |
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... |
25,000 | Gold Coast |
| Sydney Showground Sydney Showground (Homebush Bay) The Sydney Showground is a purpose built venue used each year for the Sydney Royal Easter Show. Located at Sydney Olympic Park in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, it was opened in 1998, as a venue for the 2000 Summer Olympics and to replace the ageing old Sydney Showground at Moore Park... |
Sydney Sydney Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people... |
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... |
25,000 | Greater Western Sydney |
| York Park | Launceston Launceston, Tasmania Launceston is a city in the north of the state of Tasmania, Australia at the junction of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River. Launceston is the second largest city in Tasmania after the state capital Hobart... |
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... |
20,000 | Hawthorn Hawthorn Football Club The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League . The club, founded in 1902, is the youngest of the Victorian-based teams in the AFL. The team play in Brown & Gold vertically striped guernseys... † |
| Manuka Oval Manuka Oval Manuka Oval is a 13,550 capacity ground located in the suburb of Griffith, adjacent to Manuka, a business district of Canberra, Australia's capital.... |
Canberra Canberra Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne... |
Australian Capital Territory Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory... |
15,000 | Western Bulldogs Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based at the Whitten Oval in West Footscray, an inner-western suburb of Melbourne... † Greater Western Sydney~ |
| Marrara Stadium | Darwin Darwin, Northern Territory Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities... |
Northern Territory Northern Territory The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions... |
15,000 | Western Bulldogs Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based at the Whitten Oval in West Footscray, an inner-western suburb of Melbourne... ^ Melbourne Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria.... ^ Richmond Richmond Football Club The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,... ^ Port Adelaide Port Adelaide Football Club The Port Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, which plays in the Australian Football League and the South Australian National Football League... ^ |
| Cazaly's Stadium Cazaly's Stadium Cazaly's Stadium, also known by its sponsorship name as Bundaberg Rum Stadium, is a sports stadium in Cairns, Australia, that is named after former VFL legend Roy Cazaly.... |
Cairns Cairns, Queensland Cairns is a regional city in Far North Queensland, Australia, founded 1876. The city was named after William Wellington Cairns, then-current Governor of Queensland. It was formed to serve miners heading for the Hodgkinson River goldfield, but experienced a decline when an easier route was... |
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... |
12,000 | † |
† These teams are part-time tenants through commercial/promotional agreements.
~ Greater Western Sydney will play 4 games a year in Canberra for 10 years, under an agreement with the ACT government.
^ These teams are part of a new deal involving the AFL and Northern Territory Government
Government of the Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is governed according to the principles of the Westminster system, a form of parliamentary government based on the model of the United Kingdom...
that will see Melbourne, Richmond and the Western Bulldogs share two regular season matches at Marrara Stadium for seasons 2010 and 2011. Port Adelaide
Port Adelaide Football Club
The Port Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, which plays in the Australian Football League and the South Australian National Football League...
will be the away team in each of these games.
Bellerive Oval
Bellerive Oval, also known as its sponsored name Blundstone Arena, is primarily a cricket and Australian Rules Football ground located in Bellerive, City of Clarence, on the eastern shore of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia...
in Hobart, Adelaide Oval
Adelaide Oval
The Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide...
in Adelaide, and Eureka Stadium
Eureka Stadium
Eureka Stadium, formerly known as Northern Oval, is an Australian rules football ground in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia.Eureka Stadium is the home ground of the North Ballarat Football Club of the Victorian Football League and the North Ballarat Rebels of the TAC Cup.The ground has been flagged as...
in Ballarat.
Players
AFL Draft
The AFL Draft is the annual draft of new unsigned players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League.-History:...
. The rules for the draft have changed every few years since it was introduced in 1986, but the basic philosophy remains in that players are selected by clubs in the reverse of the order of their positions on the ladder at the end of the preceding season. That is, the club that finished last has first draft selection, then the club that finished second last. However, this philosophy has been compromised by giving priority picks to clubs which win fewer than four matches during the season and by allowing clubs to select sons of former players under the Father-Son Rule
Father-son rule
The father-son rule is a rule that allows clubs to select the sons of players who have made a major past contribution to the team in Australian rules football, most notably the Australian Football League...
which itself has been varied over the years.
A salary cap
Salary cap
In professional sports, a salary cap is a cartel agreement between teams that places a limit on the amount of money that can be spent on player salaries. The limit exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both...
(known as the Total Player Payments or TPP) is also in place as part of the league's equalisation policy; in 2011, this is set at A$8,212,500 with a salary floor of A$7,596,562.50 for 2011 (except for the Gold Coast expansion team, whose salary cap will be A$9,212,500 with a salary floor of A$8,596,562.50). Salaries of draft selections are fixed for two years. Salaries for senior players are not normally released to the public, although one report put the average for 2011 at $211,000 and the top few players can expect to earn up to $1,000,000 a year.
The breaches of the salary cap and salary floor regulations outlined by the AFL are exceeding the TPP, falling below the salary floor, not informing the AFL of payments, late or incorrect lodgement or loss of documents, or engaging in draft tampering. Penalties include fines of up to triple the amount involved ($10,000 for each document late or incorrect lodged or lost), forfeiture of draft picks and/or deduction of premiership points; the latter penalty has never been implemented for any of the breaches that have occurred.
In 2002, Carlton were fined $987,500 and barred from receiving priority picks, from the first two rounds of the National Draft for two years and from the 2003 pre-season draft after an AFL investigation found that they had committed serious and systematic breaches of the salary cap totaling $1.37 million between 1998 and 2001. The fine was an Australian sporting record until the Melbourne Storm
Melbourne Storm
The Melbourne Storm are an Australian professional rugby league club based in the city of Melbourne. They are the first fully professional rugby league team based in the Australian rules football-dominated state of Victoria....
NRL team were fined $1.689 million in 2010 for gross long-term salary cap breaches
Melbourne Storm salary cap breach
The Melbourne Storm salary cap breach was a major breach of the National Rugby League's strictly enforced salary cap by the Melbourne Storm club over a period of five years...
.
Demographics
Indigenous Australian players
There were 78 players of Indigenous Australian descent on AFL club lists in 2011, comprising 9.74% of the overall playing population.International players
There were 12 players recruited from outside of Australia on AFL listsin 2011, including 10 from Ireland, all converts from Gaelic footballGaelic football
Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
drafted as part of the Irish Experiment
Irish experiment
The Irish Experiment is the popular name for the interest, primarily from VFL/AFL clubs, in bringing Irish sportspeople to Australia to play Australian Rules Football professionally ....
. The other two players are Seamus McNamara
Seamus McNamara
Seamus 'Shae' McNamara is an American born Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League .McNamara signed a two year international rookie contract and was selected by the Collingwood Football Club in the 2009 AFL Rookie Draft at pick #47.Collingwood discovered McNamara, who played...
and Mike Pyke
Mike Pyke
Michael Anthony Patrick Pyke is a Canadian dual-code football player.He is best known in his homeland as a rugby union player, who played for Canada's national side and French Top 14 squad US Montauban.Pyke is currently a professional Australian rules footballer with the Sydney Swans.-Early...
, recruited from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
respectively.
There were also another five overseas-born players who emigrated to Australia at an early age on AFL lists.
An International Rookie List and International Scholarship List were introduced in 2006. The International Rookie List comprises up to two players between the ages of 15–23 who are not Australian citizens. These players may remain on this list for up to three years before they must be transferred to the senior or rookie list. For the first year, payments made to international-rookie-listed players fall outside the salary cap. The International Scholarship List gives AFL clubs the option of recruiting up to eight players from outside Australia (other than Ireland). Irish players are required to either be placed on clubs' senior or rookie list
Rookie list
The Rookie List is a means for Australian Football League clubs to maintain additional players outside of the 38-man primary or senior list. Rookie listed players are not eligibile to play in AFL home and away or finals matches unless they are elevated to the senior list, either to replace a...
s. There are currently 14 international scholarship players.
Premiership season
The Toyota AFL Premiership Season, contested between the 17 teams from around Australia, lasts for 24 rounds and begins in late March. For the 2011 AFL season2011 AFL season
The 2011 Australian Football League season was the 115th season of the Australian rules football competition. It was the debut year for , and was scheduled to be the only season to be played with 17 teams...
, each team will play 22 games, and have two byes. The McClelland Trophy
McClelland Trophy
The McClelland Trophy is an Australian rules football trophy, currently awarded to the minor premiers in the Australian Football League each year...
is awarded to the team that finishes the home and away rounds in first position (the minor premiership).
At the end of the 24 rounds, the top eight teams compete in the four-week AFL Finals Series
AFL finals system
The current AFL finals system was devised by the Australian Football League in 2000 as its end-of-season championship playoff tournament. It is a revision of the McIntyre Final Eight System, used by the AFL from 1994 to 1999, designed to address several perceived issues with that system...
. In the first week the top four teams play in qualifying finals (1st vs 4th and 2nd vs 3rd), the two winning qualifying finals teams progress directly into the two preliminary finals in the third week, with the other four teams playing in elimination finals (5th vs 8th and 6th vs 7th). In the second week the two losing teams from the qualifying finals play the two winning teams from the elimination finals in the semi-finals. The winners of the qualifying finals play the winners of the semi-finals in the preliminary finals. The two winning preliminary final teams play in the grand final in the fourth week of the finals.
The premiership winning team is the team that wins the grand final.
The winning team receives a premiership cup – there is a new one manufactured every year which the winning team gets to keep with the year engraved on it - premiership medallions and a premiership flag.
The premiership flag is a large triangular flag which is blue with a white border and has the AFL logo on it as well as the word "premiers" and the year – there is a new one manufactured every year which the winning club gets to keep. It is tradition to unfurl it at the first home game of the season the following year in front of the home supporters.
The grand final has traditionally been played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
on the last Saturday in September. Recent exceptions to this were in 1991, when the MCG was being redeveloped and the grand final was played at Waverley Park
Waverley Park
Waverley Park was an Australian rules football stadium in Mulgrave, Victoria, Australia. For most of its history, its purpose was as a neutral venue and used by all Victorian based Victorian Football League/Australian Football League clubs. However, during the 1990s it became the home ground of...
, and 2000 when the grand final was played in early September as the Sydney Olympics started on 15 September. In 2011, due to the expanded season, the grand final is due to be played on 1 October.
Premiership cup
A trophy cup, known as the premiership cup, and the premiership flag, are awarded to the winner of the AFL Grand Final. In addition, each player receives a premiership medallion.The premiership cup is silver (with the exception of 1996 when a gold cup was awarded instead of the usual silver one in the AFL/VFL's 100th season) and manufactured by Cash's International at their metalworks in Frankston, Victoria
Frankston, Victoria
Frankston is a suburb within the Greater Melbourne metropolitan area in Victoria, Australia. It is located 40 km southeast of the state capital Melbourne at the southernmost edge of Greater Melbourne, near the beginnings of the Mornington Peninsula...
. The cup was first introduced in 1959 by the VFL and, before this, the award was a pennant known by supporters simply as "The Flag". The AFL has since retrospectively awarded the premiers trophies based on the current design. Before the 1960s, premiership players received a personal premiership trophy instead of a medallion.
Themed rounds and special matches
Themed rounds have become immensely popular. There are themes such as Rivalry Round (in which traditional rivals are matched up against each other), Women's Round and Heritage RoundAFL Heritage Round
Heritage Round was a round of matches in the Australian Football League in which all the teams wore guernseys from their past. The first Heritage Round was in 2003 and had been continuing every year until 2008....
(where teams play in old style guernseys
Throwback uniform
Throwback uniforms and jerseys are one-time or limited-time variations on a sports team's uniforms styled to resemble uniforms from that team's past. They have proven popular in all major pro and college sports in the USA, not only with fans, but with the teams' marketing and merchandising...
). Some matches are also themed for special events. For example, each year Collingwood play Essendon in the annual ANZAC Day match
The ANZAC Day clash
The Anzac Day clash is an annual Australian rules football match between Australian Football League teams Collingwood and Essendon, held on Anzac Day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground .-Early history of Australian rules on Anzac Day:...
at the MCG and the game will typically sell out regardless of the positions of the two teams on the ladder due to their strong rivalry and huge followings. Another annual match is the Queen's Birthday game between Melbourne and Collingwood. As of 2006, Richmond and Essendon play in the Dreamtime at the 'G
Dreamtime at the 'G
Dreamtime at the 'G is an annual Australian rules football match between Australian Football League clubs and .The name of the match comes from Australian Aboriginal mythology The Dreaming or Dreamtime and the Australian, but more specifically Victorian, colloquial reference to the Melbourne...
match. There are separate trophies for the matches between several clubs and former rivalries such as the Lake Trophy between St Kilda and the Sydney Swans.
NAB Cup
The NAB Cup is a national pre-season competition played and completed prior to the commencement of the premiership season. It has been contested each season since 1988.The pre-season competition has mostly been contested as a four-week knock-out tournament, although with the expansion beyond sixteen clubs in 2011, the first week has been replaced by a three-team round-robin of half-length matches. Teams play exhibition matches on weekends after being eliminated. The competition has frequently been used to trial rule changes.
The final was played at Waverley Park most years until the ground was sold by the league in 1999. Since then, the finals have been mostly played at Docklands Stadium, but interstate clubs can earn the right to host the final, and three of the finals have been played in Adelaide. The player judged best on the ground in the final is awarded the Michael Tuck Medal
Michael Tuck Medal
Since 1992, the Michael Tuck Medal has been awarded to the best-and-fairest player in the AFL Pre-season Cup Final. It is named after Michael Tuck, the current AFL games record holder who played 426 senior matches for the Hawthorn Hawks between 1972 and 1991....
, in honour of the footballer who played more league matches (426) than any other.
Before the VFL
Australian rules football dates back to 18591859 in sports
1859 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Australian rules football:Events* 14 May — Melbourne Football Club is founded* 17 May — Australian rules football is codified* 18 July — Geelong Football Club is founded-Baseball:...
. Melbourne Football Club
Melbourne Football Club
The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....
was formed on 14 May that year. At a couple of meetings over the next week or so, at the Parade Hotel in East Melbourne, a group of about seven men, including Tom Wills
Tom Wills
Thomas Wentworth "Tom" Wills was an Australian all-round sportsman, umpire, coach and administrator who is credited with being a catalyst towards the invention of Australian rules football....
, W.J. Hammersley
William Hammersley
William Josiah Sumner Hammersley was a prominent sports journalist for Bell's Life in Victoria and later The Australasian , one of the four men credited with setting down the original rules of the Australian rules football.-Life:He was educated at Aldenham School...
and J. B. Thompson
J. B. Thompson
James Bogne "J. B." Thompson was one of the creators of the original laws of Australian rules football, one of the founders and the inaugural secretary of the Melbourne Football Club, a cricketer for both Victoria and the Melbourne Cricket Club , and a journalist for Melbourne newspaper, The...
, wrote the first rules for Australian football. By 1866, several other clubs had also adopted an updated version of Melbourne's rules. In 1877, the amateur Victorian Football Association
Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association , taking its new name as from the 1996 season, is the premier Australian rules football league in Victoria The Victorian Football League (VFL) which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association...
was established.
VFL begins
The Victorian Football League was established in 1896 when several clubs broke away from the Victorian Football AssociationVictorian Football League
The Victorian Football League which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association , taking its new name as from the 1996 season, is the premier Australian rules football league in Victoria The Victorian Football League (VFL) which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association...
which was the first Australian rules competition in Victoria, second in the country after the South Australian Football Association. The first games were played in 1897
1897 VFL season
Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1897, the inaugural season of the VFL.-Premiership season:In 1897, the VFL competition consisted of eight teams of 20 on-the-field players each, with no "reserves" Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of...
between the foundation clubs – Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong, Melbourne, St Kilda and South Melbourne.
Major annual awards
- Brownlow MedalBrownlow MedalThe Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
- Coleman MedalColeman MedalThe Coleman Medal is awarded yearly to the Australian Football League player who kicks the most goals in regular-season matches in that year...
- AFL Rising Star
- Leigh Matthews TrophyLeigh Matthews TrophyThe Leigh Matthews Trophy is an annual award given by the AFL Players Association to the Most Valuable Player in the Australian Football League. It is named in honour of Leigh Matthews, who won the first MVP award in 1982, when the league was still known as the Victorian Football League...
- AFLPA AwardsAFLPA AwardsThe AFL Players' Association Awards are a group of awards given annually to players in the Australian Football League, voted for by all AFL players.-Leigh Matthews Trophy:...
- AFLCA Awards
- Norm Smith MedalNorm Smith MedalThe Norm Smith Medal is the award given in the AFL Grand Final to the player adjudged by an independent panel of experts to have been the best player in the match.-History:The Norm Smith Medal is named after former Melbourne player and coach, Norm Smith...
- Jock McHale MedalJock McHale MedalThe Jock McHale Medal is an award given to the coach of the winning premiership team in the Australian Football League. It is named in honour of coaching games record-holder Jock McHale. It was first awarded in 2001, and medals were retrospectively awarded to back to 1950 .-Sources:*...
- Michael Tuck MedalMichael Tuck MedalSince 1992, the Michael Tuck Medal has been awarded to the best-and-fairest player in the AFL Pre-season Cup Final. It is named after Michael Tuck, the current AFL games record holder who played 426 senior matches for the Hawthorn Hawks between 1972 and 1991....
- Mark of the YearMark of the YearThe annual Mark of the Year competition is a sporting award that celebrates each season's best mark...
- Goal of the Year (Australia)Goal of the Year (Australia)The Goal of the Year is a competition for the best goals kicked in the VFL/AFL during that season. It is run in conjunction with the Mark of the Year competition and is currently sponsored by Panasonic. The award is also known as the Phil Manassa Medal....
- AFL Army AwardAFL Army AwardFrom 2007 until 2009 the Australian Football League produced the AFL Army Award to recognise players who produced significant acts of bravery or selflessness to promote the cause of their team during a game...
- All Australian Team
- Club Best and FairestBest and FairestBest and Fairest is the term commonly used in Australian sport to describe the player adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition while not receiving a suspension for misconduct or breaching the rules during that season.In the...
Awards - Herald Sun Player of the YearHerald Sun Player of the YearThe Herald Sun Player of the Year award is a media award for the Australian Football League given by Melbourne newspaper the Herald Sun...
- Lou Richards MedalLou Richards MedalThe Lou Richards Medal is an annual Most Valuable Player award for the Australian Football League, based on votes from the Sunday Footy Show panel each week.-History:The Lou Richards Medal is named after former Collingwood player, Lou Richards...
(Sunday Footy Show player of the Year)
Team of the Century
To celebrate the 100th season of the AFL, the "AFL Team of the Century" was named in 1996.Jack Elder
Jack Elder (umpire)
Jack Elder was a former Australian rules football umpire who in 1996 was named as the VFL/AFL's Umpire of the Century....
was declared the Umpire of the Century to coincide with the Team of the Century. Since the naming of this side, most AFL clubs have nominated their own teams of the century. An Indigenous Team of the Century
Indigenous Team of the Century
The Indigenous Team of the Century was selected to recognise the role of Indigenous Australians in the sport. It was announced in 2005 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first senior game played by an indigenous player, Fitzroy's Joe Johnson...
was also selected in 2005, featuring the best Aboriginal players of the previous 100 years from both the VFL/AFL and other state leagues.
Records
- Highest winning margin
190 points – Fitzroy 36.22 (238) defeated Melbourne 6.12 (48)
Waverley ParkWaverley ParkWaverley Park was an Australian rules football stadium in Mulgrave, Victoria, Australia. For most of its history, its purpose was as a neutral venue and used by all Victorian based Victorian Football League/Australian Football League clubs. However, during the 1990s it became the home ground of...
, 28 July 1979 - Highest aggregate score
52.33 (345) – Melbourne 21.15 (141) lost to St Kilda 31.18 (204)
MCGMelbourne Cricket GroundThe Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
, 6 May 1978 - Highest score in one quarter
South Melbourne – 17.4 (106) vs. St Kilda 0.0 (0) in 4th quarter
Lake OvalLake OvalThe Lake Oval was an Australian rules football and cricket stadium located in Albert Park, Victoria. It was the home of the South Melbourne Football Club from 1878 until their relocation to Sydney in 1982 , and also of the South Melbourne Cricket Club...
, 26 July 1919
Final score: South Melbourne 29.15 (189) vs. St Kilda 2.6 (18) - Highest score
Geelong 37.17 (239) defeated Brisbane Bears 11.9 (75)
Carrara StadiumCarrara StadiumCarrara Stadium is a sporting venue on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Carrara....
, 3 May 1992 - Largest crowd
Carlton v Collingwood – 121,696
MCGMelbourne Cricket GroundThe Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
, 26 September 1970 (Grand Final) - Largest home and away season crowd
Melbourne v Collingwood – 99,346
MCGMelbourne Cricket GroundThe Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
, 1958 - Largest crowd for a game between a Victorian and non-Victorian club
St Kilda Saints v Adelaide Crows – 98,828
MCGMelbourne Cricket GroundThe Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
, 27 September 1997 (Grand Final) - Largest crowd for a game between non-Victorian clubs
West Coast Eagles v Sydney Swans – 97,431
MCGMelbourne Cricket GroundThe Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
, 30 September 2006 (Grand Final) - Largest international crowd
Melbourne v Sydney – 32,789
B.C. Place, VancouverVancouverVancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, Canada, 1987 - Most premierships
Carlton - 16 (most recent 1995) and Essendon - 16 (most recent 2000) - Most last placed finishes at the end of the home and away season
St Kilda – 26 - Most consecutive premierships
Collingwood – 4
1927–1930 - Most games won
Collingwood - 1921
(to the end of the 2010 season) - Most games won in a season
Essendon – 2000
24 (incl. finals) - Undefeated in a home and away season
Collingwood
1929 - Most grand final appearances
Collingwood - 43 - Most consecutive grand final appearances
Melbourne - 7 (between 1954 and 1960) and Hawthorn - 7 (between 1983 and 1989) - Most finals series appearances
Collingwood - 78 - Most consecutive finals series appearances
Hawthorn - 13 (between 1982 and 1994) - Most consecutive preliminary finals appearances
North Melbourne - 7 (between 1994 and 2000) - Most consecutive wins
Geelong – 23
1952–1953 - Most consecutive games unbeaten
Geelong – 26
1952–1953 - Most consecutive losses
University – 51 (1911–1914) - Most games played in a career
Michael TuckMichael TuckMichael Tuck is a seven time premiership winning player, Australian rules footballer with the Hawthorn Football Club in the Victorian Football League / Australian Football League , where he is the games record holder....
(Hawthorn) – 426 games - Most finals played in a career
Michael TuckMichael TuckMichael Tuck is a seven time premiership winning player, Australian rules footballer with the Hawthorn Football Club in the Victorian Football League / Australian Football League , where he is the games record holder....
(Hawthorn) – 39 games - Most grand finals played in a career
Michael TuckMichael TuckMichael Tuck is a seven time premiership winning player, Australian rules footballer with the Hawthorn Football Club in the Victorian Football League / Australian Football League , where he is the games record holder....
(Hawthorn) – 11 - Most premierships won in a career
Michael TuckMichael TuckMichael Tuck is a seven time premiership winning player, Australian rules footballer with the Hawthorn Football Club in the Victorian Football League / Australian Football League , where he is the games record holder....
(Hawthorn) – 7 - Most games as club captain
Stephen KernahanStephen KernahanStephen Scott Kernahan is a former Australian rules footballer best known for his career with the Carlton Football Club of the Australian Football League and the Glenelg Football Club of the SANFL from 1981 until 1997...
(Carlton) – 226 games - Most goals in a career
Tony LockettTony LockettAnthony Howard "Tony" Lockett is a former Australian rules football player. Lockett is the highest goal scorer in the history of the VFL/AFL with 1,360 goals in a career of 281 games, that commenced in 1983 with the St Kilda Football Club, and finished in 2002 with the Sydney Swans...
(St Kilda/Sydney) – 1,360 goals - Most goals in finals
Gordon CoventryGordon CoventryGordon "Nuts" Coventry was an Australian rules footballer who played for Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League . With 1,299 goals over 18 seasons, Coventry remains one of the greatest full forwards the game has ever seen...
(Collingwood) – 112 goals - Most goals in a game
Fred FanningFred FanningFred Fanning is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Melbourne in the Victorian Football League . He was a strongly built forward who stood at 193 cm and weighed 102 kg and, prior to the Coleman Medal, topped the league's goal kicking charts in 1943 , 1944 and 1945...
(Melbourne) – 18 goals, 30 August 1947 - Most goals in a season (including finals)
Bob PrattBob PrattHarold Robert "Bob" Pratt was a former Australian rules footballer from Mitcham, Victoria.Pratt played with South Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League from 1930–1939 and again in 1946, and with the Coburg Football Club in the Victorian Football Association from 1940 to 1941...
(South Melbourne, 1934) and Peter HudsonPeter HudsonPeter John Hudson AM is a former Australian Rules Football player, considered one of the greatest full-forwards in the game's history....
(Hawthorn, 1971) – 150 goals - Most consecutive matches
Jim StynesJim StynesJames "Jim" Stynes OAM is an Irish former professional Australian rules footballer who is currently a businessman, philanthropist, writer, youth worker, qualified teacher and chairman of Melbourne Football Club since 2008....
(Melbourne) – 244 - Most consecutive matches from debut
Jared CrouchJared CrouchJared Crouch is a South Australian former Australian football player with the Sydney Swans of the AFL, who is colloquially known as “Crouchie” to Swans fans and media....
(Sydney) – 194 - Tallest player
Aaron SandilandsAaron SandilandsAaron Sandilands is an Australian rules footballer. At 211 cm tall and weighing 122 kg , he is the heaviest and equal tallest player in the history of the game...
(Fremantle) 211 cm
Peter StreetPeter StreetPeter Street is a former professional Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League.At 211 cm he is the equal tallest player in the history of the VFL/AFL ....
(Geelong/Western Bulldogs) 211 cm - Shortest player
James "Nipper" Bradford (North Melbourne/Collingwood) – 154 cm - Heaviest player
Aaron SandilandsAaron SandilandsAaron Sandilands is an Australian rules footballer. At 211 cm tall and weighing 122 kg , he is the heaviest and equal tallest player in the history of the game...
(Fremantle) – 124 kg - Longest kick
Fred FanningFred FanningFred Fanning is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Melbourne in the Victorian Football League . He was a strongly built forward who stood at 193 cm and weighed 102 kg and, prior to the Coleman Medal, topped the league's goal kicking charts in 1943 , 1944 and 1945...
(Melbourne) – 106.15m (116 yards, 3¼ inches) - Heaviest suspension
Doug FraserDoug Fraser (Australian footballer)Doug Fraser was an Australian rules footballer who played for Carlton in the Victorian Football League .A Yarraville premiership player, Fraser broke into a strong Carlton team in the 1910 VFL season and established a place in the side as a follower...
and Alex LangAlex LangAlex 'Bongo' Lang was an Australian rules footballer who played with the Carlton Football Club in the Victorian Football League...
(Carlton) – 99 matches (bribery) from 1910 to 1915 - Heaviest suspension for an on-field incident
Fred RutleyFred RutleyFred Rutley was an Australian rules footballer who played for North Melbourne in the Victorian Football League ....
(North Melbourne) – 89 matches (2 x kicking, 3 x striking and melee involvement) from 1925 to 1930 - Heaviest fine imposed on club
A$987,500 imposed on Carlton 2002 (gross salary cap breaches) - Heaviest fine imposed on player
A$40,000 imposed on Simon GoodwinSimon GoodwinSimon Goodwin is a former Australian rules footballer, who is a dual premiership player with the Adelaide Football Club and is now an assistant coach at the Essendon Football Club.-Early career :...
of Adelaide in 2007 (gambling on AFL matches), also imposed on Rhan Hooper of Hawthorn in 2009 (multiple discipline breaches) - Heaviest fine imposed on coach
A$15,000 imposed on Grant ThomasGrant Thomas (footballer)Grant Thomas is a former Australian rules football player and coach. He most recently held the position of coach of the St Kilda Football Club from 2001–2006. He attended St Bede's College in Mentone.- Playing career :...
of St Kilda in 2005 (criticism of umpires), also imposed on Alastair ClarksonAlastair ClarksonAlastair Clarkson is a former Australian rules footballer and current coach of the Hawthorn Football Club.- North Melbourne :...
of Hawthorn in 2009 (confrontation with Essendon player Matthew Lloyd and abusing an interchange steward)
State football
There is currently no official state representation for AFL players despite the concept being well supported among fans and calls to re-introduce a State of Origin series.History of the VFL/AFL's involvement
VFL players first represented the Victoria representative team in 1897 regardless of their state of origin.Being the dominant league drawing many of the country's best players, the Victoria Australian rules football team
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....
(nicknamed the "Big V" and composed mostly of VFL players) dominated interstate matches until the introduction of State of Origin selection criteria by the Australian Football Council (of which the VFL was a member) in 1977.
The AFL Commission assumed control of interstate football in 1993 and co-ordinated an annual State of Origin series typically held during a mid-season bye round. However after the 1999 series, the AFL declared the concept of interstate football "on hold" citing club's unwillingness to release star players and a lack of public interest and shifted its focus of representative football to the International Rules Series where it draws a greater television revenue.
The last time AFL players played interstate football was in the 1999 State of Origin Series when Victoria inflicted a massive defeat on South Australia in wet conditions in front of a crowd of 26,063. Just 10 years earlier, the same match with a plethora of star players attracted a crowd of 91,960.
Some past AFL players participate and help promote the E. J. Whitten Legends Game
E. J. Whitten Legends Game
The E. J. Whitten Legends Game is an annual charity Australian rules football All-star game, where retired star players are reunited, along with selected non-footballing celebrities, in a State of Origin interstate game, between Victoria and the All Stars .-History:E. J...
, however this event is not affiliated with or promoted by the AFL.
AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match
The AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match was a one-off match held at the MCG during the first bye weekend of season 2008 as part of the 150th anniversary of Australian Football celebrations to acknowledge the historical contribution of State Football. In promoting the match, the AFL declared it as "The game that has been 150 years in the making".While many fans (particularly those outside Victoria) had hoped for a traditional interstate series, the AFL instead held an All-Star event featuring the senior Victorian team against a composite "Dream Team
Dream Team Australian rules football team
The Dream Team was an AFL representative team created to take part in the AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match against a Victorian representative team....
".
While the crowd and television audience for the match was impressive and the AFL debated the merits of reintroducing state football, Andrew Demetriou since stated that there is little chance that even an All-Star match will be repeated.
International Rules Series
For information on the International Rules Series, see International Rules SeriesInternational Rules Series
The International Rules Series is a senior men's International rules football competition between the Australia international rules football team and the Ireland international rules football team...
.
Administration
The AFL CommissionAFL Commission
The AFL Commission is the official governing body of the Australian Football League , the elite national Australian rules football competition....
is responsible for the administration of the AFL. It was established in December 1985 after club parochialism and self interest threatened to undermine the competition.
The Commission's chairman is Mike Fitzpatrick
Mike Fitzpatrick (footballer)
Michael "Mike" Fitzpatrick is an Australian businessman, sporting administrator and former Australian rules footballer....
, a former Subiaco and Carlton player, and the Chief Executive is Andrew Demetriou
Andrew Demetriou
Andrew Demetriou is the chief executive officer of the Australian Football League and a former Australian rules footballer. He is the youngest son of Greek-Cypriot immigrants and, before becoming a VFL player, he worked in the dental import industry...
. After playing for North Melbourne and Hawthorn, Demetriou had a successful business career before returning to the football world as chief executive of the AFL Players Association
AFL Players Association
The AFL Players Association, or AFLPA, is the representative body for all current and past professional Australian Football League players....
. He then crossed to the AFL as Manager of Football Operations before succeeding Wayne Jackson.
The Commission's composition remains almost exclusively Victorian based with one exception, Bob Hammond
Bob Hammond
Robert 'Bob' Hammond is a former Australian rules footballer who played for North Adelaide and Norwood in the South Australian National Football League during the 1960s and early 1970s. He later served as coach of the Sydney Swans in the Victorian Football League .Hammond played his early football...
from South Australia.
In addition to administering the national competition, the AFL is heavily involved in promoting and developing the sport in Australia. It provides funds for local leagues and in conjunction with local clubs, administers the Auskick
Auskick
Auskick is a national program in Australia to develop and promote participation in Australian rules football by children. It has proven to be popular with both boys and girls....
program for young boys and girls.
The AFL also plays a leading role in developing the game outside Australia, with projects to develop the game at junior level in other countries (e.g. South Africa) and by supporting affiliated competitions around the world (See Australian football around the world).
The players of the AFL are represented by the AFL Players Association
AFL Players Association
The AFL Players Association, or AFLPA, is the representative body for all current and past professional Australian Football League players....
.
Attendance
The following are the most recent season attendances:| Year | Home and Away | Average | Finals1 | Average1 | Grand Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 2011 AFL season The 2011 Australian Football League season was the 115th season of the Australian rules football competition. It was the debut year for , and was scheduled to be the only season to be played with 17 teams... |
6,533,138 | 34,937 | 614,250 | 68,250 | 99,537 |
| 2010 2010 AFL season -Premiership season:The draw for the 2010 AFL Premiership Season is not a random selection of matches, but rather is planned by the AFL. It is intended to produce a balanced draw while also providing the fans and television networks with blockbuster games. In a competition with 16 teams and 22... |
6,494,564 | 36,901 | 651,764 | 65,176 | 100,0164 and 93,8535 |
| 2009 2009 AFL season -Round 1 :-Round 2:-Round 3 :-Round 4:-Round 5 :-Round 6:-Round 7:-Round 8:-Round 9 :-Round 10:... |
6,375,622 | 36,225 | 615,463 | 68,385 | 99,251 |
| 2008 2008 AFL season -Round 1 :-Round 2:-Round 3 :-Round 4:-Round 5:-Round 6 :-Round 7:-AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match:-Round 8:... |
6,512,999 | 37,0062 | 571,760 | 63,258 | 100,012 |
| 2007 2007 AFL season The 2007 AFL Season was the 111th season of the Australian Football League, the highest-level professional Australian rules football league in Australia... |
6,475,521 | 36,793 | 575,424 | 63,936 | 97,302 |
| 2006 2006 AFL season Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 2006.-National Cup: 3.10.5 defeated 1.10.15 in the 2006 NAB Cup Final... |
6,204,056 | 35,250 | 532,178 | 59,131 | 97,431 |
| 2005 2005 AFL season Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 2005.See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list.-National Cup:... |
6,283,788 | 35,703 | 480,112 | 53,346 | 91,8983 |
| 2004 2004 AFL season Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 2004.See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list.-Wizard Home Loans Cup:The Wizard Home Loans Cup Final saw St... |
5,909,836 | 33,579 | 458,326 | 50,925 | 77,6713 |
| 2003 2003 AFL season Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 2003.See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list.-National Cup:... |
5,876,515 | 33,389 | 478,425 | 53,158 | 79,4513 |
| 2002 2002 AFL season -Round 2:-Round 3:-Round 4:-Round 5 :-Ladder:All teams played 22 games during the home and away season, for a total of 176... |
5,648,021 | 32,091 | 449,445 | 49,938 | 91,817 |
| 2001 2001 AFL season Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 2001.See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list.-National Cup:Port Adelaide defeated Brisbane Lions 17.9 to 3.8 in the Final.... |
5,919,026 | 33,631 | 525,993 | 58,444 | 91,482 |
| 2000 | 5,731,091 | 32,563 | 566,562 | 62,951 | 96,249 |
| 1999 | 5,768,611 | 32,776 | 472,007 | 52,445 | 94,228 |
| 1998 | 6,119,861 | 34,772 | 572,733 | 63,637 | 94,431 |
| 1997 1997 AFL season Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 1997.The Port Adelaide Power joined the competition.The Brisbane Lions also joined the competition after the merger of the and .... |
5,853,449 | 33,258 | 560,406 | 62,267 | 99,645 |
| 1996 1996 AFL season Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 1996.See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list.-Lighting Premiership:... |
5,222,266 | 29,672 | 478,773 | 53,197 | 93,102 |
| 1995 1995 AFL season Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 1995.-Round 1:-Round 2:-Round 3:-Round 4:*This was the first ANZAC Day clash held between Collingwood and Essendon which famously ended in a draw.-Round 5:-Round 6:... |
5,119,694 | 29,089 | 594,919 | 66,102 | 93,678 |
1 Finals total and Finals average include Grand Final crowds.
2 Record.
3 Capacity reduced due to MCG refurbishment.
4 Crowd for the drawn Grand Final.
5 Crowd for the Grand Final Replay, played one week after the drawn Grand Final.
Australian television
For the 2007 - 2011 seasons, the official free-to-air television partners of the AFL were the Seven NetworkSeven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
and Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
. They owned the rights to all eight matches per round, but had on-sold four of those to pay-TV providers Foxtel
Foxtel
Foxtel is an Australian pay television company, operating cable, direct broadcast satellite television and IPTV services. It was formed in 1995 through a joint venture established between Telstra and News Corporation....
and Austar
Austar
Austar is an Australian telecommunications company. Its main business activity is Subscription Television but it is also involved with internet access and mobile phones...
, meaning only two were actually shown on each free-to-air network. Fox Sports
Fox Sports (Australia)
Fox Sports is an Australia group of sports channels. They are owned by the Premier Media Group, which is in turn owned by News Corporation, and Consolidated Media Holdings. Its main competitors are ESPN, which has little local content and the free-to-air digital channel One HD...
screened the other four matches live across Australia and replays for all eight matches. From 2002 - 2006, the Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
, Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
and Fox Footy Channel
Fox Footy Channel
The Fox Footy Channel was a channel exclusively dedicated to Australian rules football. It was owned by Foxtel, and operated out of their Melbourne based studios. It was available on Foxtel, Austar, Optus Television, TransTV and Neighbourhood Cable up until transmission was ceased on 1 October 2006...
along with their affiliated broadcast partners held the rights to Australian Football League television coverage. All Matches involving teams from Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia have been screened to viewers on free-to-air channels in their home states (including matches covered by Foxtel) during this time, as well as in past broadcast agreements.
From 2012, the AFL competition will expand to 18 teams with a new team, the Greater Western Sydney Giants (also known as the GWS Giants) joining the competition following on from the debut of the Gold Coast Suns
Gold Coast Suns
The Gold Coast Suns were one of the eight original franchises that began play in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989. The club split their home games between Miami and Pompano Beach, FL and hired future Hall of Famer Earl Weaver as manager. In the league's inaugural season, the...
team in 2011. On Friday 30 October 2011, the AFL released its fixture for 2012 and announced that the 2012 home and away season will be played over 23 rounds, with three 'multi-bye' rounds of only six games. The reduced rounds - 11, 12 and 13 - will allow six teams to have a bye in each week of the three-week period. The multi-bye format has been chosen over the traditional split round as a means of giving players a break during the season. http://www.afl.com.au/newsviews/todaysnews/fixturenews/tabid/16783/default.aspx
On Thursday 28 April 2011, the AFL announced that the Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
and Foxtel
Foxtel
Foxtel is an Australian pay television company, operating cable, direct broadcast satellite television and IPTV services. It was formed in 1995 through a joint venture established between Telstra and News Corporation....
and Telstra
Telstra
Telstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
had successfully won the rights to broadcast the 2012 - 2017 seasons on their respective networks. Telstra won the rights to broadcast one live match per week via IP Television and on their Telstra Mobile service. The deal was confirmed when the Seven Network, Foxtel and Telstra agreed to pay $A1.253 Billion to the Australian Football League to broadcast every match of every round and all of the Finals Series across their platforms. http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/112560/default.aspx
The reasons for the increased in media rights revenue came from the addition of extra matches due to two more teams joining the competition, Foxtel being granted permission by the Federal Government to bid for nearly all matches to show live, plus an increase from four to five matches shown exclusively on their platform each round, high demand for content from Telstra and the Seven Network`s desire to retain AFL rights by bidding more than Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
and Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
.
As part of the agreement, Austar
Austar
Austar is an Australian telecommunications company. Its main business activity is Subscription Television but it is also involved with internet access and mobile phones...
will broadcast Foxtel`s AFL coverage in the regional areas of Australia that are not part of Foxtel`s service area. Regional free-to-air broadcasters Prime7, GWN7, Seven Queensland
Seven Queensland
Seven Queensland is an Australian television station, licensed to, and serving the regional areas of Queensland. The station is owned and operated by the Seven Network from studios located in Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast, using the callsign STQ, which stands for Sunshine Television,...
, Southern Cross Television
Southern Cross Television
Southern Cross Television, or Southern Cross, is an Australian television network available in Tasmania, Darwin, Regional South Australia, and Central Australia. Although the programming varies from region to region, all areas are affiliated with the Seven Network and, in some areas, have a dual...
and WIN Television
WIN Television
WIN Television is an Australian television network owned by the WIN Corporation that is based in Wollongong, New South Wales. WIN commenced transmissions on 18 March 1962 as a single Wollongong-only station, and has since expanded to 24 owned-and-operated stations with transmissions covering a...
will show Seven's coverage in their respective areas.
Foxtel
Foxtel
Foxtel is an Australian pay television company, operating cable, direct broadcast satellite television and IPTV services. It was formed in 1995 through a joint venture established between Telstra and News Corporation....
and Austar
Austar
Austar is an Australian telecommunications company. Its main business activity is Subscription Television but it is also involved with internet access and mobile phones...
will broadcast every match from every round of the AFL pre-season tournament, the AFL premiership season and every match of the AFL Finals Series (except for the AFL Grand Final) live across Australia. Matches will be shown live and on replay, along with magazine shows and other australian rules football themed programming through on a re-launched 24-hour a day AFL TV channel to be known as Fox Footy
Fox Footy
Fox Footy is an upcoming Australian Rules football subscription television channel dedicated to screening Australian rules football matches and related programming. It will be owned by Premier Media Group, operated out of their Melbourne based studios and available on Foxtel, Austar and Optus...
. Live Match coverage will also screen across Australia on Fox Sports when other games are screening on Fox Footy
Fox Footy
Fox Footy is an upcoming Australian Rules football subscription television channel dedicated to screening Australian rules football matches and related programming. It will be owned by Premier Media Group, operated out of their Melbourne based studios and available on Foxtel, Austar and Optus...
. Coverage will also be available via Foxtel`s IP television service (Foxtel on T-Box).
The Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
and affiliated stations will simulcast four games from every round of the regular premiership season on Friday night, Saturday afternoon, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon with Foxtel and Austar. Games played on Public Holidays such as ANZAC Day and the Queens Birthday will also be broadcast by the Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
. Seven will simulcast the AFL Finals Series live with Foxtel
Foxtel
Foxtel is an Australian pay television company, operating cable, direct broadcast satellite television and IPTV services. It was formed in 1995 through a joint venture established between Telstra and News Corporation....
and will broadcast the AFL Grand Final
AFL Grand Final
The AFL Grand Final is an annual Australian rules football match, traditionally held on the final Saturday in September at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia to determine the Australian Football League premiership champions for that year...
exclusively live, with Foxtel
Foxtel
Foxtel is an Australian pay television company, operating cable, direct broadcast satellite television and IPTV services. It was formed in 1995 through a joint venture established between Telstra and News Corporation....
broadcasting the Grand Final on replay. Under the terms of the new agreement, the matches that are broadcast by the Seven Network and their affiliates will vary for different regions of Australia.
Matches will be broadcast live into Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory on the free-to-air (digital-only) multi-channel: 7mate
7mate
7mate is an Australian free-to-air high definition digital television channel, which was launched by the Seven Network on 25 September 2010.The network stated that 7mate would contain sport and regular programs aimed primarily at a male audience, with programming drawn from a combination of new...
. Matches will be broadcast either live or on delay into all other states on the primary channel (Seven Network and affiliates Prime7, GWN7 and Southern Cross Television
Southern Cross Television
Southern Cross Television, or Southern Cross, is an Australian television network available in Tasmania, Darwin, Regional South Australia, and Central Australia. Although the programming varies from region to region, all areas are affiliated with the Seven Network and, in some areas, have a dual...
). WIN-TV will show matches for viewers in the Riverland
Riverland
The Riverland, is a region of South Australia. It covers the area near the Murray River from where it flows into South Australia downstream to Blanchetown.The major town centres are Renmark, Berri, Loxton, Waikerie and Barmera...
, Mount Gambier and Limestone Coast
Limestone Coast
The Limestone Coast is a name used since the early twentyfirst century for the geographical region and tourist region of the southeast coast of South Australia from the Victoria border to the towards the city of Adelaide.-Location and description:...
regions of eastern 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...
only, on a digital multi channel affiliated with the Seven Network`s station in Adelaide, SAS-7.
The finer details regarding coverage in Australia for the 2012 - 2016 seasons according to the Australian Football League website http://www.afl.com.au/ are as follows:
(NB: With the exception of Western Australia, viewers who receive the Viewer Access Satellite Television
Viewer Access Satellite Television
The Viewer Access Satellite Television service, or VAST, is a satellite television platform in Australia, providing digital television and radio services to remote and black spot areas using the Optus C1 satellite. It is partly funded by the Australian Government and managed through a joint-venture...
service are expected to get the same coverage as Victoria, Tasmania and the Northern Territory).
Victoria, Tasmania and the Northern Territory:
(NB: excluding viewers receiving television services from South Australia)
• Three Matches per week Live on free to air on Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. One match on delay on Saturday afternoon;
• All Nine Matches per week Live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar and Fox IP television and live on mobile via Telstra;
• One match per week live on IP Television via Telstra.
Market Specifics:
Friday night matches live on free to air television and live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar.
Three Sunday matches played. All matches to be shown live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar. One match shown live on free to air television, to commence at 3.15pm.
Two Saturday night matches played. Both matches shown live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar. One match shown live on free to air television.
Two Saturday afternoon matches played. Both matches shown live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar. One match shown on delay on free to air television.
Every game shown live on Foxtel and Austar and on Telstra Mobile.
South Australia
• A minimum of four Matches per week Live or Near Live on free to air;
• All Nine Matches per week Live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar and Fox IP television and live on mobile via Telstra;
• One match per week live on IP Television via Telstra.
Market Specifics:
All 42 matches involving the Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide broadcast on free to air television, either live or on delay. Home matches near live on free to air and live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar.
No matches lost to blackspots on Saturdays or Sundays, with all matches broadcast live into the state from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar.
Friday night matches live or near live on free to air television, and live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar.
Three Sunday matches played. All matches to be shown live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar. A minimum of One match shown live or near live on free to air television.
Two Saturday night matches played. Both matches shown live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar. One match shown live or near live on free to air television.
Two Saturday afternoon matches played. Both matches shown live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar. One match shown on delay on free to air television.
Every game shown live on Foxtel and Austar and on Telstra Mobile.
Western Australia
• A minimum of four Matches per week Live or Near Live on free to air; and
• All Nine Matches per week Live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Fox IP television and live on mobile via Telstra;
• One match per week live on IP Television via Telstra.
Market Specifics:
All 42 matches involving West Coast and Fremantle broadcast on free to air television, either live or on delay. Home matches near live on free to air and live from Fox Footy on Foxtel.
No matches lost to blackspots on Saturdays or Sundays, with all matches broadcast live into the state from Fox Footy on Foxtel.
Friday night matches on free to air television, with a reduced delay time from the previous agreement, and live from Fox Footy on Foxtel.
Three Sunday matches played. All matches to be shown live from Fox Footy on Foxtel. A minimum of one match shown live or near live on free to air television.
Two Saturday night matches played. Both matches shown live from Fox Footy on Foxtel. One match shown live or near live on free to air television.
Two Saturday afternoon matches played. Both matches shown live from Fox Footy on Foxtel. One match shown on delay on free to air television.
Every game shown live on Foxtel and on Telstra Mobile.
New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory
(excluding regions covered by Victorian, South Australian or Queensland television services)
• A minimum of four Matches per week on free to air, with all matches to be shown live
• All Nine Matches per week Live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar and Fox IP television and live on mobile via Telstra;
• One match per week live on IP Television via Telstra.
Market Specifics:
Every game shown live on Foxtel and Austar and on Telstra Mobile.
All 42 matches involving the Sydney Swans and the GWS Giants broadcast on free to air television, either live or on delay. Home matches near live on free to air and live
from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar.
Friday night matches live on free to air multi channels and live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar.
Three Sunday matches played. All matches to be shown live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar. One match shown live on free to air multi channel
Two Saturday night matches played. Both matches shown live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar. One match shown live on free to air multi channel.
Two Saturday afternoon matches played. Both matches shown live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar. One match shown live on free to air multi channel.
No matches lost to blackspots on Saturdays or Sundays, with all matches broadcast live into the state from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar.
Queensland
(NB: variations may apply to viewers receiving Viewer Access Satellite Television
Viewer Access Satellite Television
The Viewer Access Satellite Television service, or VAST, is a satellite television platform in Australia, providing digital television and radio services to remote and black spot areas using the Optus C1 satellite. It is partly funded by the Australian Government and managed through a joint-venture...
service)
• A minimum of four Matches per week on free to air, with all matches shown live;
• All Nine Matches per week Live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar and Fox IP television and live on mobile via Telstra;
• One match per week live on IP Television via Telstra.
Market Specifics:
Every game shown live on Foxtel and Austar and on Telstra Mobile.
All 42 matches involving the Brisbane Lions and the Gold Coast Suns broadcast on free to air television multi channels, either live or on delay. Home matches near live on free to air and live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar.
Friday night matches live on free to air multi channels and live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar.
Three Sunday matches played. All matches to be shown live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar. One match shown live on free to air multi channel
Two Saturday night matches played. Both matches shown live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar. One match shown live on free to air multi channel.
Two Saturday afternoon matches played. Both matches shown live from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar. One match shown live on free to air multi channel.
No matches lost to blackspots on Saturdays or Sundays, with all matches broadcast live into the state from Fox Footy on Foxtel and Austar.
Telecast History
1957 was the first VFL season after the commencement of television in Australia in 1956 to coincide with the Melbourne Olympic Games. During the late 1950s and 60s, all Melbourne stations (ABV2, HSV7, GTV9 and, after it commenced in 1965, ATV0/ATV10) broadcast some games. However, in the late 1950s / early 60s, the VFL was afraid that direct telecasts may affect attendances and stations were only permitted to telecast a delayed replay of the last quarter of games. In the 1980s, the Seven NetworkSeven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
was given exclusive rights to VFL/AFL games. The only year Seven didn't telecast games was 1987, when the rights were bought by Broadcom, which on-sold the rights to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
(ABC). The exclusive rights were won back by Seven in 1988.
With the launch of subscription television in Australia, AFL match coverage commenced on cable television. Optus Vision bid for and won exclusive pay tv rights from 1996–2001, screening coverage on its own 24 hour AFL channel, branded Sports AFL in Brisbane Sydney and Melbourne (where available). The Sports AFL channel was later closed due to financial issues and relaunched in March 1999 as C7 Sport
C7 Sport
C7 Sport was a pay-TV service in Australia, owned and run by Kerry Stokes' Seven Network. The service was carried on the Austar and Optus Vision pay-TV networks between 1995 and 2002, when it was removed in controversial circumstances...
by the Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
with AFL match coverage also transferred to the new channel. C7 Sport became available in regional areas not in the Foxtel
Foxtel
Foxtel is an Australian pay television company, operating cable, direct broadcast satellite television and IPTV services. It was formed in 1995 through a joint venture established between Telstra and News Corporation....
or Optus Vision licence area via Austar
Austar
Austar is an Australian telecommunications company. Its main business activity is Subscription Television but it is also involved with internet access and mobile phones...
soon after the re-launch. The AFL coverage was not available through Foxtel at this time as the Seven Network and Foxtel disagreed on the cost of carrying the C7 channel. These issues regarding C7 and AFL broadcsting rights evolved into a court case between not just the Seven Network and News Limited
News Limited
News Limited is one of Australia's largest diversified media companies. The publicly listed company's interests span newspaper and magazine publishing, Internet, Pay TV, National Rugby League, market research, DVD and film distribution, and film and television production trading assets.News Limited...
, but Seven against the owners of the Nine Network and Network Ten in the years that followed.
In late 2000, the Seven Network's main rivals, the Kerry Packer
Kerry Packer
Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer, AC was an Australian media tycoon. The son of Sir Frank Packer and Gretel Bullmore, the Packer family company owned controlling interest in both the Nine television network and leading Australian publishing company Australian Consolidated Press, which were later...
led Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
, Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
and pay-tv's Foxtel
Foxtel
Foxtel is an Australian pay television company, operating cable, direct broadcast satellite television and IPTV services. It was formed in 1995 through a joint venture established between Telstra and News Corporation....
set up a consortium which bid $500 million for the right to broadcast the 2002
2002 AFL season
-Round 2:-Round 3:-Round 4:-Round 5 :-Ladder:All teams played 22 games during the home and away season, for a total of 176...
–2006
2006 AFL season
Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 2006.-National Cup: 3.10.5 defeated 1.10.15 in the 2006 NAB Cup Final...
seasons inclusive. Seven had purchased a guaranteed right to make the last bid in 1995, but decided not to outbid their rivals. The games were split between the networks, with Nine screening Friday Night Football
Friday Night Football (Australia)
In Australia, Friday Night Football is the broadcasting of both the National Rugby League and Australian Football League Friday night matches on television. Friday Night Football is generally considered to be the biggest stage and generate the most publicity for the clubs involved in both codes...
and two matches on Sunday, Ten screened a Saturday afternoon and a Saturday night match, with the remaining four matches shown on Foxtel. Foxtel set up it`s own version of a dedicated AFL-only channel, the Fox Footy Channel
Fox Footy Channel
The Fox Footy Channel was a channel exclusively dedicated to Australian rules football. It was owned by Foxtel, and operated out of their Melbourne based studios. It was available on Foxtel, Austar, Optus Television, TransTV and Neighbourhood Cable up until transmission was ceased on 1 October 2006...
, which showed every game on replay during the week as well as many news, talkback
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
and general interest shows related to australian rules football.
When the rights were offered again in January 2006 for the 2007
2007 AFL season
The 2007 AFL Season was the 111th season of the Australian Football League, the highest-level professional Australian rules football league in Australia...
to 2011 seasons, Seven formed an alliance with Ten and used its guaranteed last bid rights to match Nine's offer of $780 million to win back the broadcast rights in what was the biggest sport telecasting deal in Australian history at the time. After lengthy negotiations, Foxtel agreed to be a broadcast partner and now showed four live matches each week, although no longer on a dedicated AFL channel. Seven took back the Friday night match and only one game on Sunday, while Ten retained showing two matches on Saturdays. Foxtel showed two games on Saturday and two on Sunday, including a late afternoon or twilight game.
International broadcast partners
Historically AFL broadcasts in other countries have varied.In 2007, after the record domestic television rights deal, the AFL secured an additional bonus: greater international television rights and increase exposure to overseas markets, including a 5 year deal with Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports is an international sports broadcaster based in Dublin, Ireland. Setanta Sports was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events...
, and new deals with other overseas pay-TV networks.
In the 1980s, VFL matches were shown in the United States on ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
for some time. Some other English speaking countries have shown the game, however it has been since 2008 that channels in other countries began televising matches.
The following countries are ranked by the approximate extent of their current television coverage (and whether it is free to air):
| Station/Channel | Countries | Free/Subscription | Home & Away | Finals | Grand Final | Broadcasting since | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ESPN Africa | Africa Africa Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area... |
Subscription | 1 game per week (live/delay) | Live | See also Australian rules football in Africa Australian rules football in Africa Australian rules football in Africa is currently only played at an organised level in South Africa, although there are programs under development in Ghana, Kenya, Botswana and Zimbabwe, and there have been attempts to introduce the sport in other African nations.The first African born person to... |
||
| TSN2 TSN2 TSN2 is a secondary feed of the Canadian English language Category C specialty channel TSN, owned by CTV Specialty Television Inc., a joint venture of Bell Media and ESPN... |
Canada Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... |
Subscription | Live | See also Australian rules football in the United States Australian rules football in the United States Australian rules football in the United States is a team and spectator sport which has been played domestically in the United States since 1996.There are several leagues around the country, a national championship and a national men's and women's teams.-History:... , AFANA |
|||
| TG4 TG4 TG4 is a public service broadcaster for Irish language speakers. The channel has been on-air since 31 October 1996 in the Republic of Ireland and since April 2005 in Northern Ireland.... |
Ireland Ireland Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth... |
Free | One game per week (highlights) | See also Australian rules football in Ireland | |||
| UPC Ireland UPC Ireland UPC Ireland is Liberty Global Europe's telecommunications operation in Ireland. UPC Ireland is the largest digital cable television provider within the Republic of Ireland. As of September 2010 the company offers broadband internet, digital television and digital telephony to over 531,000 customers... |
Ireland Ireland Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth... |
Subscription | See also Australian rules football in Ireland | ||||
| EM TV EM TV EM TV is a commercial television station in Papua New Guinea. Until the launch of the National Television Service in September 2008, it was the country's only free to air television service.... |
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands... |
Free | 1–3 per week (highlights) | Live | Live | See also Australian rules football in Papua New Guinea Australian rules football in Papua New Guinea Australian rules football in Papua New Guinea is a rapidly developing team sport which was initially introduced by Australian servicemen. The sport has a long and somewhat shaky history, but has recently achieved big strides in the Papua New Guinea community and is now the second most popular sport... |
|
| Fiji TV | Fiji Fiji Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island... |
Free | 1 (live/replay) | Live | Live | See also Australian rules football in Fiji | |
| International Channel Shanghai International Channel Shanghai International Channel Shanghai, better known as ICS, is the foreign-language cable channel of Shanghai Media Group. Long before the parent company was known as SMG, Shanghai Television Station began producing the English-language “News at Ten” in 1986. On January 1, 2008, ICS replaced the Shanghai... |
Peoples Republic of China | Free | 1 (live) | Live | Live | See also Australian rules football in China Australian rules football in China Australian rules football in China is an article on the Australian brand of football played in the People's Republic of China.- History :The sport has been played in the People's Republic of China since the 1990s... |
|
| Australia Network Australia Network Australia Network, originally Australia Television International and later ABC Asia Pacific, is a free-to-air international satellite television service operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation since 2006. The television and online service broadcasts 24 hours a day on 7 days a week, to... |
Asia-Pacific Asia-Pacific Asia-Pacific or Asia Pacific is the part of the world in or near the Western Pacific Ocean... region, Indian Subcontinent Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends... , Middle East Middle East The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East... |
Free (Subscription in some) | 5 per week | Yes | Live | ||
| Eurosport 2 Eurosport 2 Eurosport 2 is a European sports television network. It is a sister channel to Eurosport and Eurosport News. Several different versions of the channel exist across Europe, where television rights for sport differ.-Launch:... |
Europe Europe Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting... |
Free | One game per week (highlights/live/replay) | Live | See also Australian rules football in Europe Australian rules football in Europe Australian rules football is played in Europe at an amateur level in a number of countries. The oldest and largest leagues are those in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark, each nation having a number of clubs and organised junior programs... |
||
| Fox Sports Israel | Israel Israel The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea... |
Subscription | See also Australian rules football in the Middle East Australian rules football in the Middle East Australian rules football in the Middle East describes the minority sport of Australian rules football as it is watched and played in the Middle East region.The sport is played at various levels, mainly by expatriate Australians... |
||||
| ShowSports 2 ShowSports ShowSports is part of the Orbit Showtime Network. ShowSport 1 HD, 2, 3, 4 and Extreme Sports Channel are available on many Orbit Showtime Network packages. They began showing from the first of April 2007.-ShowSports 1 HD:... |
Middle East Middle East The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East... , Asia Asia Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population... |
Subscription | |||||
| Sky Sport SKY Network Television Sky Network Television Limited , , is a New Zealand pay television service. On 30 June 2011, Sky had 829,421 subscribers, which comprises:*808,617 digital subscribers*20,840 other subscribers... |
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... |
Subscription | 1–2 (live/delayed) + highlights | Live | Live | See also Australian rules football in 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... |
|
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| ESPN UK | United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... , Republic of Ireland Republic of Ireland Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,... |
Subscription | 3 games per week (highlights/live/replay) | 2009 | See also Australian rules football in the United Kingdom, See also Australian rules football in Ireland | ||
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Subscription | 3 games a week | Live | See also Australian rules football in the United States Australian rules football in the United States Australian rules football in the United States is a team and spectator sport which has been played domestically in the United States since 1996.There are several leagues around the country, a national championship and a national men's and women's teams.-History:... , AFANA |
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Subscription | 4 games during the season | Yes | See also Australian rules football in the United States Australian rules football in the United States Australian rules football in the United States is a team and spectator sport which has been played domestically in the United States since 1996.There are several leagues around the country, a national championship and a national men's and women's teams.-History:... , AFANA |
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Subscription | Live | See also Australian rules football in the United States Australian rules football in the United States Australian rules football in the United States is a team and spectator sport which has been played domestically in the United States since 1996.There are several leagues around the country, a national championship and a national men's and women's teams.-History:... , AFANA |
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Subscription | "Game of the Week" (one-week delay) (highlights) | Live | See also Australian rules football in the United States Australian rules football in the United States Australian rules football in the United States is a team and spectator sport which has been played domestically in the United States since 1996.There are several leagues around the country, a national championship and a national men's and women's teams.-History:... , AFANA |
Global
The AFL has stated that it wishes to showcase the footballing code to other countries such as IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
so as to create a global following thus creating more exposure for its sponsors in the increasing Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n and African markets. On 17 October 2010, AFL clubs Melbourne Demons
Melbourne Football Club
The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....
and Brisbane Lions
Brisbane Lions
The Brisbane Lions is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club was formed from the merger of the Brisbane Bears and the Fitzroy Lions in 1996...
played an exhibition game in front of almost 10,000 people at the Riverside Sports Center in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
. This was the first professional AFL game to be played in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
The AFL has garnered increased interest in Ireland due to the introduction of the International Rules series played between an AFL picked All Australian Team and Ireland. This paved the way for young Irish footballers to be rostered to AFL teams mainly due to the fact that salaries in the AFL are much larger than that of Gaelic Football although most Irish players fail to make the grade into 1st team football. This also paved the way for extended news coverage and increased broadcasting in the UK and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
.
Radio
The first broadcast of a VFL game was by 3ARRadio National
ABC Radio National is an Australia-wide non-commercial radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.Radio National broadcasts national programming in areas that include news and current affairs, the arts, social issues, science, drama and comedy...
in 1923, the year that broadcasting officially commenced in Australia. The first commentator was Wallace (Jumbo) Shallard, a former Geelong player who went on to have a long and respected career in print and broadcast media. The VFL/AFL has been broadcast every year since then by the ABC and (since 1927) by various commercial stations. The saturation period was the early 1960s when seven of the eight extant radio stations (3AR
Radio National
ABC Radio National is an Australia-wide non-commercial radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.Radio National broadcasts national programming in areas that include news and current affairs, the arts, social issues, science, drama and comedy...
, 3UZ
3UZ
3UZ is the official callsign of a medium-wave radio station in Melbourne, Australia which broadcasts under the name Radio Sport National.-History:...
, 3DB, 3KZ
3KZ
Gold 104.3 is a radio station broadcasting in Melbourne, Australia. Gold 104.3 is part of the Australian Radio Classic Hits Network and broadcasts on the 104.3 MHz frequency.- History :...
, 3AW
3AW
3AW is a talkback radio station in Melbourne, Australia on 693 kHz AM. It began transmission on 22 February 1932 as Melbourne's fifth commercial radio station.-History:...
, 3XY and 3AK
3AK
3AK is the call sign of SEN 1116 and earlier the on-air name of a former Melbourne talk-back radio and music station, which, in 2003, leased its licence to sports network SEN 1116...
) broadcast VFL games each week, as well as broadcasts of Geelong games by local station 3GL
K-Rock (Australia)
95.5 K-Rock is a commercial FM radio station based in Geelong, Australia. K-Rock operates a mainstream Top 40 rock-inclined playlist....
. (At this time, the only alternative that radio listeners had to listening to the football on a Saturday afternoon were the classical music and fine arts programs that were broadcast by 3LO).
Currently, the official radio broadcast partners of the AFL are:
- Triple MTriple MThe Triple M Network is an active rock radio network in Australia owned by media company Austereo, who also own the Today Network.- History :...
Melbourne - K-RockK-Rock (Australia)95.5 K-Rock is a commercial FM radio station based in Geelong, Australia. K-Rock operates a mainstream Top 40 rock-inclined playlist....
Geelong - 3AW3AW3AW is a talkback radio station in Melbourne, Australia on 693 kHz AM. It began transmission on 22 February 1932 as Melbourne's fifth commercial radio station.-History:...
Melbourne - FIVEaaFIVEaa5AA , is 50% owned by dmg Radio Australia and Lachlan Murdoch's company Illyra, and Adelaide's only commercial talkback radio station. The station has a range of programs including news, sport, current affairs, social issues, gardening, lifestyle, cars, travel and health...
Adelaide - 6PR6PR6PR, known as 882 6PR, is a commercial radio station based in Perth, Australia. Its focus is on news, talk and sport, and is Perth's only commercial talkback radio station. 6PR is owned by Fairfax Media, an Australian media company that owns television and radio businesses throughout Australia and...
Perth - SEN 1116SEN 1116SEN 1116 , the acronym standing for Sports Entertainment Network, is a commercial AM radio station based in Melbourne, Australia, operating on 1116 kHz...
Melbourne - 98.9FM Brisbane
- Triple M Sydney (Broadcasts only Swans matches)
- Triple M Brisbane (Broadcasts only Lions matches)
- Triple M Adelaide
Internet
The official internet/mobile broadcast partner of the AFL is BigpondBigPond
BigPond is an Australian Internet service provider and is a product of Telstra. BigPond is Australia's largest ISP and based in Melbourne.- Internet :...
. The AFL also provides exclusive broadband content including streaming video for international fans via its website. Bigpond
BigPond
BigPond is an Australian Internet service provider and is a product of Telstra. BigPond is Australia's largest ISP and based in Melbourne.- Internet :...
also hosts the official websites of all the 17 AFL clubs excluding Essendon.
The service is also provided to international subscribers. Delayed video is available 12 hours or more after the game.
However, the website is frequently derided by users for its convoluted information architecture
Information Architecture
Information architecture is the art of expressing a model or concept of information used in activities that require explicit details of complex systems. Among these activities are library systems, Content Management Systems, web development, user interactions, database development, programming,...
and bloated
Software bloat
Software bloat is a process whereby successive versions of a computer program include an increasing proportion of unnecessary features that are not used by end users, or generally use more system resources than necessary, while offering little or no benefit to its users.-Causes:Software developers...
presentation.
Sponsorship
The following are the official naming sponsors of the VFL/AFL competition:- Carlton & United BreweriesCarlton & United BreweriesCarlton & United Breweries is an Australian brewing company based in Abbotsford, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. In 1983 it became a wholly owned subsidiary of Elders IXL and CUB was delisted. In 1990, Elders IXL renamed to the Foster's Group, and in July 2004, CUB changed its name to Carlton and...
(1980–81, 86, 89–94, 2001–03) - HoldenHoldenGM Holden Ltd is an automaker that operates in Australia, based in Port Melbourne, Victoria. The company was founded in 1856 as a saddlery manufacturer. In 1908 it moved into the automotive field, before becoming a subsidiary of the U.S.-based General Motors in 1931...
(1982–83) - Nissan (1984–85)
- Sportsplay (1987)
- Elder's IXLElders LimitedElders Limited is an Australian based agribusiness company.It was founded in 1839 in South Australia by Alexander Lang Elder as a new arm of his family's Scottish based merchant and shipping business. Its core business was a trading company and commission agent for wool and other agricultural...
(1988) - Coca-ColaCoca-ColaCoca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
(1995–2001) - ToyotaToyota Motor Corporation, , , commonly known simply as Toyota and abbreviated as TMC, is a multinational automaker headquartered in Toyota, Aichi, Japan. In 2010, Toyota Motor Corporation employed 317,734 people worldwide, and was the world's largest automobile manufacturer by production.The company was founded by...
(2004–present)
¹Note: In 2001 CUB and Coca-Cola were joint sponsors
Publishing and print
The official print broadcast partner of the AFL is News LimitedNews Limited
News Limited is one of Australia's largest diversified media companies. The publicly listed company's interests span newspaper and magazine publishing, Internet, Pay TV, National Rugby League, market research, DVD and film distribution, and film and television production trading assets.News Limited...
.
The AFL Record
AFL Record
The AFL Record is the official program available at Australian Football League matches. The publication began as the Football Record in Melbourne, Australia in April 1912, making it one of the oldest magazines in Australia....
is a match-day magazine published by the AFL and is read by around 225,000 people each week.
Membership
The AFL sells memberships that entitle subscribers to reserve seats for matches at Docklands Stadium and Melbourne Cricket GroundMelbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
in Melbourne. AFL members also receive priority access to finals. AFL Members can nominate a club to get priority Grand Final tickets.
Merchandising
The AFL runs a chain of stores that sell merchandise from all clubs. Merchandise is also available from other retailers.AFL World
A modern museum called the Hall of Fame and Sensation opened in Melbourne in 2003 to celebrate the culture of the AFL and to provide a venue for the Australian Football Hall of FameAustralian Football Hall of Fame
The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the Centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media personalities, coaches and administrators. It was initially established...
. The museum, a licensed off-shoot of the AFL, was originally touted for the MCG, but the Hall of Fame failed to get support from the Melbourne Cricket Club. The new QV shopping centre on Swanston Street was then chosen as the location. However, controversy followed the appointment of an administrator as the museum began running at a loss. Many blamed high entry prices, which were subsequently reduced, and the museum remains open to the public. In early 2006 the name was changed to AFL World. It features various honour boards and memorabilia as well as a range of innovative interactive displays designed to immerse visitors in the experience of elite Aussie Rules. It was closed down in 2008.
Video games
The following is a list of all the video games from the AFL video game series:- Aussie Rules FootyAussie Rules FootyAussie Rules Footy is the first AFL simulation video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was developed by Melbourne-based Beam Software and published under their Laser Beam label in 1991...
(1991) NESNintendo Entertainment SystemThe Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987... - AFL Finals Fever (1996) Microsoft WindowsMicrosoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
- AFL 98 (1998) PlayStationPlayStationThe is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
, Microsoft Windows - AFL 99 (1999) PlayStation, Microsoft Windows
- Kevin Sheedy AFL Coach 2002 (2002) Microsoft Windows
- AFL Live 2003 (2002) Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, XboxXboxThe Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console... - AFL Live 2004 (2003) Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox
- AFL Live Premiership Edition (2004) Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox
- AFL Premiership 2005AFL Premiership 2005AFL Premiership 2005 is a simulation game for PlayStation 2 based on the AFL. It is the ninth game in the AFL video game series.-Gameplay:...
(2005) Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox - AFL Premiership 2006AFL Premiership 2006AFL Premiership 2006 is a simulation game only for the PlayStation 2 based on the AFL. The game was developed by Australian games developer IR Gurus and was published by Sony Computer Entertainment under the SCEE label. It was released on 20 July 2006 and is the tenth game in the AFL video game...
(2006) PlayStation 2 - AFL Premiership 2007AFL Premiership 2007AFL Premiership 2007 is a sports simulation game for the PlayStation 2 based on the Australian Football League. Its is a follow up game to AFL Premiership 2006. It was developed by game developer, IR Gurus and published by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. It is the final game in the series to be...
(2007) PlayStation 2 - AFL Mascot ManorAFL Mascot Manor (video game)AFL Mascot Manor is a mascot sports game. Developed by Wicked Witch Software for Nintendo DS based on the Australian Football League's project of the same name. It was released in July 2009 and was released early at some EB stores...
(2009) Nintendo DSNintendo DSThe is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP... - AFL ChallengeAFL ChallengeAFL Challenge is a sports game for the PlayStation Portable, based on the AFL. The game was developed by Australian games developer Wicked Witch Software, and was published by Tru Blu Entertainment and Sony Computer Entertainment...
(2009) PlayStation PortablePlayStation PortableThe is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004... - AFL Live (2011) Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3PlayStation 3The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, Xbox 360Xbox 360The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, WiiWiiThe Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
Gaming
The AFL is the subject of footy tipping and betting competitions around Australia run by individuals, syndicates, workplaces and professional bookmakerBookmaker
A bookmaker, or bookie, is an organization or a person that takes bets on sporting and other events at agreed upon odds.- Range of events :...
s. In recent years national website based tipping competitions have started to replace the traditional, but more labour intensive, office or pub run competitions.
Fantasy football
Fantasy football (Australian rules football)
Fantasy football is a fantasy sport in which competitors score points based on the performance of players in the Australian Football League. The two biggest competitions are the Herald Sun's Supercoach competition and the AFL's Dream Team competition .Other competitions include Fox Sport's Fantasy...
competitions based on actual player statistics (number of kicks, marks, goals etc.) are also very popular on websites and in newspapers.
See also
AFL footballers- Australian Football League Pre-Season Cup Premiers
- AFL DraftAFL DraftThe AFL Draft is the annual draft of new unsigned players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League.-History:...
- Sports attendances
- Australian rules football in AustraliaAustralian rules football in AustraliaAustralian rules football originated in Melbourne in 1858. It has continuously in every state and territory of Australia since 1915 and is particularly popular in Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania, where it is the most watched sport, and Northern Territory where it is the...
- Goal of the YearGoal of the Year (Australia)The Goal of the Year is a competition for the best goals kicked in the VFL/AFL during that season. It is run in conjunction with the Mark of the Year competition and is currently sponsored by Panasonic. The award is also known as the Phil Manassa Medal....
- Mark of the YearMark of the YearThe annual Mark of the Year competition is a sporting award that celebrates each season's best mark...
- AFL Heritage RoundAFL Heritage RoundHeritage Round was a round of matches in the Australian Football League in which all the teams wore guernseys from their past. The first Heritage Round was in 2003 and had been continuing every year until 2008....
- History of Australian rules football in Victoria (1853-1900)History of Australian rules football in Victoria (1853-1900)Australian rules football, also known as Australian football and known colloquially as Aussie rules, was first organised in Victoria in 1859 when its first rules were written by the Melbourne Football Club...
- Victorian Football LeagueVictorian Football LeagueThe Victorian Football League which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association , taking its new name as from the 1996 season, is the premier Australian rules football league in Victoria The Victorian Football League (VFL) which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association...
- Name A GameName A GameName A Game is a DVD service provided by the Visual Entertainment Group that allows fans of Australian Rules football to purchase games that they have been interested in from the past, or to collect their club’s games from the current season....
Lists:
- List of Australian Football League night premiers
- List of VFL/AFL presidents
- List of overseas-born AFL players
- List of VFL/AFL players by ethnicity
- List of Indigenous Australian rules footballers
- List of Australian Football League grounds
- List of Australian Football League coaches
- List of Australian Football League premiers
- List of sports venues in Australia
External links
Statistics and Results
- AlltheStats
- AFL Tables
- Final Siren with comprehensive AFL Statistics 1980–2008
- AFL Statistics by FootyWire
- Comprehensive & unique AFL Statistics by ProWess Sports
- Footystats Diary: AFL records/results/analysis plus news digest
- AFL on Austadiums
Major AFL news Sites
- Aussie Rules Latest News Headlines
- The Age Footy News
- Fox Sports Australia AFL news
- Herald Sun Footy News
History