South Australian National Football League
Encyclopedia
The South Australian National Football League (SANFL) is an Australian rules football
league based in the Australian state of South Australia
. It is also the governing body for the sport of Australian rules football
in South Australia
.
Originally formed as the South Australian Football Association on 30 April 1877, the SANFL is the oldest surviving football league of any code in Australia and one of the oldest football competitions in the world
, forming just a few years after the United Hospitals Challenge Cup (1874), the oldest rugby football
competition and over a decade before The Football League
(soccer).
Consisting of a single division competition, the season is based around a 23 week "home-and-away" (regular) season from April to September. The top five teams play off in a final series culminating in the grand final for the Thomas Seymour Hill Premiership Trophy. The grand final is held at Football Park in October, generally the week after the AFL Grand Final
.
The league also owns the sub-licences for South Australia's two AFL clubs - Adelaide Football Club and Port Adelaide Football Club
. It is also responsible for the management of all levels of football in the state, involving more than 100,000 participants per year. This includes junior football, country football, amateur football and specific programs rolled out across schools, indigenous communities (including the APY Lands in the state's north) and newly-arrived migrant communities.
The SANFL owns the 52,000 seat Football Park, the largest stadium in South Australia. While the stadium is primarily used for Australian Football League
matches, it is also used for SANFL games. The SANFL is the second highest attended Australian rules football league behind the AFL.
When not playing with the two Adelaide-based AFL clubs, Port Adelaide
or the Adelaide Crows
, AFL-listed players may play for the SANFL clubs to which they are attached. Those recruited to these AFL clubs who have not previously played for an SANFL club are allocated to a club by means of a "mini-draft", or play as a "guest player" if they are not playing for their Adelaide based AFL club, and their SANFL club have a bye.
At the end of the 1990 season the Woodville and West Torrens clubs merged for Woodville-West Torrens which competed for the first time in 1991.
and Port Adelaide
AFL clubs for use of Football Park.
The SANFL is classed as a semi-professional competition. In 2008 the league had a salary cap
of $400,000 (excluding service payments). This is the second highest in Australia for an Australian rules football competition, after the AFL.
and is sold at all SANFL matches. A special edition is produced for the grand final.
The SANFL competition's "match of the round" is broadcast weekly in South Australia on ABC Southern. Until early 2008, it was also broadcast nationally on ABC2
television. The grand final was previously broadcast on Fox Sports Australia, however this was also discontinued in 2008. In 2007, the SANFL measured a record 1,415,000 total television viewers.
The SANFL competition is covered by local radio stations Life FM
(live) and 5RPH
(live). ABC Local Radio
and FIVEaa broadcast the SANFL Finals Series.
The record attendance for an SANFL fixture was set at the 1976 SANFL Grand Final between Sturt and Port Adelaide at Football Park which saw 66,987 crammed into the stadium, though some estimate the crowd to have been as high as 80,000 with thousands turned away at the gates. The largest attendance for a minor round fixture was set in Round 19, 1988 for a double header at Football Park. 38,213 fans saw Sturt play Port Adelaide in the early game while reigning premiers North Adelaide faced ladder leaders Central District in the late game. The record suburban ground attendance was an estimated 24,000 who saw Sturt and Norwood at Unley Oval
on 9 June, 1924. A verified attendance of 22,738 saw Port play Norwood at Alberton
in Round 11, 1977*.
* South Adelaide played Port Adelaide in front of 30,618 at the Adelaide Oval
in Round 2, 1965. At the time the oval doubled as both league headquarters and South Adelaide's home ground. Although Adelaide Oval currently used by the SANFL as a neutral venue, the Unley Oval record is for current SANFL team home grounds though the figure was only an estimated amount.
The following are the most recent attendance figures
In 1877, 12 of South Australia's football clubs met to develop a uniform set of rules and establish a governing body. The South Australian Football Association was formed at a meeting at the Prince Alfred Hotel in King William Street, Adelaide
on 30 April 1877, the first governing body of its type for football in Australia, and adopted rules similar to those used in Victoria. The inaugural 1877 season was contested by those 12 clubs: South Park, Willunga, Port Adelaide, Adelaide, North Adelaide, Prince Alfred College, Gawler, Kapunda, Bankers, Woodville, South Adelaide and Victorian.
Norwood joined the Association the following season in 1878, and went on to win the next six premierships. Norwood, South Adelaide and Port Adelaide together won 23 of the first 24 premierships. South Park, Willunga, North Adelaide, Prince Alfred College, Gawler, Kapunda, Bankers, Woodville, and Victorian all left the Association within the first 10 years. By 1886, the Association had been reduced from 12 to four clubs.
The Association experienced a resurgence in the late 1880s and early 1890s. The addition of North Adelaide (1893), West Adelaide and West Torrens (1897) and only the demise of Adelaide (1893), meant the Association comprised six clubs by the turn of the century. In 1898, the Magarey Medal
was awarded to the fairest and most brilliant player for the first time.
joined the Association in 1901, but performed poorly initially, finishing last in its first three seasons. In 1902, Port Adelaide adopted its now famous black and white colours. In 1907, the Association changed its name to the South Australian Football League.
Norwood and Port Adelaide continued their domination of the league, and were joined by West Adelaide and North Adelaide; between them, the four clubs won all premierships between 1901 and 1913. West Adelaide followed three straight wooden spoons from 1904–06 with four out of the five premierships from 1908–1912, the most successful period in West Adelaide's history.
The SAFL maintained competition for the first two years of World War I, 1914 and 1915, with Sturt winning their first premiership in 1915, but from 1916 the competition was suspended and did not resume until 1919.
Sturt won the first premiership of the post-WWI era, beating North Adelaide in the Challenge Final replay. Glenelg became the newest addition to the league in 1921 and started poorly with five consecutive wooden spoons. In 1927, the South Australian Football League was renamed the South Australian National Football League. Port Adelaide won five premierships in the period 1919-1939, appearing in 12 grand finals.
The SANFL continued normal competition for the first few years of World War II, but from 1942 to 1944 operated on a reduced basis with clubs merged on a geographical basis - Port Adelaide / West Torrens, West Adelaide / Glenelg, Sturt / South Adelaide and Norwood / North Adelaide.
, dominated the 1950's winning seven premierships, including a record-breaking six in a row from 1954–59. This record still stands in the SANFL and AFL, and no other team in any other professional or semi-professional league has managed to break it.
Port Adelaide continued their dominance of the competition in the early 1960s with three more premierships by 1965. In 1964 the SANFL admitted two new clubs, Central District and Woodville
. Both clubs performed poorly, and many questioned the purpose of introducing two more teams, in particular Woodville, who were closely surrounded by existing clubs, Port Adelaide and West Torrens. A resurgent Sturt under coach Jack Oatey
won five straight premierships from 1966–70, sharing a fierce rivalry with Port Adelaide whom they met in four consecutive Grand Finals.
match. Port Adelaide continued their success, winning two premierships themselves (1977, 1979), and finishing lower than 3rd only once for the decade. Other premiership winning clubs in the 1970s were Sturt (1970, 1974, 1976), Glenelg (1973), and Norwood (1975, 1978). On 4 May 1974, Central District and North Adelaide played the first game at newly opened Football Park at West Lakes
. SANFL moved its administration to the new stadium, and 58,042 attended the first Grand Final at the ground later that year, with Sturt defeating Glenelg by 15 points despite kicking into a stiff breeze in the last quarter after leading by 5 points at three-quarter time. The 1975 season was highlighted by Glenelg's score of 49.23 (317) against Central District, with a winning margin of 238 points which was larger, at that time, than the previous highest score ever recorded by a side in a single game. In 1976, Sturt defeated Grand Final favourites Port Adelaide by 41 points in front of a record Football Park crowd of 66,897. Norwood won the 1978 premiership in their centenary year by beating Sturt in the Grand Final by one point after Sturt had lost just one game for the entire season. During the 1970s, an increasing number of SANFL players moved to Victoria to play in the VFL competition.
The Adelaide Crows debuted in 1991 wearing the state colours of navy blue, red and yellow. While the Adelaide Crows enjoyed crowds of over 40,000 every week and dominated local media coverage, crowds at local SANFL matches suffered substantially.
In 1994 after a tender process put to all the SANFL clubs, the Port Adelaide Football Club secured a licence to enter the AFL. The Port Adelaide chose the nickname of 'Power' since 'Magpies' was already used by Collingwood. Port Adelaide wished to maintain its presence (as the Magpies) in the SANFL, which was agreed to on the basis that Port Adelaide's SANFL and AFL entities operate independently. The club in the SANFL was renamed "Port Adelaide Magpies Football Club" to reflect this separation.
in a bid to play night home games at the ground from 2012.
In 2011, the AFL-based Port Adelaide and the SANFL-based Port Adelaide merged back together to help the struggling club with both clubs suffering major financial losses.
The most pushed for expansion team from Darwin, Northern Territory
, formed as a representative club of the Northern Territory Football League
(NTFL). The first of a series of trial matches was held in 2006, with a long term view of admitting a Darwin side into the SANFL. A strong crowd at Marrara Oval
witnessed North Adelaide defeat a composite NTFL squad by 27 points, demonstrating that a Darwin team could be competitive. Following this match there was a push to make the event an annual event. The push for a Northern Territory team in June 2007 intensified, with Darwin and Alice Springs (with the proposed venue being Traeger Park
) both competing for a licence, with the NT government supporting Darwin and business people like Dick Pratt supporting the bid of Alice Springs. However, a composite Northern Territory side eventually joined the AFL Queensland State League.
Although there have also been rumours of inclusion of a Tasmanian club from both Hobart
and Launceston
in mid-September 2007, the Tasmanian Devils Football Club
, run by AFL Tasmania
, committed themselves to the Victorian Football League
for a further five years but subsequently folded at the close of the 2008 season to concentrate on re-forming their state-wide league football competition.
The Stanley H. Lewis Memorial Trophy, awarded annually since 1962, recognises the best combined record in all levels of SANFL competition.
is awarded to the fairest and most brilliant player in the SANFL each season and is the oldest of its type in Australia.
The medal was originated by and is named after William Ashley Magarey who, in 1897, was the inaugural chairman of the South Australian Football Association (as the SANFL was then known). In 1898, in an effort to stamp out rough play and improve respect of umpires, Magarey instituted the medal to be awarded to the player deemed by umpires to be the fairest and most brilliant for that season. The inaugural winner of the medal was Norwood's Alby Green
. Magarey presented every medal until he died in 1929, but the Magarey Medal is still awarded to the fairest and most brilliant
SANFL player each season. The Reserves Magarey Medal recognises the standout performers of that level as well.
The Ken Farmer Medal
, much like the Coleman Medal in the AFL
, is awarded to the league player with the most goals in a season. Named after North Adelaide's most prolific goal-kicker before World War II, the medal was introduced in 1981 with Port Adelaide's Tim Evans winning the inaugural award.
There are also the McCallum and Tomkins Medals, which up until the 2008 season were awarded to the best and fairest players of the U-17 and U-19 divisions respectively. These awards were merged in 2009 when the two under-age competitions were replaced with an U-18's league, similar to those adopted in the West Australian Football League
and the VFL's TAC Cup
. The first winner of the newly created McCallum-Tomkins Medal was South Adelaide's Luke Bowd.
The Jack Oatey Medal is awarded to the player voted best on ground in the SANFL Grand Final, first awarded in the 1981 premiership decider to Russell Ebert of Port Adelaide. In the same year, the Fos Williams Medal
was also commissioned to recognise the standout performer for South Australia in interstate football, the first of which was awarded to Peter Carey of Glenelg. Despite State of Origin football disappearing from the AFL calendar in 1999, the medal continues to be awarded to the best player for the SANFL representative team in interstate football.
The Bob Quinn
Medal is awarded to the player voted best afield in the Anzac Day
matches between the Grand Finalists of the previous year. Commissioned in 2002, the medal was first won by James Gowans
of Central District.
List of SANFL players
SANFL Grand Finals
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...
league based in the Australian state of 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...
. It is also the governing body for 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...
in 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...
.
Originally formed as the South Australian Football Association on 30 April 1877, the SANFL is the oldest surviving football league of any code in Australia and one of the oldest football competitions in the world
Oldest football competitions
The world's oldest football competition is a title claimed by many.Many early football fixtures before the 1850s did not have set rules, clubs or trophies and are poorly documented.Some competitions were semi-organised fixtures, others offered trophies....
, forming just a few years after the United Hospitals Challenge Cup (1874), the oldest rugby football
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
competition and over a decade before The Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
(soccer).
Consisting of a single division competition, the season is based around a 23 week "home-and-away" (regular) season from April to September. The top five teams play off in a final series culminating in the grand final for the Thomas Seymour Hill Premiership Trophy. The grand final is held at Football Park in October, generally the week after 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...
.
The league also owns the sub-licences for South Australia's two AFL clubs - Adelaide Football Club and 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...
. It is also responsible for the management of all levels of football in the state, involving more than 100,000 participants per year. This includes junior football, country football, amateur football and specific programs rolled out across schools, indigenous communities (including the APY Lands in the state's north) and newly-arrived migrant communities.
The SANFL owns the 52,000 seat Football Park, the largest stadium in South Australia. While the stadium is primarily used for Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
matches, it is also used for SANFL games. The SANFL is the second highest attended Australian rules football league behind the AFL.
Current clubs
| Colours | Club | Nickname | Home Ground | Entered competition |
Premierships | Last Premiership |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Central District Central District Bulldogs Central District Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in the city of Elizabeth about 25 km to the north of Adelaide, South Australia.-Origins and Background:... |
Bulldogs | Playford Alive Oval Elizabeth Oval Elizabeth Oval, , is an Australian rules football stadium located in Elizabeth, a northern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia.... |
1964 | 9 | 2010 |
 |
Glenelg Glenelg Tigers Glenelg Football Club is an Australian rules football team, which plays in the South Australian National Football League. The club is known as the "Tigers" , and their home ground is Gliderol Stadium @ Glenelg , located in the southern coastal suburb of Glenelg East, South Australia.-Club... |
Tigers | Gliderol Stadium @ Glenelg Glenelg Oval Glenelg Oval is located on Brighton Road, Glenelg East, South Australia. The ground is primarily used for Australian rules football and cricket and is the home ground for the Glenelg Football Club in the SANFL competition... |
1921 | 4 | 1986 |
 |
North Adelaide North Adelaide Roosters North Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club, who play in the South Australian National Football League.- History :Formed in 1888 as Medindie, in 1893 the club renamed itself to North Adelaide. It is the fourth oldest club still in operation in the SANFL... |
Roosters | Prospect Oval Prospect Oval Prospect Oval is a sports stadium located at Menzies Crescent, Prospect, South Australia. The oval has a capacity of 20,000 people with seated grandstands holding approximately 2,000... |
1887 | 13 | 1991 |
 |
Norwood | Redlegs | Coopers Stadium Norwood Oval Norwood Oval is a suburban oval in the western end of Norwood, an inner eastern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. Norwood, Payneham & St Peters Council own the Oval but rent it, for a peppercorn rental, to the Norwood Football Club... |
1878 | 27 | 1997 |
 |
Port Adelaide Port Adelaide Magpies The Port Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the South Australian National Football League... |
Magpies | Alberton Oval 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,... |
1877 | 36 | 1999 |
 |
South Adelaide | Panthers | Hickinbotham Oval | 1877 | 11 | 1964 |
 |
Sturt | Double Blues | Commander Centre Oval Unley Oval Unley Oval is a multi-use stadium in Unley, an inner southern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia... |
1901 | 13 | 2002 |
| West Adelaide | Bloods | City Mazda Stadium Richmond Oval (South Australia) Richmond Oval is an Australian rules football oval in Richmond, a western suburb of Adelaide, South Australia... |
1897 | 8 | 1983 | |
 |
Woodville-West Torrens | Eagles | Unleash Solar Oval Woodville Oval Woodville Oval is primarily an Australian rules football oval found on Oval Avenue in Woodville, South Australia... |
1991 | 3 | 2011 |
When not playing with the two Adelaide-based AFL clubs, 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...
or the Adelaide Crows
Adelaide Crows
The Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed The Crows, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Adelaide, South Australia, playing in the Australian Football League ....
, AFL-listed players may play for the SANFL clubs to which they are attached. Those recruited to these AFL clubs who have not previously played for an SANFL club are allocated to a club by means of a "mini-draft", or play as a "guest player" if they are not playing for their Adelaide based AFL club, and their SANFL club have a bye.
Former clubs
- Adelaide (the original club) – formed in 1860; disbanded in 1873; reformed in 1876; merged with Kensington in 1881; disbanded in 1882; reformed and merged with North Park in 1885. Their colours were black, red and white and they were premiers in the SAFA in 1886.In 1888 the touring British Rugby team played South Adelaide, Port Adelaide, Norwood and Adelaide at Australian Rules. They defeated Port by a goal. The tourists played 19 games of Australian Rules overall, winning six and drawing one. They were coached by two Essendon footballers, Jack Lawlor and FG McShane.
- Bankers – formed in 1877 and after losing all 15 of the matches it contested that year it disbanded at the end of the season.
- Kensington – formed in the early 1870s, Kensington affiliated with SAFA in 1877, but by 1881 it had merged with the Adelaide club. The clubs colours were scarlet and white and its home ground was Kensington Oval.
- Port Adelaide Magpies - formed in 1997 to replace Port Adelaide upon their acceptance into the AFL, the Magpies were merged back into Port Adelaide in 2011, with Port Adelaide fielding teams in both the AFL (the Power) and the SANFL (the Magpies).
- South Park – formed in 1877 and disbanded in 1884.
- Victorian – formed in 1877 and with their home ground at Montefiore Hill, the Victorian team were premiers in 1877 (equal with South Adelaide). The clubs colours were orange and black. The club changed their name to North Adelaide in 1883, although it was not linked to the modern day North Adelaide, which formed from the Medindie club. Victorian disbanded after the 1884 season.
- Willunga – formed in 1874, and affiliated with SAFA from 1877 to 1885. Willunga then joined the newly formed Southern Football AssociationSouthern Football League (South Australia)The Southern Football League is an amateur Australian rules football league in South Australia. The League was formed, as the Southern Football Association, in 1886....
, a rural league. - Woodville (the original club) – formed about 1868 and affiliated with SAFA 1877, the club forfeited two matches in its first season due to lack of numbers and disbanded at the end of the season. Many of the Woodville players then moved to the newly formed Norwood club.
- Kapunda – formed in 1866 and is possibly the oldest football club in Australia to enjoy an uninterrupted identity.
- Gawler – formed in 1868, joining the SAFA in 1887 until 1890, folding by 1894. The Gawler Football Association was created out of its demise.
At the end of the 1990 season the Woodville and West Torrens clubs merged for Woodville-West Torrens which competed for the first time in 1991.
- West Torrens EaglesWest Torrens Football ClubWest Torrens Football Club was an Australian rules football club that competed in the South Australian National Football League from 1897 to 1990...
(1897–1990) - Woodville WarriorsWoodville Football ClubWoodville Football Club was an Australian rules football club that competed in the South Australian National Football League from 1964 to 1990, when it merged with the West Torrens Football Club to form the Woodville-West Torrens Eagles....
(1964–1990)
League administration
The league's revenue is derived from its paid attendance, media and payments from both the Adelaide CrowsAdelaide Crows
The Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed The Crows, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Adelaide, South Australia, playing in the Australian Football League ....
and 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...
AFL clubs for use of Football Park.
The SANFL is classed as a semi-professional competition. In 2008 the league had 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...
of $400,000 (excluding service payments). This is the second highest in Australia for an Australian rules football competition, after the AFL.
SANFL Ladder
South Australian leagues (including the SANFL) award two points for a win, and one for a draw. Elsewhere in Australia generally four points are awarded for a win and two for a draw. In addition, percentage is calculated as "For" ÷ "For and Against" × "100". Elsewhere in Australia it is generally calculated as "For" ÷ "Against" × "100".Audience
The SANFL match-day program is called the Football BudgetSouth Australian Football Budget
The South Australian Football Budget is the matchday programme of the South Australian National Football League.-History:A publication known as the SA Football Budget was first produced in 1914 but was discontinued due to the onset of the First World War...
and is sold at all SANFL matches. A special edition is produced for the grand final.
The SANFL competition's "match of the round" is broadcast weekly in South Australia on ABC Southern. Until early 2008, it was also broadcast nationally on ABC2
ABC2
ABC2 is a national public television channel in Australia. Launched on 7 March 2005, it is the responsibility of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television division, and is available nationally to digital television viewers in Australia...
television. The grand final was previously broadcast on Fox Sports Australia, however this was also discontinued in 2008. In 2007, the SANFL measured a record 1,415,000 total television viewers.
The SANFL competition is covered by local radio stations Life FM
Life FM (Adelaide)
Life FM is a Christian radio station in Adelaide, South Australia that has been operating full time from October 1993 . It broadcasts on 107.9 MHz. The station's motto is More Music. According to the radio station's own website, the length of time it took to acquire a "broadcast licence for...
(live) and 5RPH
5RPH
Radio 5RPH 1197 kHz is a volunteer manned AM band community radio station in Adelaide, South Australia Australia for the blind. Radio 5RPH is a member of the Radio Print Handicapped Network. Its stated mission is to "provide a quality reading and information service to those within its broadcast...
(live). ABC Local Radio
ABC Local Radio
ABC Local Radio is a network of publicly owned radio stations in Australia, operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.ABC Local Radio stations broadcast across the continent using terrestrial transmitters and satellites...
and FIVEaa broadcast the SANFL Finals Series.
Attendance
Although SANFL crowds now competes heavily with the two AFL national league clubs, the SANFL still has the second highest attendance of any Australian rules football league and the highest attendance for any regional league of any football code. It continues to publish attendance figures.The record attendance for an SANFL fixture was set at the 1976 SANFL Grand Final between Sturt and Port Adelaide at Football Park which saw 66,987 crammed into the stadium, though some estimate the crowd to have been as high as 80,000 with thousands turned away at the gates. The largest attendance for a minor round fixture was set in Round 19, 1988 for a double header at Football Park. 38,213 fans saw Sturt play Port Adelaide in the early game while reigning premiers North Adelaide faced ladder leaders Central District in the late game. The record suburban ground attendance was an estimated 24,000 who saw Sturt and Norwood at Unley Oval
Unley Oval
Unley Oval is a multi-use stadium in Unley, an inner southern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia...
on 9 June, 1924. A verified attendance of 22,738 saw Port play Norwood at Alberton
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,...
in Round 11, 1977*.
* South Adelaide played Port Adelaide in front of 30,618 at the 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 Round 2, 1965. At the time the oval doubled as both league headquarters and South Adelaide's home ground. Although Adelaide Oval currently used by the SANFL as a neutral venue, the Unley Oval record is for current SANFL team home grounds though the figure was only an estimated amount.
The following are the most recent attendance figures
| Year |
Home & Away |
Finals |
Games Played |
Total |
Average |
Grand Final |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 276,583 | 67,308 | 96 | 343,891 | 3,582 | 34,355 | |
| 2009 | 263,125 | 68,230 | 96 | 331,355 | 3,452 | 35,647 | |
| 2008 | 275,842 | 86,367 | 96 | 362,209 | 3,773 | 34,128 | |
| 2007 | 96 | 322,835 | 3,165 | 30,493 | |||
| 2006 | 255,468 | 54,406 | 96 | 309,874 | 3,228 | 25,130 | |
| 2005 | 259,331 | 44,023 | 96 | 303,354 | 2,974 | 28,637 | |
| 2004 | 59,200 | 96 | 24,207 | ||||
| 2003 | 53,078 | 94 | 28,199 |
Before 1877
The earliest recorded football club in South Australia was Adelaide Football Club, formed in 1860. The early years of football were poorly organised and dogged by argument over which set of rules to adopt. In fact, after a match between Port Adelaide and Kensington in 1873, it was remarked that neither side understood the rules clearly, and there was uncertainty over which team had won. However, as the years progressed, there became a growing push for uniformity and structure in South Australian football.1877–1900
King William Street, Adelaide
King William Street is the part of a major arterial road that traverses the CBD and centre of Adelaide . It was named by the Street Naming Committee on 23 May 1837 after King William IV, the then reigning monarch, who died within a month...
on 30 April 1877, the first governing body of its type for football in Australia, and adopted rules similar to those used in Victoria. The inaugural 1877 season was contested by those 12 clubs: South Park, Willunga, Port Adelaide, Adelaide, North Adelaide, Prince Alfred College, Gawler, Kapunda, Bankers, Woodville, South Adelaide and Victorian.
Norwood joined the Association the following season in 1878, and went on to win the next six premierships. Norwood, South Adelaide and Port Adelaide together won 23 of the first 24 premierships. South Park, Willunga, North Adelaide, Prince Alfred College, Gawler, Kapunda, Bankers, Woodville, and Victorian all left the Association within the first 10 years. By 1886, the Association had been reduced from 12 to four clubs.
The Association experienced a resurgence in the late 1880s and early 1890s. The addition of North Adelaide (1893), West Adelaide and West Torrens (1897) and only the demise of Adelaide (1893), meant the Association comprised six clubs by the turn of the century. In 1898, the Magarey Medal
Magarey Medal
For the biography award of the same name, see Magarey Medal for biography. For a list of winners, see List of Magarey Medallists.The Magarey Medal is an Australian rules football honour awarded annually since 1898 to the fairest and most brilliant player in the South Australian National Football...
was awarded to the fairest and most brilliant player for the first time.
1901–1945
SturtSturt Football Club
Sturt Football Club is an Australian rules football club in the South Australian National Football League. The club is best known for its period of dominance from 1966–76 under legendary coach Jack Oatey, during which it revolutionised the style of play by emphasising teamwork and accurate ball...
joined the Association in 1901, but performed poorly initially, finishing last in its first three seasons. In 1902, Port Adelaide adopted its now famous black and white colours. In 1907, the Association changed its name to the South Australian Football League.
Norwood and Port Adelaide continued their domination of the league, and were joined by West Adelaide and North Adelaide; between them, the four clubs won all premierships between 1901 and 1913. West Adelaide followed three straight wooden spoons from 1904–06 with four out of the five premierships from 1908–1912, the most successful period in West Adelaide's history.
Sturt won the first premiership of the post-WWI era, beating North Adelaide in the Challenge Final replay. Glenelg became the newest addition to the league in 1921 and started poorly with five consecutive wooden spoons. In 1927, the South Australian Football League was renamed the South Australian National Football League. Port Adelaide won five premierships in the period 1919-1939, appearing in 12 grand finals.
The SANFL continued normal competition for the first few years of World War II, but from 1942 to 1944 operated on a reduced basis with clubs merged on a geographical basis - Port Adelaide / West Torrens, West Adelaide / Glenelg, Sturt / South Adelaide and Norwood / North Adelaide.
1946–1969
The immediate post-war period was dominated by Norwood, with three premierships to 1950. Port Adelaide, led by Fos WilliamsFos Williams
Foster Neil "Fos" Williams AM was a leading Australian rules footballer who played for and coached the Port Adelaide and West Adelaide Football Clubs and coached South Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League in a career spanning 1946-1978...
, dominated the 1950's winning seven premierships, including a record-breaking six in a row from 1954–59. This record still stands in the SANFL and AFL, and no other team in any other professional or semi-professional league has managed to break it.
Port Adelaide continued their dominance of the competition in the early 1960s with three more premierships by 1965. In 1964 the SANFL admitted two new clubs, Central District and Woodville
Woodville Football Club
Woodville Football Club was an Australian rules football club that competed in the South Australian National Football League from 1964 to 1990, when it merged with the West Torrens Football Club to form the Woodville-West Torrens Eagles....
. Both clubs performed poorly, and many questioned the purpose of introducing two more teams, in particular Woodville, who were closely surrounded by existing clubs, Port Adelaide and West Torrens. A resurgent Sturt under coach Jack Oatey
Jack Oatey
Jack Oatey, AM was a former Australian rules football player and coach.-Playing career:Oatey played 181 games for the Norwood Football Club between 1940 and 1952 and acted as playing-coach from 1945 to 1952....
won five straight premierships from 1966–70, sharing a fierce rivalry with Port Adelaide whom they met in four consecutive Grand Finals.
1970–1979
Sturt began the 1970s by defeating Glenelg in a rain-affected Grand Final by 21 points. North Adelaide secured back-to-back premiership victories over Port Adelaide in 1971 and 1972 and defeated VFL premier Carlton by one point in the end-of-season Championship of AustraliaChampionship of Australia
The Championship of Australia was the name given to an Australian rules football tournament which was contested between football clubs from the Victorian, South Australian and West Australian football leagues. The Championship took place three times in the 19th century and then from 1907 to 1914...
match. Port Adelaide continued their success, winning two premierships themselves (1977, 1979), and finishing lower than 3rd only once for the decade. Other premiership winning clubs in the 1970s were Sturt (1970, 1974, 1976), Glenelg (1973), and Norwood (1975, 1978). On 4 May 1974, Central District and North Adelaide played the first game at newly opened Football Park at West Lakes
West Lakes, South Australia
West Lakes is a suburb of Adelaide in the City of Charles Sturt. It contains the Westfield West Lakes Shopping Centre, AAMI Stadium and the Riverside Golf Course...
. SANFL moved its administration to the new stadium, and 58,042 attended the first Grand Final at the ground later that year, with Sturt defeating Glenelg by 15 points despite kicking into a stiff breeze in the last quarter after leading by 5 points at three-quarter time. The 1975 season was highlighted by Glenelg's score of 49.23 (317) against Central District, with a winning margin of 238 points which was larger, at that time, than the previous highest score ever recorded by a side in a single game. In 1976, Sturt defeated Grand Final favourites Port Adelaide by 41 points in front of a record Football Park crowd of 66,897. Norwood won the 1978 premiership in their centenary year by beating Sturt in the Grand Final by one point after Sturt had lost just one game for the entire season. During the 1970s, an increasing number of SANFL players moved to Victoria to play in the VFL competition.
1980–1989
Port Adelaide, Norwood and Glenelg dominated the SANFL in the 1980s, accounting for eight premierships. The exodus of quality players to the VFL continued in the 1980s. In 1981 the VFL rejected a SANFL bid to enter a composite South Australian team to its competition. The SANFL introduced a player retention scheme in 1988 in an attempt to maintain the quality of the competition in the face of falling attendances. Night football was introduced in 1984 after floodlights were installed at Football Park.1990–1999
On 31 July 1990, Port Adelaide surprised the SANFL by making an independent bid to the join the AFL. The SANFL was left with little option but to submit its own bid to enter the AFL. In a thirty-minute meeting the SANFL formed the Adelaide Football Club. While Port Adelaide had by far the largest supporter base in South Australia, it could not compete with the SANFL's offer of a composite club and the use of Football Park, and in November 1990, following a legal battle, the AFL announced the Adelaide Football Club had been granted a licence and would enter the competition in 1991.The Adelaide Crows debuted in 1991 wearing the state colours of navy blue, red and yellow. While the Adelaide Crows enjoyed crowds of over 40,000 every week and dominated local media coverage, crowds at local SANFL matches suffered substantially.
In 1994 after a tender process put to all the SANFL clubs, the Port Adelaide Football Club secured a licence to enter the AFL. The Port Adelaide chose the nickname of 'Power' since 'Magpies' was already used by Collingwood. Port Adelaide wished to maintain its presence (as the Magpies) in the SANFL, which was agreed to on the basis that Port Adelaide's SANFL and AFL entities operate independently. The club in the SANFL was renamed "Port Adelaide Magpies Football Club" to reflect this separation.
2000–present
Central District has dominated with nine premierships (2000-1, 2003–5, 2007–2010) and has appeared in twelve consecutive Grand Finals. Their success was only interrupted firstly by Sturt in 2002 and Woodville-West Torrens in 2006 and 2011. From 2006, Central District hosted night games at Elizabeth Oval. Under-age divisions were restructured, with under 17 and under 19 competitions dissolved in favour of under 16 and under 18 leagues. West Adelaide commenced night home games in 2010, as did South Adelaide in 2011 while Woodville-West Torrens are upgrading the lights at the Thebarton OvalThebarton Oval
Thebarton Oval was formerly the home ground of SANFL club West Torrens who played their last game at the ground in on 2 September 1989 ending a run of 68 seasons at Thebby Oval...
in a bid to play night home games at the ground from 2012.
In 2011, the AFL-based Port Adelaide and the SANFL-based Port Adelaide merged back together to help the struggling club with both clubs suffering major financial losses.
Future and expansion plans
There has been talk of expanding the SANFL to include teams from other states, especially those in regions unwanted by the AFL, and to serve as a second-tier national league.The most pushed for expansion team from Darwin, Northern Territory
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...
, formed as a representative club of the Northern Territory Football League
Northern Territory Football League
The Northern Territory Football League is an 8 team Australian rules football semi-professional league operating in Darwin in the Northern Territory.The premier grade is the largest Australian rules football league in the Northern Territory...
(NTFL). The first of a series of trial matches was held in 2006, with a long term view of admitting a Darwin side into the SANFL. A strong crowd at Marrara Oval
Marrara Oval
Marrara Stadium is a sports ground in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. The ground was built in 1991 and Australian rules football and Cricket are primarily played at the venue...
witnessed North Adelaide defeat a composite NTFL squad by 27 points, demonstrating that a Darwin team could be competitive. Following this match there was a push to make the event an annual event. The push for a Northern Territory team in June 2007 intensified, with Darwin and Alice Springs (with the proposed venue being Traeger Park
Traeger Park
Traeger Park is a small stadium located in Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia.The stadium hosts Australian rules football and cricket matches and has a capacity of 10,000....
) both competing for a licence, with the NT government supporting Darwin and business people like Dick Pratt supporting the bid of Alice Springs. However, a composite Northern Territory side eventually joined the AFL Queensland State League.
Although there have also been rumours of inclusion of a Tasmanian club from both Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
and 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...
in mid-September 2007, the Tasmanian Devils Football Club
Tasmanian Devils Football Club
Tasmania Football Club, nicknamed The Devils, was an Australian rules football club which competed in the Victorian Football League in Australia. Formed in 2001, it was the youngest and the only non-Victorian club in the league. The club was based in the state of Tasmania at Bellerive Oval and was...
, run by AFL Tasmania
AFL Tasmania
AFL Tasmania is the governing body for Australian rules football in Tasmania.The organisation is responsible for game development in the state. The organisation recently became affiliated with the Australian Football League and was formerly known as Football Tasmania.The body is responsible for...
, committed themselves to the Victorian Football League
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...
for a further five years but subsequently folded at the close of the 2008 season to concentrate on re-forming their state-wide league football competition.
Club
The Grand Final winners each season are presented the Thomas Seymour Hill Premiership Trophy, named after administrator Thomas Seymour Hill.The Stanley H. Lewis Memorial Trophy, awarded annually since 1962, recognises the best combined record in all levels of SANFL competition.
Individual
The Magarey MedalMagarey Medal
For the biography award of the same name, see Magarey Medal for biography. For a list of winners, see List of Magarey Medallists.The Magarey Medal is an Australian rules football honour awarded annually since 1898 to the fairest and most brilliant player in the South Australian National Football...
is awarded to the fairest and most brilliant player in the SANFL each season and is the oldest of its type in Australia.
The medal was originated by and is named after William Ashley Magarey who, in 1897, was the inaugural chairman of the South Australian Football Association (as the SANFL was then known). In 1898, in an effort to stamp out rough play and improve respect of umpires, Magarey instituted the medal to be awarded to the player deemed by umpires to be the fairest and most brilliant for that season. The inaugural winner of the medal was Norwood's Alby Green
Alby Green
Albert 'Alby' Green was an Australian rules footballer who played with Norwood in the SAFA and first-class cricketer who played for South Australia....
. Magarey presented every medal until he died in 1929, but the Magarey Medal is still awarded to the fairest and most brilliant
Best and Fairest
Best 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...
SANFL player each season. The Reserves Magarey Medal recognises the standout performers of that level as well.
The Ken Farmer Medal
Ken Farmer Medal
The Ken Farmer Medal is named in honour of the Australian rules footballer , North Adelaide Football Club full forward Ken Farmer. The medal is awarded to the SANFL's top goalkicker at the end of the minor round of matches each season and was instigated in 1981.- Ken Farmer Medallists :- Leading...
, much like the Coleman Medal in the AFL
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
, is awarded to the league player with the most goals in a season. Named after North Adelaide's most prolific goal-kicker before World War II, the medal was introduced in 1981 with Port Adelaide's Tim Evans winning the inaugural award.
There are also the McCallum and Tomkins Medals, which up until the 2008 season were awarded to the best and fairest players of the U-17 and U-19 divisions respectively. These awards were merged in 2009 when the two under-age competitions were replaced with an U-18's league, similar to those adopted in the West Australian Football League
West Australian Football League
The West Australian Football League is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The WAFL is the second-most popular in the state, behind the nation-wide Australian Football League...
and the VFL's TAC Cup
TAC Cup
The TAC Cup is an under 18 Australian rules football representative competition held in Victoria, Australia. It is based on geographic regions throughout country Victoria and metropolitan Melbourne with each team representing 12 Victorian regions....
. The first winner of the newly created McCallum-Tomkins Medal was South Adelaide's Luke Bowd.
The Jack Oatey Medal is awarded to the player voted best on ground in the SANFL Grand Final, first awarded in the 1981 premiership decider to Russell Ebert of Port Adelaide. In the same year, the Fos Williams Medal
Fos Williams Medal
The Fos Williams Medal has been awarded since 1981 to the best Australian rules football player from South Australia during Inter-State or Inter-Competition matches. The medal is named in honour of legendary South Australian National Football League player and coach Fos Williams.Originally the...
was also commissioned to recognise the standout performer for South Australia in interstate football, the first of which was awarded to Peter Carey of Glenelg. Despite State of Origin football disappearing from the AFL calendar in 1999, the medal continues to be awarded to the best player for the SANFL representative team in interstate football.
The Bob Quinn
Bob Quinn (Australian footballer)
Robert Berrima Quinn MM was a champion Australian rules footballer with Port Adelaide Football Club in the South Australian National Football League and war hero.-Biography:...
Medal is awarded to the player voted best afield in the Anzac Day
ANZAC Day
Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought at Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all...
matches between the Grand Finalists of the previous year. Commissioned in 2002, the medal was first won by James Gowans
James Gowans (Australian footballer)
James Gowans is an Australian rules footballer who played for St Kilda in the Australian Football League .Recruited from Werribee, Gowans only made four appearances with the St Kilda senior side, mostly as a half forward flanker....
of Central District.
Interteam wins
| Central District |
Eagles | Glenelg | North Adelaide |
Norwood | Port Adelaide |
South Adelaide |
Sturt | West Adelaide |
West Torrens |
Woodville | TOTALS - wins |
|
| Central District | x | 55% | 52% | 56% | 47% | 35% | 57% | 52% | 58% | 57% | 59% | 52% |
| Eagles | 45% | x | 67% | 67% | 63% | 40% | 79% | 77% | 63% | x | x | 62% |
| Glenelg | 48% | 29% | x | 43% | 40% | 26% | 55% | 42% | 47% | 43% | 83% | 43% |
| North Adelaide | 43% | 28% | 56% | x | 42% | 32% | 66% | 48% | 59% | 56% | 78% | 51% |
| Norwood | 55% | 41% | 61% | 55% | x | 42% | 68% | 57% | 62% | 64% | 70% | 58% |
| Port Adelaide | 67% | 60% | 75% | 68% | 56% | x | 77% | 67% | 66% | 75% | 86% | 69% |
| South Adelaide | 44% | 23% | 45% | 33% | 32% | 22% | x | 39% | 44% | 42% | 65% | 37% |
| Sturt | 49% | 23% | 74% | 49% | 43% | 33% | 60% | x | 52% | 54% | 76% | 50% |
| West Adelaide | 44% | 39% | 54% | 41% | 37% | 33% | 55% | 47% | x | 43% | 67% | 45% |
| West Torrens | 42% | x | 57% | 42% | 35% | 25% | 55% | 44% | 53% | x | x | |
| Woodville | 41% | x | 17% | 22% | 30% | 12% | 35% | 22% | 32% | x | x | |
| Played | 985 | 405 | 1698 | 1929 | 1993 | 2027 | 1877 | 1869 | 1885 |
See also
List of SANFL clubsList of SANFL players
- List of Magarey Medallists
- South Australian Football Hall of FameSouth Australian Football Hall of FameThe South Australian Football Hall of Fame was created in 2002 to recognise the players, coaches, umpires, administrators and journalists who had made a significant contribution in the South Australian National Football League...
SANFL Grand Finals