1.
Victorian Football League
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The Victorian Football League is the major state-level Australian rules football league in Victoria. The league evolved from the former Victorian Football Association, and has been known by its current name since 1996. The VFA was formed in 1877 and is the second-oldest Australian rules football league, initially serving a primarily administrative function, the VFA premiership served as the top level of club competition in Victoria until 1896. The VFA became the level of club competition from 1897 after its eight strongest clubs seceded to form the VFL. From 1897 until 1995, the VFA remained independent from the VFL as Victorias secondary senior club competition and it presently comprises 14 teams from throughout Victoria, eight of which have a continuous VFA heritage. The Victorian Football Association was founded on 17 May 1877 at the meeting of club secretaries immediately preceding the 1877 season. Decisions were made based on a vote of the Board of Management, the five foundation senior clubs in the Melbourne metropolitan area were Albert-park, Carlton, Hotham, Melbourne and St Kilda. There was no system of promotion and relegation between the senior and junior levels, with it largely at a clubs discretion whether or not it joined the Association as a paying senior member. The affiliation fee for senior clubs was initially set at one guinea, through the first decade of the VFAs existence, the structure of the football season did not change significantly from the informal system which had evolved over previous years. Premierships won under this method are now considered official. Three Ballarat-based clubs – Ballarat, Ballarat Imperial and South Ballarat – were also voting members of the VFA through this time, the two new competitions competed in parallel from their respective 1897 seasons. Because the VFA was independent from the VFL, the VFA had the power to set its own rules, the VFA reduced the number of on-field players from twenty to eighteen in 1897, a move followed by the VFL two years later. The VFA tried reducing the number of players further to 17 in 1908, then to 16 in 1912, the VFA went into recess during World War I, with the 1916 and 1917 seasons cancelled and the 1915 and 1918 seasons shortened. Over first thirty years of the VFAs independence, its relationship with the VFL was, in general, the loss of the VFAs strongest three clubs to the VFL in 1925 firmly cemented the VFA as the second tier competition in the state. Between 1925 and 1929, the addition of outer suburban clubs in Coburg, Camberwell, the relationship with the VFL improved, and a new permit reciprocity agreement was established in 1931. In 1938, the VFA made a rule change by legalising throwing of the football in general play. The change helped to speed up the game, and introduced more run-and-carry play in an era which had previously dominated by a long-kicking style. Additionally, the VFA ended its agreement with the VFL
2.
Australian rules football
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The main way to score points is by kicking the oval-shaped ball between the two tall goal posts. The team with the score by the end of the match wins unless a draw is declared. During general play, players may position themselves anywhere on the field, the primary methods are kicking, handballing and running with the ball. There are rules on how the ball can be handled, for example, throwing the ball is not allowed and players must not get caught holding the ball. A distinctive feature of the game is the mark, where players anywhere on the field who catch a ball from a kick are awarded possession, possession of the ball is in dispute at all times except when a free kick or mark is paid. Players can tackle using their hands or use their body to obstruct opponents. The game features frequent physical contests, spectacular marking, fast movement of players and the ball and high scoring. The sports origins can be traced to matches played in Melbourne, Victoria in 1858. Its annual Grand Final is the highest attended club championship event in the world, the sport is also played at amateur level in many countries and in several variations. The games rules are governed by the AFL Commission with the advice of the AFLs Laws of the Game Committee, there is evidence of football being played sporadically in the Australian colonies in the first half of the 19th century. The earliest such match, held in St Kilda on 15 June, was between Melbourne Grammar and St Kilda Grammar. Born in Australia, Wills played a nascent form of rugby football whilst a pupil at Rugby School in England and his letter is regarded by many historians as giving impetus for the development of a new code of football today known as Australian football. Two weeks later, Wills friend, cricketer Jerry Bryant, posted an advertisement for a match at the Richmond Paddock adjoining the Melbourne Cricket Ground. This was the first of several kickabouts held that year involving members of the Melbourne Cricket Club, including Wills, Bryant, W. J. Hammersley, trees were used as goalposts and play typically lasted an entire afternoon. Without an agreed code of laws, some players were guided by rules they had learned in the British Isles. Another significant milestone in 1858 was a match played under experimental rules between Melbourne Grammar and Scotch College, held at the Richmond Paddock. This 40-a-side contest, umpired by Wills and Scotch College teacher John Macadam, began on 7 August and it is commemorated with a statue outside the MCG, and the two schools have competed annually ever since in the Cordner-Eggleston Cup, the worlds oldest continuous football competition. Since the early 20th century, it has suggested that Australian football was derived from the Irish sport of Gaelic football
3.
Western Bulldogs
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The Western Bulldogs is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League, the sports premier competition. The club has won two VFL/AFL premierships, in 1954 and 2016, and was runner up in 1961, the Western Bulldogs home guernsey features two thick horizontal hoops—one red and one white—on a royal blue background. The clubs traditional rivals include St Kilda and geographical rival Essendon, the clubs headquarters and training facilities are located in Footscray at Whitten Oval, nicknamed The Kennel, its original home ground. In 1996, the changed its name from the Footscray Football Club to its nickname. Newspapers record Australian rules football being played in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray in the mid-1870s, in 1880, the club changed its name to the Prince Imperials in honour of Napoléon, Prince Imperial, the heir to French throne, who had recently died in battle. The club reverted to Footscray a few years later, in 1886, Footscray gained admission to the Victorian Football Association after amalgamating with the Footscray Cricket Club to form a senior football club. The club tended to struggle over the decade, occupying the lower rungs of the VFA ladder. The club began to improve after the VFL breakaway of 1896, as no finals were played, Footscray were declared premiers. The club played in and won its first finals match in 1903, against Richmond, the minor premiers, after losing to West Melbourne in the 1906 VFA Grand Final, the club won its first premiership by defeating Brunswick in 1908. The club entered two years of recess during World War I and returned in 1918, still rebuilding, the club won the wooden spoon. From bottom to top in one year,1919 saw the win the premiership. The club went back-to-back in 1923 and 1924, the 1924 premiership would be Footscrays last in the VFA. Footscray recorded a victory, winning by 28 points. The win was a significant factor in Footscray gaining admission to the VFL. In 1919, there were nine clubs competing in the VFL, due to the return of all the foundation teams plus Richmond after World War I and this caused one team to be idle every Saturday and the VFL was keen to do away with this bye each week. On the night of 9 January 1925, a meeting of the VFL, chaired by Reg Hunt of Carlton. It was decided in the meeting to admit Footscray, along two other VFA clubs, Hawthorn and North Melbourne. Footscray played their first VFL match against Fitzroy on Saturday 2 May at the Brunswick Street Oval in front of 28,000 spectators, future Brownlow medallist Allan Hopkins was regarded as Footscrays best player that day
4.
Richmond Football Club
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The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed the Tigers, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League. The club has won ten premierships since joining the competition in 1908, the club is currently ranked sixth in the competition for premierships won. Prior to 1965 the club played games at Punt Road Oval. Based in a traditionally working-class area, Richmond has long-standing rivalries with cross-town Melbourne-based clubs, Collingwood, the club has been home to four AFL Hall of Fame Legends, Ian Stewart, Kevin Bartlett, Royce Hart and Jack Dyer. A team of playing as Richmond is mentioned by the newspapers in the first years of Australian football. Tom Wills, one of the founders, was the clubs inaugural secretary and captain. This loosely organised group has no continuity to the present club, a number of teams formed in the Richmond area during the games rapid expansion of the 1870s and early 1880s. However, all played at a level and it was considered an anomaly that Richmond, one of Melbournes biggest locales. The wait ended when the Richmond Football Club was officially formed at the Royal Hotel in Richmond on 20 February 1885, a successful application for immediate admission to the Victorian Football Association followed. The club shared the Punt Road Oval with the Richmond Cricket Club, at first the team wore a blue uniform. One of the most important features of a nineteenth-century footballers uniform was his headgear, and Richmond opted for yellow and black striped caps, after a couple of years, yellow and black stripes replaced blue as the colours of the teams guernseys. The team was called the Richmondites, the Wasps or, most commonly. During the late 1880s, the VFA expanded rapidly, a booming economy and large numbers of immigrants made Melbourne the largest city in the Australian colonies. The city was mad with football and many tried to get admission to the VFA. Richmond struggled to make an impression and after a promising season in 1888. As the local economy slipped into depression in the early 1890s and the crowds began to dwindle. Richmond were not considered part of elite group, who usually voted together as a block at VFA meetings. A lack of commitment and focused effort was holding the Tigers back, in 1896, Richmond walked off the field in a match with South Melbourne at half time when they were a long way behind on a very wet day to protest the umpiring. Later in the season, the Tigers had their score annulled against Essendon when it was discovered that they had too many men on the ground, in the closing three weeks of the season, Richmonds gate takings amounted to just five pounds
5.
North Melbourne Football Club
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It is based at the Arden Street Oval in the inner Melbourne suburb of North Melbourne, Victoria, but plays its home matches at the nearby Docklands Stadium. The clubs mascot is a kangaroo, and its use dates from the middle of the 20th century. The club is also known as The Shinboners, a term which dates back to its 19th-century abattoir-worker origins. The clubs motto is Victoria amat curam, Latin for Victory Demands Dedication, in two aspects North Melbourne stands second to none. One is the loyalty of its supporters, the other is the determination to carry on, despite its disadvantages. In the face of adversity, which might well have broken the spirit of most men, North Melbourne Football Club originated in the year 1869, when a football team was formed for local cricketers desiring to keep fit over the winter months. Information on the clubs first ever match is limited, but it is known that it took place in Royal Park, the ball used in the match was purchased by a local resident called Tom Jacks, who sold some roofing iron to pay for it. James Henry Gardiner is considered the founder of the club and he continued an active role with North Melbourne until his death in 1921. Regular premiership matches of Australian Football commenced in Victoria in 1870, Although North Melbourne was a part of this, it was classed as a junior club. The Australasian noted them as being one of the best of junior clubs. The club continued to develop, graduating to senior ranks in 1874 finishing 4th, along with the promotion, the club adopted its first uniform of blue and white horizontal stripes. In 1877, the club was re-established as a club under the new name of Hotham. Football took a giant step forward in 1877, with the formation of Victorias first colonial football league, Hotham were prime movers in establishing this league and were afforded a place in light of their previous contributions to Australian Football. The 1880s marked the emergence of the identity we now associate with North today. In 1882, the club amalgamated with the Hotham Cricket Club and moved into the North Melbourne Recreation Reserve, the joint venture was aimed at affecting improvements at the Hotham Cricket Ground, which was the name of the Reserve at the time. Four years later the club adopted the uniform of blue and white vertical stripes at the insistence of the VFA. The third significant development occurred in 1888 with the returning to its original name of the North Melbourne Football Club. This followed the name of the local area reverting from Hotham to North Melbourne, the 1880s saw the club develop a penchant for inter-colonial travel with trips to Tasmania and South Australia
6.
Northern Blues
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The Northern Blues are affiliated with the Carlton Blues in the AFL, and play their home games at the Preston City Oval and Ikon Park. The club was established in 1882 as the Preston Football Club, the club participated in the VFA between 1903 and 1912, and then since 1926. After World War II, the club was known as the Bullants, the club later became the Northern Bullants. Ahead of the 2012 season, the club adopted the colours and nickname of its AFL-affiliate, the club was formed in 1882 but little is known of its first three years before the Shire of Jika Jika changed its name in September 1885 to Preston. Preston and another club, Gowerville, then merged and competed at lower levels of the Victorian Junior Football Association. Further premierships followed in 1901 and 1902, no finals being played as Preston finished the two games clear of their nearest rivals to claim the title. Despite a reasonable opening season where they won six games, the club struggled to find players, with Northcote joining the Association in 1908, pressure was applied for the two clubs to merge and the VFA forced the issue early in 1912. Preston were simply promoted before their time, by 1912, the district numbered just 4,800 people spread over 8,800 acres, of the other suburbs represented in the VFA, the next smallest was Brighton with 11,000. Prestons leading player during early VFA days was Sid Hall, a centre half-back regarded as the best high mark in the competition. Despite the lack of success, Preston managed to some fine players to League ranks in Percy Ogden, Hedley Tompkins and Bill Hendrie, Hugh James, Joe Prince, George Doull. Prestons place was taken by Melbourne City who didnt win a game in the two years before they folded, the nucleus of the Preston club returned to the First-Rate Division of the Victorian Junior Football Association. Ogden returned to captain-coach the clun in 1916 and 1917 while Essendon were in recess for the First World Warr, with the loss of North Melbourne, Footscray and Hawthorn to the League in 1925, the Association accepted Preston and Camberwell into their ranks for the 1926 season. The team used their uniform from junior days, a red stripe down the chest and back. This time the club was ready for senior ranks, raising a few eyebrows when they won nine of the 18 games in their first season as well as supplying the Recorder Cup winner, William Bluey Summers. A finals appearance came the year, Prestons first ever senior final finished in a draw with Brighton. Needing to win 12 games straight to ensure a spot, Preston managed to sneak in with 11 wins and a draw. Despite the modest finals record, the club provided the 1934 and 1936 Recorder Cup winners in Danny Warr and Bert Hyde respectively. Leading players up to World War 2 included Summers, Warr, Bert Smith, Frankie Dickie Dowling and Bill Socks Maslen, although he was never a star with Preston, 17-year-old Bert Deacon played his first match in 1940, later becoming Carltons first Brownlow Medallist in 1947
