The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL, is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport.
The Adelaide Oval is a stadium in Adelaide in the state of South Australia. It is located in the parklands. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby league, rugby union, soccer, and tennis, as well as regularly being used to hold concerts.
Russell Frank Ebert was an Australian rules footballer and coach. He is considered one of the greatest players in the history of Australian rules football in South Australia. Ebert is the only player to have won four Magarey Medals, which are awarded to the best and fairest player in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). He is one of four Australian rules footballers to have a statue at Adelaide Oval, the others being Ken Farmer, Malcolm Blight and Barrie Robran. Football historian John Devaney described Ebert as coming "as close as any player in history to exhibiting complete mastery over all the essential skills of the game," and he is widely regarded as the Port Adelaide Football Club's greatest-ever player. Aside from his 392 games at Port Adelaide, Ebert played 25 games for North Melbourne in the 1979 VFL season and collected over 500 possessions as a midfielder for the club, which reached the preliminary final. Ebert was an inaugural inductee into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 1996, and he was posthumously elevated to Legend status in June 2022, the highest honour that can be bestowed onto an Australian footballer.
Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final is a game that decides a sports league's premiership winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals series. Synonymous with a championship game in North American sports, grand finals have become a significant part of Australian culture. The earliest leagues to feature a grand final were in Australian rules football, followed soon after by rugby league. Currently the largest grand finals are in the Australian Football League (AFL) and National Rugby League (NRL). Their popularity influenced other competitions such as soccer's A-League Men and A-League Women, the National Basketball League, Suncorp Super Netball and European rugby league's Super League to adopt grand finals as well. Most grand finals involve a prestigious award for the player voted best on field.
In South Australia, Australian rules football is traditionally a popular participation and spectator sport. It is governed by the South Australian Football Commission which runs the South Australia National Football League in the capital Adelaide, the highest profile competition among the 24 spread across the state. Participation has fallen substantially in recent years to a current rate of 4.1% and 63,969 adults and 28,692 children less than a quarter of which are female. Prior to 2019 it was the most participated team sport in the state, however it dropped to third after both basketball and soccer there surpassed it in 2024.
The 1880 Victorian Football Association season was the fourth season of the Australian rules football competition. The premiership was won by the Geelong Football Club. It was the club's third VFA premiership, and the last in a sequence of three consecutive premierships won from 1878 to 1880; Geelong lost two matches for the season, its first losses since 1877, having been unbeaten through the previous two years.
The 1881 Victorian Football Association season was the fifth season of the Australian rules football competition. The premiership was won by the South Melbourne Football Club. It was the club's first VFA premiership.
The 1885 Victorian Football Association season was the 9th season of the Australian rules football competition. The premiership was won by the South Melbourne Football Club. It was the club's second VFA premiership.
Thomas Joseph Leahy was an Australian rules footballer who played 111 games with North Adelaide and 58 games with West Adelaide in the SAFL.
The Kensington Oval is located on 344 The Parade, Kensington, South Australia. Now used primarily for cricket in South Australia, the venue was once Adelaide's premier athletics facility and known as Olympic Sports Field.
The Victorian Football Club, "The Victorians", renamed the North Adelaide Football Club for the 1883 SAFA season, was an Australian rules football club based in North Adelaide, South Australia. The team wore an orange-and black guernsey and hose, with black knickerbockers, and were known to their supporters as "The Tigers."
The 1907 Championship of Australia was an Australian rules football match that took place on 28 September 1907 at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide, South Australia. It was the fourth edition of the Championship of Australia with it being the first since the 1896 edition, also in Adelaide.
The 1893 Championship of Australia was an Australian rules football match that took place on 7 October 1893.
The 1879 South Australian Football Association season was the 3rd season of the top-level Australian rules football competition in South Australia.
The 1880 South Australian Football Association season was the 4th season of the top-level Australian rules football competition in South Australia.
The 1881 South Australian Football Association season was the 5th season of the top-level Australian rules football competition in South Australia. The premiership season began on Saturday 7 May.
The 1888 South Australian Football Association season was the 12th season of the top-level Australian rules football competition in South Australia. The Norwood Football Club won their 8th premiership by winning 1 premiership point, or a half a win, more than Port Adelaide.
The 1893 South Australian Football Association season was the 17th season of the top-level Australian rules football competition in South Australia.
The 1896 Championship of Australia was an Australian rules football match that took place on 12 June 1897.
The 1879 Victoria v South Australia involved a series of two matches with teams representing Victoria and South Australia. The matches were played in Victoria at the East Melbourne Cricket Ground. These two matches are recognised as the first games of intercolonial Australian rules football.
