Australian rules football in Queensland was the first official football code played in 1866. The Colony of Queensland was the second after Victoria to adopt Australian rules football, just days after the rules were widely published. For two decades it was the most popular football code, however a strong desire for representative football success saw Queenslanders favour British football variants for more than a century. As a result, Queensland is one of the two states to the east of the Australian cultural divide described as the Barassi Line. 120 years later in 1986 Queensland was the first state awarded a licence to have a club, the Brisbane Bears, in the national (AFL) competition, also its first privately owned club. However the Gold Coast based Bears had a detrimental effect until the 1993 redevelopment of the Brisbane Cricket Ground (Gabba). In contrast the Bears transformation into a Brisbane and traditional membership based club resulted in enormous growth, and a tripling of average AFL attendances by 1996.
Malcolm Robert Michael is a Papua New Guinean-born former Australian rules footballer. He is notable for his successful professional career in the Australian Football League. In a career spanning 238 games and three clubs in two Australian states he is best known as a triple premiership full-back with the Brisbane Lions. Michael is recognised as being one of the best Queensland produced Australian rules footballers of all time, being named on the AFL Queensland Team of the 20th Century.
Australian rules football in South East Queensland has a varied history and many changes were made especially in the 21st century. Ruled and organised by the AFL Queensland, the region had a total of 46 teams playing in different divisions.
The Queensland Australian Football League is an Australian rules football competition organised by the AFL Queensland, contested by clubs from South East Queensland.
The Morningside Australian Football Club, nicknamed the Panthers, is an Australian rules football club based at Jack Esplen Oval in the suburb of Hawthorne in Brisbane. The club consists of Masters, Amateurs, Women's, Junior and Senior football sections. Its senior team competed in the North East Australian Football League (NEAFL) competition from 2011 to 2013 and now is a member club of the Queensland Australian Football League. Its junior sides compete in the AFL Brisbane Juniors (AFLBJ) competition. The club also caters for young girls and boys by running Auskick skills clinics, which are held at the beginning of the season and do not involve competitive games.
The Southport Australian Football Club, nicknamed the Sharks, is an Australian rules football club based on the Gold Coast, Queensland, that competes in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
The University of Queensland Australian Football Club (UQAFC) is an amateur Australian rules football club playing in the QFA Division 1, Division 4 and QAFLW League competitions, overseen by AFL Queensland. UQAFC home games are played at the University of Queensland's Playing Field 2, on the corner of Sir William MacGregor Drive and Thynne Road, St Lucia, Brisbane.
The Queensland Australian Football League Women's (QAFLW) is the highest-ranked Australian rules football women's league in Queensland. It provides elite women footballers the opportunity to play in a semi-professional environment. Many players from this league have represented their State, earned All-Australian honours, and participated in AFLW.
There are several Australian rules football leagues in regional Queensland.
The Sherwood Magpies Australian Football Club is the senior Australian rules football club of the western suburbs of Brisbane which competes in Division One of the AFLQ State League. The club is based at McCarthy Homes Oval, 41 Chelmer st, Chelmer, at the same grounds as the Sherwood Junior Australian Football Club and fields a team in the AFLQ senior, reserve, under 18 and women's grade competitions.
Redland-Victoria Point Sharks Football Club is a Brisbane based sports club. The Australian rules football team competes in the Queensland Australian Football League (QAFL) since 2021. They have previously been a part of both the AFL Queensland State League and the North East Australian Football League (NEAFL).
Clayton Beams, is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Surfers Paradise Australian Football Club is a Gold Coast based club competing in the AFL Queensland QAFL Australian rules football competition.
John Blair is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the South Melbourne Football Club, Fitzroy Football Club and St Kilda Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He has since become a successful coach in Queensland.
South East Australian Football Club is a Brisbane based club competing in the Queensland Amateur Football Association 'A' competition fielding Seniors & Reserves teams. Previously they were known as the Logan City Australian Football Club.
Carrara Australian Football Club is a Carrara based club competing in the SEQAFL Div 3 Australian rules football competition & also caters for teams in junior & youth divisions AFLQGC juniors.
Bond University AFL, nicknamed as the Bull Sharks, is a Gold Coast based Australian rules football club operating out of Bond University. The club currently competes in the Queensland Football Association Division Two and the Queensland Women's Football League competitions.
Australian rules football on the Gold Coast, Queensland can be traced back to the Gold Coast Australian Football League that was established in 1961. The city's interest in the sport has been heavily linked to the Southport Australian Football Club, the Brisbane Football Club and more recently the Gold Coast Football Club. The highest form of the sport played on the Gold Coast is the Australian Football League's team the Gold Coast Football Club, who were admitted into the competition in 2011.
Eric Hipwood is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL).
David Lake is an Australian rules football coach who is a former coach of the Gold Coast Suns women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW).
