Championship of Australia

Last updated

Championship of Australia
Championship of Australia 1971 Adelaide Oval Hawthorn North Adelaide.jpg
Organising body Australian National Football Council (1972-1975)
Founded1888;136 years ago (1888)
Abolished1976;48 years ago (1976)
Region Australia
Number of teams2-4
Related competitions VFL, SANFL, WAFL, TFL
Last champions North Melbourne (1975)
Most successful club(s) Port Adelaide (4 titles)

The Championship of Australia was an Australian rules football tournament which was contested between football clubs from the Victorian and South Australian football leagues for most of its history, with clubs from the Western Australian and Tasmanian football leagues only being included in the final four iterations. The Championship took place four times in the 19th century and then from 1907 to 1914 — with the exception of 1912 — and every year from 1968 to 1975. All but two of the Championships were played in Adelaide, and all of them occurred after the respective league seasons had ended. [1] The 1975 Championship of Australia was the last edition of the competition, with the 1976 NFL Championship replacing the format, albeit for only one year with VFL clubs.

Contents

History

The first group of Champions of Australia competitions were held between the Victorian Football Association and South Australian Football Association premiers while from 1907 until 1914, the final competition for 54 years, it was contested between the premiers of the VFL and SAFL. Port Adelaide were champions a record four times during this period. The inaugural Championship was a best-of-three-game series but all future tournaments were decided by a Grand Final. The premier teams from other states were not included in these tournaments.

In 1968 the Championship returned under the same format but the Australian National Football Council refused to grant it official status as teams from Western Australia and Tasmania were not competing and it thus couldn't be referred to as a Championship of 'Australia'. Both states' premiers joined the tournament from 1972 onwards to make it a four-club championship. For Tasmania, it was the premier of the Tasmanian State Premiership that was invited to the Championship – except in 1974, when no state premiership was held and a composite team of players from the premier clubs of the various Tasmanian leagues took part. All games were held in Adelaide, but VFL clubs won every Championship from 1968, except in 1972 when South Australia's North Adelaide Football Club upset Victoria's Carlton Football Club to win by a point. [2]

In 1976, the National Football League abandoned the post-season Championship of Australia concept by establishing the NFL Night Series. It was contested on weekday nights concurrently with the 1976 premiership season by twelve clubs – five from the VFL, four from the SANFL and three from the WAFL – who qualified based on their 1975 positions. It is sometimes seen as a natural extension of the Championship of Australia, although 13 of the 15 games in the series were played in Adelaide which continued to provide the SANFL clubs with an advantage over their VFL and WAFL counterparts.

Champions by year (1888–1914, 1968–1975)

YearChampionColoursScoreRunner-upColoursScoreVenue
1888 Norwood
Norwood Redlegs Icon.jpg
8.12 South Melbourne
VFL South Melbourne 1880-1896 Icon.jpg
4.10 Kensington Oval
Norwood Redlegs Icon.jpg
6.8
VFL South Melbourne 1880-1896 Icon.jpg
2.11
Norwood Redlegs Icon.jpg
6.4
VFL South Melbourne 1880-1896 Icon.jpg
4.15
1890 Port Adelaide
Port Adelaide FC 1888.png
7.10 South Melbourne
VFL South Melbourne 1880-1896 Icon.jpg
6.13 Adelaide Oval
1893 Essendon
EssendonDesign.svg
10.23 South Adelaide
Geelong icon.svg
3.6 Victoria Park
1896 Collingwood
Collingwood icon.svg
8.5 South Adelaide
Geelong icon.svg
6.4 Adelaide Oval
1907 Norwood
Norwood Redlegs Icon.jpg
13.12 (90) Carlton
Cartlon fc logo 1900s.jpg
8.10 (58) Adelaide Oval
1908 West Adelaide
West Adelaide FC early 20th century.png
12.9 (81) Carlton
Cartlon fc logo 1900s.jpg
7.10 (52) Adelaide Oval
1909 South Melbourne
SouthMelbourneDesign.png
11.8 (74) West Adelaide
West Adelaide FC early 20th century.png
7.14 (56) Melbourne Cricket Ground
1910 Port Adelaide
Surrey Park Football Club.jpg
15.20 (110) Collingwood
Collingwood icon.svg
7.9 (51) Adelaide Oval
1911 West Adelaide
West Adelaide FC early 20th century.png
8.9 (57) Essendon
EssendonDesign.svg
7.12 (54) Adelaide Oval
1913 Port Adelaide
Surrey Park Football Club.jpg
13.16 (94) Fitzroy
Fitzroyfc 1908.png
4.7 (31) Adelaide Oval
1914 Port Adelaide
Surrey Park Football Club.jpg
9.16 (70) Carlton
Cartlon fc logo 1900s.jpg
5.6 (36) Adelaide Oval
1968 Carlton
Carlton 2018 AFL.png
13.15 (93) Sturt
Sturt Football Club colours.jpg
6.20 (56) Adelaide Oval
1969 Richmond
RichmondDesign.svg
15.27 (117) Sturt
Sturt Football Club colours.jpg
9.10 (64) Adelaide Oval
1970 Carlton
Carlton 2018 AFL.png
21.13 (139) Sturt
Sturt Football Club colours.jpg
12.22 (94) Adelaide Oval
1971 Hawthorn
Hawthorn Football Club colours.jpg
13.13 (91) North Adelaide
North Adelaide design.jpg
10.7 (67) Adelaide Oval
1972 North Adelaide
North Adelaide design.jpg
10.13 (73) Carlton
Carlton 2018 AFL.png
10.12 (72) Adelaide Oval
1973 Richmond
RichmondDesign.svg
12.20 (92) Subiaco
Subiaco Football Club colours.jpg
10.19 (79) Adelaide Oval
1974 Richmond
RichmondDesign.svg
27.11 (173) Sturt
Sturt Football Club colours.jpg
13.17 (95) Football Park
1975 North Melbourne
NMFC AFL.png
17.15 (117) Norwood
Norwood Redlegs Icon.jpg
5.11 (41) Football Park

* Prior to 1897, behinds, although recorded, were not added to a team's score, as whoever kicked more goals won the game. ^ 1896 championship was played in June 1897 owing to the unavailability of the Adelaide Oval in the year prior.

Most Championships

Football ClubNicknameCity/TownColoursTitlesYears of Championship Wins
Port Adelaide Magpies Adelaide
Surrey Park Football Club.jpg
4 1890, 1910, 1913, 1914
Richmond Tigers Melbourne
RichmondDesign.svg
3 1969, 1973, 1974
Norwood Redlegs Adelaide
Norwood Redlegs Icon.jpg
2 1888, 1907
Carlton Blues Melbourne
Carlton 2018 AFL.png
2 1968, 1970
West Adelaide Bloods Adelaide
EssendonDesign.svg
2 1908, 1911
South Melbourne Swans Melbourne
SouthMelbourneDesign.png
1 1909
Collingwood Magpies Melbourne
Collingwood icon.svg
1 1896
Essendon Bombers Melbourne
EssendonDesign.svg
1 1893
North Adelaide Roosters Adelaide
North Adelaide design.jpg
1 1972
North Melbourne Kangaroos Melbourne
NMFC AFL.png
1 1975
Hawthorn Hawks Melbourne
Hawthorn Football Club colours.jpg
1 1971

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References

  1. Williams, Randal. "Australian Football - the halcyon days of the sanfl". australianfootball.com. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  2. "1972 Club Championship of Australia Final: North Adelaide vs. Carlton". Full Points Footy. Archived from the original on 8 June 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)