British Australian Rules Football League

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BARFL logo
BARFL logo

The British Australian Rules Football League was the former name of the organising body for Australian rules football in the United Kingdom, including four separate competitions - the London Premiership, London Conference, Regional Premiership and the Scottish Australian Rules Football League. Since Spring 2008 the BARFL has become AFL Britain, an organisation which aims to continue and build upon the work previously started whilst forging stronger links with all other bodies promoting Australian Rules Football in Great Britain.

Contents

[edit] History

See Also Australian Rules Football in England

The league was formed in 1989, with efforts from John Jelley and others seeing the formation of eight clubs for an inaugural season in 1990. The founding clubs were the London Hawks, West London Wildcats, North London Lions, Earls Court Kangaroos, Lea Valley Saints, Thames Valley Magpies and Wandsworth Demons in and around London and a club based in Leicester, the East Midland Eagles. Of the foundation teams, four still survive in West London, North London, Wimbledon (former London Hawks) and Wandsworth.

Between 1990 and 2001, the league existed as one competition for all clubs, ranging from a high of 10 clubs in 1991 to a low of only 6 in 1998.

[edit] Divisional Structure 2001-2007

In an environment where large numbers of Australians could be both a blessing (in terms of experience and teaching ability) and a curse (in terms of new clubs outside London finding it difficult to compete against the Australian expat-based London clubs), the league in 2001 divided teams into two leagues. The first league was the London Premiership, where the powerful London clubs would continue under the same local-content regulations as previously (ie quotas of British players who must be on the field at any time).

Beneath the London Premiership would be a London Conference, where the teams could field their 'reserve' sides, including the Clapham and Ealing teams which had been previously entered by Wandsworth and West London respectively. The London Conference has greatly relaxed 'local content' rules, meaning that backpackers and other Australians can compete at a social level.

In 2003, with new clubs being formed outside the capital and regional clubs still struggling against the larger numbers of Australians playing for the London sides, it was decided that clubs outside London would compete in a Regional Premiership. This included the Bristol Dockers, St Helens Miners and the two new sides in the Doncaster Saints and Reading Kangaroos.

In 2004, a fourth division of the BARFL appeared, with the Scottish Australian Rules Football League forming. In the inaugural season, three clubs played each other for the premiership, the Edinburgh Old Town Bloods, the Edinburgh Uni Body Snatchers and the Glasgow Sharks.

2007 saw the introduction of a third tier of football in the London region, known as the Social Division. This division was formed for the same reasons as the Conference division, with some of the larger clubs being unable to field their full player lists in two teams resulting in some fiedling more than one team in the Conference.

[edit] AFL Britain

Due to a number of contributary factors, including the developments initiated by Aussie Rules UK and the changing nature of the sport across the country, 2008 saw the BARFL rebranded and redeveloped to become AFL Britain, an organisation with less direct control over football in London but a greater ability to support the game to grow both in and outside the capital.

[edit] Clubs

[edit] London Premiership

See BARFL Premiership

[edit] Current Teams

Club Colours Years in competition
North London Lions 1990-
Putney Magpies 1999- (known as London Gryphons from 1999-2003)
Sussex Swans 1991-
Wandsworth Demons 1990-
West London Wildcats 1990-
Wimbledon Hawks 1990- (known as London Hawks 1990-94)

[edit] Past / Defunct Teams

Club Colours Years in competition
Earls Court Kangaroos 1990-97 (known as Esher Kangaroos 1992 and Firkin Roos 1996-97)
Lea Valley Saints 1990-1996
Thames Valley Magpies 1990-91

[edit] London Conference

See BARFL Conference
  • City Swans (affiliated with Sussex)
  • Clapham Demons (affiliated with Wandsworth)
  • Ealing Emus (affiliated with West London)
  • Fulham Hawks (affiliated with Wimbledon)
  • Regents Park Lions (affiliated with North London)
  • Shepherds Bush Raiders (affiliated with West London)
  • Hammersmith Magpies (affiliated with Putney)

[edit] Past / Defunct Teams

  • Covent Garden Gryphons
  • London Stingrays
  • Stockwell Demons

[edit] Regional England

See BARFL Regional

[edit] Current Teams

Club Colours Years in Competition
Bristol Dockers 1991-present, known as the Bristol Bears from 1991-96
Manchester Mosquitoes 2006-
Nottingham Scorpions 2004-
Reading Kangaroos 2003- (now playing in the London conference)

[edit] Past / Defunct Teams

Club Colours Years in Competition
Birmingham Crows 1993-1994
Doncaster Saints 2003-2004
East Midlands Eagles 1990-1996
Liverpool Blues 1993-1994
St Helens Miners 2002-2004, known as Northwestern Miners for the 2004 season.
Swindon Devils 2004-2006 (moved to Aussie Rules UK).
Thanet Bombadiers 2006 (moved to Aussie Rules UK).

[edit] Scotland

Main article: Australian rules football in Scotland

[edit] Past/Defunct Teams

  • Caledonian Sharks (1990s)

[edit] Grand Final Results

[edit] Pre-Divisional Structure

  • 1990 Wandsworth 10.10.70 d Earls Court 9.14.68
  • 1991 Earls Court 18.15.123 d Wandsworth 12.15.87
  • 1992 Wandsworth 12.5.77 d West London 11.9.75
  • 1993 London Hawks 12.13.85 d Lea Valley 6.5.41
  • 1994 London Hawks 15.8.98 d West London 8.11.59
  • 1995 Wandsworth d West London
  • 1996 Wimbledon d West London
  • 1997 Wandsworth 7.11.53 d Wimbledon 7.10.52
  • 1998 Wimbledon 11.8.74 d Wandsworth 7.2.44
  • 1999 Wandsworth 14.10.94 d West London 14.5.89
  • 2000 West London 11.12.78 Wandsworth 5.2.32

[edit] Divisional Structure

Year London Premiership London Conference Regional Scotland
2001 North London d Wimbledon Shepherds Bush d Regents Park N/A N/A
2002 North London 18.11.119 d West London 8.5.53 Shepherds Bush d Regents Park N/A N/A
2003 Wandsworth 11.11.77 d West London 9.8.62 Shepherds Bush 11.8.74 d Clapham Demons 7.6.48 Bristol Dockers 13.19.97 d Reading Roos 9.7.61 N/A
2004 West London 14.12.96 d Wimbledon 5.2.32 Shepherds Bush 18.19.127 d Putney Magpies 9.4.58 Reading Roos 28.20.188 d Bristol Dockers 1.6.12 Edinburgh Old Town 24.25.269 d Glasgow 2.4.16
2005 West London 9.14.68 d Wimbledon 9.7.61 Shepherds Bush 11.12.78 d Clapham Demons 11.9.75 Nottingham 10.9.69 d Bristol Dockers 8.6.54 Edinburgh Old Town 12.11.83 d Glasgow 1.7.13
2006 West London 18.11.119 d Wimbledon 2.6.18 Shepherds Bush 5.11.41 d Clapham 4.3.27 Reading 22.20.152 d Nottingham 6.7.43 Edinburgh Bodysnatchers 11.9 (75) d Edinburgh Old Town Bloods 10.3 (63)

[edit] UK team

The BARFL co-ordinated a representative team, the British Bulldogs, who have competed at the Australian Football International Cup, in the Atlantic Alliance Cup and against other national sides in European test matches.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links