Australian rules football in Queensland

Australian rules football in Queensland

Australian football at Carrara Stadium on the Gold Coast. Adelaide vs Melbourne
Governing body AFL Queensland
Representative team Queensland
First played June 1866, Brisbane
Registered players 180,132 (total)
Club competitions
Audience records
Single match 37,224 (2005). AFL Brisbane Lions vs Collingwood (Gabba, Brisbane)

Australian rules football in Queensland has a history which dates back to the mid-1860s.[1] By the early 1880s it was the most prominent football code in the state, but was progressively overtaken by the Rugby code, resulting in the local game disbanding in the early 1890s. The sport was revived in the early 1900s and continued to be played throughout the twentieth century, despite the majority of the state being considered for much of the century to be well behind the Barassi Line (the notional line dividing Australia into Australian rules and Rugby 'territories').

Australian rules football's continued surge in popularity in south east Queensland is most likely due to the continued success of the Brisbane Lions in the national Australian Football League (AFL) competition, combined with the AFL's financial support for the local game. That support saw the introduction of a second AFL club in Queensland, the Gold Coast Suns in 2011.

In Queensland, the sport is typically referred to as "AFL", or less frequently "Australian Football", "Aussie Rules" or "Australian Rules".

History

Early Beginnings in South East Queensland

The Queensland state team who played Melbourne in 1888

The earliest known record of Australian rules football commencing in Queensland was in May 1866, when the Brisbane Football Club was formed,[2] with the aim of keeping cricketers fit in the winter months. The club played its first match on Saturday 9 June 1866 at Queen's Park (now part of the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens).[3] By 1870 four more clubs had been created: Volunteer Artillery, Brisbane Grammar School, Civil Service and Ipswich, all adopting Victorian Rules over rugby football.

The original Brisbane Football Club disbanded in the late 1880s and has no direct relationship to the modern Brisbane Bears or Lions clubs.

The first schoolboys match was between Brisbane Grammar played matches against Ipswich Grammar in 1870 – the outcome was a draw. Early games in Queensland were exceptionally long – one match between IGS and Brisbane Grammar in 1876 commenced at 10.30am and ended at 2.30pm, at which time IGS had scored 6 goals to Brisbane Grammar's nil.

During this era, no local governing body for the game was established. All rules and decisions about the rules and competitions were still made from Melbourne and was known in Queensland as "Victorian Rules".

However Victorian rules was growing rapidly and was the most popular football code in Queensland by 1880. Queensland sent delegates to the Intercolonial Football Conference in 1883.

By the early 1880s, there may have been as many as 300 players in the Brisbane and Ipswich region, as contemporaneous newspaper records show that there were at least six active clubs (Brisbane, Excelsiors, Grammars, Wallaroos, Rovers and Athenians (Ipswich)), each of which had at least two teams ('senior' and 'junior' 20s). Matches were played at the Albert Ground, Kedron Park, Grammar School and Ipswich, with occasional matches at Queen's Park.[4][5]

In 1887, one of the most significant events in the history of the code occurred at this time. Independent Schools headmasters voted by 1 vote to adopt rugby football.[6] The decision was influenced by the recent creation of a Queensland-based governing body to govern rugby, and the majority of councillors objected on the basis that the reference of "Victorian" in the name of the sport did not represent the interests of Queenslanders. This dealt a significant blow to the sport and advantage to rugby union.

Despite the advances made by Queensland football, it was clear that Victoria was progressing faster than any other state. On 21 June 1890, South Melbourne Football Club toured, playing against Queensland on Albion Park. The result of the match was a complete 6-17 to 1-0 humiliation (behinds were recorded in the scores at the time but did not actually count until 1897). The humiliation was obviously felt by the players as when Queensland defeated a New South Wales Rugby Union team shortly afterwards many of the former rugby players receded from the Australian football ranks and formed clubs of their own.[7] Over the next few years, rugby union's popularity in South East Queensland would swamp Victorian Rules.

Recess

Information is scant on the following years as many of the competitions were disbanded, the state's top level competition went into indefinite recess.

Revival

Australian Football Premiership Grand Final at the Brisbane Cricket Ground, 1907. Locomotives defeated Wynnum by 40 points.
Taringa vs Wests Australian rules football match QANFL match at Perry Park in the 1930s

The game was revived when the Queensland Football League (QFL) was formed in July 1903. The first premiership was held in 1904 with most games being played at Queen's Park, a sporting facility within the grounds of the Brisbane Botanic Gardens.

From 1905 to 1914 games were regularly played at the Brisbane Cricket Ground.

In 1908, Queensland again sent delegates to the Australasian Football Council, this time, fielding a side in the Jubilee Australian Football Carnival which saw all Australian states as well as New Zealand compete.

In 1914 a carnival to promote the code was held in Brisbane. The participating teams were Collingwood, Perth, South Adelaide and Cananore.

Between 1915 and 1919 the competition went into recess owing to World War I. Since the inception of the QFL, more than fifty teams have played in the premiership competition.

In August 1927 at a meeting of the Australian National Football Council it was decided that each of the state leagues were to include the words 'Australian National' in their names. Accordingly, the QFL was renamed the Queensland Australian National Football League (QANFL) and football continued a steady growth in Brisbane.

1940s and 60s — The Game Expands outside South East Queensland

AFL was introduced to Far North Queensland during both World Wars. In 1913, a team of servicemen briefly existed on Thursday Island. In 1944, a league of servicemen was formed around the Atherton Tableland. Teams represented included Wongabel, Wondelca, Kairi, Mareeba and Ravenshoe.

In 1952, the Brisbane Exhibition Ground hosted a VFL match between Essendon and Geelong and was the first official VFL match to be played under floodlights.

In 1955 a league was introduced to Townsville. In 1957 land was purchased in Cairns for the first dedicated field and competition began there. A league was also introduced to Mount Isa later.

Another VFL exhibition game was played at the Brisbane Cricket Ground in 1959, attracting a large crowd.

In 1964 the QANFL became the Queensland Australian Football League (QAFL), a limited liability company.

In the early 1970s, the first leagues appeared in Mackay, the Darling Downs, Rockhampton and Bundaberg.

1980s and The Brisbane Bears

Born and bred Queenslander Jason Dunstall debuted for the Hawthorn Football Club in 1985 and quickly became one of the greatest players in the game, despite remaining almost unknown in his home state. He briefly represented a Queensland State of Origin team which played in a low key game against New South Wales in Sydney.

In 1986 it was announced that teams from Brisbane (Brisbane Bears) and Perth (West Coast Eagles) would compete in the Victorian Football League (VFL) from 1987. Much of the Bears team were South Australian players from the South Australian National Football League and Victorians from the Victorian Football League. Although the team was known as Brisbane, home games were played at Carrara Stadium on the Gold Coast, nearly 100 km from Brisbane.

The Bears were hugely unsuccessful on the field, and with the admission of the successful Brisbane Broncos rugby league team into the New South Wales Rugby League, the popularity of Australian rules football plummeted, while the successful Broncos, made up primarily of local talent, thrived. The NSWRL had resisted the move for a team in Queensland for years but created the Broncos and the Gold Coast-Tweed Giants the very next season.

The admission of the Bears had a deleterious effect on the QAFL which weakened over the following years.

During this era, few local players, besides Jason Dunstall, were produced with the exception of Gavin Crosisca and Marcus Ashcroft who were successful at VFL level.

Demographic trends saw Victorian and South Australians (states where the code is extremely popular) migrating interstate in large numbers to Queensland. Support for Australian rules football grew, despite a lack of success from the Bears and support from fans.

1992 saw the debut for the Brisbane Bears of the most significant locally produced young talent to emerge from the state — Michael Voss. Although born in country Victoria, Voss spent most of his childhood in Queensland and represented the state at junior level where he shone, before going on to captaining the Brisbane Lions and becoming one of the all-time greats of the game. Voss was followed by a small number of players from Queensland to find their way into the newly named Australian Football League (AFL).

In 1993, the Brisbane Bears moved from the Gold Coast, to the Brisbane Cricket Ground in the inner-Brisbane suburb of Woolloongabba. Interest, crowds and membership in the team increased considerably. Games between the Bears and popular Victorian sides Collingwood, Essendon and Hawthorn drew particular interest.

In 1995, the Bears made the AFL finals for the first time.

In 1996, six sell-out games at the Gabba caused the State Government to consider funding re-development of the ground, something that would be done several times over the following years to transform the small stadium into a world class venue.

After the 1996 season, the QAFL, having weakened significantly with the introduction of the Bears, finally went into receivership. A new governing body, the Queensland Australian Football Council, was formed in 1997, alongside a new premiership competition, Queensland State Football League (QSFL).

Boom Times — Brisbane Lions Era

Brisbane Lions players in training in 2007

The Brisbane Lions began in 1996, when the AFL approved a merger between the Brisbane Bears and the formerly Melbourne based Fitzroy Football Club and on-field success increased substantially with the injection of Fitzroy players, further boosting the popularity of the code.

In a breakthrough for Australian Football in late 1990s, GPS schools in South East Queensland began playing Australian Rules for the first time since the turn of the century. Previously to this, South East Queensland private schools had been a staunchly rugby union stronghold and many schools did not allow Australian Football to be played as it would compete with rugby for players. The Jason Dunstall Cup (named after champion Queensland product Jason Dunstall) was later begun, with independent schools such as BBC, ACGS and Nudgee College, represented with teams in the first division of the Queensland Independent Schools Australian Football League (QISAFL). However interest soon waned and the trophy holds very little interest to the schools.

Also in the 1990s, the Cairns league experienced enormous growth financially on the back of gaming, with the Cazaly's social club quickly becoming the largest sporting club north of Brisbane. The Cazaly's Stadium received lights to play popular night football games and the western stand from the Gabba was transplanted to Cazaly's Stadium, enabling it to host AFL matches.

In 1999, the QSFL also went into voluntary liquidation, being replaced by a new organisation, AFL Queensland (AFLQ) in 2000. The new premiership competition was called the AFLQ State League. That year, Nick Riewoldt became the first Queensland produced player to be taken as number 1 pick in the AFL Draft, recognised as the best junior talent in the nation.

In 2001, a Women's Footy competition began in earnest.

Three successive premierships for the Brisbane Lions in 2001, 2002 and 2003 saw crowds to Australian Football League matches in Brisbane to grow to an average of over 30,000, and in terms of attendance and membership, the AFL team in 2003 was the most popular team of any football code in the state. However, despite increasing television ratings and media exposure, Australian rules football remains overall less popular than rugby league and rugby union in the state.

During the Lions premiership years, junior Aussie Rules numbers exploded in South East Queensland, and grew solidly right across the state.

Recent History

From 2005, the growing local State League expanded to two divisions.

A record number of 13 Queenslanders were invited to attend the 2006 AFL Draft camp, representing 18% of the 72 camp invitees.[8]

Although state league crowds have dwindled with the increase in support for the Brisbane Lions AFL team, a healthy crowd of 3,257 saw the Southport Sharks defeat Morningside in the 2005 AFLQ Grand Final at the Gabba, while a crowd of over 3,000 saw the Southport Sharks win back-to-back premierships in 2006 at Carrara.

In 2006, support for the Brisbane Lions waned substantially due to two successive seasons out of the finals. From 2005 to 2006 total memberships decreased from 30,027 to 26,429 and the average home crowd fell from 33,101 to 28,305.

The impact of the Brisbane Lions fall from grace was felt at grassroots level by the sport in Brisbane. From 2006, the much celebrated Jason Dunstall Cup was no longer contested by its former powerhouse schools - ACGS or BBC. Most other major private schools ceased playing the sport at the top level. Despite the decline of school competitions, local junior club numbers continued to grow.

Nevertheless, Queensland performed extremely well in the 2006 AFL Draft with a record 11 recruits, including 8 of the first 32 picks. Surprisingly, the majority of the movement was in the regional areas, with some picks from previously undrafted regional areas such as Townsville, Toowoomba and Mackay providing AFL talent.[9][10]

AFL on the Gold Coast

Australian football at Carrara Stadium on the Gold Coast. Adelaide vs Melbourne

The Gold Coast, where a hole had been left once the Brisbane Bears moved away, had grown to become the 6th biggest urban area with nearly half a million people, many of which had migrated from states where Australian Rules is popular. In recent years, several bids were made for a new AFL franchise by the powerhouse Southport Sharks Australian Football Club, including attempts to lure a Melbourne-based club in 2004.[11] Many of these attempts were knocked back due to the city's many failed sporting franchises. However demographic trends suggested a growing demand for Australian rules football and in 2005 a pre-season practice match between the Brisbane Lions and Essendon drew a healthy audience of 16,591. Following the match, the Australian Football League stepped up efforts to expand into the Gold Coast market. A series of pre-season games and a home and away match was scheduled at Carrara for 2006. In response, the rival NRL competition admitted a Gold Coast Titans franchise. Despite an average crowd of around 10,000 (comparatively low by AFL standards), the AFL officially announced a strategy to include a Gold Coast side in the next 5 years.[12] A bitter turf war with the National Rugby League resulted over the use of Carrara stadium.[13] In the same year, AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou was quoted to declare that the league would compete directly with the NRL for marketshare in Queensland.

In July 2006, with the backing of the local government and the AFL, the Kangaroos did a deal which saw them move their home games scheduled at Manuka Oval in Canberra to play a number of home games at Carrara Stadium on the Gold Coast in 2007.[14] The AFL began a heavily subsidised grassroots participation program and pushed for the number of AFL games, including pre-season matches to steadily increase to ready the region for its own side. Relocation of the Kangaroos was seen by many to be the safest option for the AFL, and an existing Queensland Government deal prevented use of the Brisbane Cricket Ground for a second Queensland side until 2010. The AFL's plans were further complicated by growing competition in the market. The entry of several licences from other sports into the market as well as the proposed expansion of A-League put additional pressure on the league to fast-track the relocation of the Kangaroos.

In December 2007, after two years of resisting the AFL's push for their relocation, the Kangaroos finally officially rejected the AFL's $100 million proposal.[15] This was despite threats from the league to pull financial assistance from the club and cancel the Gold Coast home game agreement if they don't move. The failure of the AFL to secure a stadium deal for Carrara with the Queensland Government was seen as one of the deciding factors. A consortium was selected by the AFL in early 2008 and the GC17 set out to make an official bid for the licence with criteria defined by the league. The Queensland government finally committed to funding for a stadium in early 2009 after which the AFL was granted a provisional licence pending further federal government funding. In 2010 The Gold Coast Suns were created and entered a team in the NEAFL. In 2011 they made their debut playing in the AFL and vindicated the investment in creating the new AFL side by outdrawing the rival codes.

The Gold Coast Suns

The Gold Coast Suns took to the AFL field in 2011 and when they were joined by a second new AFL team, The Greater Western Sydney Giants the extra game created per round led to a huge increase in television and media rights over the previous deal. This huge increase in revenue is seen as repaying the initial investment costs of the two new teams.

The 2015 AFL season is the Gold Coast Football Club's third season in the Australian Football League (AFL). The Gold Coast Football Club's reserves team also competed in the NEAFL. The club will again be captained by Gary Ablett, Jr. and will be coached by Rodney Eade.[16]

Participation

In 2007, there were around 3,300 senior players in Queensland, and in 2009 there were a total of 103,358 participants.[17] Although the overall participation per capita is around 2%, the sport is growing faster in Queensland than any other Australian state.[18]

Audience

Attendance Record

Major Australian Rules Events in Queensland

Great Queensland players

Over the years, Queensland has produced an array of talent for elite leagues such as the Australian Football League, such as Jason Dunstall, Marcus Ashcroft, Gavin Crosisca, Scott McIvor, Danny Dickfos, Che Cockatoo-Collins, Steven Lawrence, Clark Keating, Trent Knobel, Clint Bizzell, Brett Backwell, Brett Voss, Michael Voss, Mal Michael and Robert Copeland.

Notable Queensland players in the VFL/AFL

Player QLD junior/senior club VFL/AFL Debut VFL/AFL Games VFL/AFL (Goals) Connections to Queensland, Notes & References
Jason Akermanis Mayne 1996 325 421 Raised in Brisbane. Represented the "Allies" in State of Origin. Brownlow medallist. QLD Team of the Century member
David Armitage Morningside 2007 150 89
Marcus Ashcroft Southport 1989 318 145 Gold Coast born and raised. First Queenslander to play 300 AFL games. Triple premiership Brisbane Lions player. QLD Team of the Century member.
Claye Beams Labrador 2011 30 21 Raised on Gold Coast.
Dayne Beams Southport 2009 112 118 Raised on Gold Coast. 2010 Collingwood Premiership player. 2012 All Australian team.
Clint Bizzell Wilston Grange 1996 163 79 Brisbane born and raised
Simon Black 1998 320 170 Mount Isa born. Brownlow medallist
Jamie Charman Sandgate Hawks 2001 129 55 Maryborough born. Represented AFL Dream Team in 2008
Che Cockatoo-Collins Cairns Cobras 1994 160 215 Born in Brisbane, raised in Cairns
Robert Copeland Northern Eagles 2001 143 39
Gavin Crosisca Western Districts AFC 1987 246 64 Brisbane born and raised. Represented Queensland in State of Origin. QLD Team of the Century member
Courtenay Dempsey Morningside 2006 133 35
Charlie Dixon Redland 2011 49 53 Raised in Cairns.
Josh Drummond Northern Eagles 2005 94 35
Jason Dunstall Coorparoo 1985 269 1254 Brisbane born and raised. Represented Queensland four times in State of Origin and also the Allies. Australian Football Hall of famer. QLD Team of the Century member
Mitch Hahn Zillmere 2000 181 164 Queensland born and raised
David Hale Broadbeach 2003 237 217 Raised on Gold Coast, dual Hawthorn premiership player
Jarrod Harbrow 2007 120 34 Cairns born
Scott Harding Morningside 2006 50 15 Queensland born
Rhan Hooper Ipswich Eagles 2006 54 56 Charleville, Queensland born
Ben Hudson University of Queensland Australian Football Club 2004 168 19 Raised in Brisbane
Joel Macdonald Mt Gravatt 2004 124 6
Luke McGuane Broadbeach 2005 93 19 Queensland born, raised on Gold Coast
Dean McRae Sandgate 1987 141 55
Scott McIvor Wilston Grange 1985 200 96 Queensland born and raised. QLD Team of the Century member
Daniel Merrett Southport 2005 145 45 Raised on the Gold Coast
Mal Michael Morningside 1997 238 33 Raised in Brisbane. QLD Team of the Century member
Brad Miller Mt Gravatt 2002 157 120 Brisbane born
Tim Notting 1998 208 138 Cairns born
Daniel Pratt Northern Eagles 2004 119 10
Andrew Raines Southport 2004 111 12 Gold Coast born and raised
Nick Riewoldt Southport 2001 319 689 Raised on Gold Coast
Zac Smith Zillmere 2011 44 27 Biloela born
Cheynee Stiller Northern Eagles 2006 100 21
Kurt Tippett Southport 2007 111 209 Raised on Gold Coast
Joel Tippett Southport 2007 8 0 Raised on Gold Coast
Brett Voss Morningside 1997 170 67 Queensland born and raised
Michael Voss Morningside 1992 289 245 Raised in Brisbane. Brownlow Medallist and Australian Football Hall of Famer. QLD Team of the Century member. Triple premiership captain of Brisbane Lions.
Jesse White Southport 2008 91 97 Raised on Gold Coast.
Brendan Whitecross Zillmere 2009 97 38 Brisbane born
Dayne Zorko Broadbeach 2012 61 61 Raised on Gold Coast. Lions Pre-Season Premiership player
Adam Oxley Redland 2013 4 0 Raised in Brisbane.
Alex Sexton Redland 2013 26 11 Raised in Brisbane.
Andrew Boston Palm Beach 2013 8 7 Raised on Gold Coast.
Rory Thompson Southport 2011 55 7 Raised on Gold Coast.
  • Currently listed players are highlighted in bold

Representative Side

The Queensland state team, known as the Maroons has played interstate representative matches against all other Australian states, as well as selecting State of Origin teams as both Queensland and later as part of a combined "Allies" side.

In inter-league matches since 1991, Queensland has defeated both Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory, and has performed well against more accomplished states such as Western Australia without winning.

The Queensland under-18 representative side is known as the Scorpions.

Also there are representative sides for areas within Queensland used during inter-league matches with-in Queensland itself. They include:

Leagues & Clubs

There are two fully professional football clubs in Queensland, the Brisbane Lions and the Gold Coast Suns who both play in the Australian Football League. Since 2010 Queensland based teams have competed in the northern division of the North East Australian Football League (NEAFL). It replaced the AFLQ State League (QSL or AFLQ) competition that first started in 1903.

Other leagues

Junior leagues

Women's leagues

Principal Venues

Brisbane Gold Coast Cairns
Brisbane Cricket Ground Carrara Stadium Cazaly's Stadium
Capacity: 42,000 Capacity: 25,000 Capacity: 13,500

Sources

  1. John Morton's Queensland Australian Rules Year Book 1960 by John Morton, 1960
  2. Queensland Team of the Century Football Record Official Programme, AFL Queensland, 2003
  3. Official Souvenir Programme of Collingwood v South Melbourne, Queensland Australian National Football League, 1935

See also

References

  1. Club creations dates
  2. Brisbane Courier 25 May 1866
  3. Brisbane Courier 16 June 1866
  4. Brisbane Courier 5 May 1883
  5. Brisbane Courier 7 June 1884
  6. Ronald Lawson, University of Queensland Press, 1973, page 203
  7. 'Queensland Australian National Football League Official Souvenir Programme of Collingwood v South Melbourne', dated Saturday 27 July 1935
  8. Dale, Mitchell (17 August 2006). "Talented trio in scout sights". Archived from the original on 20 August 2006.
  9. Wealth of Maroon Talent article from the Courier Mail
  10. Queensland dominates Draft - record 11 players chosen
  11. Demons' Gold Coast link prods league to act from the Sydney Morning Herald
  12. "AFL News, Scores, Stats, Transfers | Real Footy". Realfooty.theage.com.au. 2012-03-24. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
  13. "NRL complains of Carrara turf war" theage.com.au 7 August 2006 URL accessed 7 September 2006
  14. Canberra fans get a free kick in the guts after AFL drops the ball Archived 7 January 2007 at Archive.is from the Canberra Times
  15. Kangaroos say no to Gold Coast couriermail.com.au
  16. Wilson, Terry (23 October 2012). "Ablett drops in to sweat it out with boys".
  17. "AFL continues to shine in sunny state". 28 October 2009. Archived from the original on 23 February 2012.
  18. (PDF) http://afl.com.au/cp2/c2/webi/article/205058bu.pdf. Retrieved 18 May 2006. Missing or empty |title= (help)
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