Broken Hill Football League

The Broken Hill Football League (BHFL) is an Australian rules football competition based in the Broken Hill region of New South Wales, Australia. Although located in the state of New South Wales the league is an affiliated member of the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). The Broken Hill Football League is in the Murray Mallee Barrier Zone in the South Australian Country Football Championships.[1]

Current clubs

Jumper Club Nickname BHFL Premierships Premiership Years
 Central Broken Hill Magpies 24 1910, 1912–13, 1915, 1935, 1937–38, 1940–41, 1943, 1971–73, 1979, 1981–85, 1993, 1995, 2001, 2006, 2010
North Broken Hill Bulldogs 38 1902, 1904–5, 1907–09, 1911, 1914, 1920, 1924, 1934, 1936, 1945–48, 1950–51, 1957, 1959–60, 1965, 1975–77, 1986, 1988, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2004, 2007–08, 2011–13, 2016
South Broken Hill Roos 30 1906, 1919, 1923, 1926, 1928, 1931, 1942, 1944, 1952–53, 1956, 1958, 1961, 1967–70, 1974, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1996–97, 1999, 2002–03, 2005, 2009, 2014–15
West Broken Hill Robins 24 1900-01, 1903, 1916–18, 1921–22, 1927, 1929–30, 1932–33, 1939, 1949, 1954–55, 1962–64, 1966, 1978, 1980, 1990

There was no premiership awarded in 1925, when Central Broken Hill did not take to the field for the second half of the Grand Final against West Broken Hill, claiming that the field umpire was not giving them a fair go.[2]

History

It might seem curious that Australian rules football should develop as the dominant football code in a mining city in the far west of New South Wales, a state more known for the dominance of rugby league. Broken Hill was established as a mining town and many of the early settlers were from either the Victorian goldfields, or the copper mines of Moonta and Kadina in South Australia, both of which were areas being keen participants in the early development of Australian rules football. This link to states with an Australian rules football culture was further enhanced with the later flow of workers to and from the gold mining Kalgoorlie-Coolgardie axis in Western Australia.

Indeed, the city of Broken Hill to this day conducts itself in many ways as a city aligned to South Australia, using the same time zone (Australian Central Standard Time), being in the (08) Western/central area code, and its local television station, Central GTS/BKN, covers Broken Hill and parts of South Australia.

Football matches were first played in Broken Hill in 1885 and an informal competition was under way by 1888 between Broken Hill, Silverton, and Silver and Blues. The League was formed in 1890 as the Barrier Ranges Football Association (changing to its current name in 1928). Early years of the Association reflected the historical roots of its settlers and the two dominant clubs were known as the 'Victorians' and the 'South Australians'. Other early clubs were Broken Hill, North Broken Hill, South Broken Hill and Hotham.

In 1900 the League followed the trend of many other Leagues around the country at that time, and restructured along district lines. The four clubs that competed in the restructured competition are the same four clubs that make up the current competition, although South Broken Hill was then known as Alma.

The city's close association with South Australia was reflected with many of the League's stars finding success in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) in the early 20th century. Prominent identities included North Broken Hill's Dave Low, who went on to win the 1912 Magarey Medal with West Torrens Football Club, Jack Woollard, captain of Port Adelaide Football Club's 1910 Championship of Australia-winning team, and Algy Millhouse, who captain-coached Norwood Football Club in 1914. The 1922 Magarey Medallist Robert Barnes and Bruce McGregor, who won Medals in 1926-7, were stars at West Adelaide Football Club. Leading goalkicker, Jack Owens, topped the SANFL's goal kicking ladder on three occasions with Glenelg Football Club in the 1920s and 1930s.

The League itself was considered strong enough to compete with visiting teams from the SANFL, Victorian Football League (VFL) and West Australian Football League (WAFL), and was even invited to send delegates to the inaugural Australasian Football Conference in Melbourne, in November 1905.

In more recent times players from Broken Hill have managed to find their mark with the country's premier league, the Australian Football League (AFL), including Fremantle's Dean Solomon, Brent Staker of West Coast and Brisbane, Taylor Walker of Adelaide and Mitch Clisby of the Melbourne Football Club.

Current Results

The last decade of The Broken Hill Football league has seen the North Broken Hill Football Club show dominance over the rest of the competition, winning six out of the last ten premierships, in 2004, 07, 08, and then the rare achievement of three in a row in the 2011, 2012 & 2013 seasons. South and Central have fared the next best, with South winning in 2005 & 2009, and the Central side winning in 2006 & 2010. The West Football Club has struggled and has not won the Premiership since the 1990 season, the longest premiership drought in the clubs history.

2011 Ladder

Broken Hill FL Wins Byes Losses Draws For Against % Pts Final Team G B Pts Team G B Pts
North 15 0 3 0 1874 1037 180.71% 60 Preliminary South 12 13 85 West 5 11 41
South 10 0 7 1 1622 1300 124.77% 42 Grand North 9 11 65 South 9 10 64
West 7 0 11 0 1366 1661 82.24% 28
Central 3 0 14 1 1128 1992 56.63% 14

2012 Ladder

Broken Hill FL Wins Byes Losses Draws For Against % Pts Final Team G B Pts Team G B Pts
South 14 0 4 0 1662 1273 130.56% 56 Preliminary North 16 16 112 West 11 10 76
North 11 0 7 0 1528 1221 125.14% 44 Grand North 8 9 57 South 8 6 54
West 6 0 12 0 1240 1429 86.77% 24
Central 5 0 13 0 1152 1659 69.44% 20

2013 Ladder

Broken Hill FL Wins Byes Losses Draws For Against % Pts Final Team G B Pts Team G B Pts
North 14 0 4 0 1762 1088 161.95% 56 Preliminary South 18 9 117 West 9 7 61
South 13 0 5 0 1857 1186 156.58% 52 Grand North 21 14 140 South 14 14 98
West 7 0 11 0 1170 1669 70.10% 28
Central 2 0 16 0 1056 1902 55.52% 8

2014 Ladder

Broken Hill FL Wins Byes Losses Draws For Against % Pts Final Team G B Pts Team G B Pts
South 16 0 2 0 2278 798 285.46% 64 Preliminary North 11 11 77 West 5 10 40
North 12 0 6 0 1345 1315 102.28% 48 Grand South 13 14 92 North 7 7 49
West 6 0 12 0 1066 1834 58.12% 24
Central 2 0 16 0 958 1700 56.35% 8

2015 Ladder

Broken Hill FL Wins Byes Losses Draws For Against % Pts Final Team G B Pts Team G B Pts
South 16 0 1 1 2327 534 435.77% 66 Preliminary North 16 14 110 Central 1 7 13
North 13 0 4 1 1931 923 209.21% 54 Grand South 13 9 87 North 6 4 40
Central 4 0 13 0 825 2078 39.70% 16
West 2 0 16 0 693 2241 30.92% 8

2016 Ladder

Broken Hill FL Wins Byes Losses Draws For Against % Pts Final Team G B Pts Team G B Pts
South 17 0 1 0 2345 687 341.34% 68 Preliminary North 18 11 119 West 7 6 48
North 10 0 8 0 1511 1332 113.44% 40 Grand North 8 8 56 South 5 11 41
West 6 0 12 0 1011 1719 58.81% 24
Central 3 0 15 0 781 1910 40.89% 12

Women's competition

The women's competition started in 2012, making it the oldest rural competition in the state.

2012 Ladder

Broken Hill FL Wins Byes Losses Draws For Against % Pts Final Team G B Pts Team G B Pts
Central 12 0 0 0 560 41 1365.85% 48 Preliminary North 7 5 47 West 2 3 15
North 6 0 6 0 257 266 96.62% 24 Grand Central 8 5 53 North 1 3 9
West 4 0 7 1 180 349 51.58% 18
South 1 0 10 1 142 483 29.40% 6

2013 Ladder

Broken Hill FL Wins Byes Losses Draws For Against % Pts Final Team G B Pts Team G B Pts
Central 13 0 2 0 1034 151 684.77% 52 Preliminary North 14 5 89 South 0 0 0
North 12 0 3 0 892 184 484.78% 48 Grand Central 5 4 34 North 2 2 14
South 5 0 10 0 269 708 37.99% 20
West 0 0 15 0 33 1185 2.78% 0

2014 Ladder

Broken Hill FL Wins Byes Losses Draws For Against % Pts Final Team G B Pts Team G B Pts
North 13 0 2 0 927 183 506.56% 52 Preliminary Central 3 4 22 South 2 3 15
Central 9 0 6 0 599 342 175.15% 36 Grand Central 5 4 34 North 5 3 33
South 8 0 7 0 579 366 158.20% 32
West 0 0 15 0 51 1265 4.03% 0

2015 Ladder

Broken Hill FL Wins Byes Losses Draws For Against % Pts Final Team G B Pts Team G B Pts
South 10 0 5 0 691 282 245.04% 40 Preliminary South 7 3 45 North 1 1 7
North 8 0 7 0 528 364 145.05% 32 Grand Central 4 5 29 South 1 3 9
Central 12 0 3 0 880 144 611.11% 48
West 0 0 15 0 25 1334 1.87% 0

2016 Ladder

Broken Hill FL Wins Byes Losses Draws For Against % Pts Final Team G B Pts Team G B Pts
Central 14 0 1 0 765 146 523.97% 56 Preliminary South 4 6 30 North 0 3 3
South 11 0 4 0 697 207 336.71% 44 Grand South 3 2 20 Central 2 1 13
North 5 0 10 0 307 449 68.37% 20
West 0 0 15 0 101 1068 9.46% 0

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.sanfl.com.au/default.aspx?s=genericnewsdisplay&kw=64&aid=109165%5B%5D
  2. ↑ Devaney, John. "West Broken Hill". AustralianFootball.com. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
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