Victorian Amateur Football Association

Collegians vs Melbourne University Blacks at Collegians home ground at Albert Park

The Victorian Amateur Football Association is an Australian rules football league in Victoria, Australia consisting purely of amateur players. Unlike the Victorian Football League and the VFL/AFL, the VAFA has always been strictly a purely amateur league and has affiliations with both AFL Victoria and the Australian Amateur Football Council.

The league is the largest amateur league in Australia and consists of seven senior divisions (with each club in the first 3 divisions fielding 3 teams, and all clubs fielding 2).

The league's administration base is at Sportscover Arena at Elsternwick Park, a former Victorian Football Association stadium in suburban Elsternwick, Victoria, that was home to the now defunct Brighton Football Club. It has a small grandstand and capacity for around 15,000 spectators.

In addition there are also three Club XVIII divisions, primarily made up of either clubs only able to field one team, or clubs from higher divisions that can field a third team after their seniors and reserves. The league operates a promotion and relegation system between divisions with various rules dictating which division clubs can play in.

Many of the clubs are private school based where school old boys play.

The reigning premiers for the A Section are Old Xaverians.

Current VAFA Board Member Nigel Credlin was drafted to Fitzroy in the AFL.

A VAFA match featuring Old Melburnians at the Junction Oval.

History

The Victorian Amateur Football Association was founded in 1892 as the Metropolitan Junior Football Association.^[1] In 1912 the MJFA became the Metropolitan Amateur Football Association. In 1933 it changed its name to the Victorian Amateur Football Association.^[2]

The foundation clubs were: Alberton; Brighton; Collegians; Footscray District; St Jude’s; St Mary’s; Toorak-Grosvenor; YMCA.^[2]

Movement in and out of senior competition since inception

From a history of the VAFA ^[2]

Inter-league and Inter-state games

1925

In June 1925 a MAFA Representative XVIII defeated the South Australian 21.22 to 8.10 at the MCG in the first amateur Interstate representative game.^[2]

1954

On 14 June 1954, the Queen's Birthday holiday, a Victorian representative team defeated a South Australian team 12.14 (86) to 10.15 (75) at the Junction Oval. The match was preceded by the Grand Final of a "lightning premiership" that involving sixteen teams playing knock-out matches of two 10 minute halves. Four of the first round matches were played at the Junction Oval, and the other four were played (simultaneously) at the Ross Gregory Oval at the other end of Albert Park Lake. The quarter final, semi final, and the Grand Final matches were all played at the Junction Oval. The sixteen teams involved were:^[3]

• Alphington Football Club, Hampton Rovers Football Club, Melbourne High School Old Boys (M.H.S.O.B.), Old Melburnians, and Ormond Amateur Football Club from A Section.
• Brunswick Amateurs Football Club, Caulfield Grammarians Football Club, Coburg Amateurs Football Club, Collegians Football Club, and Ivanhoe Amateur Football Club from B Section.
• Balwyn Football Club, East Malvern Football Club, and Parkside Football Club from C Section.
• Parkdale Football Club from D Section.
• South Melbourne City Football Club, and Preston Amateurs Football Club from E Section.

Parkside (the team that would later go on to have its twenty-ninth consecutive win in the 1954 C Section Grand Final), having beaten Balwyn in the first round, Preston in the quarter finals, and Ivanhoe in the Semi-finals, defeated Alphington in the Grand Final to win the lightning premiership.^[4]

1956

In 1956 a VAFA XVIII beat the combined VFL/VFA Amateurs in an Olympic demonstration game, 12.9 (81) to 8.7 (55).

1957

Of some considerable historical significance, the VAFA vs. South Australian Amateur Football League interstate match, played at Olympic Park on 17 June 1957 — which Victoria won 15.9 (99) to 8.3 (51)^[5] — was the first ever uninterrupted telecast of a complete Australian rules football game (viz., it was a direct broadcast of the entire four quarters of the match, rather than just the last quarter) .^[6][7][8][2]

1971

In 1971 a VAFA Representative side beat a VFA XVIII for the inaugural Victorian Football Cup 23.12 to 19.17.^[2]

Growth

The inaugural season of the then MJFA comprised fixtures between 8 teams. By 1922 the association divided into 2 sections of 8. Only 4 years later three sections were established; Section A with 10 clubs and Section B and C with 8 clubs each.^[2]

Competition was ceased for the Second World War (as it had after the Great War). Restarting in 1946 with 27 clubs in three sections, by 1947 34 clubs were competing over three sections. 1948 saw 35 clubs spread over four sections. In 1954 the MAFA established a fifth section for its 48 senior clubs.^[2]

1960 saw 74 clubs over 7 sections. The league dwindled and lost two sections. Section F was reintroduced in 1971. Section G was introduced in 1986. By 1987 there were 68 clubs over 8 sections.^[2]

A major indicator of the growth and quality of the association led to poaching of VAFA players to the VFL in 1961.^[2]

Premiers

From the VAFA Website ^[9]

Current clubs

As of 2012, the 7 senior divisions were structured as follows:^[10]

Premier

Premier B

Premier C

Division 1

Division 2

Division 3

Division 4

Former clubs

This may consist of clubs that are currently playing in the Club XVIII section.

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See also

• Australian rules football

External links

• Official Site
• Brief History
• VAFA Records and History at Full Points Footy

References