Australian Football League
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| General Information | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1897, Melbourne |
| Previous names | Victorian Football League or VFL (1897-1989) |
| Current clubs | Adelaide Brisbane Lions Carlton Collingwood Essendon Fremantle Geelong Hawthorn North Melbourne Melbourne Port Adelaide Richmond St Kilda Sydney Swans West Coast Eagles Western Bulldogs |
| Stadia | Melbourne Cricket Ground Telstra Stadium Telstra Dome AAMI Stadium Sydney Cricket Ground Subiaco Oval The Gabba Skilled Stadium Aurora Stadium Manuka Oval Marrara Oval Carrara Stadium |
| 2006 Season | |
| Premiers | West Coast 12.13 (85) defeated Sydney Swans 12.12 (84) |
| Attendance | 97,431 |
| Norm Smith Medalist | Andrew Embley |
| Minor Premiers | West Coast |
| Wooden spoon | Carlton |
| NAB Cup | Geelong |
| Brownlow Medallist | Adam Goodes |
| Coleman Medallist | Brendan Fevola |
| Total attendance | 6,204,056 |
| Average attendance | 35,250 |
| Total Finals Series attendance | 532,178 |
| Average Finals Series attendance | 59,131 |
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the Australian national league in the sport of Australian Rules Football. The league is the most popular sports competition in Australia. In 2005 6,283,788 people watched a game in a stadium. It was known as the Victorian Football League from 1897 to 1989, when it changed its name to the Australian Football League, after Australian rules football became a national sport. The 16 teams play against each other in 22 rounds between late March and early September. These matches are followed by a series of finals matches which end up in the two best teams playing off for the premiership in the AFL Grand Final, one of the largest domestic club championship events in the world.
The chief executive is Andrew Demetriou.
Contents |
[change] The clubs
[change] National Competition
In 2006, there are nine clubs from Melbourne, one from Victoria's second largest city, Geelong, two teams from South Australia, two from Western Australia and one each from Sydney, New South Wales and Brisbane, Queensland.
AFL is the dominant league in television, print and radio news in Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, Northern Territory and Tasmania. Also Australian rules football is the most participated football code in these states and territories.
The popularity of AFL is getting bigger in the states of New South Wales and Queensland. This happened after the finals being won by the Brisbane Lions (2001, 2002 and 2003) and Sydney Swans (2005). With the success of these sides, interest in Australian rules football has grown rapidly in these states in recent years.
Together, the non-Victorian teams have won 10 of the last 15 premierships. The last 3 AFL grand finals have been contested solely by non-Victorian sides
[change] Major annual awards
- Brownlow Medal
- Coleman Medal
- AFL Rising Star
- Leigh Matthews Trophy
- Norm Smith Medal
- Jock McHale Medal
- Michael Tuck Medal
- AFL Mark of the Year
- AFL Goal of the Year
- All Australian Team
- Club Best and Fairest Awards
[change] Present teams
| Club | Nickname | City | Home Ground | Entered Competition | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide Football Club | Crows | Adelaide, South Australia | AAMI Stadium | 1991 | |
| Brisbane Lions Football Club | Lions | Brisbane, Queensland | Brisbane Cricket Ground (The 'Gabba) | 1997 | Club formed after merger of Brisbane Bears and Fitzroy Football Club in 1996. |
| Carlton Football Club | Blues | Carlton, Victoria | Telstra Dome/Melbourne Cricket Ground | 1897 | |
| Collingwood Football Club | Magpies | Collingwood, Victoria | Melbourne Cricket Ground | 1897 | |
| Essendon Football Club | Bombers | Essendon, Victoria | Telstra Dome | 1897 | |
| Fremantle Football Club | Dockers | Fremantle, Western Australia | Subiaco Oval | 1995 | |
| Geelong Football Club | Cats | Geelong, Victoria | Skilled Stadium | 1897 | |
| Hawthorn Football Club | Hawks | Hawthorn, Victoria | Melbourne Cricket Ground | 1925 | |
| North Melbourne Football Club | Kangaroos | North Melbourne, Victoria | Telstra Dome Carrara Stadium |
1925 | |
| Melbourne Football Club | Demons | Melbourne, Victoria | Melbourne Cricket Ground | 1897 | |
| Port Adelaide Football Club | Power | Port Adelaide, South Australia | AAMI Stadium | 1997 | |
| Richmond Football Club | Tigers | Richmond, Victoria | Melbourne Cricket Ground | 1908 | |
| St Kilda Football Club | Saints | St Kilda, Victoria | Telstra Dome | 1897 | |
| Sydney Swans Football Club | Swans | Sydney, New South Wales | Sydney Cricket Ground Telstra Stadium |
1897 | Relocated from South Melbourne, Victoria in 1982. |
| West Coast Eagles Football Club | Eagles | Perth, Western Australia | Subiaco Oval | 1987 | |
| Western Bulldogs Football Club | Bulldogs | Footscray, Victoria | Telstra Dome | 1925 | Formerly the Footscray Football Club, renamed in 1998. |
[change] Legends of the Game
In 1996, twelve Hall of Fame members were declared Legends of the Game. Now, each year another member of the Hall of Fame is declared a legend. The following is a list of Legends of the Game.
- Ron Barassi Junior (added 1996)
- Haydn Bunton Senior(added 1996)
- lEVENI, ACTUALLY A RUGBY PLAYER (added 1996)
- John Coleman (added 1996)
- Jack Dyer (added 1996)
- wILL hEFFERNAN (added 1996)
- Leigh Matthews (added 1996)
- John Nicholls (added 1996)
- Nic Daish (added 1996)
- Dick Reynolds (added 1996)
- Bob Skilton (added 1996)
- Ted Whitten Senior (added 1996)
- Ian Stewart (added 1997)
- Gordon Coventry (added 1998)
- Peter Hudson (added 1999)
- Kevin Bartlett (added 2000)
- Barrie Robran (added 2001)
- Young Will (added 2003)
- Jock McHale (added 2005)
- Darrell Baldock (added 2006)
[change] VFL/AFL Records
- Highest score
Geelong - 37.17 (239) vs. Brisbane Bears
Carrara Oval, May 3, 1992. - Highest winning margin
Fitzroy - 190 points
Waverley Park, July 28, 1979. - Highest aggregate score
52.33 (345) - Melbourne 21.15 (141) vs St Kilda 31.18 (204)
MCG, May 6, 1978 - Highest score in one quarter
South Melbourne - 17.4 (106) vs. St Kilda
Lake Oval, July 26, 1919 - Largest crowd
Carlton v Collingwood - 121,696
MCG, September 26, 1970 (Grand Final) - Largest Home & Away Season crowd
Melbourne v Collingwood - 99,346
MCG, 1958 - Largest crowd for a game between a Victorian and non-Victorian club
Adelaide Crows v St Kilda Saints - 99,645
MCG, September 27, 1997 (Grand Final) - Largest crowd for a game between non-Victorian clubs
West Coast Eagles v Sydney Swans - 97,431
MCG, September 30, 2006 (Grand Final) - Largest International crowd
Melbourne v Sydney - 32,789
B.C. Place, Vancouver, Canada, 1987 - Most premierships
Carlton 16, most recent 1995, Essendon 16, most recent 2000 - Most wooden spoons (last position at the end of the Home and Away Season)
St Kilda - 26, most recent 2000 - Most consecutive premierships
Collingwood - 4
1927-1930 - Most games won in a season
Essendon - 24 (incl. finals)
2000 - Most consecutive wins
Geelong - 23
1952-1953 - Most consecutive games unbeaten
Geelong - 26
1952-1953 - Most consecutive losses
University - 51 (1911-1914) - Most games played in a career
Michael Tuck (Hawthorn) - 426 games - Most games as club captain
Stephen Kernahan (Carlton) - 226 games - Most goals in a career
Tony Lockett (St Kilda/Sydney) - 1,360 goals - Most goals in a game
Fred Fanning (Melbourne) - 18 goals - Most goals in a season
Bob Pratt (South Melbourne, 1934) and Peter Hudson (Hawthorn, 1971) - 150 goals - Most consecutive matches
Jim Stynes (Melbourne) - 244 - Most consecutive matches from debut
Jared Crouch (Sydney) - 194 (Ended Rd 13, 2006 due to unknown injury) - Tallest player
Aaron Sandilands (Fremantle), Peter Street (Western Bulldogs) - 211cm - Shortest player
Danny Craven (St Kilda/Brisbane) - 162cm - Heaviest player
Aaron Sandilands (Fremantle) - 124kg - Longest kick
Albert Thurgood (Essendon) - 98.48m (109 yards, 1 foot, 3.2 inches)
