1909 Grand final footage. Sensational!!

[royboy42]

Given that the VFL was a break away competition from the VFA, the VFA was also founded in 1877



Haha South Australians are a funny breed. While as early as 1841, there is documented evidence of "foot-ball" being played in metropolitan and country Victoria as well as mention of early matches in Adelaide (1843) and southern Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania). While the exact rules being played in these matches are unknown they may have shared similarities and influences. The Scotch / Melbourne Grammar game was the first recorded organized public school football game & the rules of Austealian football steamed from these. LoL next thing those funny South Aussies will claim that their Scotch College is original one in Australia. I've heard many Crow-eaters seem to believe it.



I honestly believe that Vics really don't care about the "rivalry" between SA & Vic. Vic's moving to SA are told of this rivalry ... many SA people moving Melb tell me they are surprised that Vics don't really care.

When I came to Sydney from Melb many years ago,I realised that the Syd/mel rivalry really didnt exist in Sydney. They simply didn't care about the issue..still don't!

[Meg]

When I came to Sydney from Melb many years ago,I realised that the Syd/mel rivalry really didnt exist in Sydney. They simply didn't care about the issue..still don't!

Similarly I don't think Sydney-siders will ever get fired up by a Swans v GWS rivalry in the way that Crows and Port Power supporters (or Freo and West Coast supporters) get so antagonistic towards each other's team.

[Matty10]

With 10 Victorian teams and only 2 from each other State and none from Tasmania (despite it being an ?Australian Rules? State), I think it a looooong stretch to claim the AFL is a truly national comp. IMO, until the AFL get real about distribution of teams its still an expanded VFL.

How is it not a national comp? By what logic does there need to be an even distribution of teams for a competition to be deemed national?

I don?t know for sure, but I suspect it might have something to do with the fact that the South Australian League (formed in 1877) is older and was much stronger than the VFL/AFL (formed in 1896).

Indeed I remember laughing at what a joke the AFL was in 2008 when it so publically celebrated 150 years of Australian Rules football (following the 1858 match between Scotch and Melbourne), when in fact the 150 year anniversary was 15 years prior as the first recorded Australian Rules football game was in 1843 in South Australia.

The Victorians have always hated the fact that Aussie Rules began in South Australia and have for many years tried to ignore fact and rewrite history. Just have a look at the ?History of the Game? on the AFL?s website and compare it to the same section of the SANFL?s website ? not a single mention of Aussie Rules being played in SA years prior to Victoria.

Its only really been in the second half of the history of the game that the money and population strength of Victoria, vs other states has seen the Victorian league dominate Aussie Rules.

In fact many years ago New Zealand used to be a strong participant in what was the State of Origin style comps. Sadly, betterment of the Victorian league prevailed over betterment of the Game. IMO, the AFL today remains terribly torn on this issue.

This is a pretty selective account dealing with the history of our only indigenous sport. The AFL commissioned history of the sport "The Australian Game of Football Since 1858" has a few sections which deal with the growth of the game throughout the colonies which mentions the early games of football (not 'Australian Rules') that were played around the Australian continent - the authors (historians and journalists) don't seem to be 'hiding' anything.

Considering that so many people from South Australia migrated to Victoria during the Gold Rush era it is also highly likely that they brought their ideas of 'football' with them. Of course when many diggers returned to SA they most likely also brought back with them a new Victorian understanding of 'football.' This is probably why one of the sets of football rules prominent in South Australia during the 1860s & 70s was 'Melbourne Rules.'

Nevertheless the codified set of rules that the AFL uses today originated from those established by the Melbourne Football Club in 1859.

[CureTheSane]

Oh my lord you're a morbid lot. Of course people who played or attended footy in 1909 are dead (almost all of them, I'm sure). Why is this sad? Imagine if they were all still alive? Right lot of grumpy old farts posting on here about how the game isn't half as good as it once was...

It's not sad, just sobering.
You see an image of a few people taken 120 years ago and you know that they are gone.
You see the scale of the MCG with 90,000 odd people there and every one of them is gone.
They al look so healthy

[mcsean]

How about the guns on the third Swan onto the field? Daniel Bradshaw would be jealous.

Great clip.

Haha, saw 'em. I know South Melbourne was a pretty working class part of the world (just like today) at that time. I wonder what he did to get those guns. Can't imagine him working out in the gym as a full time professional footballer.