Australian rules football in New Zealand is notable as the first colony outside of
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
to take up the sport as early as the 1860s and was home to the first club formed outside Australia in 1876. The sport's official name was changed in 1890 to Australasian Football acknowledge New Zealand's participation and remained for some time even after the country was expelled from the
Australasian Football Council. After a half century hiatus of organised competition, it has grown rapidly as an amateur sport. Today there are more than five organised competitions located in various regions across the country including
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
;
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour.
...
;
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
;
Waikato
Waikato () is a Regions of New Zealand, local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton City ...
;
Otago
Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...
, Queenstown and a four-team national competition with a national draft has been contested at the
North Harbour Stadium
North Harbour Stadium is a stadium situated in Albany, in North Shore City, New Zealand. It was opened in 1997, after nearly a decade of discussion, planning and construction. Rugby union, association football, rugby league, and baseball are ...
in Auckland since 2016. The
national team
A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport.
The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...
, The Hawks, have competed against the
AFL Academy and were crowned International champions in 2005.
The first
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...
match in New Zealand was played in 1991 and the first AFL premiership match played outside of Australia was the
April 25, 2013 match held in Wellington.
[stuff.co.nz – AFL confirmed for capital next year](_blank)
/ref> The average attendance for AFL premiership matches is 16,027. New Zealand is now considered as having the potential to host a professional team. The sport's athletes from New Zealand have become a major talent pool for both professional Australian rules and rugby football competitions. More than 25 players have been listed by clubs in the Australian Football League
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...
and more than 15 in the AFLW
AFL Women's (AFLW) is Australia's national semi-professional Australian rules football league for female players. The first season of the league in February and March 2017 had eight teams; the league expanded to 10 teams in the 2019 season, 1 ...
since 2010, including descendants of both Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
and European New Zealanders
European New Zealanders, also known by the Māori-language loanword Pākehā, are New Zealanders of European descent. Most European New Zealanders are of British and Irish ancestry, with significantly smaller percentages of other European anc ...
.[stuff.co.nz – Heatherley waiting for word on his AFL future](_blank)
/ref> Wayne Schwass
Wayne Schwass (born 27 November 1968) is a former professional Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League. He is notable as being the first New Zealand–born AFL player known to be of Māori people, Māori heritage. He holds ...
played 282 matches and a premiership in the AFL, more than any other New Zealand born player, Trent Croad
Trent Eric Croad (born 9 March 1980) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club and Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
During his 222-game AFL career, he achie ...
has kicked the most goals (189) while Jesse Tawhiao-Wardlaw holds similar honours (premiership, most games and goals) in the AFLW.
History of Australian rules football in New Zealand
Beginnings
Before Europeans arrived in New Zealand, the Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
were playing a traditional ball game called ki-o-rahi which resembled Australian Rules Football in that included several features unique to the code including movement of the ball by hand and foot without an offside, protected zones and a rule similar to holding the ball.[Shane Gilchrist, 'Game on, the "ki" is back in court', '']Otago Daily Times
The ''Otago Daily Times'' (ODT) is a newspaper published by Allied Press Ltd in Dunedin, New Zealand. The ''ODT'' is one of the country's four main daily newspapers, serving the southern South Island with a circulation of around 26,000 and a c ...
'', 5 October 2007
Victorians accounted for more than half of New Zealand's Gold Rush immigrants, including those at Otago
Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...
, Aorere and Coromandel in the 1850s and 1860s and the associated settlements were later to exhibit influences of early Australian football.
The Christchurch Football club, founded in 1863[Christchurch Football Club – Club History]
/ref> and playing according to its own rules, one of which was the running bounce
A running bounce, or simply bounce, is a skill in the sport of Australian rules football (necessitated by the Laws of the Game) and some variants where a player, bounces (or touches) the ball on the ground in order to run more than the maximum di ...
(every 4 yards) a feature which appeared 2 years later in Victorian rules. The club adopted rugby rules in 1876.
Australian Football is thought to have been first organised in New Zealand around 1868. The Nelson Football Club was formed this year and played a hybrid version of Victorian and Association (soccer) rules in its first two seasons.[Camilla Obel, "Unions, Leagues and Franchises: The Social Organisation of Rugby Union in New Zealand", University of Canterbury thesis, 2001] By the 1860s, there was regular trade between New Zealand ports and Victoria, and the Victorian rules would have been known by some of the immigrants. The Nelson Club was the first club in New Zealand to adopt Rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
rules, in 1870.
The Wellington Football Club was formed on 12 May 1871. The club initially adopted Victorian rules, but it soon switched to Rugby rules "principally for the reason that the clubs in adjoining provinces play under those rules, and as the club contemplate playing a match with the Nelson club before long the necessity of such a course is apparent." The last match played under Victorian rules was on 24 June 1871. This was not the end of the matter, however, with the club for a short period in 1875 adding the Victorian rule of bouncing the ball. The club reverted to full Rugby rules soon thereafter.
The Dunedin Football Club, formed in 1872, initially played under its own rules. Shortly thereafter, a second club in Dunedin, the Union Club, was formed; it is thought to have adopted Victorian rules. Poor weather meant that few games were played in both the 1873 and 1874 seasons. The Dunedin Club adopted Association (soccer) rules in 1875, while the Union club retained Victorian rules.[Rex W. Thomson, "Provincial Rugby in New Zealand: Otago's Academic Pioneers", Fall 1996] The clubs were able to compromise, and the first match between the clubs that year was played under Victorian rules on 19 June 1875. The return match was played under Association rules a few weeks later. In 1876, a hybrid match was played between the two clubs. The first half was played according to rugby rules, and the second half according to Victorian Rules. By 1877, both clubs had adopted Rugby rules.
"At the annual meeting of the Union Club in 1877 it was decided by 17 votes to five to adopt the Rugby Union Laws, the club in all its matches with the D.F.C. previous to that date having stipulated for one spell of every game being under Victorian rules."
The first games of football in Auckland were played in 1870 with the rules being a mix of Victorian and Association. In 1873, the Auckland Football Club adopted Rugby rules following a visit by two members of the Wellington Club. At the 1874 AGM of the Auckland Football Club, discussion continued around rules, with motions put to either adopt the Victorian Rules of 1866, or form a committee to consider other rules. These motions were defeated in favour of continuing with Rugby rules.
An Auckland team undertook the first inter-provincial Rugby tour in late 1875. This sparked additional interest in Rugby in regions such as Canterbury and Dunedin where several codes were being played. Ultimately, the success of this led to further representative tours, and proved to be a catalyst for Rugby to become the dominant code in the main regions.
The New Zealand Football Association: 1880-1884
The Reform Football Club was formed in Wellington in 1879 to "play under the Victorian rules".[EVENING POST, VOLUME XVII, ISSUE 379, 27 MARCH 1879, PAGE 3] In the same article, several clubs are also reported to have been formed in Dunedin as well as one in Nelson. The Reform club's first practice match was held in the Hon. J. Sheehan's paddock, Hobson St, on 5 April 1879 in front of a "considerable number of spectators". The Reform club enjoyed a reasonable amount of press coverage throughout 1879, though faded into obscurity from 1880. Another short lived club formed to play under the code in 1879 was the Victorian Football Club at a meeting at Dunedin's Southern Cross Hotel, however it too was shortlived.
The New Zealand Football Association was formed on 12 July 1880 in Christchurch. The competition continued to operate with several clubs across New Zealand until 1884. However it struggled with the New Zealand press, which was enamoured with rugby and continually derisive toward the Australian code. Although the code struggled with negativity from the media, in these early days rugby authorities were generally cooperative with access to grounds, enabling the codes to coexist.
In 1880, a proposal was put forward to send an Australasian team of players from Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide to New Zealand and combine and tour England. Otago, one of the game's last strongholds, along with Auckland, pledged to send players for the tour. However the only football team that set sail was the Australian (New South Wales) rugby side in 1881. This helped dispell assurances from Australasian Rules advocates that the Australasian game was fast overtaking Rugby in popularity in Sydney[OTAGO WITNESS, ISSUE 1756, 18 JULY 1885, PAGE 20] the reaction that year was that in its Otago stronghold 5 of the 8 clubs affiliated with the Otago Rugby Union and saw the code's popularity across the country plummet.
H C A Harrison
Henry Colden Antill Harrison (16 October 1836 – 2 September 1929) was an athlete and Australian rules footballer who played a leading role in pioneering the sport.
Harrison's cousin, champion cricketer Tom Wills, captained an early incarnati ...
toured Auckland in 1883 with the cricket team and met with the governing body of Rugby Union proposing that it switch to Victorian Association Rules and would be in turn raising the idea of a universal form of football with football authorities in England. New Zealand football officials also noted English officials rejection of Harrison's suggestion during his visit to London that rugby clubs there adopt some of the Victorian Rules. The fallout would lead to the continually sharp decline in the fortunes of the game locally.
The 1888-1889 New Zealand Native football team matches saw a Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
team visit Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
, as part of a year long tour of the UK and Australia, to play a program of ''Victorian Rules'' games. The team played eight games, winning three and losing five. It defeated South Melbourne Football Club, which at that stage was Victoria's premier club.
New Century: Australasian rules booms
After being virtually nonexistent since the 1880s, interest in Australian football was rekindled on the back of a wave of immigration from Australia in the first decade of the 20th century. In 1903, the 'New Zealand Association of Australian Football' was formed in Christchurch by a committee of expat Victorians. The league had 4 clubs (City Wanderers, Sydenham, Woolston, and Imperial with a fifth, Carlton, formed a year later).
By 1904, a number of leagues were being established throughout the country. In Wellington, a league of five clubs was formed (City, Newtown, Petone, Wanderers, and Federal), and Auckland had three clubs in the new league (Auckland Imperial, Victoria, and Austral football clubs). Other centres also had clubs form in 1904, including Dunedin (Australian Pioneer Football Club), Kaitangata (Wanderers), Waihi and Waikino. Vic Cumberland
Harold Vivian "Vic" Cumberland (4 July 1877 – 15 July 1927), also known as Harry Cumberland, was an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League, Victorian Football League (VFL) and the South Australian National Football Leag ...
who played with Auckland Imperial was something of a drawcard for the local game on his arrival from Australia.
The first inter-provincial match was held between Wellington and Christchurch in August 1905.
In 1905, two New Zealand representatives (one from the North Island and one from the South) attended the Australasian Football Conference where the Australasian Football Council was formed. The North and South Islands did not receive separate representation.
In 1906 a Canterbury vs Wellington match was played as a curtain-raiser to a rugby game which attracted 2,000 spectators.
The Auckland league expanded from 1906 to feature additional clubs including the Eden Football Club (who won back-to-back Auckland Australian Football League premierships in 1907 & 1908) and a thriving junior competition. On the south island, regular matches began to be played in Invercargill. All told in 1906 there were more than 60 clubs across 8 associations including the centres of Auckland, Dunedin, Wellington, Palmerston, Christchurch and Napier.
The first national body, the New Zealand Football League, formed in 1907 at the Naval & Family Hotel in Auckland, including representatives from all provinces, which set about planning for the Australian tour, noting the rapidly growing popularity of the code across the country. At the meeting, the NZFL adopted a national code of laws and elected its first president Dr Tracy Inglis.
However the Australasian Football Council president Con Hickey
Cornelius Michael "Con" Hickey (1866 – 27 October 1937) was an Australian rules football player and administrator for the Fitzroy Football Club, and administrator for the Victorian Football League (VFL) and the Australian National Football Cou ...
in 1907 was quick to pour cold water on the game's growth in New Zealand, declaring that despite the game being played overseas the primary focus should be on developing the game in Australia, promoting inter-state competition, and that there would be no attempt to "oust rugby" in places where it was growing in popularity.
Wellington defeated Canterbury in a match between the two provinces in July 1907.
In 1908, New Zealand defeated both New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
and Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
at the Jubilee Australasian Football Carnival
The 1908 Melbourne Carnival was the inaugural Australian National Football Carnival, an Australian rules football interstate competition, held in Melbourne in August 1908. It was known at the time as the Jubilee Australasian Football Carnival ...
an event held in Melbourne, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, to celebrate 50 years of Australian Football. Despite the country's onfield success, the Australasian Football Council decided to allocate just 20% of its game promotion fund to New Zealand, with the majority going to New South Wales (50%) and Queensland (30%).
By 1909, the game was rapidly growing had become established in Auckland, Waihi
Waihi is a town in Hauraki District in the North Island of New Zealand, especially notable for its history as a gold mine town.
The town is at the foot of the Coromandel Peninsula, close to the western end of the Bay of Plenty. The nearby res ...
, Poverty Bay
Poverty Bay (Māori: ''Tūranganui-a-Kiwa'') is the largest of several small bays on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island to the north of Hawke Bay. It stretches for from Young Nick's Head in the southwest to Tuaheni Point in the north ...
, Canterbury, Otago, Taihape
Taihape is in the Rangitikei District of the North Island of New Zealand. It serves a large rural community. State Highway 1, which runs North to South through the centre of the North Island, passes through the town.
History and culture
Early ...
and Utiki and moves were being made to establish a league in the Southland at Invercargill
Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...
.
1910s: Decline and AFC's Exclusion campaign
Many of the leagues went into rapid decline around the end of the decade. This was partly due to the departure of a number of the Australian players back home, but also due to rising conflict with rugby authorities. Leagues were beginning to encounter interference from rugby, the Wellington League of Australian Football for example was denied access to its primary venue the Basin Reserve
The Basin Reserve (commonly known as "The Basin") is a cricket ground in Wellington, New Zealand. It has been used for Test matches, and is the main home ground for the Wellington Firebirds first-class team. The Basin Reserve is the only cricke ...
from 1908 and lack of suitable venues led to it folding and leagues around the country faced similar challenges. However the biggest challenge came from within the game itself.
Since the inception of the AFC Victoria (VFL) and South Australia (SAFL) had been pushing for support for the game overseas to be wound up. Both leagues were invested in protecting their primacy and advocated for the redirection of funds proposed for other nations to New South Wales and Queensland in an effort to instead nationalise the game in Australia. With only one voting member, New Zealand was powerless to defend its position. New Zealand's AFC delegate, E. L. McKeon, in 1908 with the support of AFC president Con Hickey
Cornelius Michael "Con" Hickey (1866 – 27 October 1937) was an Australian rules football player and administrator for the Fitzroy Football Club, and administrator for the Victorian Football League (VFL) and the Australian National Football Cou ...
(Victoria), had begun promoting the idea of universal football (amalgamation with rugby league) as the solution to help stave off increased competition to rugby. South Australia's delegate R. F. C Sullivan, strongly in support of the pure Australian Football again moved to exclude New Zealand from the council in 1910 and while the motion was defeated the chair Hickey (Victoria) passed a motion that would withdraw all funding to senior competition, a move which the New Zealand delegate called a "death warrant for the sport" in the country. In 1911, the Council decided to reduce New Zealand's funding to £50 (compared to £225 for New South Wales and for £125 for Queensland) and only on the condition that all of it be spent on juniors (no such restrictions were placed on the Australian member states). The AFC was adamant that its funds be used only to introduce the code into New Zealand schools. New Zealand's delegate had strongly argued that without a viable senior competition schools would simply not take up the game, ultimately this proved true.
The AFC's withdrawal of funding had a detrimental impact with almost all of the senior competitions folding within a year. The last of them, the Auckland competition, folded in 1912 with clubs unable to field sufficient players, and only the junior competition continuing. When New Zealand failed to provide the AFC details on how its 1912 propaganda funds were spent, no subsequent funds were provided in 1913 causing the junior competitions also to fold.
Reported Rugby League "takeover" in Australia and the Effect of World War
The impact of rugby league's expansion was also significant in the sport's complete demise. Rugby league in New Zealand
Rugby league in New Zealand dates to the beginning of the sport in England. New Zealand played an integral role in the history of rugby league football. Of all rugby league nations New Zealand was second only to England to compete in internatio ...
grew rapidly from 1908 and by 1910 many senior players had begun to shift to the new code. Since the early introduction of both codes, New Zealand media regularly took greater interest in interstate contests across all codes between New South Wales and Queensland, particularly in comparing the popularity and progress of rugby football. Though New Zealand teams had toured Australia, due to AFC policy, no Australian Rules teams ever visited New Zealand. Recently introduced, rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
had steadily grown amongst union followers since its introduction. When the New South Wales rugby league team
The New South Wales rugby league team has represented the Australian state of New South Wales in rugby league football since the sport's beginnings there in 1907. Also known as the Blues due to their sky blue jerseys, the team competes in the ann ...
toured in 1912, the focus on Australian Rugby League generated the perception of a decline in prominence of the Australian game in Australia, There was an awareness in the growing gap between New South Wales and Queensland, and the closing financial gap between the Sydney and Melbourne professional competitions, with league offering better paying opportunities for players.
By the outbreak of World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the code was in serious trouble with many of the remaining players leaving for active service. The war was not all doom for the code however, the formation of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps
The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the Gallipoli campaign. General William Birdwood comma ...
had a positive effect. In Auckland, 8 clubs reformed at the start of the war with some promising growth prior to the major campaigns.
With the rising popularity of rugby league, the Australasian Football Council ramped up its plans to amalgamate with rugby league in an attempt to stay relevant amid a decline in interest. However this played right into the rugby league's hands. Australian rugby league authorities, pulled out of the plan, and the rugby community in New Zealand used the plan to its own advantage. Erroneous media reports were widely circulated across New Zealand in 1914 declaring the proposed amalgamation to a planned takeover bid by the rugby league that would effectively supplant Australian Football as Australia's national football code. It was also reported that the Australian national team to tour New Zealand would be playing the new National Rugby League code. By the time that the proposed takeover was no longer being reported as a "sure thing" the confusion caused had already been done to the confidence of the code locally, already on hold everywhere but Auckland due to the war. The new focus was on sending a Rugby league team to compete against the National League professionals from Australia with matches to be played in Sydney and Brisbane in June 1915. The belief that Australian rules in Australia was dying was fueled by reports that the replacement of what was Australian Rules would be played as a curtain-raiser to the big match. Adding to the view that the Australian code would not survive the war, the South Australian Football League
The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport.
Originally formed as the ...
's ceasing of its competition in 1916 was also widely reported. With the return of the code in Australia and the failure of the NZ league tour, some had regretted putting the focus on sending a League team to tour Australia with most commentators generally agreeing that despite the hype from Sydney, that Union offered a superior spectacle to League.
Expulsion of New Zealand: 1914
Tensions between the Australian delegates and New Zealand became acrimonious and in 1914 after a lengthy debate and 89 page report on the state of the game and the use of propaganda funds the council again moved to exclude New Zealand. The time it was unanimously passed by the council and New Zealand was permanently expelled. The council removed the reference to Australasia.
Post-war efforts
Nevertheless, some efforts were made to rekindle interest in the code during these years. For instance, in 1930 a call was put out through The Sporting Globe for Australians in New Zealand to restart the sport there. An opinion piece in The Argus in Melbourne's 1935 also proposed that the Australian Football Council might be remiss not to put some effort into promoting the game there.
In 1961, the Melbourne Football Club
The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. It is based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, ...
toured New Zealand during its off season, becoming the first VFL/AFL club to do so.
In 1965 Sydney club Western Suburbs Magpies AFC
Inner West Magpies (formerly Western Suburbs AFC) is an Australian rules football club competing in the AFL Sydney league. The club is based in the inner west of Sydney, New South Wales, and its senior teams play their home games at their home ...
toured New Zealand an played an exhibition match in Auckland which attracted more than 700 spectators, prompting calls for a local club to compete against visiting sides.
Modern Competition, Sport gains an audience
In 1974, senior competitions began in Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
(The Canterbury Australian Rules Football Association), Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
(Auckland Australian Football League) and Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
.
In 1978 New Zealand sent a representative team to play against a representative test against the South West Gippsland Football Association. This was the earliest recorded overseas match of the national team.
In 1980, the game's premier league at the time, the VFL, sold its first ever television broadcasting rights to New Zealand, with highlight packages with the Grand Final going live into the country. By 1984, the finals series was also televised.
The Australian Rules Football Council of New Zealand formed in the early 1980s and began requesting representative matches against the Australian Capital Territory as early as 1983. However it was not invited to any national carnivals until the 1990s.
In 1996, the Australian Defence Force
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and its national interests. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Forc ...
side visited New Zealand to conduct clinics and promote the game.
The Arafura Games
The Arafura Games is a unique, inclusive multi-sport event where athletes with a disability compete in the same program as able-bodied athletes. Competitors from around the world compete in the week-long games held every 2 years in Darwin, Northe ...
gave the side the first opportunity for the newly branded Falcons
Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene.
Adult falcons ...
to compete at an international level. In 1995, 1997 and 1999, New Zealand took the silver medal in Australian Football at the event in Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin ( ; Larrakia: ) is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. With an estimated population of 147,255 as of 2019, the city contains the majority of the residents of the sparsely populated Northern Territory.
It is the smalle ...
, running second to Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
.
In 1997, the New Zealand Australian Football Development Foundation (NZAFDF) was formed.
1998 saw the debut of New Zealand born Trent Croad
Trent Eric Croad (born 9 March 1980) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club and Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
During his 222-game AFL career, he achie ...
into the Australian Football League
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...
, the beginnings of what is a successful career at elite level.
In 1999, NZAFDF incorporated as governing body and was renamed New Zealand AFL.
Exhibition Matches
The years of 1991, 1998, 2000 and 2001 saw official Australian Football League
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...
exhibition matches staged in New Zealand so that the AFL could gauge local support.
International Success
In the inaugural Australian Football International Cup
The Australian Football International Cup (also known as the AFL International Cup or simply the IC) is a triennial international Australian rules football sport competition. It is the biggest worldwide tournament in the sport and is open to ...
in 2002, New Zealand finished 3rd.
In 2003, local Aussie Rules convert Nick Evans debuted for the famous All Blacks
The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
side against England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
Since 2004, there have been talks of a New Zealand Australian Football League
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...
franchise or club relocation as a possible expansion plan for the league. New Zealand fields teams in several Australian competitions in other football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
codes including the National Rugby League
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
and A-League
A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...
.
The country came to be regarded as an Australian state by the Australian Football League
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...
's international development department.
2005 was a huge year for Australian Football in New Zealand. The national team, the Falcons defeated Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
to win the International Cup and were later invited to send a team to the Australian Country Championships.
2006 saw the first-ever live regular season AFL matches on television, which were shown by SKY Network Television
Sky Network Television Limited, more commonly known as Sky, is a New Zealand broadcasting company that provides pay television services via satellite television, satellite, media streaming services and broadband internet services. It is also a ...
.
In November 2008, 17-year-old Liam Ackland was invited to the AIS/AFL academy.
The Hawthorn Football Club
The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Mulgrave, Victoria, that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club was founded in 1902 in the inner-east suburb of Hawt ...
, which had been involved in New Zealand since about 2004 and at one point in 2009 had 3 players from New Zealand on its senior list,[HANZ-UP! AFL Program](_blank)
hawthornfc.com.au stepped up its involvement in 2009 with development funding to set up a school competition, the "Hawks Cup", for recruiting and talent identification.
The sport boomed at junior levels after approved by the New Zealand Secondary Sports Council. Kurt Heatherley of Tauranga
Tauranga () is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty region and the fifth most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of , or roughly 3% of the national population. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century, colonised by ...
accepted an AFL scholarship in 2010.
2016 saw the successful introduction of a high-level four-team national competition, featuring a national draft with games played out of North Harbour stadium.
In 2021 All Blacks Will Jordan
Will Jordan (born Wilbur Rauch, July 27, 1927 – September 6, 2018) was an American character actor and stand-up comedian best known for his resemblance to, and impressions of, television host and newspaper columnist Ed Sullivan.
Early life
B ...
expressed an interest in trialling with an AFL club, describing it as a "a cool game to watch", Jordie Barrett
Jordan Matthew Barrett (born 17 February 1997) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a Centre (rugby union), utility back internationally for New Zealand's All Blacks, and for the Wellington Hurricanes, Hurricanes in the Sup ...
admitted he's a fan, describing it as a "cool sport".
Participation
In 2007 New Zealand had around 600 senior players. In 2010, the AFL hoped to increase registered secondary school participants with the introduction of in-school programs. This introduction was highly successful and at the end of 2012, 25,000 Kiwikick participants had been recorded.
By 2016 the number of registered participants had increased to 35,000.
Leagues & Competitions
National team
The National men's team is the ''Hawks''. Up to 1908 it was known as the "All Blacks" or the "Silver Ferns" like their rugby counterparts. When the team was reformed it adopted the moniker of the ''Falcons'' in 1995. In 2018, a poll was held by AFL New Zealand to rename the side with the current named selected. The team intercolonial tests were for the 1908 tour to Australia, when it competed in the Jubilee Australasian Football Carnival
The 1908 Melbourne Carnival was the inaugural Australian National Football Carnival, an Australian rules football interstate competition, held in Melbourne in August 1908. It was known at the time as the Jubilee Australasian Football Carnival b ...
and travelled throughout Australia playing regional sides. However the team was dormant for three quarters of a century until the first internationals at the Arafura Games
The Arafura Games is a unique, inclusive multi-sport event where athletes with a disability compete in the same program as able-bodied athletes. Competitors from around the world compete in the week-long games held every 2 years in Darwin, Northe ...
where they were Silver medal
A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...
lists in 1995 and 1997. The side has competed internationally since the inaugural Australian Football International Cup
The Australian Football International Cup (also known as the AFL International Cup or simply the IC) is a triennial international Australian rules football sport competition. It is the biggest worldwide tournament in the sport and is open to ...
in 2002, and was crowned International champions in 2005.
A national women's side, the ''New Zealand Kahu'', began as an under 18 national team in 2015 before representing women's senior football in 2019 with the aim of debuting internationally for the Australian Football International Cup women's division.
AFL games
AFL club signed a historic agreement with, the AFL and Wellington City Council, the Saints will play in New Zealand on Anzac Day
, image = Dawn service gnangarra 03.jpg
, caption = Anzac Day Dawn Service at Kings Park, Western Australia, 25 April 2009, 94th anniversary.
, observedby = Australia Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Cook Islands New ...
each year from 2013 through 2015. They play for the Simpson
Simpson most often refers to:
* Simpson (name), a British surname
*''The Simpsons'', an animated American sitcom
**The Simpson family, central characters of the series ''The Simpsons''
Simpson may also refer to:
Organizations Schools
*Simpso ...
-Henderson Henderson may refer to:
People
*Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname
*Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan
Places Argentina
*Henderson, Buenos Aires
Australia
*Henderson, Western Australia
Canada
* H ...
Trophy.
Source
Footy Wire
Principal venues
Audience
Attendance
The record attendance for an Australian rules game in New Zealand is 22,546 which was set in 2013 beteeen vs at Westpac Stadium
Wellington Regional Stadium (known commercially as Sky Stadium through naming rights) is a major sporting venue in Wellington, New Zealand. The stadium's bowl site size is .
The stadium was built in 1999 by Fletcher Construction and is situa ...
in Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
.
The average attendance for AFL premiership matches played in New Zealand is 16,027.
Television
*SKY Network Television
Sky Network Television Limited, more commonly known as Sky, is a New Zealand broadcasting company that provides pay television services via satellite television, satellite, media streaming services and broadband internet services. It is also a ...
(one delayed AFL match per week and Highlights)
*Sommet Sports
Sommet Sports was a sports-oriented television channel operated in New Zealand that was broadcast on channel 14 on Freeview NZ. It offered a varied range of sporting events, some of which had never been screened in New Zealand. This included liv ...
(six live games each week, the remaining matches broadcast on delayed coverage)
*TVNZ Duke
TVNZ Duke ( mi, Te Reo Tātaki Tiuka), formerly Duke and stylized as TVNZ DUKE or DUKE, is a New Zealand television channel run by state broadcaster Television New Zealand. It screens programming targeted at a male audience. It was launched on 20 ...
We're playing their game here: The Kiwis embracing Aussie Rules
from NZ Herald 31 Aug, 2017
Players
Men's
File:Rowan_Marshall_2019.2.jpg, Rowan Marshall
Rowan Marshall (born 24 November 1995) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted by St Kilda with their first selection and tenth overall in the ...
is from Taranaki
Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont.
The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dist ...
File:Max_Gawn_18.02.17_(2).jpg, Max Gawn
Max Gawn (born 30 December 1991) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A ruckman, 208 cm tall and weighing 108 kg, Gawn is capable of contributing in both ...
is from Greymouth
Greymouth () (Māori: ''Māwhera'') is the largest town in the West Coast region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The population of the whole Grey District is , which accounts for % of the West Coas ...
File:Connor_Ballenden_2019.1.jpg, Connor Ballenden is from Auckland
File:Shane Savage 2018.2.jpg, Shane Savage
Shane Savage (born 5 January 1991) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the Hawthorn Football Club, and St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League.
Early life
Born in New Zealand, Savage moved to Australia as ...
is from Auckland
File:Karmichael_Hunt_at_Gold_Coast_AFL_in_2012.jpg, Karmichael Hunt
Karmichael Neil Matthew Hunt (born 17 November 1986) is a former multi-code international rugby league footballer who last played for the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL.
Having played professional rugby league, rugby union and Australian rules ...
is from Auckland
File:Trent_croad.jpg, Trent Croad
Trent Eric Croad (born 9 March 1980) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club and Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
During his 222-game AFL career, he achie ...
is from Auckland
File:Rupert_Wills_2017.jpg, Rupert Wills
Rupert Wills (born 20 May 1993) is an Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Early life and state football
Wills was born in New Zealand, but moved to Australia with hi ...
playing for Collingwood in 2017
File:Oskar_Baker_2019.4.jpg, Oskar Baker
Oskar Baker (born 25 May 1998) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Early life
Baker was born in Queensland and attended Padua College in Brisbane and played for Aspley in t ...
playing for Melbourne in 2019
File:Ryan_Clarke_2019.5.jpg, Ryan Clarke
Ryan James Clarke (born 30 April 1982) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for National League South club Bath City. He previously trained with the England under-18 squad in La Manga.
Career Bristol Rovers
Born in ...
playing for Sydney in 2019
File:Sam_Weideman_2019.4.jpg, Sam Weideman
Samuel Weideman (born 26 June 1997) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A key forward, Weideman is tall and weighs . He played top-level football early ...
playing for Melbourne in 2019
File:Marley Williams 2018.2.jpg, Marley Williams playing for North Melbourne in 2018
File:Zac_Fisher_2018.3.jpg, Zac Fisher playing for Carlton in 2018
File:Heath_Grundy_2017.1.jpg, Heath Grundy
Heath Grundy (born 2 June 1986) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Nicknamed 'Reg' due to his namesake Reg Grundy, he was elevated from the Sydney Swans rookie list ...
, Sydney Swans premiership player in 2017
File:Dustin_Martin_2017.3.jpg, Dustin Martin
Dustin Martin (born 26 June 1991) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Martin was drafted by Richmond with the third pick in the 2009 national draft, a ...
, Richmond Brownlow medallist and premiership player in 2017
File:Mark_Blicavs_2019.3.jpg, Mark Blicavs
Mark Blicavs ( ; born 28 March 1991) is a professional Australian rules footballer for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He made his debut for the club in round one of the 2013 AFL season.
Early life
Blicavs' p ...
playing for Geelong in 2019
File:Jasper_Pittard_2017.2.jpg, Jasper Pittard playing for Port Adelaide in 2017
File:SimonBlack.jpg, Simon Black
Simon Black (born 3 April 1979) is a former Australian rules football player and current assistant coach, who played his whole career with the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Black was a midfielder with a reputation fo ...
, Brisbane Brownlow medallist and 3 time premiership player in 2008
File:Nathan_van_Berlo.jpg, Nathan Van Berlo
Nathan van Berlo (born 6 June 1986) is a former Australian rules football player who played for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted by the club with pick 24 in the 2004 National Draft. He was the c ...
playing for Adelaide in 2007
File:Brett_Peake_2009.jpg, Brett Peake playing for Fremantle in 2006
File:Callum_Moore_26.03.18.jpg, Callum Moore playing for Richmond in 2018
File:Jordan_Russell_2018.1.jpg, Jordan Russell
Jordan Russell (born 6 November 1986) is an Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club and the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League.
Russell was recruited as the number 9 draft pick in the 2004 ...
for the Western Bulldogs in 2018
File:Ben_Rutten_26.05.18.jpg, Ben Rutten
Benjamin Rutten (born 28 May 1983) is a former Australian rules football player and coach. He was the senior coach of the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) in 2021 and 2022. As a player, he played for the Adelaid ...
as Richmond assistant coach in 2018
File:Barney_Wood_1928.jpg, Barney Wood
Percival Barnes Wood (22 December 1901 – 9 June 1941), known as "Barney", was an Australian sportsman who played both first-class cricket and Australian rules football. He was killed in action while serving with the Second AIF.
Family
One o ...
was from Wellington (pictured in 1928)
File:George_A_Gillett_1905.jpg, George A. Gillett (dual rugby international) of Leeston in Canterbury was part of New Zealand's 1908 Melbourne carnival team
File:Bob_Bryce_1901.jpg, Bob Bryce
Robert Paton Bryce (7 July 1879 – 24 September 1958) was a former Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne and Collingwood in the Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules ...
was from Dunedin (pictured in 1901)
File:Tom_Watson_1899.jpg, Tom Watson was from Dunedin (pictured in 1899)
Women's
File:AFLW_S7_GF_Jesse_Wardlaw_warmup_2.jpg, Jesse Wardlaw
Jesse Tawhiao-Wardlaw (born 13 January 2000 in New Zealand), usually known as Jesse Wardlaw, is an Australian rules footballer playing for Brisbane in the AFL Women's competition (AFLW).
Wardlaw plays as a key forward and led the Brisbane Lio ...
is from Ashburton
File:AFLW_S7_GF_Dee_Heslop.jpg, Dee Heslop
Dion 'Dee' Heslop (born 30 July 2001) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for Brisbane in the AFL Women's competition (AFLW). She has previously played for the Gold Coast.
Early life
Heslop was born in Auckland, New Zealand and moved ...
is from Auckland
File:Walker_with_Carlton_February_2019_(cropped).png, Brooke Walker is from Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
File:Stevie-Lee_Thompson_2018.jpg, Stevie-Lee Thompson
Stevie-Lee Thompson (born 23 March 1992) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Adelaide Football Club in the AFL Women's competition.
Early life and state football
Thompson was born in Brisbane but was raised in Hawke's Bay, New ...
is from Hawke's Bay
Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region is ...
File:Angelique_Stannett_2019.1.jpg, Angelique Stannett playing for Fremantle in 2019
File:Moana_Hope_18.02.18.jpg, Moana Hope
Moana Hope (born 14 February 1988) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played in the AFL Women's competition from 2017 to 2019, including 13 matches over two seasons at and a further seven matches over one season at . Eac ...
playing for club Collingwood in 2018
File:Breann_Moody_2019.9.jpg, Breann Moody
Breann Moody (born 4 March 1997) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Carlton Football Club in the AFL Women's competition (AFLW). She was drafted by Carlton with the club's ninth selection and the sixty seventh overall in the 201 ...
playing for Carlton in 2019
File:Sabreena_Duffy_2019.2.jpg, Sabreena Duffy
Sabreena McKinnon (born Sabreena Duffy 26 March 2000) is an Australian rules footballer who played for Fremantle and Melbourne in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She was known as Sabreena Duffy during her playing career, but legally changed her famil ...
playing for Fremantle in 2019
File:Tahlia_Randall_27.03.21_(cropped).jpg, Tahlia Randall
Tahlia Randall (born 29 May 1998) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the North Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). Randall previously played for the Brisbane Lions from 2017 to 2018, where she received a nomination f ...
playing for North Melbourne
File:Jacinda_Barclay_18.02.18.jpg, Jacinda Barclay
Jacinda Barclay (18 February 199112 October 2020) was an Australian sportswoman who played baseball, American football and Australian rules football at high levels. She represented the Australian national team in five Women's Baseball World Cu ...
playing for Greater Western Sydney in 2018
File:Lauren_Pearce_03.02.18.jpg, Lauren Pearce
Lauren Pearce (born 12 January 1993) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's competition. She was drafted by Melbourne with their fourth selection and twenty-fifth overall in the 2016 AFL W ...
playing for Melbourne in 2018
File:Rheanna_Lugg_2018.jpg, Rheanne Lugg playing for Adelaide in 2018
File:Richelle Cranston 18.02.17.jpg, Richelle Cranston
Richelle Cranston (born 28 September 1989) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Western Bulldogs football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She was drafted by Melbourne with their third selection and twenty-fourth overall in the 2016 ...
playing for Melbourne in 2017
See also
* New Zealand AFL
* List of New Zealand born AFL players
Books
#
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Australian Rules Football in New Zealand