The Hume Australian Football Netball League (HFNL), often shortened to Hume Football League, is an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

and

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

competition containing twelve clubs based in the

South West Slopes The South Western Slopes, also known as the South West Slopes, is a region predominantly in New South Wales, Australia. It covers the lower inland slopes of the Great Dividing Range, extending from north of Dunedoo through central NSW and into ...

and southern

Riverina The Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation ...

regions of

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 , e ...

, Australia. The league features four grades in the Australian rules football competition, with these being First-Grade, Reserve-Grade, Under 17s and Under 14s. In the netball competition, there are six grades, with these being A-Grade, B-Grade, C-Grade, C-Reserve Grade, Intermediates and Juniors. Currently, a home and away season consisting of 18 rounds is played. The best six teams then play-off according to the

McIntyre System The McIntyre System, or systems as there have been five of them, is a playoff system that gives an advantage to teams or competitors qualifying higher. The systems were developed by Ken McIntyre, an Australian lawyer, historian and English lect ...

, culminating in the HFL Grand Final, which is traditionally hosted by Walbundrie.

History

Prior to the formation of the Hume Football League, various football associations and leagues had been organised in the southern Riverina area since the late 19th century, including the Hume Football Association (1922 to 1926), the '' Central Hume Football Association'' (1928 - 1934), the

Albury & District Football League The Albury & District Football League was established at a delegates meeting in Culcairn in 1930 from the following Australian Rules Football clubs - Albury Rovers, Culcairn, Henty and Holbrook and folded after the 1957 football season. History Th ...

(1930 to 1957) and the ''Riverina Main Line Football Association''. The latter was organised in 1922 amongst clubs in towns that lay on the railway spur from the main Sydney-Melbourne line at Culcairn as far west as Balldale, as in the years pre- World War II, cars were still a relatively uncommon form of transport, with horses still being prevalent in the area. ;Hume Football Association - 1922 to 1926. There was an original Hume Football Association that was formed in 1922 and ran from 1922 to 1926 during its short history. *Premiers / Runners Up **1922 - Bulgandra: 8.12 - 60 defeated Walla Walla: 6.4 - 40. Other teams were - Brocklesby, Burrumbuttock and Walbundrie. **1923 - Burrumbuttock: 6.8 - 38 d Brocklesby: 6.5 - 35. Other teams were - Bulgandra, Walbundrie and Walla Walla. Brocklesby & Walla Walla joined the Riverina Main Line Football Association in 1924. **1924 - Bulgandra d Burrumbuttock. Other teams were - Walbundrie and Walla Walla Sub Division (Ramblers). The Walla Walla Subdivision FC joined the Riverina Main Line Football Association in 1925. Burrumbuttock joined the Albury B. Grade Football Association in 1925. **1925 - The Hume FA had an AGM in March, 1925 with three club's, Bulgandra, Rand and Walbundrie interested in playing, but it appears the Hume FA went into recess in 1925. **1926 - Rand: 10.3 - 64 d Bulgandra: 4.6 - 30. Other teams were - Burrumbuttock and Walbundrie. Burrumbuttock joined the Albury & Border FA & Rand joined the Osborne FA in 1927, while Bulgandra and Walbundrie were forced to go into recess for 1927, as Walbundrie were refused entry into the Albury & Border FA. Bulgandra and Walbundrie then joined the Central Hume FA in 1928. Appropriately, it was over concerns about travel times that caused the formation of the Hume Football League. The league was formed in 1933 by

Jindera Jindera is a small town in the South West Slopes section of the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The town is situated in the Greater Hume Shire local government area, north of the regional centre of Albury. At the 2016 census, Ji ...

, Lavington,

Gerogery Gerogery ( ) is a town established on Wiradjuri land in the Riverina region of the Australian state of New South Wales. The town is in the Greater Hume Shire local government area and on the Main South railway line between Sydney and Melbourne, ...

and Border United (from

Albury Albury () is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of the Murray River. Albury is the seat of local government for the council area which also bears the city's name – the ...

), who were disgruntled about the amount of travel required in the existing Central Hume Football Association. Gerogery won the inaugural season, winning the deciding Grand Final against Jindera. In 1934, Border United withdrew after one season to be replaced by Bethanga, and Gerogery won their second premiership in a Grand Final against Lavington. In 1935, Walla Walla, Walbundrie and

Burrumbuttock Burrumbuttock ( ) is a town in the central southern part of the Riverina region of the Australian state of New South Wales. The town is about south east of Walbundrie and north-west of Albury. The town's name comes from the parish name and "T ...

joined from the Central Hume Football Association, which was then dissolved. The league's roster was relatively unstable in early years as clubs transferred from one local league to another, formed or disbanded. *1936: Wagga Road joined. *1939: Wagga Road and Bethanga left. *1940: Lavington withdrew. *1941–1944: Recess due to World War II.

1938 Bloodbath Grand Final

The Hume Football League Grand Final was held at Jindera on 3 September 1938. Bethanga's Captain Jack Mortlock and player Jim Stapleton were felled behind play in the first quarter and sent to hospital. Back then teams only had 19 players with just one interchange player so that left Bethanga with 17 fit players for the remainder of the match. The umpire was threatened and intimidated by the Lavington players so he made no reports during the Grand Final and they went on to record an easy win. Some of the Lavington players were disgusted with the way some of their teammates behaved and were disillusioned with their victory.

Post-War

The league reconvened in 1945 towards the end of the war with the following clubs: Balldale,

Brocklesby __NOTOC__ Brocklesby is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated south from Habrough, south-west from Immingham, and is located close to the border of both North Lincolnshire and Nort ...

Rand The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is financed ...

, Walbundrie and Walla Walla. As before, the league's membership continued to fluctuate in subsequent years. *1946: Gerogery and Jindera reformed and joined, Balldale moved to the Chiltern & District Football Association *1947: Balldale returned, Burrumbuttock reformed. Mr. Kelly Joseph Azzi, Balldale Football Club President and Delegate first donated the Azzi Medal in 1947 for the fairest and best player award *1948: Gerogery disbanded, East Albury Rovers joined. *1949: East Albury Rovers left, North Albury Seconds joined. *1953: North Albury Seconds left, Howlong joined from Chiltern & District Football Association. After the admission of Howlong, the make-up of the league remained stable until 1970 when

Boree Creek Boree Creek is a town in the Riverina district of New South Wales, Australia. The town is located south west of the state capital, Sydney and west of the regional centre, Wagga Wagga. Boree Creek is situated in the Federation Council local go ...

joined from the Coreen & District Football League and Osborne joined from the Central Riverina Football League (the precursor to the

Riverina Football League The Riverina Football Netball League (RFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball competition containing nine clubs based in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The league features three grades in the Australian rules footba ...

). At this point the competition had ten teams. Balldale disbanded in February, 1975, causing a bye. In 1975, Lavington fielded a team in the Hume Football League, in addition to the Tallangatta & District Football League, for two years. In 1976, a reserves competition was introduced and Boree Creek moved back to the Coreen & District Football League. After two seasons, the Lavington side moved to the

Farrer Football League The Farrer Football Netball League (FFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball competition containing nine clubs based in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The league features three grades in the Australian rules footb ...

in 1977 (to later join the

Ovens & Murray Football League The Ovens and Murray Football Netball League (O&MFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball competition containing ten clubs based in north-eastern Victoria, the southern Riverina region of New South Wales and the Ovens and Murray are ...

in 1979), with a new club, East Lavington, taking their place.

Modern Era

Since the 1970s and 1980s, increased mobility has meant that the original motivations behind the league's formation have lessened, and the league has taken in more teams from beyond its original domain, to cover more of the rural area between the regional cities of Albury and

Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 56,000 as of June 2018, Wagga Wagga is the state's ...

. Henty joined the Hume Football League in 1980, and Lockhart joined in 1982, both from the Farrer Football League. Rand moved to the Coreen & District Football League in 1983.

Culcairn Culcairn () is a town in the south-east Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Culcairn is located in the Greater Hume Shire local government area on the Olympic Highway between Albury and Wagga Wagga. The town is south-west of the s ...

and Holbrook joined the league from the Tallangatta & District Football League in 1992 and 1999 respectively. East Lavington disbanded at the end of 1997. At the same time, economic concerns and the effect of migration from rural areas on the number of participants, leading to difficulties fielding teams, has meant that clubs from smaller neighbouring towns are electing to merge rather than disband completely, thus in 2006 two merged entities competed for the first time, the Brocklesby Burrumbuttock Football Club and the Rand Walbundrie Football Club. In recent years on the playing arena, Osborne has tended to dominate the competition, though the league remains fairly competitive with most clubs providing a challenge. Due to the disbanding of the neighbouring Coreen & District Football League, most of its teams were moved to the Hume Football League, bringing the number to fifteen for the 2008 season; these were Billabong Crows (a merger of the former

Urana Urana is a small town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The town is in the Federation Council local government area. Urana is located between Lockhart and Jerilderie, about southwest of the state capital, Sydney. To the we ...

and Oaklands Football Clubs), Coleambally, Coreen- Daysdale- Hopefield- Buraja United (CDHBU), Murray Magpies and

Rennie Rennie is a given name, nickname and surname. People with the surname * Alistair Rennie, Scottish author * Allan Rennie (born 1960), Scottish footballer * Andy Rennie (Scottish footballer) (1901–1938), footballer with Luton Town * Andy R ...

. Rennie retained the "Hoppers" nickname, sharing it with Walla Walla. With the increasing size of the competition, an initial proposal to split the league into two pools for the 2009 season, organised geographically into western and eastern divisions and possibly including other nearby clubs was tabled in July 2007. This may be considered as part of an overall independent review of Australian football in the Riverina. Rennie moved to the Picola & District Football League in 2009. Coleambally moved to the Farrer Football League in 2011. During the 2015/16 off season both the Walla Hoppers and Rand-Walbundrie Tigers football clubs entered merger talks for 2016 Hume Football League season. Voting for the proposed merger took place on Monday 7 March (2016). Walla Walla Hoppers members voted 100 per cent in favour of the joint venture; while The Rand-Walbundrie Tigers voted 83 per cent in favour. The merged club commenced in 2016 playing home matches at Rand.

Current finals system

The HFL & HNA currently uses the "

McIntyre system The McIntyre System, or systems as there have been five of them, is a playoff system that gives an advantage to teams or competitors qualifying higher. The systems were developed by Ken McIntyre, an Australian lawyer, historian and English lect ...

". The final series is played over four weekends, with the Grand Final traditionally being played on the third Saturday of September. Traditionally since 1976 all finals for both fotball and netball have been played at the Walbundrie Showground. Since then the only finals to be played elsewhere were the 1989 Grand Final at East Lavington, 2019 Minor Semi Final at Urana Road Oval & 2022 Minor Semi Final at Howlong Sportsground.

2022 Finals Series

Current clubs

Former Clubs

Premierships: Football

Seniors

* 1933: Gerogery * 1934: Gerogery * 1935: Gerogery * 1936: Gerogery * 1937: Walbundrie * 1938: Lavington * 1939: Walla Walla * 1940: Walla Walla * 1941: ''Recess - World War II'' * 1942: ''Recess - World War II'' * 1943: ''Recess - World War II'' * 1944: ''Recess - World War II'' * 1945: Rand * 1946: Jindera * 1947: Walbundrie * 1948: Walla Walla * 1949: Walbundrie * 1950: Brocklesby * 1951: Burrumbuttock * 1952: Walbundrie * 1953: Walla Walla * 1954: Howlong * 1955: Jindera * 1956: Jindera * 1957: Jindera * 1958: Brocklesby * 1959: Walla Walla * 1960: Jindera * 1961: Jindera * 1962: Balldale * 1963: Jindera * 1964: Jindera * 1965: Walla Walla * 1966: Walla Walla * 1967: Walbundrie * 1968: Walbundrie * 1969: Burrumbuttock * 1970: Walla Walla * 1971: Howlong * 1972: Balldale * 1973: Walla Walla * 1974: Walla Walla * 1975: Jindera * 1976: Walla Walla * 1977: Howlong * 1978: Walbundrie * 1979: East Lavington * 1980: Walla Walla * 1981: Walla Walla * 1982: Lockhart * 1983: Walla Walla * 1984: Henty * 1985: Osborne * 1986: Henty * 1987: Walla Walla * 1988: East Lavington * 1989: Walbundrie * 1990: Henty * 1991: Osborne * 1992: Osborne * 1993: Culcairn * 1994: Osborne * 1995: Osborne * 1996: Henty * 1997: Howlong * 1998: Osborne * 1999: Osborne * 2000: Osborne * 2001: Osborne * 2002: Howlong * 2003: Lockhart * 2004: Holbrock * 2005: Osborne * 2006: Osborne * 2007: Culcairn * 2008: Jindera * 2009: Osborne * 2010: Howlong * 2011: Jindera * 2012: Osborne * 2013: Brocklesby-Burrumbuttock * 2014: Henty * 2015: Brocklesby-Burrumbuttock * 2016: Brocklesby-Burrumbuttock * 2017: Osborne * 2018: Brocklesby-Burrumbuttock * 2019: Osborne * 2020: N/A * 2021: N/A * 2022: Holbrook

Reserves

* 1976: Jindera * 1977: East Lavington * 1978: East Lavington * 1979: Walla Walla * 1980: Walbundrie * 1981: Henty * 1982: Jindera * 1983: Brocklesby * 1984: East Lavington * 1985: Jindera * 1986: Henty * 1987: Jindera * 1988: East Lavington * 1989: East Lavington * 1990: East Lavington * 1991: Walbundrie * 1992: Walla Walla * 1993: Culcairn * 1994: Walla Walla * 1995: Burrumbuttock * 1996: Culcairn * 1997: Walla Walla * 1998: Osborne * 1999: Lockhart * 2000: Holbrook * 2001: Jindera * 2002: Osborne * 2003: Osborne * 2004: Osborne * 2005: Osborne * 2006: Lockhart * 2007: Osborne * 2008: Osborne * 2009: Culcairn * 2010: Culcairn * 2011: Jindera * 2012: Howlong * 2013: Jindera * 2014: Brocklesby-Burrumbuttock * 2015: Henty * 2016: Osborne * 2017: Jindera * 2018: Rand-Walbundrie-Walla * 2019: Brocklesby-Burrumbuttock * 2020: N/A * 2021: N/A * 2022: Holbrook

Juniors: 1950-1975 / Thirds

* 1950: St Paul's College * 1951: Walla Walla * 1952: Walla Walla * 1953: Walla Walla * 1954: Howlong * 1955: Howlong * 1956: Howlong * 1957: Howlong * 1958: Howlong * 1959: Howlong * 1960: Jindera * 1961: St Paul's College * 1962: Corowa * 1963: St Paul's College * 1964: Walla Walla * 1965: Walla Walla * 1966: Rand * 1967: St Paul's College * 1968: Walbundrie * 1969: Jindera * 1970: Walla Walla * 1971: Walla Walla * 1972: St. Paul's College * 1973: Walla Walla * 1974: Walla Walla * 1975: St. Paul's College * 1976: St. Paul's College * 1977: East Lavington * 1978: St. Paul's College * 1979: Wabundrie * 1980: Henty * 1981: Henty * 1982: Henty * 1983: Henty * 1984: Walla Walla * 1985: Osborne * 1986: Henty * 1987: Osborne * 1988: Walla Walla * 1989: Walla Walla * 1990: Walla Walla * 1991: Walla Walla * 1992: Henty * 1993: Lockhart * 1994: Lockhart * 1995: Walla Walla * 1996: Walla Walla * 1997: Walla Walla * 1998: Walla Walla * 1999: Howlong * 2000: Culcairn * 2001: Henty * 2002: Henty * 2003: Henty * 2004: Henty * 2005: Osborne * 2006: Culcairn * 2007: Culcairn * 2008: Murray Magpies * 2009: Jindera * 2010: Holbrook * 2011: Brocklesby-Burrumbuttock * 2012: Rand-Walbundrie * 2013: Osborne * 2014: Osborne * 2015: Osborne * 2016: Henty * 2017: Brocklesby-Burrumbuttock * 2018: Osborne * 2019: Holbrook * 2020: N/A * 2021: N/A * 2022: Rand-Walbundrie-Walla

Fourths

* 1990: Lockhart * 1991: Lockhart * 1992: Lockhart * 1993: Walbundrie * 1994: Walla Walla * 1995: Walla Walla * 1996: Osborne * 1997: Osborne * 1998: Brocklesby * 1999: Holbrook * 2000: Lockhart * 2001: Henty * 2002: Lockhart * 2003: Osborne * 2004: Howlong * 2005: Holbrook * 2006: Henty * 2007: Holbrook * 2008: Holbrook * 2009: Howlong * 2010: Rand-Walbundrie * 2011: Osborne * 2012: Osborne * 2013: Osborne * 2014: Coreen-Daysdale-Hopefield-Buraja United * 2015: Henty * 2016: Holbrook * 2017: Osborne * 2018: Rand-Walbundrie-Walla * 2019: Osborne * 2020: N/A * 2021: N/A * 2022: Henty

Players

Footballers from the HFL who currently play or have played in the AFL include: * Tony Armstrong (

) * Sam Schulz & Jeremy Finlayson (

) * Anthony Miles ( Howlong) * Adam Schneider ( Osborne) * Dean Terlich ( Osborne) * Sam Rowe ( Walla Walla) * Nick Murray ( Henty)

Sources

*Wegener, Leon (editor) ''Walla Walla Football Club 1903–1978'' (1978)

References

External links

* * Central Hume Football Association: 1928 - 1934
1938 - Hume FL semi final team photo: Walbundrie FC

1938 - Hume FL Premiers - Lavington FC team photo1939 - Hume FL team photos of Burrumbuttock FC & Jindera FC1939 - Hume FL second semi final winners: Walla Walla FC team photo1939 - Hume FL grand final team photos: Walla Walla FC & Lavington FC1940 - Hume FL Rep team photo1946 - Walbundrie Knock-out Competition: Chiltern / Barnawartha team & Lavington FC team photos1946 - Hume FL: 1st semi final teams: Gerogery FC & Walla Walla FC team photos1947 - Hume FL: Walla Walla FC team photo1947 - Hume FL: Walbundrie FC team photo1948 - Hume FL: Balldale FC team photo1948 - Hume FL: East Albury FC team photo1949 - Hume FL Best & Fairest / Azzi Medalist: Doug Probyn, Brocklesby FC1949 - Hume FL Premiers: Walbundrie FC team photo
{{Aussie Rules in New South Wales 1933 establishments in Australia Sports leagues established in 1933 Australian rules football competitions in New South Wales Sport in the Riverina