The NFL Night Series was 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 ...
tournament which was contested annually from 1976 until 1979. The tournament, played concurrently with the premiership season, was contested at different times by
football club
A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all- ...
s from the
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 ...
n,
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
n,
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
n 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_ ...
football leagues, and was operated by the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
, which was the national administrative body for the sport.
In 1977, a rival competition was established in Victoria in the form of the
Australian Football Championships Night Series
The Australian Football Championships (AFC) night series, known during its history by a variety of sponsored names, was an Australian rules football tournament held annually between 1979 and 1986. The competition was a knock-out competition featu ...
(AFC). From the 1980 season onwards, following termination of the NFL Night Series, it was effectively superseded by the AFC.
History
From 1968 until 1975, the
Australian National Football Council
The Australian National Football Council (ANFC) was the national governing body for Australian rules football in Australia from 1906 until 1995. The council was a body of delegates representing each of the principal leagues which controlled the ...
(later renamed the National Football League) had operated a post-season
Championship of Australia
The Championship of Australia was an Australian rules football tournament which was contested between football clubs from the Victorian, South Australian, Western Australian and Tasmanian football leagues. The Championship took place three ti ...
tournament amongst the premiers of the
Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...
,
South Australian National 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 ...
,
West Australian Football League
The West Australian Football League (WAFL) is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The league currently consists of ten teams, which play each other in a 20-round season usually lasting from March to September, ...
and
Tasmanian State Premiership
The Tasmanian State Premiership was an Australian rules football tournament which was contested at the conclusion of the season, initially between the reigning Tasmanian Football League (TFL/TANFL) and Northern Tasmanian Football Association (18 ...
. In 1976, the National Football League extended this concept significantly by establishing the Night Series. The Night Series was an extended competition which ran concurrently with the premiership season, featuring multiple teams from each state, who initially qualified based on their finishing positions in the previous year. Most of the matches were played on weekday nights and broadcast live to a national television audience, which was a new sponsorship opportunity which the sport had never previously enjoyed. Although the competition did not bear many structural similarities to the Championship of Australia series, it is often seen as its natural successor; and, the post-season Championship of Australia tournament was discontinued in the same year.
In 1976, the Night Series was known as the NFL Wills Cup. There were a total of 12 clubs: five from the VFL, four from the SANFL and three from the
West Australian National Football League
The West Australian Football League (WAFL) is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The league currently consists of ten teams, which play each other in a 20-round season usually lasting from March to September, ...
, with qualification based on performance in the 1975 season. They were divided into four groups of three and the winners of each group met in the semi finals. Most games were played in Adelaide, and some were played in Perth.
After the success of the 1976 competition, particularly for television numbers, VFL withdrew its teams from the NFL's night series, and established its own rival
night series based at
VFL Park
Waverley Park (also and originally called VFL Park) was an Australian rules football stadium in Mulgrave, Victoria, Australia. For most of its history, its purpose was as a neutral venue and used by all Victorian-based Victorian Football Lea ...
in Melbourne. This caused a rift between the VFL and the other states. The NFL continued its night series, now known as the Ardath Cup and played as a knock-out tournament, featuring eight SANFL clubs, six WAFL clubs, four
Victorian Football Association
The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...
clubs and four state representative teams from the minor states (Tasmania, New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory). The 1978 tournament, now known as the Escort Cup, was similar but slightly smaller, played as a sixteen-team knock-out tournament featuring five SANFL clubs, four WAFL clubs, three VFA clubs, and the four minor state teams.
In 1979, in what would turn out to be the final NFL Night Series, the minor states and the WAFL clubs defected to the VFL's Night Series, which was now being operated by a VFL-established company called Australian Football Championships; the NFL Night Series was now contested by just the ten SANFL clubs, two VFA clubs and two
Queensland Australian Football League
The Queensland Australian Football League (QAFL) is an Australian rules football competition organised by the AFL Queensland, contested by clubs from South East Queensland.
Previously known as the Queensland Football League (QFL), Queensland ...
clubs, and had lost much of its importance. In 1980, the SANFL clubs joined the VFL Night Series, and the NFL Night Series was discontinued.
Naming rights sponsors
*
Wills Wills may refer to:
* Will (law)
A will or testament is a legal document that expresses a person's (testator) wishes as to how their property ( estate) is to be distributed after their death and as to which person (executor) is to manage the pr ...
Cup (1976)
* Ardath Cup (1977)
* Escort Cup (1978–79)
Participating teams
Champions by year
Most NFL Night Series Titles
References
{{Australian Rules Football National Competitions
Australian rules interstate football
History of Australian rules football
Australian rules football competitions in Australia