Australian rules football in New South Wales
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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 ...
in
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 ...
dates back to 1866 with organised competition being continuous since the 1880s. Today, in several regions, the sport is moderately popular, including
Broken Hill Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It is ...
near South Australia, and the
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 ...
and the
South Coast South Coast is a name often given to coastal areas to the south of a geographical region or major metropolitan area. Geographical Australia *South Coast (New South Wales), the coast of New South Wales, Australia, south of Sydney * South Coast (Q ...
near Victoria. In the rest of the state including the most populous areas and the capital
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, Australian football trails behind
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 ...
in popularity. The
AFL NSW/ACT AFL NSW/ACT is the trading name of the AFL (NSW/ACT) Commission Limited, a wholly owned and controlled subsidiary of the Australian Football League Limited (AFL), established in 1999.Australian Securities & Investments Commission registers www.a ...
is the governing body of the sport across the state and the Australian Capital Territory. Two New South Wales teams currently compete in the sport's leading competition, the professional
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 ...
(AFL): the
Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a reser ...
and the
Greater Western Sydney Giants The Greater Western Sydney Giants (officially the Greater Western Sydney Football Club and colloquially known as the GWS Giants or simply GWS) are a professional Australian rules football team based in Sydney Olympic Park, which represents the ...
. The Swans made history in
1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...
when they became the first professional Australian sporting team to move interstate. On the back of the code's subsequent growth in popularity in Sydney, the Greater Western Sydney Giants formed in 2009 and made their AFL debut in
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
. They compete against the Swans in the Sydney Derby. New South Wales holds the record attendance for Australian football outside Victoria, with 72,393 attending a Swans vs Collingwood match at Sydney's
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in 2003. It was also the first state outside of Victoria to host
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 ...
matches, during the 2011 tournament. Over the following decade, participation rates continued to increase across the state, with Australian football surpassing
Rugby union in New South Wales Rugby union in New South Wales is one of the leading professional and recreational team sports. Rugby football began to be played in Sydney’s schools in the early 1860s. In the more than 150 years since, the game in New South Wales has grown t ...
in the late 2010s. However, the sport continues to trail
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 ...
in the state by a wide margin. Two leading pioneers of the sport, cousins
Tom Wills Thomas Wentworth Wills (19 August 1835 – 2 May 1880) was an Australian sportsman who is credited with being Australia's first cricketer of significance and a founder of Australian rules football. Born in the British penal colony of New ...
and
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 incarnat ...
, were born in New South Wales, while hundreds of New South Welshmen have competed in the VFL/AFL, among the most notable being
Haydn Bunton Sr. Haydn William Bunton (5 July 1911 – 5 September 1955) was an Australian rules footballer who represented in the Victorian Football League (VFL), in the West Australian Football League (WAFL), and in the South Australian National Football Le ...
and
Jock McHale James Francis "Jock" McHale, (12 December 1882 – 4 October 1953) was an Australian rules football player and coach for the Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League in a marathon career that extended from 1903 to 1949. Earl ...
, now '
Legends A legend is a historical narrative, a symbolic representation of folk belief. Legend(s) or The Legend(s) may also refer to: Narrative * Urban legend, a widely repeated story of dubious truth * A fictitious identity used in espionage Books, co ...
' in the
Australian Football Hall of Fame The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the Centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media personalities, coa ...
. Current player Tom Hawkins holds the games record for a New South Walesman with 327, while Bill Mohr holds the goals record with 735, though Hawkins had 732 at the end of the 2022 season just a few goals short of the state record.


History


Sydney


First clubs and matches (1865–1867)

On 26 May 1865 calls were put out to form a Sydney Football Club. The club was incorporated on 17 June 1865 with
Richard Driver Richard Driver (junior) (16 September 1829 – 8 July 1880) was a Sydney solicitor, politician and cricket administrator. Driver was born in Cabramatta, New South Wales, son of Richard Driver, hotel-keeper, and his wife Elizabeth, née Powell ...
as its first president and up to 60 members mostly cricketers. It played its first match shortly thereafter on
Hyde Park, Sydney Hyde Park, Sydney, is an urban park, of , located in the central business district of Sydney, in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It is the oldest public parkland in Australia. Hyde Park is on the east ...
, and in August against Sydney University. Two other clubs, the Australian Club and a Sydney University team played football matches against the Sydney club in 1865 though it is not known under what code de Moore (2021) notes that accounts point to strong similarities with the Victorian code but with a strong influence of rugby. Early matches were low scoring and often cancelled mid game and were subject to frequent disputes over the rules. The Sydney University club is often noted as "The Birthplace of Australian Rugby" (in 1863), however historical records show its incorporation in 1865 and that it did not begin playing regularly under rugby rules until 1869. At its first annual meeting the Sydney Football Club announced that it had formally adopted the Victorian football rules and encouraged Victorian clubs to travel north for intercolonial matches. On 26 May 1866, the rules were published in ''Bells Life in Sydney''. The Australian Club formally adopted the code not long after. Sydney at this time was a smaller city than Melbourne and Sydney's football scene was likewise, just a handful of clubs, dwarfed by Melbourne's more than a dozen clubs playing in organised competitions. Access to playing fields also proved difficult. Despite a thriving cricket scene, Sydney, like Brisbane, could rarely muster sufficient player numbers for organised football matches. As a result in the late 1860s with few clubs playing and without intercolonial competition forthcoming fledgling clubs soon lost interest and soon disbanded. Newcastle, quite a significant city in its own right at the time, also took an interest in the code and the "Rules of Football" (the Victorian Rules) were published in the press there. One of the first Sydney schools to adopt the code was
Newington College , motto_translation = To Faith Add Knowledge , location = Inner West and Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = A ...
in 1867 before becoming the first Australian school to play rugby in 1869. With the growing rivalry between the two colonies, Sydney journalists began to murmur their discontent toward the code in 1868, protesting that the "old English game of football" would be preferable to Sydneysiders than a game imported from the rival Colony of Victoria. As part of this wave of discontent in 1869, Newington College switched codes, becoming the first Australian school to play rugby in 1869. Despite the formation of a handful of football clubs adopting English rules, the Australian game held favour and rugby footballers could manage just 4 matches prior to the 1870s.


Revival and Rugby takeover (1868–1876)

In 1868 a new Sydney Football Club was founded. Once again this club chose the Victorian rules to play over rugby under citing the enormous popularity of the code in Melbourne. Details of matches played under the Victorian rules were scant, however a match was held against the 60th Queen's Own Regiment on 11 July 1868. However the new Sydney club would soon suffer the same fate as its predecessor and organised football disappeared from the Sydney scene. It wasn't until the 1870s, with a push to introduce rugby into the schools gathering steam and organised competition between clubs that rugby dominated and spread throughout the colony. A key factor for the disappearance of the code in New South Wales, as opposed to Queensland where the code was thriving, was that the newly formed
New South Wales Rugby Union The New South Wales Rugby Union, or NSWRU, is the governing body for the sport of rugby union within most of the state of New South Wales in Australia. It is a member and founding union of Rugby Australia. Within Australia it is considered t ...
in 1874 banned member clubs from playing matches under Victorian rules. As a result the code in the colony was all but forgotten.


Intercolonial competition and NSWFA era (1877–1893)

In 1877 Victoria's
Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's top professional competition. Founded in 1864 in Carlton, an inner suburb of Mel ...
challenged the Waratah Football Club (now defunct) to reciprocal matches in their respective codes to which the Sydney club accepted. The first match hosted by Waratah was played on the Albert Ground, Sydney under rugby rules in front of 3,000 (then the largest ever football crowd in Sydney) was won by Waratah 2 to Carlton 0, though the Sydneysiders noted that the Victorians were not lacking in the necessary skills, just their knowledge of the game. Reflecting the lesser interest in the Australian rules, the second match was played in front of a smaller crowd of about 1,500 at the Albert Ground with the result being Carlton 6 to Waratah 0. Among the best players were
George Coulthard George Coulthard (1 August 1856 – 22 October 1883) was an Australian cricketer and Australian rules footballer. Born and raised on a farm outside Melbourne, Victoria, Coulthard helped lead the Carlton Football Club to premiership success in t ...
who showed a particular prowess in both codes despite having never played rugby.' Waratah and some others claimed that the Australian rules resulted in a more exciting game, but the rugby interests repeatedly rejected suggestions to switch codes or even play intercolonial matches under alternating rules against
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 ...
. In response, the proponents of the Australian game formed the
New South Wales Football Association The New South Wales Football Association was the governing body for Australian rules football in New South Wales between 1880 and 1893. It oversaw an Australian rules competition based in Sydney and governed the Laws of Australian Football in the ...
(NSWFA) in 1880 and in 1881 the first Australian rules game between NSW and Victoria was played in Sydney. The NSWFA was small, with only a few clubs, including Waratah which switched code in 1882, and competition did not begin in earnest until 1889, when clubs competed for the Flanagan Cup. Despite this, the Sydney Rugby Football Union seeing the new competition as a threat, enforced a strict ban on any of its member clubs from playing Victorian rules.
South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at t ...
was the second club to visit New South Wales in 1883 defeating
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
by just a single goal in front of a large crowd at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Waratah played against South Australia in 1884 at Moore Park. South Melbourne also defeated East Sydney Football Club by a goal in front of 600 spectators. New South Wales competed against
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_ ...
in 1884 initially losing to its northern neighbour before gaining primacy in their 1886 matches. It also competed against a touring New Zealand Native football team on 29 June 1889 with the result being a 4 goal each draw The NSWFA had trouble gaining access to enclosed grounds and therefore gate receipts and, with antagonism between its clubs, it collapsed in 1893.


Post-Federation, NSW Football League era: 1903-1917

With the
Federation of Australia The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia (which also governed what is now the Northern Territory), and Western A ...
came new national interest in the Australian code. The NSW Football League, later the NSW Australian Football League (NSWAFL), was formed on 12 February 1903 at a meeting held in the YMCA Hall in George St. The NSWAFL promoted the game in schools and lobbied for VFL exhibition matches in Sydney to promote the code. The first
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 ...
match played in Sydney was with
Fitzroy Football Club The Fitzroy Football Club is an Australian rules football club currently competing in the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA). Formed in 1883 to represent the inner-Melbourne municipality of Fitzroy, the club was a member of the Vi ...
7.10 defeating the
Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed the Magpies or colloquially the Pies, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. The club w ...
6.9 at the
Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and as ...
on 24 May 1903. The large attendance of 20,000 saw the exhibition hailed as a success and inspired the league to continue scheduling more matches in Sydney. However, the novelty was short-lived, and follow-up matches quickly began to attract cynicism from the Sydney football public as a VFL push when
Geelong Football Club The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed the Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition, and are the 2022 ...
8.7 (55) defeated
Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's top professional competition. Founded in 1864 in Carlton, an inner suburb of Mel ...
6.9 (45) at the SCG a few months later. The matches were seen by the Sydney media as an attempt to force-feed the Victorian game to Sydneysiders who had plenty of rugby to attract their ongoing interest. The poor crowd of 5,000 was much smaller than those of rugby games in the city. Despite the dwindling reception, the NSWAFL was keen to persevere; and, in 1904,
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, ...
9. 17 (71) defeated
Essendon Football Club The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers, is a professional Australian rules football club. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the game's premier competition. The club was formed by the McCracken family in their A ...
6. 3 (39) in front of just 6,000. With the lack of interest, top-level VFL was not to return to Sydney for decades. In contrast to the reception of the game at professional level, the grassroots level was having enormous success, growing the game in the schools with 48 Sydney schools, including all the Roman Catholic schools playing Australian Football by 1905. In 1908, thanks largely to the switch of the popular and talented
Dally Messenger Herbert Henry Messenger, nicknamed "Dally" and sometimes "The Master" (12 April 1883 – 24 November 1959) was one of Australasia's first professional rugby footballers, recognised as one of the greatest-ever players in either code. He played f ...
to the paid football code of
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 ...
, rugby established itself into the culture of Sydney. Although Australian football remained popular, the NSWAFL was still denied access to enclosed grounds, and the new professional code of rugby league further lured players from Australian rules. By 1911, however, Australian rules had achieved more support than rugby union, according to ''The Referee'', but only because support had shifted to rugby league.


Interwar popularity surge, interstate success and proposed Rugby League amalgamation: 1918-1939

Popularity peaked in 1921 when attendances at the Sydney competition trebled from hundreds to thousands. While increased gate takings were funding an increase in playing standard and junior development, the local league had exclusive access only to Erskineville Oval and Hampden Oval, relatively small grounds, and had difficulty scheduling matches at grounds also used by the rugby authorities. Bouyed by a strong professional NSWAFL in Sydney and a thriving schoolboys competition, during the 1920s NSW became a powerhouse that defeated Victorian sides on several occasions at home, notably
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, ...
on 28 July 1923, the VFL at the SCG in 1923 and again at Erskineville Oval by 1 point on 15 August 1925. The Australian National Football carnival of 1933 was held at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Several matches drew large crowds, particularly those involving New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and West Australia. Following the successful interstate football carnival, in 1933 a proposal by the
New South Wales Rugby League The New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was ...
to amalgamate Australian football and rugby league was investigated and a report, with a set of proposed rules, known as
Universal football Universal football was the name given to a proposed hybrid sport of Australian rules football and rugby league, proposed at different times between 1908 and 1933 as a potential national football code to be played throughout Australia and New Zea ...
, was prepared by the secretary of the NSWRL, Harold R. Miller and sent to the Australian National Football Council. A trial game was held in secret, but the plans were never instituted. Three of the original NSWAFL clubs are still in existence and currently play in the
Sydney AFL AFL Sydney is an Australian rules football League, based in metropolitan Sydney, Australia. The AFL Sydney competition comprises 126 teams from 22 clubs which play across seven senior men's divisions, five women's divisions, a Master's Division ...
North Shore, East Sydney (now UNSW-ES) and Balmain, but the league remained almost entirely amateur with limited audience following and sponsorship.


Post-war decline: 1945-1981

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
proved a massive setback for the code in Sydney. The government insisted that the league cease operations, struggling Sydney clubs were propped up by visiting servicemen from traditional Australian rules states and the popularity of the code among Sydneysiders was at an all time low. Despite this between 1953-57 the game survived in parts of Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong. Several junior clubs and leagues were established. The "St. George and Sutherland Shire Junior Australian Football Association" was established in southern Sydney and consisted of Penshurst Junior Australian Football Club (JAFC) "Panthers", Miranda JAFC "Bombers", St. Patricks Ramsgate later Ramsgate JAFC "Rams", Heathcote JAFC "Hawks", Cronulla JAFC "Sharks" and, earlier, Peakhurst, Como-Jannali, Boys' Town, Cronulla "Blues" clubs and St. Patricks Sutherland. Top level VFL returned to the SCG on 14 June 1952 when Collingwood 10.12 (72) defeated
Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...
5.6 (36) in front of 24,174 spectators. However, the league would not return for another few decades.


Sydney Swans era: 1981-

During the late 1970s there was a surge of interest nationally. The VFL scheduled 2 premiership matches for the
Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and as ...
in 1979. On 10 June 1979,
Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...
23.18 (156) defeated
North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at the ...
16.9 (105) in front of a large crowd of 31,395. However a few months later just 17,140 attended a match in which
Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...
22.20 (152) defeated Fitzroy 20.15 (135). The small attendance didn't deter a financially struggling
Fitzroy Lions The Fitzroy Football Club is an Australian rules football club currently competing in the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA). Formed in 1883 to represent the inner-Melbourne municipality of Fitzroy, the club was a member of the Vi ...
from conducting a feasibility study into the possibility of moving to North Sydney and a proposal was put forward, but was voted down by its board in 1980.Jim Main, Shake Down The Thunder, Geoff Slattery Publishing, 2006, The VFL scheduled 4 matches for the SCG in 1980. These matches were designed to test the market. The VFL's market studies found an increase in television ratings in Sydney and sustained attendance at matches. Based on the market study the VFL stated that there was sufficient support for a Sydney team, and that it intended to have one, possibly as soon as 1982. A 1981 report by
Graham Huggins Graham G. Huggins (1921 - July 14, 2000) was president of the St Kilda Football Club in the Victorian Football League (now known as the Australian Football League) from 1959 to 1979 and remains the club's longest serving president. St Kilda pr ...
concluded that there was an "untapped market in Sydney which represented an excellent opportunity for the league." In 1981 the VFL had decided that it would establish an entirely new 13th VFL club in Sydney. However this triggered South Melbourne to announce its move to Sydney. The first professional VFL/AFL players from Sydney and the Sydney AFL did not begin to emerge until the 1980s.
Russell Morris Russell Norman Morris (born 31 July 1948) is an Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist who had five Australian Top 10 singles during the late 1960s and early 1970s. On 1 July 2008, the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) recog ...
was one of the early players to make the grade, followed by
Sanford Wheeler Sanford Matthew Wheeler (6 April 1970 – 10 March 2020) was an Australian rules football player for the Sydney Swans. He is notable as being the first African American-born player in the history of the AFL and one of few players from the Uni ...
, Mark Roberts,
Greg Stafford Francis Gregory Stafford (February 9, 1948 – October 10, 2018), usually known as Greg Stafford, was an American game designer, publisher, and practitioner of shamanism. Stafford is most famous as the creator of the fantasy world of Glorantha ...
, Nick Davis and
Lenny Hayes Lenny Hayes (born 14 January 1980) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) from 1999 to 2014. He is currently an assistant coach at the St Kilda Fo ...
. In recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in AFL players coming from the Sydney region, and in 2007, a total of 11 AFL players identified themselves as coming from this region.


Riverina

Australian Football was introduced to the
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 ...
region of New South Wales in
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 la ...
in 1881 with a match between sides from the Wagga Wagga Football Club and
Albury Football Club The Albury Football Club, nicknamed the ''Tigers'', is an Australian rules football and netball club based in Albury, a major regional city in New South Wales. Albury football and netball squads compete in the Ovens & Murray Football League. C ...
. Subsequently, a local competition formed in 1884 around Wagga Wagga. The league went through many incarnations including the - *Wagga Football Association (1888 – 1889) *Wagga United Football Association (1890 – 1897). *Murrumbidgee District Football Association (1897), *Wagga United Football Association (1898 – 1921), * Riverina Mainline Football Association (1922), *Wagga United Football Association (1923, 1924, 1925) *The Rock and District Association (1926 – 1927) District towns based teams competition. *Wagga and District Association (1926 – 1927) Wagga based teams competition. *Wagga Football Association (1928–1957). The
South West Football League (New South Wales) The South West District Football League was a major Australian rules football competition which ran from 1910 until 1981 in the Riverina region of New South Wales. History The first recorded Australian Rules Football match in the Riverina area wa ...
commenced in 1894. In 1905, the Wagga Football Association representative side lost a close match against the
Fitzroy Football Club The Fitzroy Football Club is an Australian rules football club currently competing in the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA). Formed in 1883 to represent the inner-Melbourne municipality of Fitzroy, the club was a member of the Vi ...
at Wagga. In these early days, the
Ovens and 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, Australia, Victoria, the southern Riverina region of New South Wales, Austral ...
produced champion players including
Haydn Bunton, Sr. Haydn William Bunton (5 July 1911 – 5 September 1955) was an Australian rules footballer who represented in the Victorian Football League (VFL), in the West Australian Football League (WAFL), and in the South Australian National Football Le ...
, who was born and breed in Albury and played with the Albury Rovers FC,
Albury Football Club The Albury Football Club, nicknamed the ''Tigers'', is an Australian rules football and netball club based in Albury, a major regional city in New South Wales. Albury football and netball squads compete in the Ovens & Murray Football League. C ...
and
West Albury West Albury is a suburb of the city of Albury, New South Wales, located west of the Albury Central Business District. At the , West Albury had a population of 3,851. West Albury covers the slopes of Nail Can Hill on the Murray River floodplain ...
prior to playing with
Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...
in the VFL in 1931. In 1944, rugby authorities from Sydney began a campaign to oust Australian rules from the Riverina, successfully campaigning for it to be banned from public schools in Albury, Wagga and Junee to be replaced by Rugby League in an effort to expand the code into Victoria. 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 footba ...
superseded 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 ...
in 1957. During the 1970s, the region produced many great footballers including the famous Daniher family,
Terry Daniher Terrence "Terry" John Daniher (born 15 August 1957) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the South Melbourne and Essendon Football Clubs in the Australian Football League (AFL). Terry was also an assistant coach for the Ess ...
,
Neale Daniher Neale Francis Daniher (born 15 February 1961) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was later the coach of the Melbourne Football Club between 1998 and 20 ...
,
Anthony Daniher Anthony Joseph Daniher (born 21 January 1963) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the South Melbourne/Sydney and Essendon Football Clubs in the Australian Football League (AFL). Anthony's brothers, Terry, Neale and Chris, ...
and
Chris Daniher Christopher "Chris" James Daniher (born 31 March 1966) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). His brothers Terry, Neale and Anthony also played for Essendon in ...
. In 1982, at the instigation of the
Victorian Country Football League AFL Victoria Country is an Australian rules football governing body with jurisdiction over the state of Victoria outside metropolitan Melbourne on behalf of AFL Victoria. As well as administering and promoting the code in the regions, it often ar ...
(who had jurisdiction over the area at the time), the
South Western District Football League South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...
, 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 footba ...
and the
Central Riverina Football League The Central Riverina Football League was a minor Australian rules football competition which ran from 1949 until 1981 in the Riverina region of New South Wales. The league contained a number of historic clubs, many of which no longer exist. Histor ...
were all combined into 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 footbal ...
and the
Riverina District Football League 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 ...
. The district league reverted 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 footba ...
in 1985. There were two divisions of the Riverina DFL / Farrer FL between 1983 and 1994. In 1995, these two leagues came under one umbrella of the Murrumbidgee Valley Australian Football Association. Further south towards the Murray River, 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 ...
including teams from Albury formed as the Ovens & Murray Football Association in 1893. Clubs also formed in the smaller towns around the mid to late 1890's and early 1900's and played ad hoc fixtures against each other, as well as organising formal competitions during the first half of the 1900's in Southern Riverina and Central Riverina, such as the - *
Federal District Football Association The Federal District Football Association (FDFA) was first established in 1897 at a meeting at Gedye's Victoria Hotel, Cobram, Victoria for the purpose of controlling the " Cobram Courier Cup" Australian rules football competition. History Football ...
1897 – 1902 *
Deniliquin Football Association The Deniliquin Football Association (Deniliquin FA) was first established in 1900 to cater for Southern Riverina (New South Wales) Australian rules football clubs in and around Deniliquin. History In 1901, the Deniliquin footballers, under the name ...
: 1900 – 1932 *
McLaurin Football Competition McLaurin is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:: * Anselm J. McLaurin (1848–1909), American politician from Mississippi * Bette McLaurin, American singer * John L. McLaurin (1860–1934), American politician from South Carolina ...
: 1901 * Southern Riverina Football Association: 1905 – 1931 * Greengunyah Football Association: 1906 * Corowa & District Football Association: 1906 & 1907 *
Central Riverina Football League The Central Riverina Football League was a minor Australian rules football competition which ran from 1949 until 1981 in the Riverina region of New South Wales. The league contained a number of historic clubs, many of which no longer exist. Histor ...
: 1907 * Lockhart Football Association: 1908 & 1909, 1911 – 1914, 1921, 1925. * Coreen & District Football Association: 1909 – 1930 *
The Rock Football Association ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
: 1910 & 1911, 1914, * Culcairn & District Football Association 1910 – 1913, 1919 – 1921 * Barellan & District Football Association: 1912 * Walbundrie Football Association: 1914 * Milbrulong Football Association: 1914 & 1915 * Walla Walla Football Association: 1915 & 16, 1919 – 1921 * Urangeline Football Association: 1919 – 1926 *
Faithful & District Football Association The Faithful & District Football Association was an Australian Rules Football competition, based in the Riverina region of New South Wales first established in 1920 at a meeting of club delegates from the following football clubs - Greenvale, Fai ...
: 1920 – 1939 * Borree Creek Football Association: 1922 * Hume Football Association: 1922 – 1926 *
Lockhart Oaklands Line Football Association Lockhart may refer to: *Lockhart (surname) Places Australia *Lockhart, New South Wales *Lockhart River, Queensland * Lockhart River, Western Australia United States *Lockhart, Alabama *Lockhart, Florida *Lockhart, Minnesota *Lockhart, Sou ...
: 1923 & 1924 *
Riverina Football Association The Riverina Football Association was an Australian rules football competition formed in 1924 from the following clubs - Balldale, Brocklesby Culcairn, Henty Town, Henty Rovers, Holbrook and Walla Walla. History The Riverina Football Association wa ...
: 1924 – 1929 * Osborne & District Football Association: 1927 & 1928 * Lockhart & District Lines Football Association: 1929 * Central Hume Football Association: 1929 – 1934 *
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 – 1957 * Corowa & District Football Association: 1931 – 1935 *
Coreen & District Football League The Coreen & District Football League was an Australian rules football competition in the Coreen district of the Riverina in New South Wales, initially formed in 1909. The netball competition commenced in 1972 in line with the football fixture ...
: 1936 – 2007 At the conclusion of the 2007 season the Coreen league was disbanded with most of its clubs joining the Hume league for the 2008 season. In the modern era, the Riverina has produced a wealth of players for the VFL/AFL, including champion players such as
Wayne Carey Wayne Francis Carey (born 27 May 1971) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the North Melbourne Football Club and Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A dual-premiership captain at North Melbou ...
, Paul Kelly,
Dennis Carroll Dennis Carroll (born 7 November 1960) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the Sydney Swans in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He was the last South Melbourne player to retire for Sydney. From Ganmain, a small town o ...
,
John Longmire John Longmire (born 31 December 1970) is the current coach of the Sydney Swans. As a player, he represented the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) from 1988 to 1999. Early years Longmire was born in Corowa, ...
,
Leo Barry Leo Barry (born 19 May 1977) is a retired Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League (AFL) with the Sydney Swans. Originally from Deniliquin, New South Wales, Barry attended Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview, before being d ...
,
Shane Crawford Shane Barry Crawford (born 9 September 1974) is a former Australian rules football player, television media personality and author. He played 305 senior games for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) and won the ...
and
Brett Kirk Brett Kirk (born 25 October 1976) is a former Australian rules football player of the Sydney Swans and was the AFL's International Ambassador. Kirk is currently serving as an assistant coach with the Sydney Swans. AFL career Kirk grew up in Al ...
. Some other players from the region to have played AFL level football include
Isaac Smith (footballer) Isaac Smith (born 30 December 1988) is an Australian rules football player who plays with the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League. Smith started off playing for the Hawthorn Football Club, Smith is a four time premiership pl ...
,
Luke Breust Luke Breust (born 11 November 1990) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Early career Recruited from Temora, New South Wales, Breust played both rugby league and A ...
, Zac Williams, Dean Terlich and Sam Rowe. Australian rules football is the most popular sport in
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 ...
but is behind rugby league as the largest sport in
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 la ...
and
Griffith Griffith may refer to: People * Griffith (name) * Griffith (surname) * Griffith (given name) Places Antarctica * Mount Griffith, Ross Dependency * Griffith Peak (Antarctica), Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Glacier, Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Rid ...
.


Western New South Wales

Australian football was first played in
Broken Hill Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It is ...
in 1885 between Day Dream and Silverton. Informal competition began in 1888 between 4 clubs. The Barrier Ranges Football Association formed in 1890, which later became the
Broken Hill Football League The AFL Broken Hill (formerly, Broken Hill Football League) is an Australian rules football competition based in the Broken Hill region of New South Wales, Australia. Although located in the state of New South Wales the league is an affiliated m ...
. In recent years, the area has produced such players as
Dean Solomon Dean Solomon (born 9 January 1980) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club and the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Solomon served as caretaker senior coach ...
,
Brent Staker Brent Allen Staker (born 23 May 1984) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the West Coast Eagles and in the Australian Football League (AFL). Early life Staker grew up in Broken Hill in remote country New Sou ...
and Taylor Walker.
Steve Hywood Steve Hywood (born 31 May 1950) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Richmond in the Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the ...
played on the Half Back Flank for Richmond in the
1972 VFL Grand Final The 1972 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Richmond Football Club and Carlton Football Club at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 7 October 1972. It was the 75th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Footbal ...
losing to Carlton. Due to transfer problems he resumed his career at Glenelg in 1973 and played in the 1973 Glenelg Premiership team. Hywood was seen as one of the best Back Flankers ever to play the game.


Newcastle

Australian football was introduced to
Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle ( ; Awabakal: ) is a metropolitan area and the second most populated city in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas, and is the hub of the Greater Newcastle area, w ...
in 1883 when the Wallsend and Plattsburg Football Club was formed by miners from
Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...
. In 1888, the Black Diamond Cup, Australia's oldest existing and active sporting trophy, was first awarded to the champion team in the region. In 1889 a donation of five guineas by Northern Districts Football Association (Australian Rules) patron Mr. Stewart Keightley and a further donation of five guineas by the proprietors of the Newcastle Morning Herald led to the procurement of the Junior Challenge Cup. This Cup was supplied by A. J. Potter (Alfred John Potter), watchmaker and jeweller of Hunter Street Newcastle. Five clubs were established in the Newcastle area: Newcastle City, Wallsend and Plattsburg, Northumberland, Lambton, and Singleton. In 1883, a touring South Melbourne Football Club defeated a combined Northern District team by only one goal. In 1888, a touring c defeated Wallsend by 10 goals to 5. The following year, Wallsend defeated Fitzroy.
Isaac Heeney Isaac Heeney (born 5 May 1996) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing with the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League. Early life Heeney was born in Maitland, New South Wales to mother Rochelle and father Adam. He grew ...
was drafted by the Sydney Swans in 2014 making him the first Newcastle-born footballer to play in the AFL.


South Coast

The game was first played at a senior level in 196

There are eight teams that compete in the AFLSC senior's competition and eleventeams in the reserves. In terms of junior numbers there has been a significant expansion since 1999

AFL players to have come from the South Coast include
Arthur Chilcott Arthur Chilcott (born 26 February 1963) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the Sydney Swans in the Victorian Football League (1897–1989), Victorian Football League (VFL). Chilcott was recruited from Sydney club Western Su ...
, Aidan Riley and Ed Barlow.


North Coast

The game was first played in the
Coffs Harbour Coffs Harbour is a city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. It is one of the largest urban centres on the North Coast, with a population of 78,759 as per 2021 census. The Gumbaynggirr ...
area as late as 1978. The North Coast Australian Football League was formed in 1982 and grew rapidly with up to 8 clubs by 2000. In recent years the number of clubs has declined due to Woolgoolga, Nambucca, Kempsey and Urunga folding. North Coffs and South Coffs were forced to merge before the start of the 2015 season due to lack of player numbers. The area has produced AFL players including
Sam Gilbert Samuel Gilbert (born 19 August 1986) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Early life Gilbert is a rugby league convert who didn’t start playi ...
.


VFL / AFL competition in NSW


Sydney Swans

The debt ridden South Melbourne Football Club's team was moved to Sydney in 1982 and was renamed the
Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a reser ...
. It became the first team based outside of Victoria and represented the VFL's first serious attempt to broaden its competition, culminating in its extension into a national competition and renaming to the Australian Football League. One of the unfortunate consequences of the relocation of Swans from South Melbourne to Sydney was the attraction of support, including sponsorship away from the local Australian rules football clubs and leagues and there was an initial decline in the sport locally. The Swans' debt, much of it to the AFL not only hung over attempts to establish the Sydney Swans but now burdened Australian rules football in New South Wales. On 31 July 1985, Dr
Geoffrey Edelsten Geoffrey Walter Edelsten (2 May 1943 – 11 June 2021) was an Australian businessman and former physician known for founding the health care company Allied Medical Group. Edelsten was a general practitioner whose unconventional clinics a ...
, through Powerplay Limited, bought the Sydney Swans for $2.9 million in cash with debt payments, funding and other payments spread over five years (rumoured to be a total of $6.3 million). Powerplay was floated and sold shares to supports and the public but with only a licence to the team and debts the uptake was poor. Within less than twelve months, Edelsten resigned as chairman and by 1988 the licence was sold back to the VFL for just $10. Losses were in the millions. The AFL appointed a board to operate the team. Board members
Mike Willesee Michael Robert Willesee, (29 June 1942 – 1 March 2019) was an Australian television journalist, interviewer and presenter. Willesee was the son of politician senator Don Willesee; Mike first came to prominence in 1967 as a reporter for the ...
and Craig Kimberley together with Basil Sellers, Peter Weinert as a consortium known as the Private Ownership Group purchased the licence and operated the Sydney Swans until 1993, when the AFL again took over ownership of the team. With substantial monetary and management support from the AFL, the Sydney Swans continued and with player draft concessions in the early 1990s, has fielded a competitive team throughout the decade. In 1996 the Swans lost the grand final to
North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at the ...
, which had been their first appearance in a grand final since 1945. The game was played in front of 93,102 at the
MCG The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hem ...
. Since 1995, the Swans have only missed the finals five times, including in the COVID-affected 2020 season in which they played only four home games and finished third-last on the ladder. The culmination of the recent success was the 2005 premiership against the
West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known as the Victorian Football ...
played in front of 91,898 at the MCG, taking the flag to Sydney for the first time and breaking a 72-year drought for the club from when it was based in South Melbourne. It also broke the longest premiership drought in the history of the competition. Another flag followed not long after, in
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
. The AFL had eventually established the Swans in Sydney but the model of off-loading a debt-laden team to a new market had resulted in enormous cost to the AFL passed on to its other member clubs and ultimately supporters. Despite the eventual success of the Swans, the former Melbourne based club had struggled for many years to gain support of the Sydney public and the AFL and Australian rules football are still far behind rugby league in the Sydney market.


Establishment of a Second AFL Team: Greater Western Sydney Giants

The Australian Football League expressed intentions to invest in junior development in the growing Sydney market, particularly in Sydney's west and compete head on with the established
rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union and rugby league. Canadian football and, to a lesser extent, American football were once considered forms of rugby football, but are seldom now referred to as such. The ...
codes. A second team in Sydney became a key strategy of the AFL. In 1999 Sydney became a target for the
Proposed relocation of the North Melbourne Football Club The proposed relocation of the North Melbourne Football Club has been an ongoing issue for both the club and the Australian Football League (AFL) since the 1980s. The North Melbourne Football Club has been involved in several proposals, especiall ...
, however poor attendance at the club's home matches, low television viewership, and strong opposition from the Sydney Swans saw an end to the initiative. In 2005, the AFL went on a Sydney-centric recruitment drive, offering a NSW scholarships program and young apprentice scheme. By 2007, at least two of the NSW and ACT scholarship recipients had been officially promoted to AFL
rookie list The rookie list is a means for Australian Football League (AFL) clubs to maintain additional players outside the 38-man primary or senior list. Rookie listed players are not eligible to play in AFL home-and-away or finals matches unless they are e ...
s, qualifying them for selection in the senior squad in the event of long-term injury to listed players. In 2008, the AFL stated their intention to establish a second team in Sydney to be based in the western suburbs, as part of the expansion of the competition. This process was completed with the establishment of the
Greater Western Sydney Giants The Greater Western Sydney Giants (officially the Greater Western Sydney Football Club and colloquially known as the GWS Giants or simply GWS) are a professional Australian rules football team based in Sydney Olympic Park, which represents the ...
who played for a season in the
North East Australian Football League The North East Australian Football League (NEAFL) was an Australian rules football league in New South Wales, Queensland, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory. The league was formed in November 2010, and its inaugural co ...
prior to commencing competition in the Australian Football League in 2012. The Giants struggled in their early years, winning only three games in their first two seasons, but since then made gradual progress up the ladder, culminating in a Grand Final appearance in 2019. Although the Giants have been somewhat successful on the field, despite more than $200 million in AFL investment, the club has made little impact in growing attendance, television viewership or participation in the region.


AFL NSW/ACT Commission Limited

The AFL established the AFL NSW/ACT Commission Limited to
govern A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
its expansion in New South Wales and the
Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...
.


AFL Women's

GWS was awarded a license for the inaugural AFL Women's season with the Sydney Swans deciding not to bid for entry until later. The was awarded a license in 2021 and made its debut in round 1 AFL Women's Season 7 match against at the
North Sydney Oval North Sydney Oval is a multi-use sporting facility in North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, owned and operated by North Sydney Council. First used as a cricket ground in 1867, it is also used for Australian rules football, rugby league, rug ...
also setting a new record crowd for a stand alone women's Australian rules football in New South Wales on 27 August 2022 with 8,264 in attendance.


Participation

Ausplay reported that there were 69,168 regular participants in Australian rules in New South Wales in 2019.Ausplay Australian Football report 2019
/ref>
7,225 (adult) While lower than the AFL reported figure for 2011 of 131,829 (which included the ACT and 41,626 Auskick registrations) the state has now eclipsed rugby union participation in New South Wales. In 2012, the figure was 148,230 people of which 48,965 were Auskick registrations. In 2013, the number of Australian football participants in NSW and the ACT had jumped up to 177,949 of which 47,888 were Auskick participants. According to the AFL Football Record this means that the only state that has more Australian football players is Victoria. The Australian Bureau of Statistics "Children's Participation in Cultural and Leisure Activities, Australia, Apr 2009" estimated 18,000 Australian rules football participants in NSW and 1,400 in the ACT.(table 22) The ABS utilised a small sample size of 20,126 private dwelling in obtaining their data of participation numbers for 2011/12. In 2007, there were 7,225 senior players in NSW and the ACT and in 2006 a total of around 95,100 participants. Although Australian rules football was one of the fastest growing sports in the state, the overall participation per capita was only about 1%, the lowest in Australia


Audiences


Attendance Record

* 72,393 (2003). Australian Football League, AFL
Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a reser ...
v.
Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed the Magpies or colloquially the Pies, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. The club w ...
at
Stadium Australia Stadium Australia, currently known as Accor Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Sydney Olympic Park, in Sydney, Australia. The stadium, which in Australia is sometimes referred to as Sydney Olympic Stad ...
, Sydney.


Attendances

In 2006, the Sydney Swans averaged 41,205 people through the gate per home match. In 2013, the average had decreased to 29,104 with the suggestion that this was partly due to the redevelopment of the Bradman Stand at the SCG.


Major Australian rules football events in New South Wales

*
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 ...
premiership season (Sydney Swans and Greater Western Sydney Giants) * Sydney Derby – Swans v Giants (held twice annually at
ANZ Stadium ANZ may refer to: People * Anz (musician), a British DJ and electronic musician Banks * ANZ (bank), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, the fourth-largest bank in Australia ** ANZ Bank New Zealand, the largest bank in New Zealand ...
starting in 2012) *Annual Exhibition Match (North Sydney Oval) Sydney Swans vs Essendon


Notable players

A number of notable players have been born in New South Wales or played the majority of their junior careers in New South Wales; many of these players have been from the traditional Australian rules football areas of Broken Hill or the Riverina. Australian football pioneers
Tom Wills Thomas Wentworth Wills (19 August 1835 – 2 May 1880) was an Australian sportsman who is credited with being Australia's first cricketer of significance and a founder of Australian rules football. Born in the British penal colony of New ...
and
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 incarnat ...
were born in New South Wales in the 1830s. Notable players from the Riverina include:
Australian Football Hall of Fame The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the Centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media personalities, coa ...
Legend
Haydn Bunton, Sr. Haydn William Bunton (5 July 1911 – 5 September 1955) was an Australian rules footballer who represented in the Victorian Football League (VFL), in the West Australian Football League (WAFL), and in the South Australian National Football Le ...
(
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 was the first player born in New South Wales to win the
Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as "Charlie"), is awarded to the " best and fairest" player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by ...
and the
Sandover Medal The Sandover Medal is an Australian rules football award, given annually since 1921 to the fairest and best player in the West Australian Football League. The award was donated by Alfred Sandover M.B.E., a prominent Perth hardware merchant and be ...
, in 1931 and 1938 respectively; Paul Kelly from Wagga the first New South Welshman to win the Brownlow,
Shane Crawford Shane Barry Crawford (born 9 September 1974) is a former Australian rules football player, television media personality and author. He played 305 senior games for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) and won the ...
( Finley) who won the Brownlow in 1999; and
Wayne Carey Wayne Francis Carey (born 27 May 1971) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the North Melbourne Football Club and Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A dual-premiership captain at North Melbou ...
(Wagga), won the
Leigh Matthews Trophy The Leigh Matthews Trophy is an annual award given by the AFL Players Association to the Most Valuable Player in the Australian Football League. It is named in honour of Leigh Matthews, who won the first MVP award in 1982, when the league was st ...
twice in the 1990s. Notable players from Broken Hill include
Dave Low David Low (6 April 1887 – 4 August 1916) was an Australian rules footballer who played with West Torrens in the South Australian Football League (SAFL). Originally from Broken Hill, Low was a defender and debuted for West Torrens in 1910. He ...
, Robert Barnes and
Bruce McGregor Harry Bruce McGregor (7 January 1903 in Broken Hill, New South Wales – 21 March 1990) was an Australian rules footballer who played with West Adelaide and South Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). His son Ken ...
, who all won
Magarey Medal The Magarey Medal is an Australian rules football honour awarded annually since 1898 to the fairest and most brilliant player in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), as judged by field umpires. The award was created by Willia ...
s in the 1910s and 1920s, and Jack Owens, a three-time
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 ...
(SANFL) leading goalkicker. Many notable players have also been recruited from Sydney, as the game has had a long history, having been played in the city since 1880. This pre-dates many other major sports. Despite the lack of media attention the game has received, Sydney has still generated many players of high quality. Some of the best include
Roger Duffy Roger Duffy is an American architect, known for rigorous and unconventional approach to design. Now retired, he worked as a partner at the firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. He was a design partner in the New York office from 1995 until 2018, an ...
( 1954 premiership player who was recruited from Newtown), Michael Byrne (1983 premiership player with Hawthorn who was recruited from the Sydney club of North Shore), Bob Merrick (a leading goal kicker in the 1920s recruited from East Sydney), Mark Roberts a 202-game AFL player from 1985 to 1999 who played junior football for Ramsgate AFC and senior football for St. George AFC before playing in the AFL for the Sydney Swans, Brisbane Bears and North Melbourne, notably in their 1996 premiership,
Greg Stafford Francis Gregory Stafford (February 9, 1948 – October 10, 2018), usually known as Greg Stafford, was an American game designer, publisher, and practitioner of shamanism. Stafford is most famous as the creator of the fantasy world of Glorantha ...
(a 200-game player recruited from Western Suburbs in Sydney),
Jarrad McVeigh Jarrad McVeigh (born 7 April 1985) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is the younger brother of former Essendon midfielder Mark McVeigh. He was co-captain of the ...
(2012 AFL premiership captain) and his brother
Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fi ...
(who played for ),
Lewis Roberts-Thomson Lewis Roberts-Thomson (born 8 September 1983 in Sydney) is a former Australian Rules Football player, who played for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League. He has been colloquially known to fans and commentators as either "LRT" or ...
(2005 & 2012 premiership player for the Swans) and
Lenny Hayes Lenny Hayes (born 14 January 1980) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) from 1999 to 2014. He is currently an assistant coach at the St Kilda Fo ...
(
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
Norm Smith Medal The Norm Smith Medal is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best on ground in the Grand Final of the Australian Football League (AFL). Prior to 1990 the competition was known as the Victorian Football ...
list) amongst others.Wilks, M. (2011) ''Australian football clubs in NSW'' Bas Publishing. p. 61 & 75 File:Kieren Jack 2019.11.jpg, Keiren Jack, former Sydney Swans captain is from Sydney. His father
Garry Jack Garry Jack (born 14 March 1961) is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He was a representative in the Australian national team and star player with the Balmain Tigers. Jack was a for the Tigers during the late 1980s, and ea ...
was an
Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...
representative rugby league footballer. File:Matt Suckling 2018.2.jpg,
Matt Suckling Matthew Suckling (born 25 July 1988) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club and Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL). Suckling is known as a player with precision kicking and link ...
, premiership player, is from Wagga File:McVeigh controls it on the way down, Syd v PA 2009 (3558526065) (cropped).jpg,
Jarrad McVeigh Jarrad McVeigh (born 7 April 1985) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is the younger brother of former Essendon midfielder Mark McVeigh. He was co-captain of the ...
Sydney Swans premiership player is from Sydney File:Cameron Mooney (cropped).jpg,
Cameron Mooney Cameron Mooney (born 26 September 1979) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the North Melbourne and Geelong Football Clubs in the Australian Football League (AFL). A forward, tall and weighing , Mooney is renowned for hi ...
3 time premiership player is from Wagga File:13. Adam Schneider, St Kilda FC 01.jpg,
Adam Schneider Adam Schneider (born 12 May 1984) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Sydney Swans and St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is currently the assistant coach of the Greater Weste ...
Sydney premiership player is from
Osborne Osborne may refer to: * Osborne (name) Places Australia * Osborne, South Australia (disambiguation), places associated with the suburb in the Adelaide metropolitan area * Osborne, New South Wales, a rural community in the Riverina region Can ...
File:Brett kirk.jpg,
Brett Kirk Brett Kirk (born 25 October 1976) is a former Australian rules football player of the Sydney Swans and was the AFL's International Ambassador. Kirk is currently serving as an assistant coach with the Sydney Swans. AFL career Kirk grew up in Al ...
, Sydney Swans premiership player and coach is 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 ...
File:Lewis-Roberts-Thomson-1211.JPG, Lewis Roberts-Thompson Sydney Swans premiership player is from Sydney File:7. Lenny Hayes, St Kilda FC 01.jpg,
Lenny Hayes Lenny Hayes (born 14 January 1980) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) from 1999 to 2014. He is currently an assistant coach at the St Kilda Fo ...
AFL Hall of Famer is from Sydney File:John Longmire 2017.2.jpg,
John Longmire John Longmire (born 31 December 1970) is the current coach of the Sydney Swans. As a player, he represented the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) from 1988 to 1999. Early years Longmire was born in Corowa, ...
premiership player and coach is from
Corowa Corowa is a town in the state of New South Wales in Australia. It is on the bank of the Murray River, the border between New South Wales and Victoria, opposite the Victorian town of Wahgunyah. It is the largest town in the Federation Council a ...
File:Neale Daniher.jpg,
Neale Daniher Neale Francis Daniher (born 15 February 1961) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was later the coach of the Melbourne Football Club between 1998 and 20 ...
is from
West Wyalong West Wyalong is the main town of the Bland Shire in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Located west of Sydney and above sea level, it is situated on the crossroads of the Newell Highway between Melbourne and Brisbane, and the ...
File:GHFC Wayne Carey 110719 gnangarra-100-2.jpg,
Wayne Carey Wayne Francis Carey (born 27 May 1971) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the North Melbourne Football Club and Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A dual-premiership captain at North Melbou ...
North Melbourne premiership captain is from Wagga File:Paul Kelly (the footballer) (7176553482).jpg, Statue of Paul Kelly, Brownlow Medallist Sydney Swans captain and rugby league convert was from Wagga File:Bruce McGregor, Adelaide News, Page 13, 14 July 1927.png,
Bruce McGregor Harry Bruce McGregor (7 January 1903 in Broken Hill, New South Wales – 21 March 1990) was an Australian rules footballer who played with West Adelaide and South Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). His son Ken ...
was from
Broken Hill Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It is ...
File:Haydn Bunton Snr leap.jpg,
Haydn Bunton Sr. Haydn William Bunton (5 July 1911 – 5 September 1955) was an Australian rules footballer who represented in the Victorian Football League (VFL), in the West Australian Football League (WAFL), and in the South Australian National Football Le ...
was from Albury File:HCA Colden Harrison.jpg,
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 incarnat ...
one of the fathers of Australian Rules Football was from Picton


Current Players


Men's

File:Tom_Hawkins_2019.4.jpg, Tom Hawkins, Geelong premiership player is from Finley File:Taylor_Walker_2019.1.jpg, Taylor Walker, former Adelaide captain is from
Broken Hill Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It is ...
File:Isaac Smith 28.02.20.jpg, Isaac Smith, Hawthorn and Geelong premiership player is from
Cootamundra Cootamundra, nicknamed Coota, is a town in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia and within the Riverina. It is within the Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council. At the 2016 Census, Cootamundra had a population of 6,782. ...
File:Jarrod_Witts_2018.2.jpg,
Jarrod Witts Jarrod Witts (born 13 September 1992) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Gold Coast Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Collingwood Football Club from 2012 to 2016. W ...
is from
Normanhurst Normanhurst is a suburb in the Northern Sydney region, or Upper North Shore of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia, 22 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Hornsby Sh ...
in Sydney File:Harry_Cunningham_2017.2.jpg, Harry Cunningham is from
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 la ...
File:Luke_Breust_2018.3.jpg,
Luke Breust Luke Breust (born 11 November 1990) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Early career Recruited from Temora, New South Wales, Breust played both rugby league and A ...
, Hawthorn premiership player is from Temora File:Zac_Williams_2017.1.jpg, Zac Williams is from
Narrandera Narrandera ( ) until around 1949 also spelled "Narandera", is a town located in the Riverina region of southern New South Wales, Australia. The town lies on the junction of the Newell and Sturt highways, adjacent to the Murrumbidgee River, and ...
File:Dane_Rampe_2017.1.jpg,
Dane Rampe Dane Rampe (born 2 June 1990) is an Australian rules football player who plays for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). He has served as co-captain of the Swans since the 2019 season. Early life Rampe was born in Sydney and ...
is from
Clovelly Clovelly () is a privately-owned harbour village in the Torridge district of Devon, England. The settlement and surrounding land belongs to John Rous who inherited it from his mother in 1983. He belongs to the Hamlyn family who have managed th ...
in Sydney File:Dougal_Howard_2018.1.jpg,
Dougal Howard Dougal Howard (born 25 March 1996) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Formerly playing for Port Adelaide, which recruited him with pick 56 in the 201 ...
is from
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 la ...
File:Sam_Naismith_2017.2.jpg, Sam Naismith is from
Gunnedah Gunnedah is a town in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia and is the seat of the Gunnedah Shire local government area. In the the town recorded a population of 9,726. Gunnedah is situated within the Liverpool Plains, a fertile agricultur ...
File:Isaac_Heeney_2017.1.jpg,
Isaac Heeney Isaac Heeney (born 5 May 1996) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing with the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League. Early life Heeney was born in Maitland, New South Wales to mother Rochelle and father Adam. He grew ...
is from
Maitland Maitland is an English and Scottish surname. It arrived in Britain after the Norman conquest of 1066. There are two theories about its source. It is either a nickname reference to "bad temper/disposition" (Old French, ''Maltalent''; Anglo Norm ...
File:Jeremy_Finlayson_2018.1.jpg,
Jeremy Finlayson Jeremy Finlayson (born 9 February 1996) is a professional Australian rules footballer who plays for the Port Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), having been initially drafted to . He is now playing for Port Adelai ...
is from
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 sta ...
File:Jacob_Hopper_2018.4.jpg,
Jacob Hopper Jacob Hopper (born 6 February 1997) is a professional Australian rules footballer for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), having previously played for . Early life Hopper was born in New South Wales and grew ...
is from Leeton File:Daniel_Lloyd_2018.1.jpg, Daniel Lloyd is from the Central Coast File:Harrison_Himmelberg_2017.2.jpg,
Harrison Himmelberg Harrison George Himmelberg (born 8 May 1996) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the Australian Football League (AFL). Early life Himmelberg was born in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales ...
is from
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 la ...
File:Max_Lynch_11.07.21.jpg,
Max Lynch Max Lynch (born 12 September 1998) is a professional Australian rules footballer who plays for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), having been initially drafted to the Collingwood Football Club. Early football Ly ...
is from
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 ...
File:Matthew_Kennedy_2018.1.jpg, Matthew Kennedy is from
Collingullie History Collingullie () is a village north-west of Wagga Wagga in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The village is located on the Sturt Highway, between Wagga Wagga and Narrandera, at the crossroads with the road to Lockhar ...
File:Callum_Mills_2017.4.jpg,
Callum Mills Callum Mills (born 2 April 1997) is a professional Australian rules footballer and co-captain of the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). He won the 2016 NAB AFL Rising Star Award for his outstanding breakout season. Early ...
is from
Northern Beaches The Northern Beaches is a region within Northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, near the Pacific coast. This area extends south to the entrance of Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour), west to Middle Harbour and north to the entra ...
in Sydney File:Harry_Perryman_2017.2.jpg,
Harry Perryman Harry Perryman (born 19 December 1998) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the Australian Football League (AFL). Early life Perryman was raised in the small Riverina town of Collingu ...
is from
Collingullie History Collingullie () is a village north-west of Wagga Wagga in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The village is located on the Sturt Highway, between Wagga Wagga and Narrandera, at the crossroads with the road to Lockhar ...
File:James_Bell_2019.4.jpg, James Bell is from
Shellharbour Shellharbour (also known as Shellharbour Village) is a suburb located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. It also gives its name to the local government area, City of Shellharbour, and its central business district, Shellhar ...
File:Sam_Wicks_2019.7.jpg, Sam Wicks is from Manly in Sydney


Women's

File:Chloe_Dalton_23.03.19.jpg, Chloe Dalton is from Sydney File:Amanda_Farrugia_03.02.18.jpg, Amanda Farrugia was recruited from Sydney File:Brenna_Tarrant_06.02.21.jpg, Brenna Tarrant is from Blaxland File:Nicola_Barr_18.02.18.jpg,
Nicola Barr Nicola Barr (born 13 June 1996) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the AFL Women's competition. Early life Barr was born in Melbourne but spent most of her early years living outside of Australia ...
was schooled in Sydney File:Ashleigh_Brazill_09.02.19.jpg,
Ashleigh Brazill Ashleigh Brazill (born 29 December 1989 in Campbelltown, New South Wales) is an Australian netball and AFL Women's player, playing both sports concurrently for Collingwood Football Club. She has played for the West Coast Fever and New South Wa ...
is from Campbelltown File:Erin_McKinnon_18.02.18.jpg, Erin McKinnon All Australian was recruited from Sydney File:Rebecca_Beeson_03.02.18.jpg, Rebecca Beeson was recruited from Sydney File:Sophie_Casey_18.02.18.jpg,
Sophie Casey Sophie Casey (born 22 October 1991) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Collingwood Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). Early life and state football Born in Holbrook, New South Wales, Casey was introduced to footy with Ausk ...
is from
Holbrook Holbrook may refer to: Places England *Holbrook, Derbyshire, a village * Holbrook, Somerset, a hamlet in Charlton Musgrove * Holbrook, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, a former mining village in Mosborough ward, now known as Halfway *Holbrook, Suffolk, ...
File:Jodie_Hicks_03.02.18.jpg, Jodie Hicks is from
Hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticat ...
File:Maddy_Collier_2018.1.jpg, Maddy Collier was recruited from Sydney File:Gabby_Colvin_06.02.21.jpg,
Gabrielle Colvin Gabrielle Colvin (born 1 March 1991) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club#AFL Women's team, Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). Colvin was drafted by Melbourne with their third selection and s ...
is from Wagga


Representative Team

The New South Wales representative team, nicknamed the Blues, played Interstate matches against other Australian states and Territories. The team wore a blue uniform with a Waratah symbol badge and until the 1970s was the only representative team to buck the trend of sleeveless guernseys (in effort to fit with the fashions in rugby). The Blues defeated the powerhouse
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 ...
team in 1923 and also in 1990 under State of Origin rules at the
Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and as ...
. Its final appearance was at the 1988 Adelaide Bicentennial Carnival. In 1993 the game's new governing body, the
AFL Commission The AFL Commission is the official governing body of the Australian Football League Limited (AFL), its subsidiaries and controlled entities. Richard Goyder has been chairman since 4 April 2017, replacing Mike Fitzpatrick. It was formed in 1985 ...
created a composite team with the Australian Capital Territory, the NSW/ACT Rams. Notable New South Welshmen in this team included
Wayne Carey Wayne Francis Carey (born 27 May 1971) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the North Melbourne Football Club and Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A dual-premiership captain at North Melbou ...
and
Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as "Charlie"), is awarded to the " best and fairest" player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by ...
ist
Shane Crawford Shane Barry Crawford (born 9 September 1974) is a former Australian rules football player, television media personality and author. He played 305 senior games for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) and won the ...
. Senior players have not represented the state since. NSW was an inaugural participant in the National underage titles. It competed from 1993-2016 as NSW/ACT after which it was dropped from the national championships and instead now competes in the
TAC Cup The NAB League Boys (also referred to as simply the NAB League and formerly known as the TAC Cup) is an under-19 Australian rules football representative competition held in Australia. It is based on geographic regions throughout country Victo ...
. :See Also
Interstate matches in Australian rules football Representative matches in Australian rules football are matches between representative teams played under the Australian rules, most notably of the colonies and later Australian states and territories that have been held since 1879. For most o ...


Principal venues

The following venues are the largest that meet AFL Standard criteria and have been used to host AFL (National Standard) or AFLW level matches (Regional Standard) and have hosted such matches in the last decade.AFL PREFERRED FACILITY GUIDELINES
Aflcommunityclub.com.au


Sydney

*
Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and as ...
*
Stadium Australia Stadium Australia, currently known as Accor Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Sydney Olympic Park, in Sydney, Australia. The stadium, which in Australia is sometimes referred to as Sydney Olympic Stad ...
, Sydney Olympic Park. *
Sydney Showground Stadium Sydney Showground Stadium (Known commercially as GIANTS Stadium during the AFL Season) is a sports and events stadium located at the Sydney Showground in Sydney Olympic Park. It hosted the baseball events for the 2000 Summer Olympics. The Show ...
, Sydney Olympic Park. *
North Sydney Oval North Sydney Oval is a multi-use sporting facility in North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, owned and operated by North Sydney Council. First used as a cricket ground in 1867, it is also used for Australian rules football, rugby league, rug ...
*
Blacktown ISP Oval Blacktown International Sportspark Oval is an Australian rules football and cricket ground located in Rooty Hill, a suburb in Sydney, Australia. The stadium was constructed in 2009 as part of the Blacktown International Sportspark. It has a capa ...
, Rooty Hill. *
Bruce Purser Reserve Bruce Purser Reserve is a sports facility in Kellyville, an outer suburb of Sydney, Australia. It was constructed in 2008 on the site of a former rubbish tip, at the corner of Commercial Road and Withers Road. Its main feature is a grassed oval ...
, Kellyville. *Ern Holmes Oval, Pennant Hills. *
Henson Park Henson Park is a multi purpose sports ground in Marrickville, New South Wales, Australia. History It was established in 1933 on the site of Daley's brick pit, Thomas Daley operated the Standsure Brick Company from 1886 to 1914. The brickworks ...
, Marrickville. *Picken Oval, Croydon Park *
Trumper Park Oval Trumper Park Oval is a sporting oval in Paddington, New South Wales. The oval is located at the corner of Glenmore Road & Hampden Street, Paddington and is named in honour of Victor Trumper. The oval has a long history of catering for Australian ...
, Paddington. *Monarch Oval, Macquarie Fields. *Village Green,
University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...
, Kensington. *
Drummoyne Oval Drummoyne Oval is a multi-use sports ground in the Sydney inner-west suburb of Drummoyne, New South Wales. The ground has been used for international women's cricket matches, domestic men's cricket matches and first grade rugby league as well as ...
*Gore Hill Oval *Olds Park, Penshurst. * University Oval, University of Sydney. *
Jubilee Oval Jubilee Stadium, also known as Kogarah Oval or by its sponsored name Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, is a multipurpose stadium in Carlton, New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. The stadium is mainly used for rugby league and the A-League, and is o ...
, Carlton


Regional NSW

*
Lavington Sports Ground Lavington Sports Ground (known as "Lavington Panthers Oval" between 2001 and 2009) is a sports ground located in the suburb of Hamilton Valley near Lavington on the north-west fringe of the city of Albury, Australia. The oval is nestled in ...
, Hamilton Valley, Albury. *
Newcastle Number 1 Sports Ground Newcastle Number 1 Sports Ground is a multi-use stadium located in Newcastle, New South Wales, and has a nominated capacity of approximately 10,000. It neighbours Newcastle Number 2 Sports Ground. Cricket It is currently used mostly for cric ...
, Newcastle *
Coffs Harbour International Stadium The Coffs Harbour International Stadium (known as the C.ex Coffs International Stadium under a sponsorship arrangement) is an Australian stadium located in the coastal city of Coffs Harbour, New South Wales. The stadium was opened in June 1994, ...
, Coffs Harbour *Narrandera Sports Ground, Narrandera *
North Dalton Park North Dalton Park is located on Pioneer Rd, Towradgi, in the northern suburbs of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. The ground has a grandstand on the western side, where 430 plastic bucket seats were installed over the concrete steps in e ...
, Towradgi, Wollongong. *
Robertson Oval The Robertson Oval is a multi-use sports facility in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia. It primarily hosts cricket, Australian rules football and rugby league matches. A grass embankment runs around three-quarters of the oval with a 350 ...
, Wagga Wagga


Books

# #


References


External links


The Hidden Story of Australian Rules in Sydney
*
Sydney Australian Football Foundation
– non-profit organisation assisting development of the code in Sydney {{Aussie Rules Playing Nations links
New New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...
History of Australian rules football