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Australian rules football in the Riverina

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In the Riverina, Australian rules football is the equal most popular football code (with rugby league) and has a long history since the establishment of the Federal Football Club (founded 1861 now known as the Wagga Tigers) with the earliest recorded interclub match occurring in 1881 against the Albury Football Club (founded 1876). Unusually for New South Wales, Australian rules football is quite popular in the Murray and Southern Riverina especially in the larger cities of Albury and Wagga Wagga. The region is considered to form part of the Barassi Line which divides areas where Australian rules and rugby are popular. There are many clubs and leagues in the district, including the Riverina Football League, Farrer Football League, Hume Football League and Northern Riverina Football League. In addition, many clubs along the border play in Victorian leagues such as the Ovens & Murray Football League, Murray Football League, Picola & District Football League and the Golden Rivers Football League.[1]

The Murray region of western New South Wales, sometimes referred to as the southern Riverina, though the state's least populated, had by 2021 become the highest per capita producer of AFL talent in the world, far surpassing Melbourne's by the same measure.[2] The "Wagga Effect" is a term that has been used frequently in the Australian media to describe the disproportionately large number of elite sportsmen and women that originate from the region.[3] It is speculated that the phenomenon may arise in rural areas where the population is large enough to sustain the presence of a large number of sporting codes, but small enough to ensure that talented individuals are exposed to adult-level competition at an earlier age.

History

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See also: Australian rules football in New South Wales
Wagga combined public schools team that defeated Sydney Fort Street Public School in 1906.

The Wagga Tigers were established in 1861 as the Federal Football Club, however details of its early history are scant, though early records appear to indicate that it aligned with Victorian rules and held local scratch matches. An 1874 ban placed on Victorian rules by the Southern Rugby Union (SRU), which governed football in New South Wales, made it extremely difficult for clubs in the region to compete, this was despite no rugby matches being played there. This did not stop the Albury Football Club from forming in 1876 to play under Victorian Rules though it was forced to cross the border to Beechworth, Victoria for its first match against the Beechworth Football Club in 1876[4][5] Newspaper records indicate that clubs like Wagga and Albury clubs were actively organising local scratch matches as early as 1878.[6] Despite this both clubs came very close to folding due to the SRU ban and lack of local competition.

By 1882 further clubs had formed including Albury Mechanics (1881), Wagga Mechanics (1882) and Narrandera, while they initially struggled to coordinate with nearby clubs and typically travelled to northern Victoria, the increase in clubs introduced the possibility of local interclub competition. The earliest records of an interclub match there was in 1881 between the Federals (Wagga) and Albury Football Club in Wagga,[7] just a year before the first recorded rugby union matches were held in the region.[8] Victorian rules clubs were disallowed to respond to requests to compete with other local clubs such as Yass Football Club which had formed in 1878 as one of the first SRU clubs in the region.[9]

Local competition between clubs commenced in earnest in 1884 around Wagga Wagga which became the Wagga Football Association.[8] which was immensely popular and grew rapidly.

Further south towards the Murray River, the Ovens & Murray Football League included teams from Albury that formed as the Ovens & Murray Football Association in 1893.

In 1905, the Wagga Football Association representative side lost a close match against the Fitzroy Football Club at Wagga.[10]

In 1929, Riverina separated from control of the NSWFA with its own governing body, the Southern Districts Australian National Football Council headquartered in Wagga.[11]

In these early days, the Ovens and Murray Football League produced champion players including Haydn Bunton, Sr., who was born in Albury and played with the Albury Rovers FC, Albury Football Club, and West Albury prior to playing with Fitzroy in the VFL in 1931.

In the early 1930s, rugby league began to rapidly outgrow Australian Football in the larger centres of the Riverina. Among the main reasons was its decision to listen to the public and hold its games on Sundays and align train timetables with matches, a move which proved very popular.[12]

In 1933, the Australian National Football Council granted the Victorian Football League direct control over the Riverina, the move effectively meant that the VFL did not have to transfers for players from New South Wales, paving the way for easier recruitment.[13]

By the late 1930s, the popularity of Australian Football was booming in the smaller towns of the northern Riverina, displacing rugby league, particularly in Ungarie and West Wyalong.[14][15]

Mangoplah Football Club which won the A&DFL premiership pennant for 1950

In 1944, rugby league authorities from Sydney began a campaign to oust Australian rules from the Riverina, and were successful in having it banned from public schools in Albury, Wagga, and Junee to be replaced by Rugby League. The move was in part an effort to expand rugby league into Victoria.[16] Rugby League successfully held schoolboy carnivals in Junee aimed at growing further south.[17] However Victoria began directing funds to help the game survive.[18][19] By 1947, the code began making a comeback in Narrandera, where rugby league had taken over.[20] By 1951, however it was once again under threat in Junee, Leeton, Griffith and Wagga.[21] However, in 1953, Australian Football was once again declared the most popular code in the region with huge crowds and gate takings across the northern Riverina including Leeton, Griffith, Narrandera and Culcairn.[22]

In 1982, at the instigation of the Victorian Country Football League (who had jurisdiction over the area at the time), the South Western District Football League, the Farrer Football League, and the Central Riverina Football League were all combined into the Riverina Football League and the Riverina District Football League. The district league reverted to the Farrer Football League in 1985. There were two divisions of the Riverina DFL / Farrer FL between 1983 and 1994. In 1995, these two leagues were part of the Murrumbidgee Valley Australian Football Association.

Robertson Oval Wagga, from the air, is one of the larger RFNL venues
RFNL match between Wagga Tigers and Collingullie at Robertson Oval in 2015

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.

According to studies in the 2010s and 2020s, Australian rules football is continuing to expand north into the northern Riverina, one of the only areas of the Barassi line which are moving.

Competitions

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Current Competitions

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League Years Senior clubs Divisions Headquarters Notes/References
Northern Riverina Football League 1924- 5 1 West Wyalong
Hume Football League 1933- 9 1 Walla Walla
Farrer Football League 1957- 9 1 Wagga Wagga
Riverina Football Netball League 1982- 9 1 Wagga Wagga

Past Competitions

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League Years with Riverina clubs Senior clubs Divisions Headquarters Notes/References
Wagga Football Association 1888-1889 Wagga Wagga, New South Wales[23]
Wagga United Football Association 1897 Wagga Wagga, New South Wales[24]
Murrumbidgee District Football Association 1897 Wagga Wagga, New South Wales
Federal District Football Association 1897–1902 Cobram, Victoria
Wagga United Football Association 1898–1921 Wagga Wagga, New South Wales
Deniliquin Football Association 1900–1932 Deniliquin, New South Wales
McLaurin Football Competition 1901
Southern Riverina Football Association 1905–1931
Greengunyah Football Association 1906
Corowa & District Football Association 1906–1907 Corowa, New South Wales
Central Riverina Football League 1907 [25]
Lockhart Football Association 1908–1909, 1911–1914, 1921, 1925
Coreen & District Football Association 1909–1930
The Rock Football Association 1910–1911, 1914
Culcairn & District Football Association 1910–1913, 1919–1921 Culcairn, New South Wales
Ganmain Football Association 1910-1913 Wagga Wagga, New South Wales
Barellan & District Football Association 1912 [26]
South West Football League 1913-1981 Narrandera, New South Wales
Walbundrie Football Association 1914
Milbrulong Football Association 1914–1915
Walla Walla Football Association 1915–1916, 1919–1921 Walla Walla, New South Wales
Urangeline Football Association 1919–1926
Faithful & District Football Association 1920–1939
Borree Creek Football Association 1922
Riverina Mainline Football Association 1922 Wagga Wagga, New South Wales
Hume Football Association 1922–1926
Lockhart Oaklands Line Football Association 1923–1924
Wagga United Football Association 1923-1925 Wagga Wagga, New South Wales[27][28][29])
The Rock and District Association 1926–1927 Wagga Wagga, New South Wales[30][31]
Wagga and District Association 1926–1927 Wagga Wagga, New South Wales[32][33]
Osborne & District Football Association 1927–1928
Wagga Football Association 1928–1957 Wagga Wagga, New South Wales
Lockhart & District Lines Football Association 1929
Central Hume Football Association 1929–1934
Albury & District Football League 1930-1957 Albury, New South Wales
Corowa & District Football Association 1931–1935
Coreen & District Football League 1936–2007

Players

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Haydn Bunton, an Australian Football legend from the 1930s and 1940s in a photo that became the basis of a statue outside the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Early in the 20th Century notable players included Haydn Bunton, Denis Ryan, Gordon Strang, Doug Strang and Maurie Hunter. During the 1970s, the region produced a famous footballer family, the Danihers from the Ungarie Football Club: Terry Daniher, Neale Daniher, Anthony Daniher, and Chris Daniher.[34] In the modern era, the Riverina had many players for the VFL/AFL, including champions such as Wayne Carey, Paul Kelly, Dennis Carroll, John Longmire, Leo Barry, Shane Crawford, and Brett Kirk. Some other players from the region to have played AFL level football include Isaac Smith, Luke Breust, Zac Williams, Dean Terlich, and Sam Rowe.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Senior Leagues and Clubs". AFL NSW/ACT. Archived from the original on 23 August 2006. Retrieved 29 January 2007.
  2. ^ Inside the game: Which locations have provided the AFL with the most talent and the best players? By Cody Atkinson and Sean Lawson 12 May 2022
  3. ^ Farley, Edwina (11 November 2005). "Sports stars more likely to come from the bush". ABC Rural. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 20 January 2007.
  4. ^ A Brief History of Football in Wagga. The Riverina Weekender. 23 February 2013
  5. ^ "1876 – Beechworth FC v Albury FC". Trove Newspapers. Ovens and Murray Advertiser. 11 July 1876. p. 2.
  6. ^ "Advertising". Wagga Wagga Advertiser. Vol. IX, no. 333. New South Wales, Australia. 27 July 1878. p. 4. Retrieved 9 July 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ "1881 - Football". Wagga Wagga Advertiser. Wagga Wagga Advertiser (NSW). 2 August 1881. p. 2. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  8. ^ a b A Brief History of Football in Wagga. The Riverina Weekender. 23 February 2013
  9. ^ "YASS FOOTBALL CLUB". The Yass Courier. Vol. XXV, no. 2334. New South Wales, Australia. 9 June 1881. p. 2. Retrieved 9 July 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ "1905 - Fitzroy v Wagga". Wagga Wagga Express (NSW). 22 June 1905. p. 3. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  11. ^ "RIVERINA COUNCIL". Weekly Times. No. 3218. Victoria, Australia. 1 June 1929. p. 74. Retrieved 28 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. ^ "FOSTERING THE GAME IN RIVERINA". Weekly Times. No. 3474. Victoria, Australia. 28 April 1934. p. 60 (FIRST EDITION). Retrieved 28 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. ^ "AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL". Narandera Argus and Riverina Advertiser. No. 10, 306. New South Wales, Australia. 3 March 1933. p. 3. Retrieved 28 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. ^ "IS RUGBY DOOMED?". The West Wyalong Advocate. New South Wales, Australia. 30 July 1937. p. 5. Retrieved 28 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. ^ "ON THE BALL". The West Wyalong Advocate. New South Wales, Australia. 6 May 1938. p. 7. Retrieved 28 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. ^ "RUGBY IS OUSTING CODE IN RIVERINA". Sporting Globe. No. 2523. Victoria, Australia. 24 August 1946. p. 6 (Edition2). Retrieved 25 September 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  17. ^ "Game Dying In The Riverina". Sporting Globe. No. 2401. Victoria, Australia. 27 June 1945. p. 16 (Edition1). Retrieved 28 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  18. ^ "AUSTRALIAN RULES PLAN TO ENLARGE GAME IN RIVERINA". The Gundagai Independent. No. 4739. New South Wales, Australia. 28 February 1946. p. 8. Retrieved 28 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  19. ^ "'Rules Move To Counter League". The Daily Telegraph. Vol. XI, no. 91. New South Wales, Australia. 8 July 1946. p. 19. Retrieved 28 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  20. ^ "SOCCER, RUGBY "TAKING OVER" IN PARKLANDS". The Sun News-pictorial. No. 7777. Victoria, Australia. 30 August 1947. p. 28. Retrieved 28 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  21. ^ "Menace of Rugby in the Riverina". Sporting Globe. No. 2990. Victoria, Australia. 7 February 1951. p. 13. Retrieved 28 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  22. ^ "AUST. RULES HAS HAD A RECORD YEAR". Daily Advertiser. New South Wales, Australia. 11 September 1953. p. 6. Retrieved 28 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  23. ^ "1888 - Wagga Football Association". Wagga Wagga Advertiser. Wagga Wagga Advertiser (NSW). 2 October 1888. p. 2. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  24. ^ "1890 - Wagga United Football Association". Wagga Wagga Advertiser (NSW). 1 May 1890. p. 2. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  25. ^ "1907 – Central Riverina Football League". Narandera Argus and Riverina Advertiser (NSW). 31 May 1907. p. 2. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  26. ^ "1912 - Football". Narandera Argus and Riverina Advertiser (NSW). 24 May 1912. p. 6. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
  27. ^ "1923 - Football - Australian Rules". Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW). 14 May 1923. p. 2. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  28. ^ "1924 - Football". Daily Advertiser. Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW). 21 April 1924. p. 4. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  29. ^ "1925 - Mangoplah wins PA Cup". Daily Advertiser. Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW). 9 September 1925. p. 6. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  30. ^ "1926 - Australian Rules Football Crisis". Daily Advertiser. Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW). 10 April 1926. p. 4. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  31. ^ "1926 - The Rock Cup Final". Daily Advertiser. Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW. 16 September 1926. p. 4. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  32. ^ "1926 - Newtown Premiers". Daily Advertiser. Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW). 6 September 1926. p. 3. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  33. ^ "1927 - Rovers defest Currawarna". Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW). 12 September 1927. p. 4. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  34. ^ Daniher, Terry Daniher, Neale Daniher, Anthony Daniher and Chris Daniher. The Danihers: The Story of Football's Favourite Family. Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 2009. ISBN 1-74175-651-0
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