Champions of Australia Series

PART 1

This thread explores discussion on the history and stories surrounding the often forgotten Champions of Australia Series that was held (although not continuously) from 1888 to 1975.

There have been a number of matches during this period that have been dubbed by various categories such as;
- Pre WW1 Championship of Australia matches between the Victorian and SA Premiers (1888-1914)
- Premiers Matches between the premiers of Vic, SA, WA and Tas (1924-1964)
- Championship Matches played for prizemoney between the Vic and SA premiers (1968 - 1971)
- Champiohsip of Australia Series between the Vic, SA, WA and Tas premiers at end of season (1972-1975)

Added to this there have been other matches played between Vic and SA clubs.

I refer to a book by Max Sayer entitled "Champions of Australia" published by the SA branch of the Australian Society for Sports History which this information is based upon.

Some games between SA and Vic clubs had been played prior to 1888, but not for an "official" title, Champion of Australia.

1888 Norwood v South Melbourne
Norwood played a 3 match series against South Melbourne at Kensington Oval between 6/10/1888 and 13/10/1888.
Played to average crowds of 2000, Norwood won all 3 matches. South Melbourne were guaranteed essentially an appearance fee of 300 pounds to compete. An interesting side bar to the middle game which was played mid-week, was that officers in the civil service were allowed to leave at 3 o'clock to attend the match.

In 1889 Norwood again won the SA premiership and wanted to defend their Championship of Australia title in Melbourne against the Bloods, but the South Melbourne Club couldn't ind a suitable venue and the match did not eventuate.

1890 Port Adelaide v South Melbourne
Port had broken Norwood's "dynasty" and South Melbourne has won its 3rd flag in a row.
On Saturday 4/10/1890 the match took place at Adelaide Oval in front of 4000 spectators.
Port, playing in their Magenta colours (the black and white didn't hit the scene until 1902).
Port won the game in a close contest.

A function after a match in 1892 where the Melbourne FC was in trouble with the law over alleged "hooliganism" threatened the continuation of such matches.

In June 1893 a Vic representative team played against SA and Norwood defeating them both. Whilst these matches took place, Port Adelaide were playing against clubs in Melbourne.

The Adverstiser reported at the time that Port's actions in "deserting their colony, were most unpatriotic".
Hmmm......some might say history repeated some 97 years later.

The three games in 1888 were:

6/10/1888: Norwood 8-12, d. South Melbourne 4-10
10/10/1888: Norwood 6-4, d. South Melbourne 4-15
13/10/1888: Norwood 6-8, d. South Melbourne 2-11

Games played for Norwood:
3- O.Bertram, R.Bertram, A.Burton, G.Coombe (vc), J.Daly, W.Dixon, A.Grayson, W.Guster, J.McGaffin, J.McGrath, G.McKee, A.Miller, A.Packham, C.Rishbeith, J.Shaw, A.Waldron (capt), C.Woods, JJ Woods.
2- W.Rawson, A.Roberts
1- H.Haldane, G.Liston.

There was an unofficial Champions of Australia played between the 1978 premiers Norwood and Hawthorn. It was played as a pre-season trial at Norwood Oval, 28 March 1979. It was the only time these two clubs have net in their histories.

Norwood 2-5 6-8 12-10 17-10 112
Hawthorn 7-2 8-5 12-9 16-15 111
Best
N: Nunan Gallagher Michalanney Nicholson Button Armour Dalwood
H: Scott Matthews Emery Goss Murnane Moncrieff
Goals
N: Dunstan 4 Michalanney 3 Button 3 Dalwood 3 Phillis 2 Gallagher Nicholson
H: Moncrieff 7 Walter 2 Goss Murnane Goad D.Scott Matthews Turner M.Scott Paton

Teams

NORWOOD: Coach: Bob Hammond
F: W.Phillis, J.Michalanney, R.Barton
HF: G.Dunstan, G.Dalwood, R.Woodcock
C: P.Gallagher, M.Taylor (capt), G.Rosser
HB: D.Armour, S.Kerley, D.Jenkins
B: G.Nicholson, I.Stasinowsky, B.Winter
Ruck: N.Button (vc), N.Craig, M.Nunan
Int: P.Adler, D.Palm, R.Pope, M.Aish, R.Seekamp, J.Clarke

HAWTHORN: Coach: David Parkin
F: I.Paton, M.Moncrieff, N.Goss
HF: A.Goad, M.Scott, J.Hendrie
C: P.Murnane, T.Wallace, R.Eade
HB: D.Polkinghore, P.Knights, R.DiPierdomenico
B: A.de Wolde, K.Moore, G.Ayres
Ruck: D.Scott (capt), M.Tuck, L.Matthews (vc)
Int: L.Rice, P.Russo, B.Rowlings, G.Ablett, M.Turner, S.Emery

Certainly the highest quality "trial match" I've ever seen.

On this game AH loyalties would have been divided hey?

Stay tuned for part 2. There have been quite a few unofficial games.

It just shows how this important but often forgotten part of footy history, was held at the mercy of the competing forces and schedules of the sanfl and vfl.

That the other states didn't compete in it more often also shows its somewhat "reduced" status in footy history.

Part 2 coming soon......

Chambo Off To Work We Go wrote:
On this game AH loyalties would have been divided hey?

Norwood 51%, Hawthorn 49%

5 AFL coaches in that Hawthorn side, plus Scott who coached at State league level. Can't remember if Norm Goss did too.

No, Goss was never a senior coach.

4 league coaches in the Norwood team as well - Craig (AFL & SANFL), Nunan (VFL & SANFL), Taylor & Winter.

Flag No.9 wrote:5 AFL coaches in that Hawthorn side, plus Scott who coached at State league level. Can't remember if Norm Goss did too.

And 4 in the Norwood side that coached at least sanfl.

Were boath clubs a future breeding ground for coaches???????

Chambo Off To Work We Go wrote:Were both clubs a future breeding ground for coaches???????

Not really, it's just that both were in the midst of golden eras, Norwood 4 flags in a decade (1975-1984), Hawthorn 8 flags in 2 decades (1971-1991), and you always get a number of coaches emerge from those eras.

Hawthorn particularly seemed to sporn coaches.
Also Peter Schwab who wasn't in the '78 side.
Maybe you are right, that Jeans / Parkin purple patch bred observant footballers.

1976 NFL Wills Cup

The first real attempt to hold a National League Competition, played mainly under lights on Norwood Oval, and captured the imagination of the football public. Unfortunately, the VFL clubs withdrew from the competition in 1977, allowing for Norwood to defeat East Perth in the final.

The competition divided into 4 groups:
Group A: Glenelg, Richmond, Swan Districts
Group B: Port Adelaide, North Melbourne, Footscray
Group C: Sturt, Hawthorn, West Perth
Group D: Norwood, Carlton, South Fremantle

Games

Group A
Glenelg 11-10 (76), d. Richmond 9-8 (62) at Football Park
Glenelg 11-19 (85), d. Swan Districts 10-8 (68) at Subiaco Oval
Richmond 18-15 (123), d. Swan Districts 7-8 (50) at Norwood Oval

Group B
Port Adelaide 14-13 (97), d. Footscray 9-9 (63) at Norwood Oval
North Melbourne 12-15 (87), d. Port Adelaide 5-7 (37) at Norwood Oval
North Melbourne 16-8 (104), d. Footscray 11-10 (76) at Norwood Oval

Group C
Hawthorn 15-17 (107), d. West Perth 7-4 (46) at Subiaco Oval
Sturt 14-9 (93), d. West Perth 9-9 (63) at Football Park
Hawthorn 13-17 (95), d. Sturt 8-5 (53) at Norwood Oval

Group D
Carlton 22-16 (148), d. South Fremantle 3-5 (23) at Norwood Oval
Norwood 22-14 (146), d. Carlton 5-10 (40) at Norwood Oval
Norwood 11-19 (85), d. South Fremantle 10-10 (70) at Norwood Oval

Semi Finals
Hawthorn 11-16 (82), d. Glenelg 8-8 (56) at Norwood Oval
North Melbourne 8-5 (53), d. Norwood 5-5 (35) at Norwood Oval

Final
Hawthorn 12-17 (89), d. North Melbourne 5-11 (41) at Norwood Oval

I recall the after match presentation. They had the cup sitting on a table with brown & gold streamers tied to one handle, and blue & white streamers tied to the other. Once they presented the cup to Don Scott, he ripped off the blue & white streamers and stomped them into the ground

And to anyone who thinks the cup didnt mean much to Hawthorn, it is still to this day proudly on display amongst the 10 VFL/AFL premiership Cups and other paraphenalia in the club rooms. A very impressive looking trophy actually.

I was a bit young at the time.

Did the majority of the clubs take these games seriously?

It sounds like Hawthorn did, which is good .

FOOTYfollower wrote:I was a bit young at the time.

Did the majority of the clubs take these games seriously?

It sounds like Hawthorn did, which is good .

The two things that attracted me to Hawthorn at that time were Peter Hudson, and I also loved the way the Hawks tried to win everything, whether it was a grand final, or a trial match. They had that ferocity to try and win, no matter what the prize. I know Norwood took it very seriously, a little too seriously at times.

Can't speak for other clubs, but there were some very good contests along the way. My favourite was after smashing South Fremantle by 125 points a few weeks earlier, Carlton strutted over here thinking they'd do the same to Norwood, but the Legs pounded them by 106 points. That night, four Norwood players swapped jumpers, Woodcock (10 to 11), Dunstan (9 to 31), Gallagher (11 to 9), and Michalanney (31 to 10), and the Carlton players didn't know who they were standing

Neil Kerley was doing the commentary with Ted Whitten. At one time Woodcock kicked a goal from a difficult angle and Kerley called it. Whitten asked, "How did you know he would kick that one Kerls?", to which Kerley responded, "Arrrrrr ... I've seem him kick too many of the buggers!!!!!".

1971 Rothmans Channel 7 Cup

This competition was held between 9th-11th October 1971 as a testimony to celebrate the career of Graham "Polly" Farmer who retired at the end of the 1971 season. It was contested by clubs from WA, SA and Vic, and was played in two 25 minutes quarters plus time on. All games were played on Subiaco Oval.

The clubs represeted were:
Hawthorn - VFL Premiers
Richmond - VFL 3rd place
North Adelaide - SANFL Premiers
Port Adelaide - SANFL Runners up
West Perth - WAFL Premiers
East Perth - WAFL Runners up
East Fremantle - WAFL 3rd place
Claremont - WAFL 4th place

Round 1: 9 October 1971
Claremont 11-3 (69), d. North Adelaide 7-4 (46)
West Perth 5-4 (34), d. East Fremantle 4-9 (33)
Port Adelaide 9-3 (57), d. Richmond 8-8 (56)
Hawthorn 7-4 (46), d. East Perth 5-6 (36)

Losers Play-offs: 10 October 1971
Richmond 6-4 (40), d. North Adelaide 5-3 (33)
East Fremantle 8-11 (59), d. East Perth 3-5 (23)

Semi Finals: 10 October 1971
Claremont 10-6 (66), Port Adelaide 3-5 (23)
Hawthorn 6-4 (40), d. West Perth 1-7 (13)

Seventh Place Play-off: 11 October 1971
East Perth 9-9 (63), d. North Adelaide 7-7 (49)

Fifth Place Play-off: 11 October 1971
Richmond 7-12 (54), d. East Fremantle 7-5 (47)

Third Place Play-off: 11 October 1971
West Perth 5-9 (39), d. Port Adelaide 2-7 (19)

Rothmans Channel 7 Cup Final: 11 October 1971
Half Time: Hawthorn 7-1, Claremont 0-1
Final: Hawthorn 12-3 (75), d. Claremont 4-5 (29)
Best
H: Meagher Crimmins Bremner Heath Hudson Scott
C: Moss Orr Duperouzel Reynolds Bovell Marshall
Goals
H: Hudson 5 Crimmins 2 Rice 2 Douge Meagher Martello
C: Evans 2 Carroll Duperouzel

I watched this on TV, and my memory, apart from the Hawks winning, was the Port Adelaide v Richmond match in Round 1. Leon Milde marked and goaled after the siren to win the game by 1 point.

The final was umpired by SA's Murray Ducker and played before 30,000 people. I bet the WAFL would love to have those crowds these days.

Hawthorn rover Peter Crimmins was awarded best player for the championship.

Interesting sidenote about Peter Crimmins, a legend at Hawthorn.

After his death, his family requested a specific Hawthorn player to continue to wear his No 5.

That player?

Andrew Collins.

OK Back to PART 2

Between 1907 and 1914 the COA series became an annual fixture.

the SAFA became the SAFL and in 1907 Norwood hosted Carlton to a crowd of 13000 at Adelaide Oval with the home side prevailing.

The results in this era went as follows;
1908 West Adelaide d Carlton (Adelaide Oval)
1909 South Melbourne d West Adelaide (MCG)
1910 Port Adelaide d Collingwood (Adelaide Oval)
1911 West Adelaide d Essendon (Adelaide Oval)
1912 No match - Should have been West Adelaide v Essendon.
However, Port Adelaide (3rd) d Carlton (2nd) - not for the COA trophy
1913 Port Adelaide d Fitzroy (Adelaide Oval)
1914 Port Adelaide d Carlton (Adelaide Oval)

This Port team of 1913 and 1914 was one of the most dominant in their history. They were undefeated for one and a half seasons.

WWI saw an end to the COA series and something of a golden era for the SA clubs, who never again were as consistently successful against the big V.

The frequency of these insterstate games declined markedy after WWI and was not seen as a necessary way to promote the game. After 1920 the game was established in the southern states and not unsurprisingly the VFL considered interstate clubs as inferior and with little interest in competing with them.

At the end of 1921, 'old friends', Norwood and Carlton did play again at the Norwood Oval. Both had been runners up and Norwood again had the 'wood' (pun) over the Blues.

1927 Collingwood d West Adelaide at Wayville Showgrounds
Gordon Coventry's 8 goals helped steer the Pies home by 28 points.
The Advertiser reported:
The local team were more attractive, and the Victorians more effective. West played an open game taking a leisurely kick after a mark in search of passing to a teammate, Collingwood were more rugged, on the ball persistently, intent on keeping it moving.

1938 Carlton d South Adelaide at Wayville
Carlton's 8 season leading goalkicker booted 5 witht he Blues winning by a kick.

End of part 2.

The 1976 NFL wasnt that serious to VFL clubs. Hawthorn's John Kennedy let David Parkin coach the team in the series.

Footscray coack Bill Goggin is quoted as not caring about the series after a loss in Adelaide.

Unfortunately the AFL doesnt recognise this tournament as it didnt run it.

An interesting side note: Australian Football Championships pty Ltd still exists with Demetriou owning 50% and AFL finance officer Ian Anderson the other 50%

The 1927 game was for the championship of the commonwealth according to the football budget

Other than when the ANFC/NFL started sanctioning games from 1968 i think it would be difficult to call these games anything other than premiers games. There is no evidence they should be considered as competition games as only the national body had the powertoaward a national championship.

Interestingly the AFL & WAFL dont consider COA official games. SA & tas do. Only SA & WA count NFL games in player records.

Yes that is right, the matches went under several names some official some not official over the journey.

I guess this is the collective name to group all these club based representative games into one discussion.

However, the name Champions of Australia was coined early in the piece, to cover what they hoped would be an annual continuing event.

Many things got in the way of it;
-spats between the VFL and SAFL (SANFL)
-difficulty in securing grounds (cricket preparation was underway by then)
-The Victorians considering that promoting the game in this way wasn't necessary anymore
-a couple of world wars
-players being unavailable after their respective grand finals

This thread is aimed at recapturing some of what is a generally forgotten part of footy history.

Hawthorn hostorians also claim to be 1986 champions

jameshothersall wrote:Hawthorn hostorians also claim to be 1986 champions

That's because they played, and defeated Subiaco in Perth at the end of the season. They also won the Fosters Cup that season defeating Geelong, Essendon, North Adelaide and Carlton.

jameshothersall wrote:The 1976 NFL wasnt that serious to VFL clubs. Hawthorn's John Kennedy let David Parkin coach the team in the series.

Footscray coack Bill Goggin is quoted as not caring about the series after a loss in Adelaide.

Unfortunately the AFL doesnt recognise this tournament as it didnt run it.

John Kennedy was in his final year as coach, Parkin was assistant coach and earmarked as Kennedy's successor. It hardly means they weren't interested. If that were the case, they'd have lost round 1, rather than win the whole thing.

Of course Goggin (Footscray) didn't care after the loss, they'd been eliminated by Port Adelaide.

The tournament is documented in all versions of "Every Game Ever Played", compiled by Stephen Rodgers, an accredited AFL/VFL historian.

Matches in NFL do NOT count towards player totals (only vfl/alf, afl night series, victoria, origin and international rules). Read the match reports of the NFL - even by parochial SA media and it will reinforce what VFL interest was. Maybe Hawthorn won because the gap with the rest was big (they would obviously take a final v arch rival North seriously)

AFL accreditation as a historian isnt a badge of honour - after all they think theChampion of the Colony award existed rather than a figment of Mullens imagination.

Contact the AFL and ask them about the NFL

Mate, I wouldn't contact the AFL to ask them about the SANFL or the WAFL. The AFL today is a completely different beast to those who ran Australian Rules Football in the 1970s.

You said yourself, AFL accreditation as a historian isn't a badge of honour, so why would I contact them? You need to make up your mind.

All I can tell you, as a long standing Hawthorn member, is the cup is proudly displayed in the club rooms, and the competition well documented in Hawthorn history books.

You can think what you like.