New South Wales Football Association

New South Wales Football Association

Founded	31 August 1880[1]
Abolished	1893
Region	Sydney, New South Wales
Number of teams	5

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 colony. Matches were mostly played at Moore Park in Sydney. The competition is a predecessor to the current Sydney AFL, with some clubs, notably Sydney and East Sydney being reformed as foundation clubs of that competition in 1903. The game's early presence in Sydney is poorly documented, partly due to the bitter distaste that the Sydney media's displayed toward the Victorian code.

The first grade competition was known as the Flanagan Cup. Around 5 clubs competing simultaneously at any point the league's history. Many other clubs, particularly the Catholic schools participated in the association's junior grades.

Background

Further information: Australian rules football in New South Wales

Harry Hedger former Waratahs Southern Rugby Union player who helped found the NSWFA

Harry Hedger and George Walker, rugby players of the Waratah Football Club were among the first to agitate for the adoption of Australian rules in New South Wales, citing the enormous popularity of the code in the rival colony of Victoria. Having learned the game playing test matches against the Carlton Football Club of Melbourne in 1877 many others urged others to put aside their intercolonial rivalry and take up the sport.[2]

Some players, I am aware, can't swallow the idea of adopting the Victorian Game, simply because it is supposed to hail from the sister colony.

Reporter, The Sydney Mail[3]

In late June 1880 a large ground of rugby players, dissatisfied with the British games rules, gathered to form a new competition that would adopt the Victorian rules.[4] There was considerable opposition in the Sydney community to a Victorian Rules competition being established.[5] However A. II. Gregory and G. A. Crisp called a meeting in Woollahra in 1880 with such a goal in mind.[6]

The two founding member clubs were Sydney and East Sydney, formed on August 7, 1880.[7] The first season commenced in 1881.[8] The body saw it necessary to make rule changes to appeal to rugby followers, in particular, was vocal on the necessity of a Push in the back rule to reduce the game's roughness and make it more appealing to rugby players.[9]

By 1883 there were 9 clubs in the association.[10] Among the clubs that were formed were West Sydney, South Sydney, City, Our Boys, Granville, Wallsend, Merewether, Hamilton, St Ignatius and St Joseph college [11] along with Balmain and Woollahra formed a year later.

The NSWFA began a sharp decline in interest from 1890 which Healy (2022) attributes to a combination of the departure of the president and Cricket Phillip Sheridan (trustee of what is now the Sydney Cricket Ground) and an Australian economic depression leaving the association without access to enclosed grounds.[11] Poor management also impacted the long term sustainabililty of the competition.

The Southern Rugby Football Union (SRFU) instituted a ban on rugby players from playing Australian rules which impacted playing numbers. By 1893 there were no clubs left to continue the competition.

Clubs

Waratah Football Club in 1890; the club was pivotal in the revival of Australian rules in Sydney from the 1870s

Club	Formed	Participating years	Notes/References[12]
Sydney	1880 (7 August)	1881-?	[13]
East Sydney	1880 (7 August)	1881-?	[13]
Petersham		1882-?	[11]
Maitland		1882-?	[11]
Waratah	1873 (as rugby club)	1882-?	[11]
Balmain	1881	1881-?	[12]
Woollahra	1881	1881-?	[12]
West Sydney		1882-?	[10]
South Sydney		1882-?	[10]
City		1883-?	[10]
Our Boys		1883-?	[10]
Granville		1883-?	[10]
Wallsend		1883-?	[10]
Merewther		1883-?	[10]
Hamilton		1883-?	[10]
St Ignatius College		1883-?	[10]
St Joseph's College		1883-?	[10]
Sydney University Football Club	1865	1887-?	[12]
Kogarah	1887	1887-?	[12]

References

1. "FOOTBALL". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 13, 234. New South Wales, Australia. 31 August 1880. p. 7. Retrieved 30 May 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
2. "Football. GOSSIP BY "MARK."". Australian Town and Country Journal. Vol. XXXIV, no. 873. New South Wales, Australia. 2 October 1886. p. 42. Retrieved 8 December 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
3. de Moore et al. 2021, p. 190. sfn error: no target: CITEREFde_MooreHessNicholsonStewart2021 (help)
4. "SPORTING SUMMARY". The Sydney Daily Telegraph. No. 319. New South Wales, Australia. 6 July 1880. p. 3. Retrieved 31 May 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
5. "The Australian Game". Sydney Mail. Vol. XXIX, no. 739. New South Wales, Australia. 26 May 1926. p. 21. Retrieved 31 July 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
6. "The Australian Game". Sydney Mail. Vol. XXIX, no. 739. New South Wales, Australia. 26 May 1926. p. 21. Retrieved 31 July 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
7. "Football Notes". The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser. Vol. XXX, no. 1049. New South Wales, Australia. 14 August 1880. p. 316. Retrieved 8 December 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
8. "NEW SOUTH WALES FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 13, 448. New South Wales, Australia. 7 May 1881. p. 6. Retrieved 8 December 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
9. "ATHLETIC SPORTS". The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser. Vol. XXXII, no. 1098. New South Wales, Australia. 23 July 1881. p. 163. Retrieved 8 December 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
10. "N.S.W. FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION". Evening News. No. 4890. New South Wales, Australia. 18 April 1883. p. 2. Retrieved 13 February 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
11. Healy, Matthew (2002). Hard Sell: Australian Football in Sydney (PDF). Archived 18 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Melbourne, Vic.: Victoria University. p. 25.
12. "THE SPORTS OF AUSTRALIA.[?]FOOTBALL". Illustrated Sydney News. Vol. XXV, no. 8. New South Wales, Australia. 30 August 1888. p. 12. Retrieved 8 December 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
13. "Football Notes". The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser. Vol. XXX, no. 1049. New South Wales, Australia. 14 August 1880. p. 316. Retrieved 31 May 2018 – via National Library of Australia.