1997: Port Adelaide enter a team in the AFL. Adelaide become second non-Victorian team to win AFL premiership. Footscray (AFL) become known as Western Bulldogs. WAFL competition becomes known as Westar Rules; Peel Thunder enter competition. QAFL is replaced by Queensland State Football League (QSFL). Grand final results - AFL: Adelaide 19.11 (125) d. St Kilda 13.16 (94); SANFL: Norwood 19.12 (126) d. Port Adelaide 7.11 (53); Westar Rules: South Fremantle 13.7 (85) d. East Fremantle 11.13 (79); VFL: Sandringham 10.13 (73) d. Frankston 5.14 (44); TFL: Clarence 20.9 (129) d. Burnie 18.14 (122); NTasFL: Ulverstone 21.8 (134) d. East Devonport 8.8 (56); SFL: Balmain d. St George; NTFL: St Marys 21.9 (135) d. Waratahs 11.8 (74); QSFL: Southport 26.13 (169) d. Mt Gravatt 11.9 (75); ACTAFL: Ainslie 14.8 (92) d. Tuggeranong 8.10 (58).
1998: Grand final results - AFL: Adelaide 15.15 (105) d. North Melbourne 8.22 (70); SANFL: Port Adelaide 11.9 (75) d. Sturt 9.12 (66) Westar Rules: East Fremantle 20.10 (130) d. West Perth 13.9 (87); VFL: Springvale 11.17 (83) d. Werribee 5.15 (45); TFL: North Launceston 14.16 (100) d. Clarence 6.15 (51); NTasFL: South Launceston 9.11 (65) d. East Devonport 9.4 (58); SFL: Balmain 12.13 (85) d. Pennant Hills 9.11 (65); NTFL: Southern Districts 17.8 (110) d. St Marys 12.13 (85); QSFL: Southport 12.15 (87) d. Morningside 11.10 (76); ACTAFL: Queanbeyan 16.10 (106) d. Belconnen Magpies 12.18 (90).
1999: The Sydney Football League changes its name to the Sydney Australian Football League (SAFL). North Melbourne (AFL) become known simply as 'the Kangaroos', and play 4 home matches in Sydney. QSFL goes into voluntary liquidation, to be replaced by AFL Queensland. Grand final results - AFL: Kangaroos 19.10 (124) d. Carlton 12.17 (89); SANFL: Port Adelaide 14.17 (101) d. Norwood 14.9 (93); Westar Rules: West Perth 14.13 (97) d. South Fremantle 11.6 (72); VFL: Springvale 19.11 (125) d. North Ballarat 9.11 (65); TFL: Glenorchy 15.9 (99) d. Northern Bombers 7.11 (53); NTasFL: South Launceston 11.19 (85) d. Smithton 7.8 (50); SAFL: Campbelltown 18.5 (113) d. Balmain 13.13 (91); NTFL: Waratahs 19.13 (127) d. St Marys 8.13 (61); QSFL: Southport 15.14 (104) d. Northern Eagles 9.7 (61); ACTAFL: Queanbeyan 13.13 (91) d. Belconnen Magpies 10.14 (74).
2000: Central District (SANFL) win first senior premiership since entering competition in 1964. Essendon (AFL) lose only 1 match all season en route to a 'double' of pre-season Ansett Cup and senior premiership. The Australian Capital Territory Football League becomes known as AFL Canberra. Grand Final results - AFL: Essendon 19.21 (135) d. Melbourne 11.9 (75); SANFL: Central District 8.13 (61) d. Woodville-West Torrens 5.9 (39); Westar Rules: East Perth 18.11 (119) d. East Fremantle 11.14 (80); VFL: Sandringham 15.18 (108) d. North Ballarat 11.11 (77); TFL: Clarence 15.15 (105) d. Northern Bombers 8.8 (56); NTasFL: Ulverstone 13.8 (86) d. Latrobe 7.10 (52); SAFL: Pennant Hills 15.12 (102) d. North Shore 10.7 (67); NTFL: Waratahs 14.12 (96) d. Palmerston Magpies 8.8 (56); AFL Qld: Southport 10.8 (68) d. Northern Eagles 8.11 (59); AFL Canberra: Queanbeyan 23.10 (148) d. Eastlake Demons 14.11 (95).
2001: AAFC reforms. The Westar Rules competition reverts to its old name of the Western Australian Football League (WAFL). The Tasmanian Statewide league collapses, with the 3 Hobart-based clubs entering the Southern Football League (SthFL), and the northern sides reverting to their previous NTFA affiliation. A composite Tasmanian team enters the VFL. Grand Final results - AFL: Brisbane 15.18 (108) d. Essendon 12.10 (82); SANFL: Central District 10.11 (71) d. Woodville-West Torrens 4.8 (32); WAFL: East Perth 17.18 (120) d. South Fremantle 5.8 (38); VFL: Box Hill Hawks 13.13 (91) d. Werribee 7.12 (54); SthFL: Clarence 17.19 (121) d. Glenorchy 11.11 (71); NTasFL: Burnie Dockers 17.14 (116) d. Northern Bombers 7.10 (52); SAFL: North Shore 12.12 (84) d. Campbelltown 10.9 (69); NTFL: Palmerston Magpies 11.7 (73) d. Darwin 8.13 (61); AFL Qld: Brisbane Lions 13.20 (98) d. Southport 13.8 (86); AFL Australian Capital Territory: Eastlake Demons 14.10 (94) d. Belconnen Magpies 13.13 (91).
2002: East Perth (WAFL) and Clarence (Southern Football League) win their respective premierships for the third consecutive time. Grand Final results - AFL: Brisbane 10.15 (75); Collingwood 9.12 (66); SANFL: Sturt 13.14 (92) d. Central District 6.9 (45); WAFL: East Perth 15.14 (104) d. West Perth 5.14 (44); VFL: Geelong 15.15 (105) d. Port Melbourne 12.11 (83); SthFL: Clarence 12.17 (89) d. North Hobart 10.8 (68); NTasFL: Burnie Dockers 14.5 (89) d. Ulverstone 5.12 (42); SAFL: University of New South Wales-Eastern Suburbs 16.10 (106) d. North Shore 11.6 (72); NTFL: Palmerston Magpies 21.11 (137) d. Nightcliff 12.7 (79); AFL Qld: Mt Gravatt 20.11 (131) d. Southport 10.10 (70); AFL Canberra: Belconnen Magpies 24.19 (163) d. Queanbeyan 14.6 (90).
2003: Brisbane becomes the first AFL club (see footnote 1) to secure three consecutive premierships after easing to a 50 point grand final victory over Collingwood. Burnie Dockers (NTasFL) also win their third successive flag. For the first time since 1930, the voting in the Brownlow Medal results in a three way tie for first place, involving Nathan Buckley (Collingwood), Adam Goodes (Sydney) and Mark Ricciuto (Adelaide). Grand Final results - AFL: Brisbane 20.14 (134) d. Collingwood 12.12 (84); SANFL: Central District 17.9 (111) d. West Adelaide 11.11 (77); WAFL: West Perth 13.9 (87) d. Subiaco 9.10 (64); VFL: Williamstown 13.14 (92) d. Box Hill 9.9 (63); SthFL: North Hobart 21.20 (146) d. Hobart 5.6 (36); NTasFL: Burnie Dockers 14.11 (95) d. Northern Bombers 6.13 (49); SAFL: University of New South Wales-Eastern Suburbs 12.10 (82) d. North Shore 10.16 (76); NTFL: St Marys 15.4 (94) d. Palmerston Magpies 12.11 (83); AFL Qld: Morningside 17.13 (115) d. Mt Gravatt 7.10 (52); AFL Canberra: Belconnen Magpies 11.14 (80) d. Queanbeyan 11.8 (74)
2004: Brisbane, after winning flags in 2001-2-3, contests its fourth successive AFL grand final, but loses by 40 points to Port Adelaide. Burnie Dockers win a fourth successive NTasFL premiership with a crushing 23.19 (157) to 7.8 (50) grand final defeat of Devonport. Belconnen Magpies overcome the challenge of Queanbeyan for the third consecutive time in the AFL Canberra grand final. The first triennial interstate amateur series, contested under the auspices of the AAFC by Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia, concludes, with Victoria emerging as the winners. Other Grand Final results - AFL: Port Adelaide 17.11 (113) d. Brisbane 10.13 (73); SANFL: 4.4 (28); WAFL: Subiaco 15.9 (99) d. Claremont 7.9 (51); VFL: Sandringham 9.13 (67) d. Port Melbourne 9.9 (63); SthFL: Clarence 17.12 (114) d. New Norfolk 12.9 (81); SAFL: North Shore 10.11 (71) d. St George 7.4 (46); NTFL: St Marys 12.11 (83) d. Nightcliff 9.10 (64); AFL Qld: Morningside 12.18 (90) d. Southport 12.11 (83); AFL Canberra: Belconnen Magpies 14.20 (104) d. Queanbeyan 8.9 (57)
Footnotes
1. The term 'AFL' is taken here, and elsewhere in the website, to mean the nationalised (or, more properly, pseudo-nationalised) Victorian Football League competition which effectively came into existence in 1987, when the hitherto essentially suburban enterprise (the artificially concocted Sydney Swans excepted) opened its doors to clubs from outside the state of Victoria. The commonplace practice of drawing comparisons between premierships won during the AFL's 'national era' and those won prior to that, between 1897 and 1986, whilst undoubtedly seductive to those still clinging on to the hackneyed perception that 'Victoria is the home of football', must, in any objective sense, be viewed as wholly redundant. Return to Main Text