Peter Hudson (TFL) marks strongly in a 1978 Tasmanian intrastate championship clash against the NTFA.  (Click to enlarge.).

Melbourne and St Kilda both visited Adelaide in 1877, to much popular acclaim, and over the remainder of the 19th century club tours across the border, in both directions, became commonplace.  Tasmania and New South Wales were soon added to the network, although in the latter colony Victorian Rules (as it was then known) faced strenuous competition from the ultimately pre-eminent British game of rugby.

Such intercolonial club contests were one important example of what, for want of a better term (and I am sure there must be one), I have termed 'extracurricular' football matches.  Other examples have included matches involving clubs and league representative sides - VFA clubs which visited Tasmania, for instance, frequently played matches against both the STFA and NTFA.

Perhaps the most important of these extracurricular contests were those in which something definite and tangible, rather than mere 'reputation' or 'honour', was at stake.  Chief among these were matches for the championship of Australia, which began in 1888, and persisted, intermittently, for almost a century afterwards; however, so important were these affairs that they have been given a complete and separate section of their own, here.  Similarly, matches held to determine the state premierships of Western Australian and Tasmania are listed separately, in the Chronology, except of those early Tasmanian contests which were deemed 'unofficial'.

The Australian Football League is not included as, by the time of its emergence (whether one takes that to be 1987, with the expansion of the VFL to include teams based in Brisbane and Perth, or the early 1990s, with the re-naming of the VFL in 1990 followed by the admission of the Adelaide Football Club in 1991), the importance of extracurricular football matches in terms of sowing the seeds of today's proximate national competition had diminished.

With regard to the classification of the above competitions as 'first class', it is important to stress that such a label has little or nothing to do with playing standards in any universal or 'trans-Australian' sense; rather, the classification hinges, first, on the politically determined geographical divisions of the country, and secondly on identifying the individual competitions within those divisions which might be said most closely to endorse and represent those divisions.  Given the fact that Australia is a country in which the overwhelming majority of the population inhabits the various state and territory capitals, it seems logical to accord the major competitions based in those capitals primacy of status.  Nevertheless, anyone possessing more than the most cursory knowledge of the history of the game will be aware that 'pockets of excellence' have existed at various times outside the major population centres.  Initially, at least, I intend to accord three such 'pockets' the distinction of 'honorary' first class status, for reasons that I outline below, and to include games played by these sides in the extracurricular match listings.  The three additional leagues are:

Jack 'Dookie' McKenzie - click to enlarge.

Jack Woollard - click to enlarge.

Broken Hill Football League (1903 to 1939) but not its constituent clubs: Football in Broken Hill was arguably stronger than anywhere else in New South Wales for most of the first half of the twentieth century.  Despite losing many of its best players to SANFL clubs (the likes of Dave Low, 'Algie' Millhouse, Jack Woollard, Bobby Barnes, Matt Kinnear, 'Tiger' Potts, Roy Bent, Bruce McGregor, Dick Osborne, Harry Solomon, 'Chilla' Payne and Jack Owens) the Barrier was consistently able to field representative sides of a high order, capable of matching it with all but the very best.  During the Depression years of the 1930s, when most Broken Hill footballers elected to remain at home in order to take advantage of some of the best employment prospects in the land, Barrier football reached a new peak of excellence, with representative teams achieving notable wins over the likes of Claremont (reigning WANFL premiers at the time), East Fremantle, and second string South Australian state sides.

Goldfields Football League (1896 to 1939) together with its constituent clubs (1896 to 1924 only): Until 1919 the Goldfields Football League enjoyed full voting rights on the Australian National Football Council, making it the equal of the Perth-based Western Australian Football League.  In 1908, '11 and '14 the goldfields provided more than 45% of the state's carnival players.  As late as the 1930s, GFL representative combinations were capable of defeating such illustrious opposition as WAFL premiers East Fremantle (1930) and Claremont (1939), SANFL premier Port Adelaide (1939), and full strength interstate sides in the shape of West Australia (1934) and South Australia (1937).  In addition to GFA/L representative teams, goldfields clubs are also deemed to be 'first class' for the duration of their involvement in West Australian state premiership matches.

I appreciate that to suggest that we confer top level status on these leagues and teams during the periods indicated is likely to be contentious, but hopefully it will serve to promote discussion and debate.  (As far as many people are concerned, of course, top level football means, and has always meant, just one thing - V/AFL football.) 

In order to qualify for inclusion in the listings, matches must conform to at least two other criteria: they must have been between teams comprising the same number of players (i.e. no 'odds' matches), and both teams must have been genuinely representative of their club or league (i.e. no swapping, loaning or borrowing of players).  I will at this point admit that, in the absence of any definite evidence to the contrary, I have opted to be positive and 'include' rather than demur.  In doing this I am, in effect, presenting the match for critical scrutiny (yours), and would very much welcome being told if you think I am wrong.

Similarly, if you have records of matches I have omitted that you believe ought to be included in the listings, I would very much welcome learning about them.  An undertaking of this nature and scope cannot possibly be achieved by one person.  Rest assured, that all contributions and corrections will be appropriately acknowledged.  If you have not contacted me before, please use the email address shown on the Feedback page initially; otherwise, feel free to use my standard email address.  Similarly, if you are unclear over the criteria for matches to be included in the lists, or if you simply want to pick me holes in my classification system (or even suggest its extension), I would be delighted to hear from you.

The first phase of what is likely to be an extremely long term project will involve attempting to list all relevant extracurricular matches played between 1877 and 1955, although I shall happily receive details of any such matches, whenever they were played.

ACT centre half back Robert Franklin spoils North Adelaide's Barrie Robran's attempt to mark during a match played at Manuka Oval, Canberra in 1973.  (Click to enlarge.)