Broken Hill Football League
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The AFL Broken Hill (formerly, Broken Hill Football League) is an
Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
competition based in the
Broken Hill Broken Hill is a city in the Far West (New South Wales), far west region of outback New South Wales, Australia. An inland mining city, it is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Hi ...
region of
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
which has been running since 1890, and since 1900 with the current four clubs. It is the oldest Australian Football League in the state. Although located in the state of New South Wales the league is an affiliated member of the
South Australian National Football League The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's sports governing body, governing body for the sport. ...
(SANFL). The Broken Hill Football League is in the Murray Mallee Barrier Zone in the South Australian Country Football Championships.


Clubs


Current

There was no premiership awarded in 1925: Central Broken Hill refused to take the field for the second half of the Grand Final against West Broken Hill, claiming that the field umpire was not giving them a fair go. The 2020 and 2021 seasons were called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with three of the four clubs voting in favour of abandoning these seasons.


Former Clubs


History

It might seem curious that Australian rules football should develop as the dominant football code in a mining city in the far west of New South Wales, a state more known for the dominance of
rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...
. Broken Hill was established as a mining town and many of the early settlers were from either the Victorian goldfields, or the
copper mine Copper extraction is the multi-stage process of obtaining copper from its ores. The conversion of copper ores consists of a series of physical, chemical, and electrochemical processes. Methods have evolved and vary with country depending on the ...
s of Moonta and Kadina in
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
, both of which were areas being keen participants in the early development of Australian rules football. This link to states with an Australian rules football culture was further enhanced with the later flow of workers to and from the gold mining
Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie-Boulder (or just Kalgoorlie) is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder as the surroundi ...
- Coolgardie axis in
Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
. Indeed, the city of Broken Hill to this day conducts itself in many ways as a city aligned to South Australia, using the same time zone (
Australian Central Standard Time Australia uses three main time zones: Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST; UTC+10:00), Australian Central Standard Time (ACST; UTC+09:30) and Australian Western Standard Time (AWST; UTC+08:00). Time is regulated by the individual states a ...
), being in the (08) Western/central
area code A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, rea ...
, and its local television station, Central GTS/BKN, covers Broken Hill and parts of South Australia. Football matches were first played in Broken Hill in 1885 and an informal competition was under way by 1888 between Broken Hill, Silverton, and Silver and Blues. The League was formed in 1890 as the Barrier Ranges Football Association (changing to its current name in 1928). Early years of the Association reflected the historical roots of its settlers and the two dominant clubs were known as the 'Victorians' and the 'South Australians'. Other early clubs were Broken Hill, North Broken Hill, South Broken Hill and Hotham. In 1900 the League followed the trend of many other Leagues around the country at that time, and restructured along district lines. The four clubs that competed in the restructured competition are the same four clubs that make up the current competition, although South Broken Hill was then known as Alma. The city's close association with South Australia was reflected with many of the League's stars finding success in the
South Australian National Football League The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's sports governing body, governing body for the sport. ...
(SANFL) in the early 20th century. Prominent identities included North Broken Hill's
Dave Low David Low (6 April 1887 – 4 August 1916) was an Australian rules footballer who played with West Torrens in the South Australian Football League (SAFL). Originally from Broken Hill, Low was a defender and debuted for West Torrens in 1910. H ...
, who went on to win the 1912
Magarey Medal The Magarey Medal is an Australian rules football honour awarded annually since 1898 to the fairest and most brilliant player in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), as judged by field umpires. The award was created by Willi ...
with
West Torrens Football Club West Torrens Football Club was an Australian rules football club that competed in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) from 1895 to 1990. In 1991, the club merged with neighbouring Woodville Football Club to form the Woodville- ...
, Jack Woollard, captain of
Port Adelaide Football Club Port Adelaide Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, Alberton, South Australia. The club's senior men's team plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), where it is nicknamed the ...
's 1910
Championship of Australia The Championship of Australia was an Australian rules football tournament which was contested between football clubs from the Victoria, Australia, Victorian and South Australian football leagues for most of its history, with clubs from the West ...
-winning team, and Algy Millhouse, who captain-coached
Norwood Football Club The Norwood Football Club, nicknamed the Redlegs, is an Australian rules football club competing in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Its home ground is Norwood Oval, Coopers Stadium (Norwood Oval), which is often referred ...
in 1914. The 1922 Magarey Medallist Robert Barnes and
Bruce McGregor Harry Bruce McGregor (7 January 1903 in Broken Hill, New South Wales – 21 March 1990) was an Australian rules footballer who played with West Adelaide and South Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). His son Ken ...
, who won Medals in 1926–7, were stars at
West Adelaide Football Club West Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Nicknamed the Bloods and commonly known as the Westies, the club's home base is Richmond Oval (currently known as Hisens ...
. Leading goalkicker, Jack Owens, topped the SANFL's goal kicking ladder on three occasions with
Glenelg Football Club The Glenelg Football Club, nicknamed the Tigers or the Bays, is an Australian rules football team which plays in the South Australian National Football League. Their home ground is Stratarama Stadium (formerly Glenelg Oval), located in the so ...
in the 1920s and 1930s. The League itself was considered strong enough to compete with visiting teams from the SANFL,
Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...
(VFL) and
West Australian Football League The West Australian Football League (WAFL "waffle" or "W-A-F-L") is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The league currently consists of ten teams, which play each other in a 20-round season usually lasting f ...
(WAFL), and was even invited to send delegates to the inaugural Australasian Football Conference in
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
, in November 1905. In more recent times players from Broken Hill have managed to find their mark with the country's premier league, the
Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...
(AFL), including
Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...
's
Dean Solomon Dean Solomon (born 9 January 1980) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club and the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Solomon served as caretaker senior coach ...
,
Brent Staker Brent Allen Staker (born 23 May 1984) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the West Coast Eagles and in the Australian Football League (AFL). Early life Staker grew up in Broken Hill in remote country New South ...
of West Coast and
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
, Taylor Walker of
Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
, Mitch Clisby of the
Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons or colloquially the Dees, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier comp ...
and Isaac Cumming of the
GWS Giants The Greater Western Sydney Giants (officially the Greater Western Sydney Football Club and colloquially known as the GWS Giants or simply GWS or Giants) are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney Olympic Park which repres ...
.


Premierships


List of premiers

The complete list of premiers teams is detailed below.


Current results

The last decade of The Broken Hill Football league has seen the South Broken Hill Football Club show dominance over the rest of the competition, winning Premierships in 2014 & 2015, before wins again in 2017, 2018 & 2019. Seasons 2020 & 2021 were lost due to COVID-19. South have won in the two seasons since the leagues resumption, making it 7 of the last 9 premierships. Star Full Forward Cody Schorn became the first player for over 20 years to kick his 100th goal of the season in the 2023 Grand Final. South went through the 2024 season without too much hassle, only dropping one game on their way to yet another Grand Final. North were dominant in the early part of the century, winning premierships in 2004, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012 & 2013 before upsetting hot favourites South to win the 2016 flag. The past two seasons has seen a decline with the Bulldogs missing the past two grand finals. Their performance has improved during the 2024 season, with returning Coach David Ruddock leading his side to a Grand Final appearance for the first time post COVID. Another masterclass from Ruddock saw the young Bulldogs upset South to win their first flag since 2016. The West Football Club has struggled for success and has not won the Premiership since the 1990 season, the longest premiership drought in the club's history. Despite this their recent seasons have been encouraging, culminating in the club reaching its first A Grade Grand Final for 16 years in 2023. 2024 unfortunately saw West return to the bottom of the ladder, failing to win a game. Central Football Club have battled with player numbers in recent times despite making the 2022 A Grade Grand Final. A very successful club during the 70s & 80s, Centrals last Premiership was won in 2010. An improved performance in 2024 saw the Pies make the Preliminary Final, going down to North by 35 points.


2011 Ladder


2012 Ladder


2013 Ladder


2014 Ladder


2015 Ladder


2016 Ladder


Women's competition

The women's competition started in 2012, making it the oldest rural competition in the state.


2012 Ladder


2013 Ladder


2014 Ladder


2015 Ladder


2016 Ladder


Premiers

The complete list of premiers teams is detailed below.


See also

*
AFL NSW/ACT AFL NSW/ACT is the trading name of the AFL (NSW/ACT) Commission Limited, a wholly owned and controlled subsidiary of the Australian Football League Limited (AFL), established in 1999.Australian Securities & Investments Commission registers www.a ...
*
Australian rules football in New South Wales In New South Wales, Australian rules football dates back to the 1860s Colony of New South Wales, colonial era, with organised competitions being continuous since the 1880s. It is traditionally popular in the outback areas of the state near the ...
*
Outback Rugby League The Outback Rugby League Cup is a NSW Rugby League (NSWRL) Group Competition which is based in Broken Hill in the far west of New South Wales and surrounding districts such as Wilcannia and Menindee. The competition folded in 1998 but was reviv ...


Books

* Encyclopedia of South Australian country football clubs / compiled by Peter Lines. * South Australian country football digest / by Peter Lines


References


External links

*
Football in the Silver City, a history of Broken Hill footy




{{Aussie Rules in South Australia Sport in Broken Hill, New South Wales Australian rules football competitions in New South Wales Australian rules football competitions in South Australia 1888 establishments in Australia Sports leagues established in 1888