Portfolio Alternate timeline where NRL didn't exist and AFL is popular in NSW, QLD, and NZ, and TAS, ACT, and NT are represented.

[Coolangatta]

Here's what I came up with. 24 teams, 2 leagues, 12 teams in each league who play each other twice. The winner of each leagues finals series would play off in the GF.

North-West League: WA, SA, NT, QLD

West Perth Falcons (WA)
East Perth Royals (WA)
Fremantle Dockers (WA)
South West Sharks (WA)
Port Adelaide Pirates (SA)
Norwood Redlegs (SA)
Central District Bulldogs (SA)
Northern Territory Thunder (NT)
Brisbane Broncos (QLD)
Redcliffe Dolphins (QLD)
Gold Coast Lions (QLD)
North Queensland Cowboys (QLD)

South-East League: NSW, ACT, VIC, TAS, NZ

North Sydney Kangaroos (NSW)
South Sydney Swans (NSW)
Western Sydney Giants (NSW)
Newcastle Knights (NSW)
Illawarra Hawks (NSW)
Canberra Owls (ACT)
Carlton Blues (VIC)
Collingwood Magpies (VIC)
Melbourne Demons (VIC)
Geelong Cats (VIC)
Tasmania Tigers (TAS)
New Zealand Warriors (NZ)

I know in reality it probably would've been something like 8 NSW teams, 5 Victorian teams, 4 Queensland teams, 2 WA teams, 2 SA teams, 1 Tasmania team, 1 ACT team, 1 NZ team, 0 NT team.

 

[BigChippa52]

keen surprised this idea hasn't been thought of before

 

[Coolangatta]

keen surprised this idea hasn't been thought of before

Yeah, it's an interesting thought experiment.

They probably would've had something like:

League A: 4 Sydney teams, 4 Melbourne teams, 1 Canberra team, 1 Geelong team, 1 Newcastle team, 1 Illawarra team
League B: 3 Brisbane teams, 2 Perth teams, 2 Adelaide teams, 1 Tasmania team, 1 NZ team, 1 NT team, 1 Gold Coast team, 1 FNQ team

I doubt South West WA would've ever had a team considering they don't even have a WAFL team let alone a national one.

 

[Coolangatta]

Going by that ^

Division A:

South Sydney Rabbitohs
Parramatta Eels
Sydney Roosters
North Sydney Bears
Newcastle Knights
St. George Illawarra Dragons
Canberra Raiders
Carlton Blues
Collingwood Magpies
Essendon Bombers
Melbourne Demons
Geelong Cats

Division B:

Brisbane Broncos
Redcliffe Dolphins
Ipswich Lions
Gold Coast Sharks
North Queensland Cowboys
West Coast Eagles
Fremantle Dockers
Adelaide Crows
Port Adelaide Pirates
Tasmania Tigers
New Zealand Warriors
Northern Territory Kangaroos

GF rotated like this: Sydney (1), Brisbane (2), Melbourne (3), Perth (4), Sydney (5), Adelaide (6), cycle back to Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, etc.

They'd be the only cities capable of hosting and in this timeline if the AFL was by far the dominant sport all over the country, they'd all have stadiums with over 60k capacity, I'm sure.

Edit: I forgot about Auckland, I'm sure they would've built a big one eventually.

 

[BigChippa52]

Going by that ^

Division A:

South Sydney Rabbitohs
Parramatta Eels
Sydney Roosters
North Sydney Bears
Newcastle Knights
St. George Illawarra Dragons
Canberra Raiders
Carlton Blues
Collingwood Magpies
Essendon Bombers
Melbourne Demons
Geelong Cats

Division B:

Brisbane Broncos
Redcliffe Dolphins
Ipswich Lions
Gold Coast Sharks
North Queensland Cowboys
West Coast Eagles
Fremantle Dockers
Adelaide Crows
Port Adelaide Pirates
Tasmania Tigers
New Zealand Warriors
Northern Territory Kangaroos

yes the bears

 

[seaforthswan]

yes the bears

Or pop Manly in there instead covers more of the north, decent kit supplied

 

[terrybull]

It’s a topic that has always caught my interest. And how the AFL would have looked today with two big Leagues (VFL and NSWFL) competing for the best players.

So my idea how expansion could have gone…

1982 NSWFL worried that VFL might be looking into the ACT invite a team from Canberra to join.
VFL immediately retaliate and invite two teams from Tasmania (Hobart and Launceston) to join.

1987 NSWFL becomes by the far biggest League by inviting four of the top clubs in the QFL. To make room some NSW teams merge. The new League is named NSWQFL with the history of the NSWFL retained.

1990 VFL finally convinces SANFL to merge to compete against the juggernaut NSWQFL.
All teams are retained from both Leagues and history as well. The League split into two divisions with promotion and relegation. The new League is named Southern FL.

1991 NSWQFL retaliate and add NT and two more Queensland teams. They change their name to Northern FL

1992 with WAFL the last frontier and being raided by both North and South. East Perth applies to join the SFL and are successfull!!!
NFL not to be outdone invite West Perth to join them and they say yes.

WAFL fearing their League is about to be ripped apart become the peace makers between North and South and suggest for the good of the sport we all come together and just one League - the AFL. Everyone agrees.

So 1993 and 1994 are the final years of individual Leagues for the preparation of the AFL in 1995. Four divisions, promotion and relegation.

Anyways… what I thought may have happened if NSW and Queensland didn’t choose rugby.

 

[acm21]

Been wondering what if pro/rel was introduced as part of a comp merger. Whether that be vfa in the 80/90s or something earlier.

 

[dino_67]

this is awesome! cant wait to see whats next
would it be a monopoly like the current AFL or the divisions compete for each other players like european soccer leagues (Prem, La Liga style)?

 

[rabbitoh21]

Not exactly an historian but maybe I can shed some light on the NSW side.

If you're looking specifically at league not existing and, supposedly, those teams becoming part of a national Australian Football League, I can shed some light on how the NRL sides came to be.

The majority of the foundation clubs were either breakaways from the existing union district or other clubs, or formed after those teams had been formed to contest the NSWRFL. Souths, Balmain, Easts, Glebe, Norths all were clearly tied directly to a district union club - Glebe and Balmain would merge in union, later becoming Drummoyne Dirty Reds (until a bunch of businessmen decided to form a splinter Balmain club a few years ago), Souths are believed to have left the union altogether to join the NSWRFL and Easts and Norths still also have teams in the Shute to this day.

Wests are a bit of an outlier, tied to the Ashfield club as most of the Wests rugby players rejected their offers. Many of those same players would later accept offers from Central Cumberland, formed in Homebush, which creates a bit of a splinter in that history. Newtown and Newcastle's Rebels were the other 2 clubs in 1908, formed specifically to compete in the new code.

Going forward, Cumberland only played the 1 season, the Rebels went back to the Hunter to form "the real NRL" (their words, not mine) and Annandale were admitted to replace them (and hurt Glebe) in the 8 team competition. Annandale were themselves replaced a decade later by St. George, with University joining in the meantime. Then, we had the introduction of Canterbury-Bankstown (to compete with St. George), Manly-Warringah (to compete with Norths) and Parramatta (to compete with Wests), all of whom except Canterbury had some presence in union previously but had built a grassroots league.

For the time, these clubs covered the majority of Greater Sydney (for context, Cumberland, then Canterbury were considered "country bumpkins"). By the time Cronulla-Sutherland (to compete with St. George) and Penrith (to compete with Parramatta) had joined, most of today's Sydney was covered.

The main holdouts were the Macarthur/Campbelltown region (later serviced by Newtown, then Wests) and the regions, later addressed by the admission of Illawarra, Canberra and Newcastle. The Central Coast is, arguably, the main "hole" left when sprawling away from the CBD.

To summarise, I've added a table below to compare the Sydney league and union district sides over the past century:

Union district sides	League district sides
South Sydney	South Sydney
Balmain (later merged into Drummoyne)	Balmain (later merged into Wests Tigers)
Wests/West Harbour	Cumberland
Wests/West Harbour	Western Suburbs (later merged into Wests Tigers)
Easts	Eastern Suburbs
Glebe (later merged into Drummoyne)	Glebe
Norths	Norths
N/A	Newtown
N/A	Newcastle
N/A	Annandale
Sydney Uni	Sydney Uni
St. George (later merged into Southern Districts)	St. George (later merged into St. George-Illawarra)
N/A	Canterbury-Bankstown
Manly (kinda-sorta)	Manly-Warringah
Warringah (kinda-sorta)	Manly-Warringah
N/A (covered by Western Sydney in the Shute)	Parramatta
Port Hacking (kinda-sorta, later merged into Southern Districts)	Cronulla-Sutherland
N/A (covered by Western Sydney kinda-sorta and/or Penrith/Nepean at times)	Penrith
Eastwood	N/A (covered by Norths and Parramatta districts)
Gordon	N/A (covered by Norths district)
Randwick	N/A (covered by Souths and Easts districts)
(ex-district) Hornsby	N/A (covered by Norths district)
(ex-district) Drummoyne	N/A (covered by Balmain and/or Wests districts at various times)
Southern Districts	N/A (covered by St. George and Illawarra districts)

Other than the Sydney clubs (and a handful of other University clubs like Macquarie and UNSW), there have been regional clubs across both league and union, but that's basically the crux of rugby's "district" system over the years (that said, Mosman and Petersham, along with some "old boys" clubs also did play at a district level at one time or another in the 1900's union).

 

[Coolangatta]

Not exactly an historian but maybe I can shed some light on the NSW side.

If you're looking specifically at league not existing and, supposedly, those teams becoming part of a national Australian Football League, I can shed some light on how the NRL sides came to be.

The majority of the foundation clubs were either breakaways from the existing union district or other clubs, or formed after those teams had been formed to contest the NSWRFL. Souths, Balmain, Easts, Glebe, Norths all were clearly tied directly to a district union club - Glebe and Balmain would merge in union, later becoming Drummoyne Dirty Reds (until a bunch of businessmen decided to form a splinter Balmain club a few years ago), Souths are believed to have left the union altogether to join the NSWRFL and Easts and Norths still also have teams in the Shute to this day.

Wests are a bit of an outlier, tied to the Ashfield club as most of the Wests rugby players rejected their offers. Many of those same players would later accept offers from Central Cumberland, formed in Homebush, which creates a bit of a splinter in that history. Newtown and Newcastle's Rebels were the other 2 clubs in 1908, formed specifically to compete in the new code.

Going forward, Cumberland only played the 1 season, the Rebels went back to the Hunter to form "the real NRL" (their words, not mine) and Annandale were admitted to replace them (and hurt Glebe) in the 8 team competition. Annandale were themselves replaced a decade later by St. George, with University joining in the meantime. Then, we had the introduction of Canterbury-Bankstown (to compete with St. George), Manly-Warringah (to compete with Norths) and Parramatta (to compete with Wests), all of whom except Canterbury had some presence in union previously but had built a grassroots league.

For the time, these clubs covered the majority of Greater Sydney (for context, Cumberland, then Canterbury were considered "country bumpkins"). By the time Cronulla-Sutherland (to compete with St. George) and Penrith (to compete with Parramatta) had joined, most of today's Sydney was covered.

The main holdouts were the Macarthur/Campbelltown region (later serviced by Newtown, then Wests) and the regions, later addressed by the admission of Illawarra, Canberra and Newcastle. The Central Coast is, arguably, the main "hole" left when sprawling away from the CBD.

To summarise, I've added a table below to compare the Sydney league and union district sides over the past century:

Union district sides	League district sides
South Sydney	South Sydney
Balmain (later merged into Drummoyne)	Balmain (later merged into Wests Tigers)
Wests/West Harbour	Cumberland
Wests/West Harbour	Western Suburbs (later merged into Wests Tigers)
Easts	Eastern Suburbs
Glebe (later merged into Drummoyne)	Glebe
Norths	Norths
N/A	Newtown
N/A	Newcastle
N/A	Annandale
Sydney Uni	Sydney Uni
St. George (later merged into Southern Districts)	St. George (later merged into St. George-Illawarra)
N/A	Canterbury-Bankstown
Manly (kinda-sorta)	Manly-Warringah
Warringah (kinda-sorta)	Manly-Warringah
N/A (covered by Western Sydney in the Shute)	Parramatta
Port Hacking (kinda-sorta, later merged into Southern Districts)	Cronulla-Sutherland
N/A (covered by Western Sydney kinda-sorta and/or Penrith/Nepean at times)	Penrith
Eastwood	N/A (covered by Norths and Parramatta districts)
Gordon	N/A (covered by Norths district)
Randwick	N/A (covered by Souths and Easts districts)
(ex-district) Hornsby	N/A (covered by Norths district)
(ex-district) Drummoyne	N/A (covered by Balmain and/or Wests districts at various times)
Southern Districts	N/A (covered by St. George and Illawarra districts)

Other than the Sydney clubs (and a handful of other University clubs like Macquarie and UNSW), there have been regional clubs across both league and union, but that's basically the crux of rugby's "district" system over the years (that said, Mosman and Petersham, along with some "old boys" clubs also did play at a district level at one time or another in the 1900's union).

Wow, that's incredibly insightful. Thanks.

I was going for more that the NSWRL in 1986 was basically the same teams it had then but instead it's the NSWFL as rugby league doesn't exist in this alternate timeline and Aussie rules is as popular in NSW and QLD as it is in WA, SA and Vic.

So you've got the 13 teams from the NSWFL that existed from 1986 and the 12 VFL teams that existed in 1986 (in this timeline, South Melbourne still exists but barely). Both of the big two leagues are in financial trouble.

I have no idea what the QAFL looked like in 1986 but just imagine it was as big as the WAFL and SANFL were. Then you've got the TSL which was no slouch in its day.

From all of this, perhaps they decide to form a super league, none other than the AFL. It would have a maximum of 20 teams, forcing some ugly mergers and relocations to take place.

I'd imagine the rationing of the teams would have been something like:

NSW (8): I'm assuming 8 Sydney teams
VIC (6): 5 Melbourne teams + Geelong
QLD (4): 2 Brisbane teams + 2 Gold Coast teams
WA (1): 1 Perth team
SA (1): 1 Adelaide team

A 20 team comp in 1987.

But then, over time, Tasmania, Canberra, New Zealand, the Northern Territory and North Queensland would join the league, plus second teams in WA and SA.

So mergers, relocations, and removals would have to occur. You'd end up with something like:

NSW (5) 4 Sydney teams + 1 Newcastle team (Wollongong as secondary market only)
VIC (4) 3 Melbourne teams + 1 Geelong team
QLD (3) 1 Brisbane, 1 Gold Coast, 1 NQ team
WA (2): 2 Perth teams
SA (2): 2 Adelaide teams
TAS (1): 1 Tassie team
ACT (1): 1 Canberrra team
NZ (1): 1 NZ team
NT (1): 1 NT team

That's if you cared more about rationalisation of teams than just $$$, otherwise there'd be more teams in NSW and QLD.

The teams:

South Sydney Rabbitohs
Parramatta Eels
Sydney Roosters
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
Newcastle Knights
Carlton Blues
Collingwood Magpies
Melbourne Demons
Geelong Cats
Brisbane Broncos
Gold Coast Sharks
North Queensland Cowboys
Perth Black Swans
Fremantle Dockers
Port Adelaide Pirates
Adelaide Crows
Tasmania Tigers
Canberra Raiders
New Zealand Warriors
Northern Territory Bombers

But when you look at the success of the Redcliffe Dolphins it'd be tempting to turn Brisbane into a two team city and reduce Sydney to 3 mega clubs representing the North, South, and West.

I'm probably missing a really big NRL club (don't know jack about it, probably St. George Illlawarra) so you could just add them and Redcliffe and go to a max of 22 teams. It's not like they wouldn't be able to support that many teams if AFL was this big.

 

[BigChippa52]

hope to see a final list soon keen to see the designs

 

[troybe]

1986:

Queensland Australian Football League consisted of Coorparoo Kangaroos (Navy Blue, Monogram), Kedron Lions (Pale Blue, Red V Yoke),Mayne Tigers (Black with Gold Stripes), Morningside Panthers (Red, white, Black Tricolour), Sandgate Hawks (Green with Red Sash) Sherwood Magpies (Black and white Stripes), Southport Sharks (White with Black Chevron), Western Districts Bulldogs (Maroon with 3 Vees), Wilston Grange Gorillas (Red, White, Blue Candystripes), Windsor-Zillmere Eagles (Blue with White Eagle)

Sydney Football League consisted of Balmain Tigers (Black with Yellow Sash), East Sydney Bulldogs (Blue with Red, White Hoops), Newtown Swans (White with Red V), North Shore Bears (Black with Red Sash), Pennant Hills Demons (Navy with Red V Yoke), St George Dragons (Red and White Stripes, Red Back), Western Suburbs Magpies (Black and White Stripes)

 

[seaforthswan]

1986:

Queensland Australian Football League consisted of Coorparoo Kangaroos (Navy Blue, Monogram), Kedron Lions (Pale Blue, Red V Yoke),Mayne Tigers (Black with Gold Stripes), Morningside Panthers (Red, white, Black Tricolour), Sandgate Hawks (Green with Red Sash) Sherwood Magpies (Black and white Stripes), Southport Sharks (White with Black Chevron), Western Districts Bulldogs (Maroon with 3 Vees), Wilston Grange Gorillas (Red, White, Blue Candystripes), Windsor-Zillmere Eagles (Blue with White Eagle)

Sydney Football League consisted of Balmain Tigers (Black with Yellow Sash), East Sydney Bulldogs (Blue with Red, White Hoops), Newtown Swans (White with Red V), North Shore Bears (Black with Red Sash), Pennant Hills Demons (Navy with Red V Yoke), St George Dragons (Red and White Stripes, Red Back), Western Suburbs Magpies (Black and White Stripes)

Newtown Angels*

 

[troybe]

Newtown Angels*

This is from the 1986 VFL Year Book

 

[chibimatty]

I've often wondered about the "one code throughout Australasia" idea myself. It would be very interesting to see, in an alternate timeline, which of the old traditional clubs from the Brisbane Rugby League, for example would have made it big. Some of those Brisbane entities, like Souths Magpies and the Easts Tigers, wouldn't be two clubs each, playing union or league each; but one united club.

Likewise in New Zealand, would their national provincial rugby union sides have been essentially like Australian clubs, and would they have been able to compete across the ditch? Would the province of Auckland still have three sides (Auckland, North Harbour, Counties) would Canterbury be one team, and how powerful would they be? And what of some of the strong rugby league clubs like Mt Albert or Wainuiomata, do they remain strong and represent Auckland and Wellington respectively, alongside some of the stronger union clubs in this "one-code" reality?

How many Sydney and Brisbane rugby union clubs from our reality could even compete, considering there is no AFL/union/league split? Where to for Randwick, if they are playing the same code as the Roosters, Rabbitohs, East Fremantle Sharks, Port Adelaide Magpies et al.

A fascinating scenario.

 

[seaforthswan]

This is from the 1986 VFL Year Book

Interesting. Found this from the spiritual successor to the Newtown club.

Newtown Angels History | Newtown Swans

newtownswans.com.au

 

[terrybull]

1986:

Queensland Australian Football League consisted of Coorparoo Kangaroos (Navy Blue, Monogram), Kedron Lions (Pale Blue, Red V Yoke),Mayne Tigers (Black with Gold Stripes), Morningside Panthers (Red, white, Black Tricolour), Sandgate Hawks (Green with Red Sash) Sherwood Magpies (Black and white Stripes), Southport Sharks (White with Black Chevron), Western Districts Bulldogs (Maroon with 3 Vees), Wilston Grange Gorillas (Red, White, Blue Candystripes), Windsor-Zillmere Eagles (Blue with White Eagle)

Sydney Football League consisted of Balmain Tigers (Black with Yellow Sash), East Sydney Bulldogs (Blue with Red, White Hoops), Newtown Swans (White with Red V), North Shore Bears (Black with Red Sash), Pennant Hills Demons (Navy with Red V Yoke), St George Dragons (Red and White Stripes, Red Back), Western Suburbs Magpies (Black and White Stripes)

What are the Rugby teams in Queensland in 1986? Which would be more correct in this project.

 

[terrybull]

I've often wondered about the "one code throughout Australasia" idea myself. It would be very interesting to see, in an alternate timeline, which of the old traditional clubs from the Brisbane Rugby League, for example would have made it big. Some of those Brisbane entities, like Souths Magpies and the Easts Tigers, wouldn't be two clubs each, playing union or league each; but one united club.

Likewise in New Zealand, would their national provincial rugby union sides have been essentially like Australian clubs, and would they have been able to compete across the ditch? Would the province of Auckland still have three sides (Auckland, North Harbour, Counties) would Canterbury be one team, and how powerful would they be? And what of some of the strong rugby league clubs like Mt Albert or Wainuiomata, do they remain strong and represent Auckland and Wellington respectively, alongside some of the stronger union clubs in this "one-code" reality?

How many Sydney and Brisbane rugby union clubs from our reality could even compete, considering there is no AFL/union/league split? Where to for Randwick, if they are playing the same code as the Roosters, Rabbitohs, East Fremantle Sharks, Port Adelaide Magpies et al.

A fascinating scenario.

It was nearly split when VFA started changing the rules (like throw pass allowed). They probably made the mistake to go back to the rules in hindsight.

We could have had Australian League rules and Australian Association rules.

 

[troybe]

What are the Rugby teams in Queensland in 1986? Which would be more correct in this project.

1986 Brisbane Rugby League season - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[terrybull]

1986 Brisbane Rugby League season - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

O boy o boy… gonna be a few naming disputes with the NSW clubs.

And what about Fortitude Valley Diehards? The oldest rugby club in Queensland. Would they get a place in the AFL because of their heritage as Melbourne Demons might?

The Past Brothers Leprechauns seemed also a powerful side back then but extinct today.

Which of these clubs had most supporters?

 

[terrybull]

Here is the ladder of the major Leagues in 1986.



Which may or may not influence Coolangatta final decision on who gets in or not…



NSWRL

	Team	Pld	W	D	L	B	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	Parramatta Eels (P)	24	16	1	7	2	446	280	+166	37
2	South Sydney Rabbitohs	24	15	2	7	2	353	318	+35	36
3	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	24	15	1	8	2	428	264	+164	35
4	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	24	14	1	9	2	476	379	+97	33
5	Balmain Tigers	24	13	0	11	2	403	387	+16	30
6	North Sydney Bears	24	13	0	11	2	362	416	-54	30
7	St. George Dragons	24	12	1	11	2	360	402	-42	29
8	Penrith Panthers	24	11	1	12	2	446	394	+52	27
9	Eastern Suburbs Roosters	24	10	0	14	2	334	364	-30	24
10	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	24	9	1	14	2	310	464	-154	23
11	Canberra Raiders	24	8	1	15	2	391	413	-22	21
12	Western Suburbs Magpies	24	8	1	15	2	372	538	-166	21
13	Illawarra Steelers	24	7	0	17	2	310	372	-62	1

VFL

Team	P	W	L	D	PF	PA	%	Pts
1	Hawthorn (P)	22	18	4	0	2698	1906	141.6	72
2	Sydney	22	16	6	0	2470	2087	118.4	64
3	Carlton	22	15	7	0	2566	1809	141.8	60
4	Fitzroy	22	13	9	0	2068	2063	100.2	52
5	Essendon	22	12	10	0	2379	1978	120.3	48
6	Collingwood	22	12	10	0	2261	2070	109.2	48
7	North Melbourne	22	12	10	0	2324	2356	98.6	48
8	Footscray	22	11	11	0	1963	2010	97.7	44
9	Geelong	22	7	15	0	2133	2599	82.1	28
10	Richmond	22	7	15	0	2151	2745	78.4	28
11	Melbourne	22	7	15	0	2003	2673	74.9	28
12	St Kilda	22	2	20	0	1846	2566	71.9	8

SANFL

	TEAM	P	W	L	D	PF	PA	%	PTS
1	North Adelaide	22	16	6	0	2563	1960	56.67	32
2	Glenelg (P)	22	13	9	0	2436	2004	54.87	26
3	Port Adelaide	22	13	9	0	2232	2164	50.77	26
4	Woodville	22	13	9	0	2377	2430	49.45	26
5	Norwood	22	12	10	0	2341	2124	52.43	24
6	Central District	22	11	10	1	2200	2386	47.97	23
7	West Adelaide	22	9	13	0	2367	2251	51.26	18
8	Sturt	22	9	13	0	2032	2357	46.30	18
9	South Adelaide	22	7	14	1	2193	2335	48.43	15
10	West Torrens	22	6	16	0	1810	2540	41.61

WAFL

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	D	PF	PA	PP	Pts
1	Subiaco (P)	21	17	4	0	2790	2004	139.2	68
2	East Fremantle	21	16	5	0	2917	2092	139.4	64
3	Perth	21	12	8	1	2506	2537	98.8	50
4	Claremont	21	10	11	0	2507	2255	111.2	40
5	West Perth	21	9	11	1	2243	2529	88.7	38
6	East Perth	21	7	14	0	2311	2652	87.1	28
7	South Fremantle	21	7	14	0	2185	2916	74.9	28
8	Swan Districts	21	5	16	0	2318	2792	83.0	20

BRL

Team	Pld	W	D	L	B	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	Past Brothers	4	4	0	0	1	101	40	+61	16.5
2	Wynnum-Manly (P)	4	3	0	1	1	72	47	+25	14.5
3	Fortitude Valley	4	3	0	1	1	92	46	+46	13.5
4	Redcliffe	4	3	0	1	1	59	30	+29	12.5
5	Southern Suburbs	4	2	0	2	1	73	44	+29	12
6	Northern Suburbs	4	2	0	2	1	62	66	-4	9
7	Western Suburbs	4	1	0	3	1	38	71	-33	7
8	Eastern Suburbs	4	0	0	4	1	28	95	-67	3
9	Ipswich	4	0	0	4	1	42	128	-86	2

TFL

Team	Played	Won	Lost	Draw	For	Against	Percentage	Points
Sandy Bay	18	15	3	0	2479	1536	161.39%	60
Clarence	18	14	4	0	1994	1379	144.59%	56
Glenorchy	18	11	7	0	2034	1626	125.09%	44
Hobart	18	10	8	0	1902	2059	89.68%	40
North Hobart	18	8	10	0	1719	1904	90.24%	32
New Norfolk	18	7	11	0	1565	1677	94.51%	28
North Launceston	18	4	14	0	1593	2107	75.60%	16
East/South Launceston	18	3	15	0	1616	2653	60.91%

 

[chibimatty]

And what about Fortitude Valley Diehards? The oldest rugby club in Queensland.

Bear in mind, Valleys is the oldest rugby league club in Brissie.

The oldest rugby club (that is, rugby union) is Brothers Old Boys (Brothers Rugby Club) - Not to be confused with Past Brothers rugby league club

Here's a list of the rugby clubs (union) in Queensland and New South Wales
(you may see a few doubled-up entities with rugby league clubs in these lists)

Qld Hospital Cup

Sydney Shute Shield

And the New Zealand rugby provinces (union)

New Zealand National Provincial Championship (1976–2005)

 

[Coolangatta]

Here is my alternate timeline laid out, haven't got around to designs yet but the list is finalised.

It’s 1980. The New South Wales Football League and the Victorian Football League are the biggest footy leagues in Australia. They both have 12 teams.

The East Perth Royals apply to join the NSWFL in 1980. Their bid is rejected.

In 1981, the South Melbourne Swans are ****ed. The NSWFL offers to bail them out; they accept. The South Melbourne Swans relocate to NSW and become the Illawarra Swans in 1982. That year, the NSWFL also adds the Canberra Raiders, expanding their competition to 14 teams.

The VFL don’t want an odd number of teams. They approach the East Perth Royals in 1982. East Perth join the VFL in 1983, taking the VFL back to 12 teams.

1983 would be the last year for the Newtown Jets, taking the NSWFL back to 13 teams.

In 1984, the NSWFL have talks with the popular Brisbane Football League which is struggling due to the exodus of players to the NSWFL. They offer the BFL a license to join the NSWFL. They accept, creating a super club called the Brisbane Broncos. NSWFL back to 14 teams.

The VFL expands to 14 teams in 1987, adding the West Perth Falcons and the Port Adelaide Pirates who get to wear the prison bars every game.

In 1988, the NSWFL expands to 16 teams, adding the Newcastle Knights and the Gold Coast-Tweed Giants. Gold Coast eventually rebrand themselves as the Gold Coast Titans.

In 1991, the VFL adds the Norwood Redlegs to the league, rejecting the bid from Tasmania. The NSWFL swoops on this opportunity, adding the Tasmania Devils and a second Brisbane team, the Redcliffe Dolphins, to the NSWFL, expanding to 18 teams.

In 1995, the VFL adds the Fremantle Bullsharks to the competition, a merger between the South Fremantle Bulldogs and East Fremantle Sharks. VFL is now at 16 teams.

The NSWFL responds by adding the North Queensland Cowboys and the New Zealand Warriors to the league, taking the total number of teams to 20.

As of 2024, the VFL has 16 teams: Carlton Blues, Collingwood Magpies, East Perth Royals, Essendon Bombers, Fitzroy Lions, Fremantle Bullsharks, Geelong Cats, Hawthorn Hawks, Melbourne Demons, North Melbourne Kangaroos, Norwood Redlegs, Port Adelaide Pirates, Richmond Tigers, St Kilda Saints, Western Bulldogs, West Perth Falcons.

As of 2024, the NSWFL has 20 teams: Balmain Tigers, Brisbane Broncos, Campbelltown Magpies, Canberra Raiders, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, Gold Coast Titans, Illawarra Swans, Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, Newcastle Knights, New Zealand Warriors, North Queensland Cowboys, North Sydney Bears, Parramatta Eels, Penrith Panthers, Redcliffe Dolphins, South Sydney Rabbitohs, St. George Dragons, Sydney Roosters, Tasmania Devils.

There are rumours of contraction in the future in the NSWFL through mergers to make way for future teams. Some say there will be a third Brisbane team, a Central Coast team, and perhaps one based out of Papua New Guinea/Cairns.

As for the VFL, there is speculation that they will eventually expand to a maximum of 20 teams, adding a regional Victorian team, a 4th Western Australia team, a 3rd South Australian team, and a Northern Territory team to the league.

 

[BigChippa52]

Here is my alternate timeline laid out, haven't got around to designs yet but the list is finalised.

It’s 1980. The New South Wales Football League and the Victorian Football League are the biggest footy leagues in Australia. They both have 12 teams.

The East Perth Royals apply to join the NSWFL in 1980. Their bid is rejected.

In 1981, the South Melbourne Swans are ****ed. The NSWFL offers to bail them out; they accept. The South Melbourne Swans relocate to NSW and become the Illawarra Swans in 1982. That year, the NSWFL also adds the Canberra Raiders, expanding their competition to 14 teams.

The VFL don’t want an odd number of teams. They approach the East Perth Royals in 1982. East Perth join the VFL in 1983, taking the VFL back to 12 teams.

1983 would be the last year for the Newtown Jets, taking the NSWFL back to 13 teams.

In 1984, the NSWFL have talks with the popular Brisbane Football League which is struggling due to the exodus of players to the NSWFL. They offer the BFL a license to join the NSWFL. They accept, creating a super club called the Brisbane Broncos. NSWFL back to 14 teams.

The VFL expands to 14 teams in 1987, adding the West Perth Falcons and the Port Adelaide Pirates who get to wear the prison bars every game.

In 1988, the NSWFL expands to 16 teams, adding the Newcastle Knights and the Gold Coast-Tweed Giants. Gold Coast eventually rebrand themselves as the Gold Coast Titans.

In 1991, the VFL adds the Norwood Redlegs to the league, rejecting the bid from Tasmania. The NSWFL swoops on this opportunity, adding the Tasmania Devils and a second Brisbane team, the Redcliffe Dolphins, to the NSWFL, expanding to 18 teams.

In 1995, the VFL adds the Fremantle Bullsharks to the competition, a merger between the South Fremantle Bulldogs and East Fremantle Sharks. VFL is now at 16 teams.

The NSWFL responds by adding the North Queensland Cowboys and the New Zealand Warriors to the league, taking the total number of teams to 20.

As of 2024, the VFL has 16 teams: Carlton Blues, Collingwood Magpies, East Perth Royals, Essendon Bombers, Fitzroy Lions, Fremantle Bullsharks, Geelong Cats, Hawthorn Hawks, Melbourne Demons, North Melbourne Kangaroos, Norwood Redlegs, Port Adelaide Pirates, Richmond Tigers, St Kilda Saints, Western Bulldogs, West Perth Falcons.

As of 2024, the NSWFL has 20 teams: Balmain Tigers, Brisbane Broncos, Campbelltown Magpies, Canberra Raiders, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, Gold Coast Titans, Illawarra Swans, Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, Newcastle Knights, New Zealand Warriors, North Queensland Cowboys, North Sydney Bears, Parramatta Eels, Penrith Panthers, Redcliffe Dolphins, South Sydney Rabbitohs, St. George Dragons, Sydney Roosters, Tasmania Devils.

There are rumours of contraction in the future in the NSWFL through mergers to make way for future teams. Some say there will be a third Brisbane team, a Central Coast team, and perhaps one based out of Papua New Guinea/Cairns.

As for the VFL, there is speculation that they will eventually expand to a maximum of 20 teams, adding a regional Victorian team, a 4th Western Australia team, a 3rd South Australian team, and a Northern Territory team to the league.

mount gambier team? doubt it