Time taken for expansion clubs to reach their first Grand Final

[Matchu]

The Victorian Football League was established in 1897 with 12 foundation clubs (Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong, Melbourne, South Melbourne and St Kilda). Expansion began in 1908 when Richmond and Melbourne University were admitted into the competition. Although Melbourne University dropped out of the competition in 1914, further expansion occurred in 1925 when Footscray, Hawthorn and North Melbourne were let into the competition. Brisbane and West Coast kicked off the first round of non-Victorian expansion in 1987 and Adelaide took the game national in 1991 when the league was officially rebranded the Australian Football League. Fremantle were established in 1995 and Port Adelaide quickly followed in 1997. The latest round of expansion took place this decade when Gold Coast joined the league in 2011 and GWS did so in 2012.

In total, the competition has seen 12 expansion clubs join the league. Below is a list which details how long it took each of them to reach their first Grand Final.

Time taken for expansion clubs to reach their first Grand Final:

1. West Coast - 5 years (1987-1991)
2. Adelaide - 7 years (1991-1997)
3. Greater Western Sydney - 8 years (2012-2019)
3. Port Adelaide - 8 years (1997-2004)
5. Richmond - 12 years (1908-1919)
6. Brisbane - 15 years (1987-2001)
7. Fremantle - 19 years (1995-2013)
8. North Melbourne - 25 years (1925-1950)
9. Bulldogs - 30 years (1925-1954)
10. Hawthorn - 36 years (1925-1961)
Melbourne University - nil (1908-1914)
Gold Coast - nil (2011-present)


Pretty remarkable achievement from GWS when you compare them to other expansion clubs.

 

[craffles]

South Melbourne to Sydney not included?

 

[Shane Heard]

Compare them to any other club entering the league and they are in a special category of their own.

No club in history has started off with such rich pickings of talent.

The kids grew up, built up their bodies, matured mentally and now play as an united team with a good system.

Their back six is a suburb unit.

Other than all that, I don’t really know what point I’m trying to make.

 

[Rory Walkerfield]

Compare them to any other club entering the league and they are in a special category of their own.

No club in history has started off with such rich pickings of talent.

The kids grew up, built up their bodies, matured mentally and now play as an united team with a good system.

Their back six is a suburb unit.

Other than all that, I don’t really know what point I’m trying to make.

 

[PerthBoy86]

Goes to show how the nascent Eagles were stacked with mostly homegrown WA talent. We began challenging almost right from the start, when we won our first game vs Richmond. Crows and Power similarly were out of the blocks fast, while the Swans, Bears, Dockers and GC floundered. GWS early years were poor but then they roared into contention.

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

Port Adelaide will tell you they've been around since 1870, so the figure should read 134 years for them

 

[matthew_s]

Time taken for expansion clubs to reach their first Grand Final:

1. West Coast - 5 years (1987-1991)
2. Adelaide - 7 years (1991-1997)
3. Greater Western Sydney - 8 years (2012-2019)
3. Port Adelaide - 8 years (1997-2004)
6. Brisbane - 15 years (1987-2001)
7. Fremantle - 19 years (1995-2013)

GWS. Never.


Pretty remarkable achievement from GWS when you compare them to other expansion clubs.

Remarkable? Looks slightly better than average in the modern / AFL era

 

[Furn2]

Remember the panic on here by some when the concessions where announced ? This was supposed to be the 4th of 6 straight GWS v GC grand finals according to some.

 

[halalsnackpack]

Hawthorn giving us all hope

 

[Handsuper47]

If anyone is curious.. Adelaide, Port Adelaide, Brisbane, Footscray and Hawthorn all won on their first attempt, while West Coast, Fremantle, North Melbourne and Richmond all lost on their first attempt. I wonder which group the Giants will join..

 

[Matchu]

South Melbourne to Sydney not included?

Not technically an expansion club as much as it was a relocation of an existing club but since you asked, South Melbourne moved to Sydney in 1982 and played in their first GF as a Sydney-based team in 1996. It took them 15 years to get there.

 

[Freomaniac]

Compare them to any other club entering the league and they are in a special category of their own.

No club in history has started off with such rich pickings of talent.

The kids grew up, built up their bodies, matured mentally and now play as an united team with a good system.

Their back six is a suburb unit.

Other than all that, I don’t really know what point I’m trying to make.

whinging excuse lol. You moan about their concessions. What you have to trade a top 10 pick for Devon Smith?

But your happy trading duds to get Matty Lloyd and Scott Lucas.

 

[Biggy_Boy]

Remember the panic on here by some when the concessions where announced ? This was supposed to be the 4th of 6 straight GWS v GC grand finals according to some.

GWS basically did work out as people assumed, though probably took a little longer to make a GF than expected. GC has been mismanaged terribly. Their early recruitment stage was one big bust.

 

[emuboy]

Although foundation club Geelong was runner up to Essendon in the first year of the VFL in 1897 there was no actual Grand Final that year, and it took the Cats a remarkable 28 years for the Cats to play in a Grand Final, which they won against Collingwood in 1925. It was their first premiership since the 1886 VFA flag.

 

[Shane Heard]

whinging excuse lol. You moan about their concessions. What you have to trade a top 10 pick for Devon Smith?

But your happy trading duds to get Matty Lloyd and Scott Lucas.

This is a public announcement:

Sorry, but I don’t respond to deranged nutcases.

 

[Freomaniac]

This is a public announcement:

Sorry, but I don’t respond to deranged nutcases.

you just did mate.

Again, I dont recall Essendon complaining of Getting Lloyd and Lucas for stuff all

 

[Shane Heard]

you just did mate.

Again, I dont recall Essendon complaining of Getting Lloyd and Lucas for stuff all

No. It was a public announcement.

Anyway...what are you taking about?

We spotted Lloyd as a 16 year old junior at local Essendon area club Avondale Heights.

He was always going to be a Bomber.

 

[Go the Guts]

If anyone is curious.. Adelaide, Port Adelaide, Brisbane, Footscray and Hawthorn all won on their first attempt, while West Coast, Fremantle, North Melbourne and Richmond all lost on their first attempt. I wonder which group the Giants will join..

The former.

 

[deanc]

Hawthorn giving us all hope

Well, unlike Fremantle but similar to the Suns thus far, Hawthorn were the perennial whipping boys of the competition for decades often finishing bottom or 2nd bottom and played many seasons without even winning a game. In fact it wasn't until 1956 that a Hawthorn team in any grade played in a final since the clubs inception...

 

[Freomaniac]

No. It was a public announcement.

Anyway...what are you taking about?

We spotted Lloyd as a 16 year old junior at local Essendon area club Avondale Heights.

He was always going to be a Bomber.

you really are full of crap.....

Llyod and lucas were never going to be kept at freo. Both were forced to be traded.

 

[Elmer_Hauser]

I honestly reckon Freo did cop the rough end of the pineapple, along with the original Brisbane Bears. Yes admittedly, some of it was self inflicted, but the West Coast monopoly at WA at the time in my opinion didn't allow the Dockers to be granted the same generous access to WA Talent the Eagles were allowed, Eagles got a HOF star in Ross Glendinning, Freo got an injury broken Ben Allan.

Can see why Freo fans have a chip on their shoulder tbh.

 

[kane249]

I honestly reckon Freo did cop the rough end of the pineapple, along with the original Brisbane Bears. Yes admittedly, some of it was self inflicted, but the West Coast monopoly at WA at the time in my opinion didn't allow the Dockers to be granted the same generous access to WA Talent the Eagles were allowed, Eagles got a HOF star in Ross Glendinning, Freo got an injury broken Ben Allan.

Can see why Freo fans have a chip on their shoulder tbh.

Glendinning was 31 when he came over to play for us, still an ok player but his best years were well behind him

Allen has played 20+ games for the last 5 years and came over at age 27, that's just bad luck unfortuantely his body didn't hold up after his first year at Freo.

 

[Freomaniac]

I honestly reckon Freo did cop the rough end of the pineapple, along with the original Brisbane Bears. Yes admittedly, some of it was self inflicted, but the West Coast monopoly at WA at the time in my opinion didn't allow the Dockers to be granted the same generous access to WA Talent the Eagles were allowed, Eagles got a HOF star in Ross Glendinning, Freo got an injury broken Ben Allan.

Can see why Freo fans have a chip on their shoulder tbh.

Agreed.....

Brisbane side was mainly made up of Players at the end of their careers and rejects from other clubs.

Freo were always going to be behind the 8 ball. West coast had the pick of the WA talent for 8 years. Its easy to see why Gerard Neesham got so many Claremont players

Mind you Comparing Freos 1st 10 years and Ports 1st 10 years was night and Day.

Port Recruited well with their 1st rounders getting guys like Chad Cornes and Josh Carr. While freo constantly traded their 1st rounders for average players or used them to get duds or injury prone kids.

 

[mcgarnacle]

The Victorian Football League was established in 1897 with 12 foundation clubs (Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong, Melbourne, South Melbourne and St Kilda). Expansion began in 1908 when Richmond and Melbourne University were admitted into the competition. Although Melbourne University dropped out of the competition in 1914, further expansion occurred in 1925 when Footscray, Hawthorn and North Melbourne were let into the competition. Brisbane and West Coast kicked off the first round of non-Victorian expansion in 1987 and Adelaide took the game national in 1991 when the league was officially rebranded the Australian Football League. Fremantle were established in 1995 and Port Adelaide quickly followed in 1997. The latest round of expansion took place this decade when Gold Coast joined the league in 2011 and GWS did so in 2012.

In total, the competition has seen 12 expansion clubs join the league. Below is a list which details how long it took each of them to reach their first Grand Final.

Time taken for expansion clubs to reach their first Grand Final:

1. West Coast - 5 years (1987-1991)
2. Adelaide - 7 years (1991-1997)
3. Greater Western Sydney - 8 years (2012-2019)
3. Port Adelaide - 8 years (1997-2004)
5. Richmond - 12 years (1908-1919)
6. Brisbane - 15 years (1987-2001)
7. Fremantle - 19 years (1995-2013)
8. North Melbourne - 25 years (1925-1950)
9. Bulldogs - 30 years (1925-1954)
10. Hawthorn - 36 years (1925-1961)
Melbourne University - nil (1908-1914)
Gold Coast - nil (2011-present)


Pretty remarkable achievement from GWS when you compare them to other expansion clubs.

The most remarkable is Hawthorn. 36 years for their first AFL/VFL appearance, but they've won 13 premierships since 1961 and easily the modern era giants of Australian Rules Football

 

[Whatname]

Agreed.....

Brisbane side was mainly made up of Players at the end of their careers and rejects from other clubs.

Freo were always going to be behind the 8 ball. West coast had the pick of the WA talent for 8 years. Its easy to see why Gerard Neesham got so many Claremont players

Mind you Comparing Freos 1st 10 years and Ports 1st 10 years was night and Day.

Port Recruited well with their 1st rounders getting guys like Chad Cornes and Josh Carr. While freo constantly traded their 1st rounders for average players or used them to get duds or injury prone kids.

The biggest difference between Port and Freo is they were allowed to maintain a link to the SANFL Port Adelaide.
Port Adelaide people had a say in how the club was formed and operated.

Freo on the other hand are a creation of the WAFC on the behest of the A/VFL to weaken the Eagles.
The AFL made it quite clear to the commission they wanted a "new age" team in regards to name and colours.
WAFC didn't want to weaken the Eagles and didn't want East Freo/South Freo having any link to this new team.
100+ years of football history totally ignored.

All the commission wanted was a game every week in Perth so they could clean up on Subiaco Oval.

As a result the lack of resources afforded Freo in the early years was a disgrace.
Our 1st CEO was a public servant and the club's office was at the bottom of a 100 year old grandstand.
As well we had to work around a WAFL club when it came to using Freo Oval for training.
No gym, the visitors rooms at Freo Oval were turned into makeshift clubrooms and and medical facilities that would make an amateur club feel bad.

When a great football town is treated with such disdain you can see why we can have a chip on our shoulder.
The fact we have been able to grow a decent sized supporter based considering this and a lack of success is quite an achievement.