Sydney has taken the debate over whether to recognise pre-VFL premierships in the AFL competition a step further by commissioning premiership cup and flag replicas for their club headquarters.
The Age reports the Swans are now treating all 10 premierships won over the club’s history equally – the three in the VFL era, the two in the AFL era, plus five won by South Melbourne in the VFA.
Officially the AFL recognises its VFL history as one continuing competition, beginning in 1897, but does not use VFA records. Then-AFL chairman Mike Fitzpatrick said “each club has the option to decide how it will recognise its history across VFA/VFL or SANFL (for Port Adelaide)/AFL, depending on its continuous passage as a club.”
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VFA history is complicated. All of its premierships were won by teams which split from the competition in 1896 to create the VFL, but the leagues then ran concurrently and often used different rules including the number of players on the ground.
More VFA teams would later split off from the competition to join the VFL with Richmond (in 1908), Footscray, North Melbourne and Hawthorn (all in 1925) all defecting.
The VFA did not enforce a strict set of rules, in terms of game rules nor deciding premierships. And technically Victorian football premierships have been awarded since 1870 – when Melbourne won the most games in a five-team senior competition also including Albert-park, Carlton, South Yarra and Hobson’s Bay Railway.
From 1877 the VFA began awarding premierships. In that year, Carlton was declared premier despite winning fewer games than Melbourne – no Grand Final was played – and one of Carlton’s wins was in a game played under rugby union rules against Waratah, from the NSW colony.
Another Carlton premiership was disputed by Geelong because one of the Cats’ matches – a loss to Ballarat Imperial with eight of its 20 best players unavailable – was arranged informally and not expected by the club to be counted.
Teams like Hobson’s Bay Railway, Ballarat Imperial and Waratah being counted as playing VFA matches are another reason why those premierships are not considered in the same way as VFL or AFL flags by many historians.
But the Swans, who now display their replica VFA cups alongside their VFL and AFL premierships at Moore Park, have chosen to honour the club’s long history.
“When we talk about how many premierships we have won, it is 10,” Swans CEO Tom Harley said.
Including VFA premierships (not the current VFL predecessor but the pre-split VFA) would mean Carlton leads the all-time tally with 22, ahead of Essendon with 20.
THE VFA/VFL/AFL PREMIERSHIP LADDER
VFA meaning the pre-split (1870-96) league, not the VFL predecessor
1. Carlton (22)
2. Essendon (20)
=3. Collingwood (17)
=3. Geelong (17)
5. Melbourne (16)
=6. Hawthorn (13)
=6. Richmond (13)
8. South Melbourne/Sydney (10)
9. Fitzroy (9)
=10. North Melbourne (4)
=10. West Coast (4)
12. Brisbane Lions (3)
=13. Adelaide (2)
=13. Footscray/Western Bulldogs (2)
=15. Port Adelaide (1)
=15. St Kilda (1)
=17. Brisbane Bears (0)
=17. Fremantle (0)
=17. Gold Coast (0)
=17. Greater Western Sydney (0)
=17. University (0)
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