 | |
| Formerly | Victorian Junior Football League VFL seconds/reserves |
|---|---|
| Sport | Australian rules football |
| Founded | 1919 |
| First season | 1919 |
| Ceased | 1999 |
| Country | Australia |
| Most titles | Geelong (13) |
| Related competitions | |
TheAFL reserve grade competition, commonly known simply as theAFL reserves, was anAustralian rules football competition that operated as a second-tier competition to theAustralian Football League (AFL) from 1919 until 1999.
Prior to 1990, it was known as theVFL reserve grade competition,VFL reserves orVFL seconds.[1]
In itsfinal season in 1999, the competition was made up of the reserves teams of all thesenior AFL clubs that were based in Victoria, plus that of theSydney Swans.[2]
Since 2000, theVictorian Football League (VFL), formerly known as theVictorian Football Association (VFA), has operated as a hybrid second-tier senior competition and reserves competition for most of the AFL clubs.
In1919, a new football competition known as theVictorian Junior Football League (VJFL) was established – at this time, junior was the term used for open age football of a lower standard than senior football, rather than for under age football.[3] The league was intended to bring a junior club affiliated with each of theVictorian Football League (VFL) senior clubs into a single competition, and to adopt the samedistrict eligibility scheme which the VFL had introduced in 1916.[4] Player permit rules allowed for automatic transfers between the junior and senior clubs until July, allowing the juniors to serve as second eighteens for the seniors. The junior and senior clubs shared a home ground, with the juniors playing home when the seniors played away.[5]
For theinaugural season, four existing junior clubs – the Fitzroy Juniors,Collingwood District (also known asCollingwood Juniors) and Leopold (affiliated withSouth Melbourne) andCaulfield (affiliated withMelbourne) – initially crossed to the new league from the Metropolitan Amateur Association; West Melbourne was affiliated withEssendon; and new junior clubs were formed in Carlton, Richmond and St Kilda.[4]University, which had left the VFL senior competition after 1914, also entered a stand-alone junior team in the competition.[6][7]
Shortly before the season, Caulfield withdrew, and a second University team was quickly arranged to take its place for the1919 season.[8] The two University teams were known as University A and University B, later becoming the modern day 'University Blues' and 'University Blacks'. University B contested only the 1919 season, with a Melbourne Juniors team established for 1920; University A contested the 1919 and 1920 seasons, reaching thegrand final both years before dropping out.
West Melbourne faced multiple heavy losses in1920, including a 197-point loss againstCarlton District and a 229-point loss againstSt Kilda District. The club left the competition at the end of the season, and were replaced byEssendon Juniors.[9][10]
In1925, the VJFL was renamed as theVFL seconds, later known more commonly as theVFL reserves.[11] Following the change, the seconds clubs still operated as distinct stand-alone clubs at this time, rather than coming directly under the influence of their senior clubs. This changed over the following decades, with all of the seconds teams gradually being subsumed by their senior counterparts.[12][13]
Melbourne won the 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934 and 1935 premierships - the only time in VFL/AFL history (seniors or reserves) that a club has won five grand finals in a row.[14]
Local players were primarily recruited via the league'smetropolitan and country zoning rules, and the clubs had full ability to develop its players through its Under-19s and reserves teams: the same basic structure was also used consistently in the other two elite leagues, theSouth Australian National Football League (SANFL) and theWest Australian Football League (WAFL).
History was made in1991, with theBrisbane Bears winning the reserves premiership − the first non-Victorian club to win a VFL/AFL premiership in any grade.
TheVictorian State Football League was established at the end of 1991 to take over administration of football inVictoria from theAustralian Football League, which was now becoming preoccupied with administration of the game nationally.
TheVSFL ran the AFL reserves competition from1992 until1999, which was also referred as the VSFL in its first few years.[15] At the end of 1994, the VSFL also took over administration of theVictorian Football Association (VFA) competition (which was renamed theVictorian Football League in 1996).[16]
Following the1999 season, the AFL reserves was merged into theVictorian Football League. Such a merger had first been proposed as early as1980, and a formal attempt to enact the merger for the 1995 season was defeated after strong opposition from the clubs.[17][18]
South Melbourne was relocated toSydney at the end of the1981 VFL season, after which the club continued to play in the VFL/AFL reserves asSydney.[19]
TheBrisbane Bears competed for four years between 1989 and 1992, winning their only premiership at any grade in1991. After their merger withFitzroy at the end of 1996, theBrisbane Lions did not compete in the competition.
No teams fromSouth Australia orWestern Australia ever competed in the VFL/AFL reserves.
| Club | Colours | Moniker | Seasons | Title(s) | Year(s) of Title(s) | Current league | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brisbane |  | Bears | 1989 | 1992 | 1 | 1991 | Merged withFitzroy Lions, now asBrisbane Lions −VFL |
| Carlton (Carlton District) |  | Blues | 1919 | 1999 | 8 | 1926, 1927, 1928, 1951, 1953, 1986, 1987,1990 | VFL |
| Caulfield |  | N/A Withdrew before start ofinaugural 1919 season | Folded 1976 | ||||
| Coburg |  | Lions | 1921 | 1924 | 0 | VFL | |
| Collingwood (Collingwood District) |  | Magpies | 1919 | 1999 | 7 | 1919,1920,1922,1925, 1940, 1965, 1976 | VFL |
| Essendon (Essendon Juniors) |  | Bombers | 1921 | 1999 | 8 | 1921, 1941, 1950, 1952, 1968, 1983,1992,1999 | VFL |
| Fitzroy (Fitzroy Juniors) |  | Lions | 1919 | 1996 | 3 | 1944, 1974,1989 | Merged withBrisbane Bears, now asBrisbane Lions −VFL |
| Geelong |  | Cats | 1922 | 1999 | 13 | 1923,1924, 1930, 1937, 1938, 1948, 1960, 1963, 1964, 1975, 1980, 1981, 1982 | VFL |
| Hawthorn |  | Hawks | 1925 | 1999 | 4 | 1958, 1959, 1972, 1985 | In recess Affiliated withBox Hill −VFL |
| Leopold |  | Leos | 1919 | 1924 | 0 | Folded 1924 | |
| Melbourne |  | Demons | 1920 | 1999 | 12 | 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1939, 1949, 1956, 1969, 1970, 1984, 1993 | In recess Affiliated withCasey −VFL |
| North Melbourne (Kangaroos)[a] |  | Kangaroos | 1925 | 1999 | 7 | 1947, 1957, 1967, 1978, 1979, 1995, 1996 | VFL |
| Richmond | | Tigers | 1919 | 1999 | 10 | 1929, 1946, 1954, 1955, 1966, 1967, 1971, 1973, 1977, 1997 | VFL |
| St Kilda (St Kilda District) |  | Saints | 1919 | 1999 | 3 | 1942, 1943, 1961 | VFL in 2026 Affiliated withSandringham −VFL |
| Sydney (South Melbourne)[b] |  | Swans | 1925 | 1999 | 0 | VFL | |
| University A |  | Blues | 1919 | 1920 | 0 | VAFA | |
| University B | | Blacks | 1919 | 1919 | 0 | VAFA | |
| West Melbourne | | 1919 | 1920 | 0 | Folded 1940s | ||
| Western Bulldogs (Footscray)[c] |  | Bulldogs | 1925 | 1999 | 6 | 1936, 1945, 1962, 1988, 1994, 1998 | VFL |
      Brisbane |   Carlton |  Collingwood |    Essendon |    Fitzroy |   Footscray |
 Geelong |   Hawthorn |   Leopold |   Melbourne |  North Melbourne |  Richmond |
  St Kilda | South Melbourne |  Sydney |   University A | University B | West Melbourne |
A number of notable players competed solely in the reserves competition.
Shane Warne, considered to be one of the greatest bowlers in the history ofcricket, played a single game forSt Kilda in 1988: he was erroneously listed in theRecord as Trevor Warne, and played in the Under-19s for the remainder of the season.[20] Former St Kilda number one ticket holder John Moran also played for the reserves side.[21]
John Bourke, aCollingwood forward, infamously shoved an umpire and then attacked a fan among other incidents during a game in 1985, leading to a suspension of ten years plus 16 games, equivalent to 240 matches.[22]
Geelong won the most reserves premierships, with a total of 13.[23]