Australian rules football leagues in regional Queensland

There are several Australian rules football leagues in regional Queensland.

The sport of Australian rules football has a rich history in Queensland which dates back to the 1860s, however the game outside of South East Queensland was slower to take off than in Brisbane.

In 1913, a team of servicemen briefly existed on Thursday Island, but was short lived. In 1944, a league of servicemen was formed around the Atherton Tableland. Teams represented included Wongabel, Wondelca, Kairi, Mareeba and Ravenshoe. The league was a precursor to the nearby Cairns, Queensland league.

In 1955, the Townsville Australian Football League began. Two years later the Cairns Australian Football League was formed. AFL was also introduced to Mount Isa. In the early 1970s, organised leagues started appearing in Mackay, the Darling Downs and Central Queensland.

The Australian Football League has occasionally played pre-season matches in Cairns and there have been semi-regular premiership matches on the Gold Coast.

AFL Cairns

AFL Cairns is a semi-professional league that includes clubs from the Cairns region in Queensland, Australia. It is widely regarded as the strongest regional Australian rules football league in Queensland and has a large base at Cazaly's Stadium which has staged pre-season Australian Football League matches.

The league has significant coverage in local media such as The Cairns Post. Each year the Grand Final attracts between 2,000–3,000 spectators.

AFL Capricornia

AFL Capricornia is an amateur competition played in the areas of Rockhampton, Gladstone and Yeppoon between the months of March and September in the cooler seasons of the Central Queensland climate.

The league is covered primarily by the Rockhampton Morning Bulletin in the local print media.

AFL Darling Downs

AFL Darling Downs is an amateur competition formed as the Darling Downs Australian Football League in 1971. It is based around the city of Toowoomba west of Brisbane. The senior representative team is known as the Demons and wear guernseys modelled on the Melbourne Demons guernseys. The Under 18 representative team who participate in the AFLQ Under 18 competition are known as the "Crows" and wear guernseys modelled on the Adelaide Crows guernseys.

Premiers^[1]

1971 Signals 1972 South Toowoomba 1973 Aviation 1974 Aviation 1975 Coolaroo 1976 South Toowoomba 1977 Toowoomba 1978 Institute 1979 Toowoomba 1980 Goondiwindi 1981 South Toowoomba 1982 South Toowoomba 1983 Goondiwindi 1984 South Toowoomba 1985 Lockyer Valley

1986 Institute 1987 Institute 1988 Toowoomba 1989 Institute 1990 University 1991 Goondiwindi 1992 University 1993 Lockyer Valley 1994 University 1995 Goondiwindi 1996 Goondiwindi 1997 University 1998 University 1999 Goondiwindi 2000 Goondiwindi

2001 Coolaroo 2002 Coolaroo 2003 Coolaroo 2004 Coolaroo 2005 Coolaroo 2006 University 2007 University 2008 South Toowoomba 2009 Coolaroo 2010 Toowoomba Tigers 2011 Toowoomba Tigers 2012 Toowoomba Tigers 2013 Coolaroo 2014 Warwick

Clubs

Club	Moniker	Colours	Years in Competition	No. of Premierships
Chinchilla	Suns		2013 -	-
Coolaroo	Roos		1971–	8
Dalby	Swans		1980–1994, 1998–2000, 2005–2007, 2010–	–
Goondiwindi	Hawks		1980–	7
Highfields	Lions	Maroon, Blue and Gold	2010–	-
Lockyer Valley	Demons		1981–1994, 1996–2000, 2010– (Moniker was Magpies 1981-2000)	2
South Burnett	Saints		2013-	-
South Toowoomba	Bombers		1972–1993, 1996–1997, 2005– (Known as Central Bombers 2005-2006) (Moniker was Longhorns 1972-1997)	6
Toowoomba	Tigers		1974–2001, 2003- (Moniker was Pinkies 1974-1980)	6
University	Cougars	Red, Blue and Yellow	1976–1998, 2003– (Known as Institute 1976-1989) (Moniker was Eagles 1976-1998)	11
Warwick	Redbacks	Red and black	1999, 2001–	1

AFL Mackay

AFL Mackay is an amateur competition formed as the Mackay Australian Football League in 1970. It is based around the city of Mackay with further clubs in Airlie Beach, Sarina, Alligator Creek, Pioneer Valley and Moranbah. The representative team is known as the Crows.

Premiers

1970 East Mackay 1971 Bakers Creek 1972 Bakers Creek 1973 East Mackay 1974 North Mackay 1975 Walkerston 1976 North Mackay 1977 Moranbah 1978 Moranbah 1979 Bakers Creek 1980 East Mackay 1981 Bakers Creek 1982 Mackay City 1983 North Mackay 1984 Trend United 1985 Mackay City

1986 Mackay City 1987 North Mackay 1988 Eastern Swans[2] 1989 Bakers Creek 1990 Bakers Creek 1991 Bakers Creek 1992 Bakers Creek 1993 Whitsunday 1994 Whitsunday 1995 Whitsunday 1996 Whitsunday 1997 Northern Beaches 1998 Eastern Swans 1999 Bakers Creek 2000 Mackay City 2001 North Mackay

2002 North Mackay 2003 North Mackay 2004 Whitsunday 2005 Whitsunday 2006 Whitsunday 2007 North Mackay 2008 North Mackay 2009 Eastern Swans 2010 Whitsunday 2011 Mackay City 2012 Mackay City 2013 Mackay City 2014 Moranbah

Clubs

Club	Moniker	Colours	Years in competition	Premierships
Magpies Northern Beaches	Magpies		2012 – (Also known as Andergrove Kangaroos 2011)	–
Bakers Creek	Tigers		1971–	9
Eastern Swans	Swans		1970– (Known as East Mackay Demons 1970-1986)[3] (Merged with Trend United in 1987)	6
Mackay City	Hawks		1977–1978, 1980– (Known as Northern Beaches Hawks 1990-1997)	8
Moranbah	Bulldogs		1975–1982, 1989–1991, 2006–	3
North Mackay	Saints		1970– 1970 to 1973 known as North Mackay Colts, played in the navy blue and white Carlton colours.	9
Whitsunday	Sea Eagles		1990– (Known as Bloods 1984-1989)	8
Alligator Creek	Bombers		Juniors only
Sarina	Demons		Juniors only
Pioneer Valley	Power		Juniors only

AFL Mount Isa

AFL Mount Isa is an amateur competition formed as the North West Australian Football League in 1967, changing its name to the Mount Isa AFL in 1969. Prior to this the game was played but was not organised. It is based around the city of Mount Isa.

Premiers

1967 Hawks 1968 Rovers 1969 Saints 1970 Saints 1971 Tigers 1972 Hawks 1973 Tigers 1974 Saints 1975 Hawks 1976 Rovers 1977 Mary Kathleen 1978 Mary Kathleen 1979 Mary Kathleen 1980 Rovers 1981 Rovers 1982 Rovers 1983 Tigers 1984 Rovers 1985 Rovers

1986 Rovers 1987 Saints 1988 Rovers 1989 Tigers 1990 Rovers 1991 Rovers 1992 Buffaloes 1993 Rovers 1994 Buffaloes 1995 Buffaloes 1996 Rovers 1997 Rovers 1998 Tigers 1999 Tigers 2000 Rovers 2001 Rovers 2002 Lake Nash 2003 Lake Nash 2004 Rovers

2005 Rovers[4] 2006 Tigers 2007 Rovers 2008 Rovers 2009 Rovers 2010 Rovers 2011 Tigers 2012 Rovers 2013 Rovers 2014 Tigers 2015 Tigers

Clubs

Club	Colours	Years in competition	No. of Premierships
Buffaloes		1983-	3
Rovers		1967-	24
Tigers		1967-	9
Young Guns		*1993-	2

* – Young Guns, at various times have fielded two teams including the Bushies and the Bats. Prior to 2010 the club was known as "Lake Nash".

AFL Townsville

AFL Townsville is an amateur competition formed as the Townsville Australian Football League in 1955, the first AFL competition to be formed in Queensland outside of the South East. It is based around the city of Townsville. For a short period in the 1980s, the competition was played during the summer months. The representative team is known as the Eagles and they wear similar guernseys to the Zillmere Eagles old white and blue guernsey's.

Premiers

1955 Hermit Park 1956 RAAF 1957 South Townsville 1958 Garbutt 1959 South Townsville 1960 South Townsville 1961 Garbutt 1962 Garbutt 1963 South Townsville 1964 Garbutt 1965 Garbutt 1966 Garbutt 1967 Hermit Park 1968 South Townsville 1969 2RAR 1970 Hermit Park 1971 West Townsville 1972 Lavarack 1973 Currajong 1974 South Townsville 1975 Currajong

1976 Currajong 1977 Currajong 1978 Currajong 1979 Currajong 1980 West Townsville 1981 Wulguru 1982 Garbutt 1983 Currajong 1984 Currajong 1984/85 Hermit Park 1985/86 Currajong 1986/87 Hermit Park 1987/88 West Townsville 1988 Townsville 1989 University Hawks 1990 West Townsville 1991 West Townsville 1992 West Townsville 1993 University Hawks 1994 University Hawks 1995 University Hawks

1996 Curra Swans 1997 Curra Swans 1998 Curra Swans 1999 West Townsville 2000 West Townsville 2001 West Townsville 2002 Hermit Park 2003 University Hawks 2004 University Hawks 2005 University Hawks 2006 Hermit Park 2007 University Hawks 2008 Hermit Park 2009 University Hawks 2010 Thuringowa 2011 Thuringowa 2012 Hermit Park 2013 Thuringowa 2014 Thuringowa

Clubs

Club	Moniker	Colours	Years in competition	Premierships
Curra Swans	Swans		1990– (merger of South Townsville and Currajong)	3
Hermit Park	Tigers		1955–	9
Thuringowa	Bulldogs		1970– (known as West Townsville 1970–2001)	13
Townsville City	Lions		1999-2002 as Northern Beaches, 2003-2008 as Twin Cities, 2012-	–
University	Hawks		1989–	9

AFL Wide Bay

The AFL Wide Bay competition was formerly known as the Bundaberg-Wide Bay Australian Football League which was formed in 1987 through the merger of the Bundaberg Australian Football League and Wide Bay Australian Football Leagues. The competition currently features teams from the cities of Bundaberg, Maryborough and Hervey Bay. The representative team is known as the Tigers wearing guernseys similar to those of the Richmond Tigers.

Premiers

Bundaberg Wide Bay AFL 1987 West Bundaberg 1988 Hervey Bay Bombers 1989 Hervey Bay Bombers 1990 Hervey Bay Bombers 1991 Hervey Bay Bombers 1992 Hervey Bay Bombers 1993 Fraser Coast 1994 Hervey Bay Bombers 1995 West Bundaberg 1996 Hervey Bay Bombers 1997 ATW Bundaberg 1998 ATW Bundaberg 1999 ATW Bundaberg

AFL Bundaberg Wide Bay 2000 Hervey Bay Bombers 2001 ATW Bundaberg 2002 Hervey Bay Bombers 2003 In recess 2004 Hervey Bay Bombers 2005 Hervey Bay Bombers 2006 ATW Bundaberg 2007 Hervey Bay Bombers 2008 ATW Bundaberg AFL Wide Bay 2009 Hervey Bay Bombers 2010 Brothers Bulldogs 2011 ATW Bundaberg 2012 Hervey Bay Bombers 2013 Hervey Bay Bombers 2014 ATW Bundaberg

Clubs

Club	Moniker	Colours	Years in competition	No. of Premierships
ATW Bundaberg	Eagles		1997– (merger of North Bundaberg Kangaroos and South Bundaberg/ATW Magpies)	8
Hervey Bay	Bombers		1987–	15
Bay Power	Power		2004–	–
Brothers Bulldogs	Bulldogs		1987– (known as West Bundaberg Bulldogs 1987-1996)	3
Maryborough	Bears		1988, 1990–1991, 1993–1999, 2001–2012 (Moniker was Tigers 1988–1994)	–

Defunct competitions

Bundaberg AFL

The Bundaberg Australian Football League was an amateur competition formed in 1972 and continued until 1986, before merging with the Wide Bay Australian Football League, starting a new competition called the Bundaberg Wide Bay Australian Football League in 1987, now known as AFL Wide Bay.

The four foundation clubs were Burnett Heads, Southern Suburbs (South Bundaberg), Western Suburbs (West Bundaberg), and North Bundaberg.

Premiers

1972 North Bundaberg 1973 Western Suburbs 1974 Western Suburbs 1975 North Bundaberg 1976 North Bundaberg

1977 Hervey Bay 1978 North Bundaberg 1979 North Bundaberg 1980 West Bundaberg 1981 South Bundaberg

1982 Hervey Bay 1983 Hervey Bay 1984 Urangan[5] 1985 West Bundaberg 1986 West Bundaberg

Clubs

Club	Colours	Years in Competition	Premierships
North Bundaberg	Blue and White	1972–1986	5
South Bundaberg	Black and White	1972–1986	1
West Bundaberg	Red, White and Black	1972–1986	5
Burnett Heads	Red and White	1972–1982	-
Hervey Bay	Red and Green	1977, 1982–1983	3
South Bundaberg 2	Blue and White	1979	-
Maryborough	Black and Gold	1979	-
Biggenden	Brown and White	1983	-
Gympie	Navy Blue and White	1984	-
Cooloola Coast	Navy Blue and White	1984	-
Urangan	Red and Green	1984	1
Brothers	Blue and White	1985	-

Central Highlands AFL

The Central Highlands Australian Football League was an amateur competition formed in 1983 and ceased operations after the 1997 season. Most of the previous clubs still exist and operate Auskick programs, including Dysart and Emerald. The Moranbah Bulldogs moved to the AFL Mackay after the league folded.

The league was a once flourishing competition with Clubs competing in Seniors, Reserves and juniors in Under 16's, 14's, and 12's. Around 1994, the mines in the area shifted from a five-day week into a seven-day 12-hour roster, which in turn limited teams' playing rosters. The league then changed onfield playing numbers from 18 to 13 with unlimited bench players. Unfortunately this still did not help and most clubs were forced to cease operations due to lack of playing numbers and not of financial matters.

Prior to the formation of the competition, Dysart, Middlemount and Moranbah had played in the Mackay competition.

Premiers

1983 Dysart 1984 ? 1985 Moranbah 1986 Moranbah 1987 Middlemount

1988 Emerald 1989 Emerald 1990 Blackwater 1991 Blackwater 1992 Blackwater

1993 Emerald 1994 Emerald 1995 Emerald 1996 Emerald 1997 Emerald

Clubs

Club	Colours	Years in competition	Premierships
Blackwater	Dark Blue and White	1983–1997	3
Clermont	Red and Black	1985–1986	-
Dysart	Red and White	1983–1997	1
Emerald	Black, White and Red	1983–1997	7
Middlemount	Blue and White	1983–1991	1
Moranbah	Blue, White and Red	1983–1988, 1994–1997	2
Tieri	Black and Yellow	1983–1991, 1996	-
United	Black and Yellow	1992–1995	-

Gold Coast AFL

The Gold Coast Australian Football League was a competition that operated from at least 1961 to 1996 before being absorbed by the Queensland AFL as its Gold Coast Division.

Clubs

Club	Colours	Years in Competition	Premierships
Ashmore Nerang	Black and White	1985-1989	0
Broadbeach	White and blue	1971–1996	2
Burleigh Heads	Red and Black	1979–1996	0
Coolangatta Tweed Heads		1965–1996	6
Ipswich		1963	0
Labrador	Black and Yellow	1964–1996	5
Lismore		1968–1970, 1978–1983	0
Palm Beach Currumbin	Yellow and Purple	1961–1996	4
Robina Roos	Blue and White	1996	0
Southport	White and black	1961–1982	9
Surfers Paradise	Red and Blue	1962–1996	9

Premiers

1961 Southport 1962 Southport 1963 Surfers Paradise 1964 Southport 1965 Palm Beach/Currumbin 1966 Southport 1967 Surfers Paradise 1968 Surfers Paradise 1969 Surfers Paradise 1970 Labrador

1971 Palm Beach/Currumbin 1972 Surfers Paradise 1973 Palm Beach/Currumbin 1974 Surfers Paradise 1975 Southport 1976 Southport 1977 Southport 1978 Coolangatta 1979 Southport 1980 Southport

1981 Coolangatta 1982 Coolangatta 1983 Coolangatta 1984 Surfers Paradise 1985 Palm Beach/Currumbin 1986 Labrador 1987 Broadbeach 1988 Coolangatta 1989 Coolangatta 1990 Surfers Paradise

1991 Labrador 1992 Surfers Paradise 1993 Labrador 1994 Labrador 1995 Palm Beach/Currumbin 1996 Broadbeach AFLQ - Gold Coast Division 1997 1998 Surfers Paradise 1999 Palm Beach Currumbin

Maryborough AFL

The Maryborough Australian Football League was an amateur competition that lasted two full seasons in 1981 and 1982. In 1983, there was only a limited number of fixtures, and due to lack of players, the competition folded after the season was over.

In 1983, Biggenden played in the both the Bundaberg AFL and the Maryborough competition. Biggenden 2 lost to Cooloola Coast in the 1983 MAFL Grand Final, as their seniors did the previous year.

Clubs

Club	Colours	Years in Competition	Premierships
Biggenden	Brown and White	1981–1983	1
Cooloola Coast	Navy Blue and White	1982–1983	2
Isis	Brown and Yellow	1981–1983	-
Maryborough[6]	Black and Gold	1981–1983	-
Torbanlea	Red and Blue	1981	-

Premiers

• 1981 Biggenden^[7]
• 1982 Cooloola Coast
• 1983 Cooloola Coast^[8]

Sunshine Coast AFL

The Sunshine Coast Australian Football League was an amateur competition that was formed in 1970 and continued until 1992. The three foundation clubs were Noosa, Maroochydore and Nambour.

In 1993, the clubs from the competition played in the Brisbane Australian Football League, and later split up into various AFL South Queensland Divisions.

Clubs

Club	Colours	Years in competition	Premierships
Caboolture	Maroon, Blue and Gold	1973–1975, 1984–1987, 1990	-
Caloundra	Navy Blue and White	1973–1983, 1985–1989, 1991–1992	4
Gympie	Navy Blue and White	1971–1983, 1992	-
Hervey Bay	Red and Green	1978–1981	-
Kawana	Blue and Yellow	1983–1984, 1990–1992	-
Maroochydore	Green and Gold	1970–1992	11
Maryborough	Black and Gold	1977	-
Mooloolah Valley	Black and White	1985–1988	-
Nambour	Navy Blue and White	1970–1975, 1977–1992	1
Noosa	Black and Gold	1970–1992	7
Pomona	Blue and Gold	1975, 1987–1990	-
Pomona/Cooroy	Red and Blue	1976–1986	-
Pomona/Gympie	Blue, White and Gold	1991	-
Southern Districts	Red, Blue and Gold	1987–1989	-

Premiers

1970 Maroochydore 1971 Maroochydore 1972 Maroochydore 1973 Noosa 1974 Maroochydore 1975 Noosa 1976 Noosa 1977 Noosa

1978 Maroochydore 1979 Maroochydore 1980 Noosa 1981 Noosa 1982 Maroochydore 1983 Maroochydore 1984 Maroochydore 1985 Noosa

1986 Maroochydore 1987 Caloundra 1988 Caloundra 1989 Maroochydore 1990 Nambour 1991 Caloundra 1992 Caloundra

Wide Bay AFL

The Wide Bay Australian Football League was a short lived amateur competition that was formed in 1985 as a result of a breakaway from the Bundaberg AFL. It only lasted two years before merging with the league it broke away from.

Clubs

Club	Colours	Years in competition	Premierships
Cooloola Coast	Navy Blue and White	1985–1986	-
Gympie Blues[9]		1985	-
Gympie Cats	Navy Blue and White	1985–1986	-
Hervey Bay Bombers	Black and Red	1985–1986	2
Hervey Bay Hawks	Brown and Yellow	1985	-
Maryborough	Black and Gold	1986	-

Premiers

• 1985 Hervey Bay Bombers
• 1986 Hervey Bay Bombers

See also

• Australian Rules football in Queensland

References

1. http://www.foxsportspulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?client=1-3485-0-0-0&sID=55951&&news_task=DETAIL&articleID=6209642
2. "Grand Final Report". Daily Mercury (Mackay, Queensland). 19 September 1988. p. 28.
3. "Grand Final Report". Daily Mercury (Mackay, Queensland). 7 September 1987. p. 26.
4. "Rovers Win". The North West Star Mount Isa (Mount Isa, Queensland). 12 September 2005. p. 20.
5. "Urangan in Rules Win". News Mail Bundaberg (Bundaberg, Queensland). 28 August 1984. p. 17.
6. "Up There Cazaly". Maryborough Chronicle Maryborough (Maryborough, Queensland). 4 August 1981. p. 14.
7. "Up There Cazaly". Maryborough Chronicle Maryborough (Maryborough, Queensland). 4 August 1981. p. 14.
8. "Dolphins win final 158-32". Maryborough Chronicle Maryborough (Maryborough, Queensland). 23 August 1983. p. 14.
9. Wide Bay AFL Year Book 1985.

External links

Leagues

• Official AFL Cairns Website
• Official AFL Capricornia Site
• Official AFL Darling Downs Site
• Official AFL Mackay Website
• Official AFL Mount Isa Website
• Official AFL Townsville Website
• Official AFL Wide Bay Website

Clubs

• Brothers Roos Rockhampton Website
• Twin City Lions Townsville
• Thuringowa Bulldogs AFL Club site