British Australian Rules Football League
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The British Australian Rules Football League is a body for Australian rules football in the United Kingdom, including four separate competitions - the London Premiership, London Conference, Regional Premiership and the Scottish Australian Rules Football League.
Contents |
[edit] History
- See Also Australian Rules Football in England
The league in its current incarnation was formed in 1989, with efforts from John Jelley and others seeing the formation of eight clubs for an inaugural season in 1990. The founding clubs were the London Hawks, West London Wildcats, North London Lions, Earls Court Kangaroos, Lea Valley Saints, Thames Valley Magpies and Wandsworth Demons in and around London and a club based in Leicester, the East Midland Eagles. Of the foundation teams, four still survive in West London, North London, Wimbledon (former London Hawks) and Wandsworth.
Between 1990 and 2001, the league existed as one competition for all clubs, ranging from a high of 10 clubs in 1991 to a low of only 6 in 1998.
[edit] Divisional Structure 2001-present
In an environment where large numbers of Australians could be both a blessing (in terms of experience and teaching ability) and a curse (in terms of new clubs outside London finding it difficult to compete against the Australian expat-based London clubs), the league in 2001 divided teams into two leagues. The first league was the London Premiership, where the powerful London clubs would continue under the same local-content regulations as previously (ie quotas of British players who must be on the field at any time).
Beneath the London Premiership would be a London Conference, where the teams could field their 'reserve' sides, including the Clapham and Ealing teams which had been previously entered by Wandsworth and West London respectively. The London Conference has greatly relaxed 'local content' rules, meaning that backpackers and other Australians can compete at a social level.
In 2003, with new clubs being formed outside the capital and regional clubs still struggling against the larger numbers of Australians playing for the London sides, it was decided that clubs outside London would compete in a Regional Premiership. This included the Bristol Dockers, St Helens Miners and the two new sides in the Doncaster Saints and Reading Kangaroos.
In 2004, a fourth division of the BARFL appeared, with the Scottish Australian Rules Football League forming. In the inaugural season, three clubs played each other for the premiership, the Edinburgh Old Town Bloods, the Edinburgh Uni Body Snatchers and the Glasgow Sharks.
[edit] Clubs
[edit] London Premiership
[edit] Current Teams
- North London Lions 1990-
- Putney Magpies 1999- (known as the London Gryphons from 1999-2003)
- Sussex Swans 1991-
- Wandsworth Demons 1990-
- West London Wildcats 1990-
- Wimbledon Hawks 1990- (known as London Hawks 1990-94)
[edit] Past / Defunct Teams
- Earls Court Kangaroos 1990-97 (known as Esher Kangaroos 1992 and Firkin Roos 1996-97)
- Lea Valley Saints 1990-96
- Thames Valley Magpies 1990-91
[edit] London Conference
- See BARFL Conference
- City Swans (affiliated with Sussex)
- Clapham Demons (affiliated with Wandsworth)
- Ealing Emus (affiliated with West London)
- Fulham Hawks (affiliated with Wimbledon)
- Regents Park Lions (affiliated with North London)
- Shepherds Bush Raiders (affiliated with West London)
- Hammersmith Magpies (affiliated with Putney)
[edit] Past / Defunct Teams
- Covent Garden Gryphons
- London Stingrays
- Stockwell Demons
[edit] Regional England
- See BARFL Regional
[edit] Current Teams
- Bristol Dockers 1991-present, known as the Bristol Bears from 1991-96
- Durham 2006-
- Manchester Mosquitos 2006- Official Site
- Nottingham Scorpions 2004- Official Site
- Reading Kangaroos 2003-
- Swindon Devils 2004- Official Site
- Thanet Bombardiers 2006-
[edit] Past / Defunct Teams
- Birmingham Crows 1993-94
- Doncaster Saints 2003-04
- East Midland Eagles 1990-96
- Liverpool Blues 1993-94
- St Helens Miners 2002-04, known as the Northwestern Miners for the 2004 season.
[edit] Scotland
See also Scottish Australian Rules Football League
- Edinburgh Old Town Bloods 2003-
- Edinburgh University Body Snatchers 2004-
- Glasgow Sharks 2004-
- Glasgow Redbacks 2006-
- Middlesborough Hawks 2006-
[edit] Grand Final Results
[edit] Pre-Divisional Structure
- 1990 Wandsworth 10.10.70 d Earls Court 9.14.68
- 1991 Earls Court 18.15.123 d Wandsworth 12.15.87
- 1992 Wandsworth 12.5.77 d West London 11.9.75
- 1993 London Hawks 12.13.85 d Lea Valley 6.5.41
- 1994 London Hawks 15.8.98 d West London 8.11.59
- 1995 Wandsworth d West London
- 1996 Wimbledon d West London
- 1997 Wandsworth 7.11.53 d Wimbledon 7.10.52
- 1998 Wimbledon 11.8.74 d Wandsworth 7.2.44
- 1999 Wandsworth 14.10.94 d West London 14.5.89
- 2000 West London 11.12.78 Wandsworth 5.2.32
[edit] Divisional Structure
| Year | London Premiership | London Conference | Regional | Scotland |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | West London 11.12.78 d Wandsworth 5.2.32 | Shepherds Bush d Regents Park | N/A | N/A |
| 2002 | North London 18.11.119 d West London 8.5.53 | Shepherds Bush d | N/A | N/A |
| 2003 | Wandsworth 11.11.77 d West London 9.8.62 | Shepherds Bush 11.8.74 d Clapham Demons 7.6.48 | Bristol Dockers 13.19.97 d Reading Roos 9.7.61 | N/A |
| 2004 | West London 14.12.96 d Wimbledon 5.2.32 | Shepherds Bush 18.19.127 d Putney Magpies 9.4.58 | Reading Roos 28.20.188 d Bristol Dockers 1.6.12 | Edinburgh Old Town 24.25.269 d Glasgow 2.4.16 |
| 2005 | West London 9.14.68 d Wimbledon 9.7.61 | Shepherds Bush 11.12.78 d Clapham Demons 11.9.75 | Nottingham 10.9.69 d Bristol Dockers 8.6.54 | Edinburgh Old Town 12.11.83 d Glasgow 1.7.13 |
| 2006 | West London 18.11.119 d Wimbledon 2.6.18 | Shepherds Bush 5.11.41 d Clapham 4.3.27 | Reading 22.20.152 d Nottingham 6.7.43 | Edinburgh Bodysnatchers 11.9 (75) d Edinburgh Old Town Bloods 10.3 (63) |
[edit] National team
The BARFL co-ordinates a representative team, the British Bulldogs, who have competed at the Australian Football International Cup, in the Atlantic Alliance Cup and against other national sides in European test matches.
