Related coverage
St Kilda coach Scott Watters has thrown his support behind his club’s bold plan to play an Anzac Day AFL match in New Zealand as soon as next year.
The Saints have confirmed they are closing in on a deal to take a home-and-away match to Wellington.
If the plan became reality, it would be the first AFL match played overseas for competition points.
The match would be played at Westpac Stadium – the 36,000-capacity home of A-League soccer club Wellington Phoenix and Super Rugby’s Hurricanes.
The venue has also been successfully used for Rugby World Cup matches and rugby league Tests.
Watters said Saints players were excited about the prospect of taking AFL overseas, and officials at the club viewed the New Zealand experiment as important for the Saints’ future.
“It certainly looks really positive at the moment – there are negotiations taking place and everything’s moving towards a really positive outcome,” Watters said on Friday.
“It would be another strong pillar on which this club can build from. There’s a lot of work being put into taking this club to another level and New Zealand is a key cornerstone of that.
“What it can actually deliver this club on a number of levels could actually relaunch this club into becoming the powerful club it needs to be.”
Watters said he was not fazed with the extra travel which would be involved in an already tightly-packed home-and-away schedule.
“I played most of my footy at West Coast where I travelled every second week, and we delivered some fantastic results on the back of that,” Watters said of his part in the successful Eagles teams of the early 1990s.
“I’m not intimidated or scared of travelling. International teams in international competitions don’t see travelling as a negative.”
The AFL would have to approve the deal, and the venue for the match, before it could go ahead.
But Westpac Stadium has already succesfully hosted AFL exhibition matches – the last a pre-season clash between Brisbane and Adelaide in 2001.
© AAP 2013Sport, all day long. Does this sound too good to be true? We're searching for a Group Sales Manager to lead our team in Sydney. If you're a sales star who doesn't mind a hit, kick, throw, or cycle, we want to hear from you. Apply now.
- Explore:
- AFL, New Zealand AFL, St Kilda Saints
May 26th 2012 @ 1:58am
allblackfan said | May 26th 2012 @ 1:58am | Report comment
the comic potential in this is tremendous!!
May 26th 2012 @ 6:44am
Redb said | May 26th 2012 @ 6:44am | Report comment
If predictability is funny your post was up there up Johhno’s in front.
Clubhouse leader though will be Republican you know it’s true.
May 30th 2012 @ 10:42am
captain nemo said | May 30th 2012 @ 10:42am | Report comment
wow, haven’t had a peak at this website in over a year. You guys still having a peeing contest!!! Redb, you must be the last of the originals. What happened to MichealC???? Are they still letting Republican slag NZ??
May 26th 2012 @ 9:03am
The Cattery said | May 26th 2012 @ 9:03am | Report comment
All forms of football are chock block full of comic potential.
May 26th 2012 @ 2:11am
Johnno said | May 26th 2012 @ 2:11am | Report comment
I almost fell off my chair. AFL wants to get big in China too. Do the AFLSeriously does AFL really think it has a chance to be liked by millions around the world like global sports, soccer, rugby,basketball, water polo, volleyball, sports that people love and know about, unlike aussie rules.
And to go global and capture people’s attention china, canada,russia, usa, and NZ, home of rugby union and the AB’S. Who are the AFL kidding by trying to expand and get people to like aussie rules on a global level. It is too funny. That money to send a match to NZ could of been better spent on taking it up to Dariwn or cairns for a match, or even the tiwi islands or Weipa where there is true passion for the sport and home to many great players over the years. Great part of Australia, or take the game to the Alice .
Can’t AFL accept people will not like aussie rules globally unlike other sports, so why give people the chance to find out about aussie rules, it seems a pointless waste of money exercise too funny.
May 26th 2012 @ 2:36am
Cameron said | May 26th 2012 @ 2:36am | Report comment
Looking at the history of VFL/AFL matches overseas (thanks wikipedia) it is hard to get too excited about it’s potential to succeed.
There have been a total of 40 pre season / post season VFL/AFL exhibition games held overseas
The all time crowd record for an overseas match is 32789 at B.C Place in Vancouver, Canada for a match between Sydney and Melbourne in 1987.
As for matches held in NZ, the crowds were as follows
1991 Geelong v St. Kilda – 8500 in Auckland
1998 Melbourne v Sydney – 7820 at Basin Reserve Wellington
2000 Western Bulldogs v Hawthorn 11666 Westpac Stadium Wellington
2001 Brisbane v Adelaide 7500 at Westpac Stadium
So the crowds arn’t especially promising, still they were only pre season games, not premiership games. Played on Anzac day is a good idea, public holiday and all. As for television it could be played as a night game (I think the stadium has lights?) that would coincide just after the Ess v Coll match so it is palitable for TV in Australia. I think I read elsewhere that a Sydney team is in the running to be St. Kilda’s opponent, hopefully the Swans as this would ensure a good, tough stoush.
May 26th 2012 @ 6:46am
Redb said | May 26th 2012 @ 6:46am | Report comment
Oh well Johhno do your best to ignore it then until you run with a I told you so based on any rationale YOU choose. Too funny indeed.
May 26th 2012 @ 7:59pm
Lroy said | May 26th 2012 @ 7:59pm | Report comment
Johno..
You might be surprised at how popular Aussie Rules is overseas. I spent a summer playing in the Toronto league back in 1995.. they had ten teams .. and most of the players were Canadians…standard of footy was better than you might think.
I visited the USA last year, and they have Australian Rules comps in a lot of cities, i think they even had a couple of teams in Phoenix (but dont quote me.. someone told me in a bar, and we were all drinking).
The AFL could seriously play an AFL world cup every 4 years for all the non Australian countries, and the winner could play at the MCG as the curtain raiser to the AFL grand final.. how cool would that be??
May 27th 2012 @ 1:51am
Good move Saints said | May 27th 2012 @ 1:51am | Report comment
Its an expirement and good on them for testing international expansion. the AFL is looking 50-100 years into the future and doesn’t expect short-mid term success. It starts with baby steps and that is what this is. Swans v Saints on Anzac Day in NZ is a great idea.
May 26th 2012 @ 6:51am
Redb said | May 26th 2012 @ 6:51am | Report comment
Hawthorn have done more ground work but with Tassie they can’t afford to move another home game away from Melbourne.
St Kilda are ok, however the AFL needs to get a big Vic club involved , obviously not Ess or Coll.
I think it’s worth a shot anyway.
May 26th 2012 @ 8:48am
Australian Rules said | May 26th 2012 @ 8:48am | Report comment
I think most Australian Footy fans would recognise this as a ‘toe in the water’ experiment, rather than part of a serious long-term strategy.
May 26th 2012 @ 9:07am
The Cattery said | May 26th 2012 @ 9:07am | Report comment
More and more footballers of NZ background are playing at AFL level.
Marley Williams, with a maori background, is the latest, debuting this weekend for Collingwood, the biggest football club in Australasia.
Hawthorn have a few exciting prospects already signed up, all three having learned their footy in NZ, so the timing is good.
If you’re an athlete with elite endurance and mental toughness, you can earn a very good living as a professional footballer in Australia, with average salaries now approaching $300,000 per annum and up to 900 professional contracts on offer, why wouldn’t you be interested in that if you want to be a professional footballer?
May 26th 2012 @ 10:59am
Emric said | May 26th 2012 @ 10:59am | Report comment
mosly because footballers want to play for the best, and beat the best but most of all they want to represent their country. This is a massive difference between NZ and Australia. Australians are content on being insular kiwis want to beat the world.
I guess its the difference between being a big nation and not having to prove yourself and being a small one and wanting to prove you are bigger and better then you look
May 26th 2012 @ 11:40am
The Cattery said | May 26th 2012 @ 11:40am | Report comment
Emric
I actually disagree with the statement that most “want to represent their country”. For many, earning a good living is far more important.
There are dozens of sports where you can represent your country, dozens upon dozens – but there are only a handful where you can make an above-average income, and Australian Football is one of those.
May 26th 2012 @ 12:56pm
Emric said | May 26th 2012 @ 12:56pm | Report comment
You see it from a Australian point of view not a kiwi one
May 26th 2012 @ 1:02pm
The Cattery said | May 26th 2012 @ 1:02pm | Report comment
No Emric – I see it from a worldwide view.
The vast majority of humans – right across the world, would happily take a well paid professional sporting career over representing a body politic, most of which are even more contrived than the sports we grow up loving.
May 26th 2012 @ 1:58pm
Emric said | May 26th 2012 @ 1:58pm | Report comment
Cat – money isn’t everything. Rugby has been NZ no.1 sport since time the beginning and even when NRL moved into New Zealand and rugby remained amateur wearing a All Black Jersey still had a stronger pull then making hundreds of thousands of dollars playing league even today you can make more money in the NRL then in NZRugby. Finally a kiwi competiting against a Melbournian kid for a place in a AFL team is going to be hard pressed to find one.
May 26th 2012 @ 2:13pm
The Cattery said | May 26th 2012 @ 2:13pm | Report comment
Rugby will be no. 1 NZ forever more, I don’t doubt that.
But even amongst NZers, you will find people playing different sports.
Let’s not forget that NZ won a famous gold medal in Hockey in the 1976 Olympics, and in the same year had the champion 800m runner.
May 26th 2012 @ 3:42pm
Emric said | May 26th 2012 @ 3:42pm | Report comment
Notice the international aspect of Running and Hockey – representing your country means everything to us AFL has no true representative value
May 26th 2012 @ 5:14pm
The Cattery said | May 26th 2012 @ 5:14pm | Report comment
Emric
for every 1 NZ rep (in whatever sport), there are 1,000 others playing for the hell of it, or playing for financial remuneration.
You’re making a big deal out of nothing.
America is the home of professional sport with the very biggest sporting leagues in the world – their professional players could not give a damn about representative honours.
Let me tell you, when you’re lining your pocket with big dollars, it can help relieve the emotional pain of never representing a vague body politic.
This representative idea is a quaint, passe notion – it has little place in modern, professional sport.
May 26th 2012 @ 5:17pm
Emric said | May 26th 2012 @ 5:17pm | Report comment
Thats America Cat. Are you saying New Zealanders have the same value system as Americans?
The reality is Kiwis love sports that we can beat Americans, English Australians and basically any other nation in the world. This brings fame with fame comes money and lets be realistic Aussie rules can’t offer much compared to playing Soccer in Europe or Rugby in Japan.
May 26th 2012 @ 6:37pm
The Cattery said | May 26th 2012 @ 6:37pm | Report comment
Emric
The AFL offers 900 professional contracts at an average $300k a pop – don’t worry about what other sports may or may not provide, it’s pretty good remuneration.
I simply say that plenty would put a professional career ahead of representing a vague body politic, and in any event, most AFL clubs have a longer history than most body politics around the world.
Fame and recognition? In Australian sporting history, there aren’t many that surpass the greatest footballers – club footballers I mean.
May 26th 2012 @ 6:47pm
Titus said | May 26th 2012 @ 6:47pm | Report comment
Without a doubt if you are happy to underachieve, have no interest in representing your country and are happy to play for a moderate average wage, then the AFL offers plenty.
For those with ambition and pride there is Rugby and Football.
May 26th 2012 @ 10:34pm
The Cattery said | May 26th 2012 @ 10:34pm | Report comment
Titus
which one are you?
The AFL Premiership is the premier sporting achievement in Australia.
May 26th 2012 @ 10:50pm
Titus said | May 26th 2012 @ 10:50pm | Report comment
Underachiever TC, I would have been suited to AFL but we didn’t have it where I am from.
May 26th 2012 @ 10:58pm
The Cattery said | May 26th 2012 @ 10:58pm | Report comment
titus
I honestly doubt you were suited to it.
May 26th 2012 @ 11:05pm
Titus said | May 26th 2012 @ 11:05pm | Report comment
Probably true, I am under 180cm and co-ordinated.
May 26th 2012 @ 11:13pm
The Cattery said | May 26th 2012 @ 11:13pm | Report comment
The height doesn’t help, but don’t forget to mention that your missing an important part of the anatamy.
May 26th 2012 @ 11:19pm
Titus said | May 26th 2012 @ 11:19pm | Report comment
Anatomy…….many organs of the body are used to make a complete athlete, that is true.
May 26th 2012 @ 11:44am
Gleeso said | May 26th 2012 @ 11:44am | Report comment
also Karmichael Hunt is a NZer. Look, NZ needs a team and deserves a team. For fitness purposes AFL owes it to NZ to give them a team. Otherwise their children will grow up obese. The children need to have options. Thank god (Vlad) somebody is thinking of the children. I cannot see why, with their abundance of money, AFL does not pay to erect AFL posts on every cricket ground in NZ. You know, for the children.
May 26th 2012 @ 11:45am
The Cattery said | May 26th 2012 @ 11:45am | Report comment
Gleeso
some very good points.
If cricket clubs in NZ, Sth Africa and England started to embrace Australian Football, they would have a second sport to help support ovals.
You only need to look at Lords to see the truth of that.
May 26th 2012 @ 11:53am
Boomshanka said | May 26th 2012 @ 11:53am | Report comment
For the record, the larger stadiums in New Zealand coexist with cricket in the summer and rugby union, winter. Have a look at Eden Park (Auckland), The Cake Tin (Wellington), Lancaster Park (Christchurch) – currently munted and Carisbrook (Dunedin).
For what its worth, Hedingley in Leeds is probably the best example of co-use where the main rugby league stand backs onto the cricket stand.
May 26th 2012 @ 11:54am
stabpass said | May 26th 2012 @ 11:54am | Report comment
Good point, the difference between English cricket grounds and Australian are immense, wonder who helped pay for the upgrades ?.
May 26th 2012 @ 1:03pm
The Cattery said | May 26th 2012 @ 1:03pm | Report comment
That’s correct – MCG five times the capacity of Lords.
May 26th 2012 @ 12:48pm
zacbrygel said | May 26th 2012 @ 12:48pm | Report comment
Some great points made there and I completely agree. New Zealand is just off our doorstep, so why not try to expand
AFL to our neighbours? If the AFL wants AFl to be expanded internationally it only makes sense to start with New Zealand
first.
May 26th 2012 @ 9:24am
The Cattery said | May 26th 2012 @ 9:24am | Report comment
This article appeared in The Dominion Post only a couple of weeks ago and gives a pretty good run down of where things are at:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/sport/6866478/Aussie-Rules-in-Wellington-OK
May 26th 2012 @ 1:11pm
The Cattery said | May 26th 2012 @ 1:11pm | Report comment
The interesting bit about that Dominion Post article is that the native NZers, especially those who have spent some time in Australia are very supportive, but it’s a handful of mad hatter aussies who are frothing at the mouth about the idea – I wonder what their sporting background is?!
May 26th 2012 @ 1:35pm
Brewski said | May 26th 2012 @ 1:35pm | Report comment
Plenty of Kiwi kids involved in local AFL here in country WA, through the multitude of Kiwi workers in rural WA.
http://www.worldfootynews.com/article.php/20120525073713903
Here is another one that could heritage wise slip into a Kiwi team somehow.
May 26th 2012 @ 10:55am
Emric said | May 26th 2012 @ 10:55am | Report comment
Using ANZAC day as a way to promote this sport to Kiwis is simply wrong. If the game is to be played play it on a weekend but not ANZAC day.
May 26th 2012 @ 11:40am
Anzac Day said | May 26th 2012 @ 11:40am | Report comment
I actually agree with this sentiment.
They will get a crowd of travelling Australian fans, but seriously – what does 2 Australian teams playing in New Zealand on ANZAC Day mean to New Zealanders?
My guess would be – nothing…
May 26th 2012 @ 11:43am
The Cattery said | May 26th 2012 @ 11:43am | Report comment
It’s only one game – and I can’t think of a better way to come together on such an important day than with a game of Australasian rules.
May 26th 2012 @ 11:46am
Gleeso said | May 26th 2012 @ 11:46am | Report comment
yeah come on our passion for AFL is the one thing we have in common with our neighbours.
May 26th 2012 @ 12:01pm
Boomshanka said | May 26th 2012 @ 12:01pm | Report comment
Emric
I’m with you, the commericalisation of ANZAC day by the AFL is wrong and would not be welcomed by a wider audience across the ditch.
Was New Zealand even mentioned on the ANZAC day blockbuster at the MCG? There’s your answer – it is not reflective or paying respect to those that served in previous wars. Just jumped up jingoistic patriotic and “meeting the market” (ie to make money).
Kiwis are not as patriotic as Australian consumers. The addition of a foreign game on ANZAC day with the sole purpose of making money is a big mistake. Even St Kilda representatives are on the record as saying the decision to play in New Zealand is purely commercial.
May 26th 2012 @ 1:13pm
The Cattery said | May 26th 2012 @ 1:13pm | Report comment
It might be largely commercial, but there’s certainly a cultural exchange aspect about it as well.
May 26th 2012 @ 1:20pm
Titus said | May 26th 2012 @ 1:20pm | Report comment
Where does the “exchange” come into it?
May 26th 2012 @ 3:32pm
The Cattery said | May 26th 2012 @ 3:32pm | Report comment
We offer NZers employment opportunities, they have to watch one AFL game per year – it’s an eminently fair deal.
May 26th 2012 @ 5:22pm
Emric said | May 26th 2012 @ 5:22pm | Report comment
What Employment opportunities?
May 26th 2012 @ 6:39pm
The Cattery said | May 26th 2012 @ 6:39pm | Report comment
Are you trying to be funny?
May 26th 2012 @ 7:58pm
Emric said | May 26th 2012 @ 7:58pm | Report comment
Nope i just don’t understand what your talking about Cat.
May 26th 2012 @ 10:56am
Dapper1994 said | May 26th 2012 @ 10:56am | Report comment
How about the AFL focus on areas such as Tasmania and Darwin which would make a truly national competiton rather than play these types of matches overseas, they are already pouring millions into the Suns and GWS
May 26th 2012 @ 11:44am
The Cattery said | May 26th 2012 @ 11:44am | Report comment
If last week’s game in darwin is anything to go by – no thanks.
May 26th 2012 @ 11:06am
Titus said | May 26th 2012 @ 11:06am | Report comment
You would think there were enough expats in NZ to get a decent crowd?
And some Kiwi’s get to have a bit of a look at some Australiana.
Can’t see any harm.
May 26th 2012 @ 11:15am
Emric said | May 26th 2012 @ 11:15am | Report comment
What does Saint Kilda have to do with Wellington?
May 26th 2012 @ 11:25am
Titus said | May 26th 2012 @ 11:25am | Report comment
Nothing, did I say it did?
May 26th 2012 @ 11:42am
The Cattery said | May 26th 2012 @ 11:42am | Report comment
Perhaps Wellingtonians have an affinity with Saints?
May 26th 2012 @ 12:58pm
Emric said | May 26th 2012 @ 12:58pm | Report comment
Only the Wellington Basketball team and if the Saint Kilda want to try and ride on the Saints name perhaps a law-suit is in the waiting
May 26th 2012 @ 1:06pm
The Cattery said | May 26th 2012 @ 1:06pm | Report comment
the St Kilda footy club has been around for 140 years
May 26th 2012 @ 3:42pm
Emric said | May 26th 2012 @ 3:42pm | Report comment
but not in Wellington.
May 26th 2012 @ 5:11pm
The Cattery said | May 26th 2012 @ 5:11pm | Report comment
No, but they are hardly going to cop a law suit if they turn up in NZ for one game, with the name they’ve carried for 140 years.
May 26th 2012 @ 5:27pm
Emric said | May 26th 2012 @ 5:27pm | Report comment
That depends if the “the saints” as a registered trade mark take offense to the AFL trying to hijack their name and rep that they have built up in Wellington region.
I am a Wellingtonian born and bred. I can tell you this Saints game has upset more then a few people mostly because the WCC is going to have to pay for it and it could cost the Wellington rate payer AKA Me approx 1,000,000 dollars a year.
Its a sport we are not interested in, we are not going to go to, and the AFL offers us nothing – why not take the game to Auckland or Southland but leave us Wellingtonians alone
May 26th 2012 @ 6:40pm
The Cattery said | May 26th 2012 @ 6:40pm | Report comment
Emric
because Wellington is the chosen one.
May 26th 2012 @ 6:57pm
Emric said | May 26th 2012 @ 6:57pm | Report comment
No Because wellington has the own ground in New Zealand can be played in. It should be bulldozed and replaced with a proper rugby stadium like it should have been in the first place
May 26th 2012 @ 7:08pm
Boomshanka said | May 26th 2012 @ 7:08pm | Report comment
Lets not forget a delegation of Wellington public servants were wined, dined and entertained by the victorian code only last week.
I’d suggest ratepayers need to ensure they’re not going to underwrite any loses.The AFL were shown the door a couple of years ago when they sought similar undertakings from the New Zealand government.
May 27th 2012 @ 2:52am
dan said | May 27th 2012 @ 2:52am | Report comment
at this time of year they’re both cold, wet and windy.
May 26th 2012 @ 11:39am
stabpass said | May 26th 2012 @ 11:39am | Report comment
Nothing new to look at here, move along.
http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=MS19040822.2.5.5&srpos=9&e=——-10–1—-0australian+football+wellington–
The Australian Game. 22 August 1904
WELLINGTON, August 21. T The Australian football match between. Wellington- and- Canterbury, played at Newtown Park yesterday, was won by Wellington after, a well fought game. The scores wereT goals and 7 behinds Bgainsfc 3 goals and 6 behinds
May 26th 2012 @ 12:28pm
Titus said | May 26th 2012 @ 12:28pm | Report comment
Well whataya know, the game built New Zealand also.
May 26th 2012 @ 12:36pm
Brewski said | May 26th 2012 @ 12:36pm | Report comment
Yes, dug it up would be a better term, but the men that bought it over the ditch definitely helped.
May 26th 2012 @ 1:09pm
The Cattery said | May 26th 2012 @ 1:09pm | Report comment
All Australians and New Zealanders can share equally in our local game. We are very welcoming.
May 26th 2012 @ 5:25pm
Boomshanka said | May 26th 2012 @ 5:25pm | Report comment
papers past is a great site, and gives a great insight into the time without the rose coloured view of historians and marketers.
If you change your search entry to that of Victorian Rules (instead of Australian Football) then one can pick up much more including letters to the editor including entries that the roar would be proud of.
This is a gem from the Evening Post, Volume XVII, Issue 534, 12 June 1879;
Interesting to see the spin of Rugby is “brutal” and VR is a “game of skill” was used then as well. Also of interest is that the Warratahs traveled south to play Carlton under both sets of rules.
Sir— l hope that you will find room in your valuable paper for the insertion of this letter. I royally feel myself, as a Rugby footballer of thirteen years’ standing, bound to champion the rules under which I have played against the cowardly and unprovoked attacks which are constantly made ou them in the Wellington papers by those who are attempting to introduce Victorian rules.
The terms “brute force,” ‘brutal,” “rough and tumble,” and others of a still more offensive nature, are continually applied to the Rugby Union game, whilst the Victorian game is lauded up in such expressions as “game of skill,” “scientific,” etc. Whilst, sir, I am quite willing to admit that a game under the Victorian rules, as played in Wellington, might take place in a crockery shop with perfect safety to the wares, yet I confidently assert that that game as properly played, is infinitely more dangerous than the Rugby Union game, and at the same time is infinitely less manly and worthy of a true Englishman, and I speak from an intimate knowledge of both games. The Victorian rules are simply Association with some objectionable additions, and a study of the English reporting papers will prove that more and more dangerous accidents occur in the Association than in the Rugby Union game.
Last year, the chief Rugby Union club in Sydney (the Waratahs) visited Melbourne and played the chief Melbourne club (the Carlton) two game?, at both of which 1 was present, the one under Rugby Union rules and the other according to Victorian rules. At the Rugby Union match between 6000 and 7000 people were present and no accidents occurred. At the game under the Victorian rules there were about 5000 spectators, and Mr. Gill, the Carlton captain, had his thigh broken, Melville (Carlton) was badly cut in the eye, and Lee (Waratahs) was disabled by an injury to his arm. These particulars are taken from the account of the matches in the Melbourne Argus, written by a person who was very much, prejudiced in favor of the Victorian game.
I leave the public to judge for themselves, In conclusion, I may state that I prefer a manly breast-to- breast game in which strength and pluck are requisites to one in which any weakling can excel, and to advance which its votaries have to resort to underhand and ungentlemanly means. I am, & One who has played both games
May 26th 2012 @ 8:24pm
Brewski said | May 26th 2012 @ 8:24pm | Report comment
I am sure we can all find what we wish to find, i am not going to get into any sort of a past paper war , but suffice to say, i could find letters that claim exactl;y the opposite.
May 30th 2012 @ 1:04am
jdubya said | May 30th 2012 @ 1:04am | Report comment
Thanks for that.
If only those half witted victorians had listened to him. We may have been spared the atrocity that is Australian gaelic football.
May 30th 2012 @ 7:43am
Boomshanka said | May 30th 2012 @ 7:43am | Report comment
Papers past is well worth a look and gives a great insight.
I’d recommended anyone to put in simple search terms and find out for themselves public opinion of the day.
I never knew that victorian rules teams played rugby as late as 1879 and that the common perception was that victorian rules was a derivation of rugby.