Victoria vs South Australia (1879)

1879 Victoria v South Australia Intercolonial Series
1879 Victoria v South Australia Intercolonial Series
2	0
Date	1 July 1879 – 5 July 1879
Stadium	East Melbourne Cricket Ground

The 1879 Victoria v South Australia involved a series of two matches with teams representing Victoria and South Australia. The matches were played in Victoria at the East Melbourne Cricket Ground. These two matches are recognised as the first games of intercolonial Australian rules football.^[1]

Game 1 (1 July)

Teams

Some players selected in the initial squad for South Australia were unable to make the trip to Victoria for the series. These players included Thomas Smith from Port Adelaide, A. Mehrtens from South Adelaide, W.H.J. Dedman from Norwood. Conversely, W. Knill, W. Osborn, C.E. Warren were unable to play the game for the Victorians.^[2]


Victoria^[3]		South Australia^[3]
John Gardiner (captain)	Carlton	Alfred McMichael (captain)	Norwood
George Coulthard	Carlton	Robert Absalom	South Adelaide
Paddy Gunn	Carlton	Thomas Blinman	South Adelaide
Millar		William Bracken	Norwood
Herbert Bryant	Essendon	Edward Colbey	Norwood
William Goer	Carlton	Martin Considine	South Adelaide
Robert Sillett	Melbourne	Richard Coonan	South Adelaide
Frank Lording	Hotham	W. Davis	Victorians
G.V. Cooke		George Downs	Victorians
Billy McLean	Hotham	George Giffen	Norwood
Harry Downes	Melbourne	Thomas Green	Norwood
Minchin		A.T. Harrison	Kensington
Jimmy Robertson	Hotham	W. Hughes	Old Adelaide
Thomas		Kirk Kennedy	South Adelaide
J. Gibson	South Melbourne	A.M. Pettinger	South Park
Arthur Ley	Hotham	Joseph Pollock	Norwood
Young	South Melbourne	Louis Suhard	Norwood
Murphy	Carlton	Joseph Traynor	Norwood
Rannard	West Melbourne	Turner	Old Adelaide
Mackenzie		Julian Woods	Norwood

Victoria def. South Australia (7–0).^[4]
Venue – East Melbourne Cricket Ground.^[3]
Attendance – 10,000.^[3]
Umpire – Jas. Slight.^[5]

Game 2 (5 July)

The second game was played under the rules of the South Australia Football Association which were almost identical to that of the Victorian Football Association but for the allowance of high tackles.


Victoria^[6]^[7]		South Australia^[6]^[7]
John Gardiner (captain)	Carlton	Alfred McMichael (captain)	Norwood
George Coulthard	Carlton	Joseph Traynor	Norwood
Murphy	Carlton	Joseph Pollock	Norwood
Billy McLean	Hotham	Louis Suhard	Norwood
Rannard	West Melbourne	A.T. Harrison	Kensington
J. Gibson	South Melbourne
Harry Downes	Melbourne
G.V. Cooke
Thomas
Kirby
McKenzie
Cooper (IN)

Result – Victoria def. South Australia (4–1).^[8]
Venue – East Melbourne Cricket Ground^[7]
Attendance – 8,000^[7]
Umpire – Jas. Slight.^[6]

References

^ "Chronology". AFL Media. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
^ "Football. South Australian Football Association". Adelaide Observer. Vol. XXXVI, no. 1966. South Australia. 7 June 1879. p. 5. Retrieved 30 October 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Intercolonial Football Match". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 10, 308. Victoria, Australia. 2 July 1879. p. 5. Retrieved 27 October 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "Football". Evening Journal. Vol. XI, no. 3197 (Second ed.). South Australia. 7 July 1879. p. 3. Retrieved 27 October 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "Football". The Age. No. 7612. Victoria, Australia. 7 July 1879. p. 3. Retrieved 27 October 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Football". Leader. Vol. XLI, no. 1228. Victoria, Australia. 12 July 1879. p. 12. Retrieved 5 November 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Football". Evening Journal. Vol. XI, no. 3202. South Australia. 12 July 1879. p. 3. Retrieved 5 November 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "Football". South Australian Register. Vol. XLIV, no. 10, 190. South Australia. 12 July 1879. p. 7. Retrieved 5 November 2020 – via National Library of Australia.