133-675: West Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Nicknamed the Bloods and commonly known as the Westies , the club's home base is Richmond Oval (currently known as Hisense Stadium under a sponsorship agreement). The Oval is located in Richmond , an inner-western suburb of Adelaide . The club has won nine SANFL premierships,
266-638: A dominion , leagues were also established in the major cities. This renewed popularity helped encourage the formation of the Australasian Football Council , which in 1908 in Melbourne staged the first national interstate competition, the Jubilee Australasian Football Carnival , with teams representing each state and New Zealand. The game was also established early on in the new territories. In
399-650: A scratch match at the Richmond Paddock adjoining the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). This was the first of several "kickabouts" held that year involving members of the Melbourne Cricket Club , including Wills, Bryant, W. J. Hammersley and J. B. Thompson . Trees were used as goalposts and play typically lasted an entire afternoon. Without an agreed-upon code of laws, some players were guided by rules they had learned in
532-460: A 12–8 record, including being only one of two sides to beat runaway minor premiers Norwood. Collins was criticised in the media for resting his "star" players over the final three rounds after West had already been assured of third place and the "double chance" in the finals. The Bloods got some revenge for their 2003 Grand Final loss to Centrals with a 27-point win in the Qualifying final to book
665-481: A 32-year premiership drought, beating Woodville-West Torrens by 30 points in the 2015 IGA SANFL grand final. The following year 2016 it again collected the wooden spoon which it has repeated in the last 3 consecutive seasons 2019-2021. Australian rules football Australian rules football , also called Australian football or Aussie rules , or more simply football or footy , is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field , often
798-487: A causal link with Australian football. In Melbourne , in 1858, in a move that would help to shape Australian football in its formative years, private schools (then termed " public schools " in accordance with nomenclature in England) began organising football games inspired by precedents at English public schools . The earliest match, held on 15 June, was between Melbourne Grammar and St Kilda Grammar. On 10 July 1858,
931-517: A century. State of Origin rules, introduced in 1977, stipulated that rather than representing the state of their adopted club, players would return to play for the state they were first recruited in. This instantly broke Victoria's stranglehold over state titles and Western Australia and South Australia began to win more of their games against Victoria. Both New South Wales and Tasmania scored surprise victories at home against Victoria in 1990. The term " Barassi Line ", named after VFL star Ron Barassi ,
1064-419: A game for either medical or tactical reasons. Players on the playing surface can be swapped with those on the interchange bench at any time. They must though pass through a designated "Interchange Area". In the event a player fails to pass through this area correctly, or if too many players from one team are found to be on the ground at a time, a free kick will be awarded to the opposing side. While there
1197-727: A large and enthusiastic meeting. For the upcoming season the captain was Mr T Bishop and vice-captain Mr Quinn. Following the club's annual general meeting on 30 March 1897, the club applied to join the South Australian Football Association (SAFA) which was approved by 6 votes to 4 against at a meeting held on 5 April 1897. The SAFA would subsequently become the SANFL. Upon entering the SAFA senior competition, West Adelaide changed their colours to black and red,
1330-399: A mark is taken, a small protected zone is established on the field, extending 10 metres (11 yd) either side of "the mark" and the player who marked the ball, with a small protected corridor between "the mark" and the player. The opposition player is permitted to jump, but is not allowed to move from their position on "the mark". Any other movements result in a distance penalty (50 metres in
1463-404: A modified cricket ground . Points are scored by kicking the oval ball between the central goal posts (worth six points), or between a central and outer post (worth one point, otherwise known as a "behind"). During general play, players may position themselves anywhere on the field and use any part of their bodies to move the ball. The primary methods are kicking , handballing and running with
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#17327907112831596-616: A place against Norwood in the Second Semi-final. However, Norwood's defensive game held them to just two goal in the final, the Redlegs easily booking a place in the 2012 Grand Final, winning 8.13 (61) to 2.5 (17). West bounced back a week later to record a 13.10 (88) to 10.7 (67) win over North Adelaide in the Preliminary Final to book a place in their seventeenth SANFL Grand Final, and their first against Norwood since
1729-543: A place in the Grand Final team. Ruckman Mark Mickan , the clubs Best & Fairest for the year, ruptured his Posterior cruciate ligament in the teams 93-point win over Woodville at Football Park in Round 20 and missed the remainder of the season, while Roger Winter, twin brother of Grand Final back pocket player Peter Winter, was injured in the 2nd Semi against Norwood and could not recover in time to take his place in
1862-427: A player breaks a rule, a free kick is awarded to the opposing team, from the location that the misconduct occurred, or the ball's current location—whichever is closer to the team's scoring zone. As when a mark is taken, this location is called "the mark", and the same protections regarding the space apply. Magarey Medal The Magarey Medal is an Australian rules football honour awarded annually since 1898 to
1995-514: A proposed hybrid code of Australian football and rugby league , the predominant code of football in New South Wales and Queensland, was trialled without success. In Queensland, the state league went into recess for the duration of the war. VFL club University left the league and went into recess due to severe casualties. The WAFL lost two clubs and the SANFL was suspended for one year in 1916 due to heavy club losses. The Anzac Day match ,
2128-544: A second straight Grand Final appearance went begging when North Adelaide reversed the previous years result and booked a place in the GF against Norwood (who would win their second straight flag), leaving The Bloods to finish in third place wondering what might have been. During 2013, the club won its first competition since winning the 1987 Foundation Cup (SANFL pre-season) when they won the 2013 Foxtel Cup , defeating WAFL side East Fremantle 4.8 (32) to 2.16 (28) at Football Park,
2261-510: A second winless season in 1906. However, with a number of young players such as Richard "Dick" Head joining veterans James Tierney . West's fortunes were about to change and the club would enter what is known as its "Golden Era" Prior to the 1908 season, West Adelaide never finished higher than fifth on the premiership ladder. In 1908 former Hotham 1887-1888 Captain, South Adelaide and North Adelaide champion "Dinny" Reedman became West's Coach. West Adelaide not only became SANFL premiers for
2394-505: A second-tier status. The VFA merged with the former VFL reserves competition in 1998, adopting the VFL name. State of Origin also declined in importance, especially after an increasing number of player withdrawals. The AFL turned its focus to the annual International Rules Series against Ireland in 1998 before abolishing State of Origin the following year. State and territorial leagues still contest interstate matches, as do AFL Women players. In
2527-513: A select few ways as defined by the Laws of Australian Football, published by the AFL. The ball can be propelled in any direction by way of a kick or a clenched fist (called a handball )—deemed a correct disposal. Failure to dispose of the ball in one of these two methods will result in a free kick to the opposing team. If the ball is not currently in a player's possession, it can be moved legally through
2660-499: A severe dent in the Redlegs premiership defence with a 77-point win the 2nd Semi-final to earn a spot in their first Grand Final since 1962. The Following week Sturt defeated Norwood in the Preliminary to earn the other Grand Final berth. Westies won their eighth premiership when Kerley coached the team to a 21.16 (142) to 16.12 (108) win in the Grand Final in front of 47,129 fans at Football Park . West Adelaide had winners all over
2793-620: A similar situation existing in Western Australia in the sport, the VFL pursued a more national competition. Two more non-Victorian clubs, West Coast and Brisbane , joined the league in 1987 generating more than $ 8 million in license revenue for the Victorian clubs and increasing broadcast revenues which helped the Victorian clubs survive. In their early years, the Sydney and Brisbane clubs struggled both on and off-field because
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#17327907112832926-498: A slightly modified version of the Victorian game in 1879. The South Australian Football Association (SAFA), the sport's first governing body , formed on 30 April 1877, firmly establishing Victorian rules as the preferred code in that colony. The Victorian Football Association (VFA) formed the following month. Clubs began touring the colonies in the late 1870s, and in 1879 the first intercolonial match took place in Melbourne between Victoria and South Australia . To standardise
3059-406: A technique known shepherding when the ball is within 5 metres (5.5 yd) of an opposition player. Shepherding involves the use of a player's body to push, bump or otherwise block an opposition player, providing they do not have possession of the ball. If a player takes possession of the ball that has travelled more than 15 metres (16 yd) from another player's kick, by way of a catch within
3192-427: A uniform code known as "Victorian rules". In 1866, the "first distinctively Victorian rule", the running bounce , was formalised at a meeting of club delegates chaired by H. C. A. Harrison , an influential pioneer who took up football in 1859 at the invitation of Wills, his cousin. The game around this time was defensive and low-scoring, played low to the ground in congested rugby-style scrimmages. The typical match
3325-507: A very lean time. After finishing 2nd in 1962 the club lost amongst others Kerley, Eustice, Jeff Bray and Don Roach from their playing ranks leading to a lean spell for the club. After having played in thirteen finals series and six grand finals between 1946 and 1963 for two premierships (1947 and 1961), the club would only reach the finals another five times (1968 – fourth, 1969 – third, 1976 – fifth, 1977 – third and 1981 – fifth) between 1964 and 1982. The ground record crowd for Richmond Oval
3458-595: A win worth A$ 100,000 in prizemoney to the club. West held a 25-point lead over the Sharks at halftime by keeping them goalless, but were themselves kept goalless in the second half scoring only three points. Helped by poor kicking for goal by the Perth based club who could only manage 2.12 (24) for the second half, West Adelaide held on for a hard-fought four-point win. At years End, Ryan Ferguson retired returning home to Victoria. CEO Kym Russell also ended his association with
3591-482: A young ruckman named Dexter Kennedy who made his league debut aged just 15 years, 11 months and 2 days. Kennedy would go on to play 236 games for the club between 1970 and 1982 before playing the last two seasons of his career with Port Adelaide. 1947 premiership player and nine-time premiership coach of Port Adelaide, Fos Williams began coaching the club in 1974 and after a tough start the team improved finishing sixth in 1975, fifth in 1976 and third in 1977. However, that
3724-405: Is analogous to a basketball center and as such rucks are typically the tallest player on the team. Lifting teammates is not allowed so the ruck may only jump to reach the ball. If the ruck does not take possession of the football, it must must be tapped or fisted, which is known as a hit-out. An effective hit-out that passes the ball to a teammate is known as a hit-out to advantage. In the event
3857-460: Is known as the Goal Line. Around the perimeter of the field, two white lines are drawn between the set of behind posts in an arc-shape, marking the field of play. Other field markings include: The 50m arcs, centre square, centre circle and goal square are used at the beginning of each quarter or after each goal. With each team permitted a maximum of six players in each 50m arc, with one in
3990-470: Is no set uniform, the basic equipment for Australian football consists of a guernsey, shorts, socks and boots, with additional pieces of apparel such as headbands and gloves additionally being permitted. Players may wear certain pieces of protective equipment, such as helmets or arm guards, if approved by the relevant controlling body. Mouthguards are strongly recommended for all players. Players are not permitted to wear jewellery, or other materials which
4123-493: Is officiated by at least five match officials, known as an umpire . These match officials are placed into three categories based upon their roles and responsibilities, with varying minimum numbers of Umpires required depending on position: At AFL level, a video score review system is utilised. Only umpires are permitted to request a review, and only scoring shots and potential scoring shots are permitted to be reviewed. An Australian rules football may only be propelled forward in
West Adelaide Football Club - Misplaced Pages Continue
4256-783: Is used. The ball must be inflated to a pressure of 69 kilopascals (10.0 pounds per square inch). There are no defined laws regarding what material a ball must be made from, but standard AFL match-used balls are produced by Sherrin using cowhide leather. While there is no standard colour of the ball, red and yellow are most common and the only colours used at AFL level. Yellow is used for games beginning after 3 pm or in an enclosed stadium, due to its greater visibility, and to assist score reviews. Unlike other forms of football which are played on rectangular fields, Australian rules football playing fields are oval-shaped, and are between 135 and 185 metres (148 and 202 yd) long and 110 and 155 metres (120 and 170 yd) wide. At either end of
4389-594: The AFL , had played enough games with West through the season to qualify for the finals), West easily defeated three-time defending premiers Port Adelaide by 89 points in the Elimination Final before winning the First Semi against Woodville-West Torrens (a new team formed through the merger of West Torrens and Woodville at the end of 1990) by 60. They then defeated a determined South Adelaide by 21 points in
4522-571: The Australian Football League , while the league itself also uses this name for local competitions in some areas. Primitive forms of football were played sporadically in the Australian colonies in the first half of the 19th century. Compared to cricket and horse racing , football was considered a mere "amusement" by colonists at the time, and while little is known about these early one-off games, evidence does not support
4655-582: The Magarey Medal in 1908. West Adelaide repeated as SAFL premiers in 1909 after defeating Port Adelaide by a goal in the Grand Final while "Dick" Head won the club's second Magarey Medal. The club slumped in 1910 to finish in fifth place before repeating their 1908 double success by winning the 1911 SANFL Premiership defeating Port Adelaide in the Grand Final and Essendon to win the Championship of Australia. The heartland and spiritual home of
4788-634: The Sandover Medal in Western Australia from 1921 and Brownlow Medal in Victoria from 1924. The Magarey Medal has been awarded in every year of SANFL competition since 1898, with the exception of 1900, 1904 (no record being extant), when the competition was suspended due to war 1916-1918, and when a restricted competition was held during the war period of 1942-1944. After each match, the three field umpires (those umpires who control
4921-557: The South Australian Legislative Council Sir Lyell McEwin on 26 April 1958. A capacity crowd saw West Adelaide christen their new home with a 12.11 (83) to 10.13 (73) win over neighbouring club West Torrens . After finishing fourth in 1960, West Adelaide, captain-coached by Neil Kerley, won their seventh premiership in 1961, when they defeated Norwood by six goals in the Grand Final. The club would play its nemesis Port Adelaide in
5054-517: The Wayville Showgrounds in 1927 after their new Headquarters was opened on 23 April. The club won its fifth premiership by defeating North Adelaide by two goals in the grand final. Captain-Coach Bruce McGregor would not only lead his team to the premiership in 1927 but became the first (and so far only) West Adelaide player to win back to back Magarey Madals. Robert Snell (1929), Jack Sexton (1931) and Ray McArthur (1939) also won
5187-407: The field umpire has deemed to be either potentially dangerous or increase the risk of injury to other players. Australian rules football is played with an ellipsoid ball, between 72 and 73 cm (28 and 29 in) in long circumference, and 54.5 and 55.5 cm (21.5 and 21.9 in) in short circumference. For women's competitions, a smaller ball size of 69 and 53 cm (27 and 21 in)
5320-403: The 1899 season the SAFA introduced electoral district football in which players had to play for the club in the district where they lived. West Adelaide immediately gained the services of one of the best players of the time, "Bunny" Daly who threw himself into developing the club. Nonetheless, the club still struggled and had won only twenty and drawn two of 127 games by the end of 1907, including
5453-479: The 1958 and 1959 SANFL Grand Finals and again would be beaten by the Fos Williams coached Port Adelaide by just two points in 1958 and ten points in 1959. In the former year a late kick for goal by ruckman Jack Richardson which would have given West the lead with only ninety seconds remaining hit the post allowing Port to hold on. Later on grand final night, a group of Wests players, including Kerley, broke into
West Adelaide Football Club - Misplaced Pages Continue
5586-479: The 1962 grand final and once again would go down by a heartbreaking three points to the Magpies. Ken Eustice would become the club's tenth Magarey Medalist in 1962. Sensationally after taking the club to two Grand Finals and one premiership in his two years as coach of the club, Kerley was sacked as West's coach after the 1962 season. He was reluctantly replaced by longtime teammate and friend Doug Thomas, who went to
5719-715: The 1985 SANFL season, missing out on a grand final spot by less than 2 goals to North Adelaide in the Preliminary Final. In 1991, the formation of the Adelaide Football Club , South Australia's first team in the Australian Football League (formerly the VFL) saw a number of Wests players signed by the new team. Bloods players such as Grantley Fielke, Paul Patterson , and two young guns in Tony Modra and Shaun Rehn were signed to play AFL football, but would still be eligible to play for West Adelaide if not selected by
5852-468: The 1990s the awarding of the medal was changed so that players tied on the most votes would share the medal. Prior to this, a countback system was used, whereby the player with the most "best on ground" performances would be awarded the medal. In 1998, ten players who had finished runner-up over prior years owing to the countback rule were retrospectively awarded the Magarey Medal. A single design for
5985-430: The 2005 season and was replaced by former Crows teammate Wayne Weidemann for both 2006 and 2007. Despite West Adelaide playing their 400th game at Richmond Oval when they faced Sturt on 7 April 2006, neither season would bring any joy for The Bloods or their supporters as they finished with the wooden spoon in each season. Not surprisingly, Weidemann was replaced as coach following the 2007 season. Weidemenn's replacement
6118-612: The 2010s, the AFL signalled further attempts at expanding into markets outside Australian football's traditional heartlands by hosting home-and-away matches in New Zealand, followed by China. After several failed bids since the early 1990s for a Tasmania-based AFL team, the Tasmania Football Club secured the 19th AFL license in 2023, and is set to compete by 2028. In a standard match, a team may consist of anywhere between 14 and 18 players who may be permitted on
6251-464: The AFL). The player who was awarded the mark may then choose to either dispose of the ball over "the mark" or may choose to attempt disposal via a different method, in which case the field umpire will call "play on"—a verbal instruction to continue play. "Play on" may also be called if the umpire deems the player awarded the mark to be taking an unreasonable amount of time to dispose of the football. Once
6384-472: The AFLW using 17 minutes per quarter. For any given match, two timekeepers are appointed to officiate the duration. The timekeepers record all relevant statistics for the match, such as total quarter duration and score by each team. Additionally timekeepers are required to sound a siren prior to and at the conclusion of each quarter until such time they are acknowledged by the field umpires. To stop and recommence
6517-641: The ANFC, and later the Australian Football Championships (AFC) ran a night series , which invited clubs and representative sides from around the country to participate in a knock-out tournament parallel to the premiership seasons, which Victorian sides still dominated. With the lack of international competition, state representative matches were regarded with great importance. Due in part to the VFL poaching talent from other states, Victoria dominated interstate matches for three-quarters of
6650-589: The Adelaide Crows. The Crows also signed former Bloods Bruce Lindner (Geelong) and Mark Mickan (Brisbane) who under the rules of the time, were automatically allocated back to their former SANFL club. West Adelaide, which has earned a reputation amongst its fans as being "consistently inconsistent", would win through to their next grand final in 1991. After a slow start to the season under the coaching of former Richmond ( VFL ) premiership player Kevin Morris ,
6783-671: The Adelaide Oval and cut down the goalpost. The post would later end up hanging over the Bar in the West Adelaide Footballers' Club. In 1954 the club's search for a permanent home ground was solved with the founding of Richmond Oval. It was the first ground purpose built for Australian Rules Football in Australia, pre-dating the VFL's Waverley Park by twelve years. Richmond Oval was opened by long-serving member of
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#17327907112836916-554: The Adelaide and Suburban Football Association, Messrs. Hinder and McCabe; Special delegate, Mr. J. J. Sheehan. The appointments of captain and vice-captain were held over. The club joined the Adelaide and Suburban Association in 1894 and won the premierships in 1895 and 1896. The 1895 and 1896 Annual Meetings were also held at the Bristol Tavern. At the 1896 Meeting held on 24 March Mr. E. L. Batchelor, M.P. , presided over
7049-488: The Bloods 1961 premiership. However, Norwood's impregnable defence won out again, and the Bloods were in danger of equalling North Adelaide's 1989 ignominy of kicking only one goal in a Grand Final before two late goals in time-on of the last quarter saw then go down 12.7 (79) to 3.12 (30). 2013 Saw West Adelaide consolidate itself as a finals campaigner, finishing the minor round in second place again behind Norwood. However,
7182-408: The Bloods. Strong recruiting helped the team improve to sixth in 2009 while James Ezard , nephew of 1984 and 1985 Essendon premiership player Alan Ezard , jointly won the Magarey Medal with North Adelaide's Rhys Archard , becoming the fourteenth West Adelaide player to win the award. Westies again finished sixth in 2010, missing the major round for the sixth straight year. In a major development for
7315-539: The British Isles, "others by no rules at all". Another milestone in 1858 was a 40-a-side match played under experimental rules between Melbourne Grammar and Scotch College , held at the Richmond Paddock. Umpired by Wills and teacher John Macadam , it began on 7 August and continued over two subsequent Saturdays, ending in a draw with each side kicking one goal. It is commemorated with a statue outside
7448-553: The Fos Williams Medal. Future dual Crows premiership player Shaun Rehn who had made his AFL debut during the year with the Crows missed the SANFL finals through injury. Following the 1991 grand final Kevin Morris joined a long list of coaches sacked by the club after a dispute with the club's board. In his place for his third run as West Adelaide coach was Neil Kerley, who himself had been controversially sacked as coach of
7581-583: The Irish game evolved in a similar direction. Another theory, first proposed in 1983, posits that Wills, having grown up among Aboriginals in Victoria, may have seen or played the Aboriginal ball game of Marn Grook , and incorporated some of its features into early Australian football. There is only circumstantial evidence that he knew of the game, and according to biographer Greg de Moore's research, Wills
7714-752: The MCG at the Parade Hotel, owned by Bryant, and drafted ten rules: "The Rules of the Melbourne Football Club" . These are the laws from which Australian football evolved. The club aimed to create a simple code suited to the hard playing surfaces around Melbourne, and to eliminate the roughest aspects of English school games—such as "hacking" (shin-kicking) in Rugby School football—to reduce the risk of injuries to working men. In another significant departure from English public school football,
7847-503: The MCG, and the two schools have since competed annually in the Cordner–Eggleston Cup , the world's oldest continuous football competition . Since the 1920s, it has been suggested that Australian football may have been derived from the Irish sport of Gaelic football . However, there is no archival evidence in favour of a Gaelic influence, and the style of play shared between the two modern codes appeared in Australia long before
7980-514: The Magarey Medal while playing for the West Adelaide Football Club. After finishing third in 1928 and 1929 followed by – in the absence of star goalsneak "Dickie" Bennetts who was banned for three years for kicking an umpire – fifth in 1930, West Adelaide slumped badly in 1931 to last with only two wins before bouncing back to fifth in 1932 only half a game from the finals. Despite Bennetts' return, they finished winless for
8113-576: The Melbourne rules omitted any offside law . "The new code was as much a reaction against the school games as influenced by them", writes Mark Pennings. The rules were distributed throughout the colony; Thompson in particular did much to promote the new code in his capacity as a journalist. Following Melbourne's lead, Geelong and Melbourne University also formed football clubs in 1859. While many early Victorian teams participated in one-off matches, most had not yet formed clubs for regular competition. A South Yarra club devised its own rules. To ensure
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#17327907112838246-637: The Melbourne-based Bell's Life in Victoria and Sporting Chronicle published a letter by Tom Wills , captain of the Victoria cricket team , calling for the formation of a "foot-ball club" with a "code of laws" to keep cricketers fit during winter. Born in Australia, Wills played a nascent form of rugby football while a pupil at Rugby School in England, and returned to his homeland a star athlete and cricketer. Two weeks later, Wills' friend, cricketer Jerry Bryant , posted an advertisement for
8379-482: The Preliminary Final and would then come up against North Adelaide, a team they had not beaten since Round 17 of the 1985 season. Despite the Roosters squad having far more finals experience than West, the in-form Bloods were rated an even chance to beat the Roosters who were playing in their fifth Grand Final since 1985. In the week leading up to the match there were rumours around Adelaide that Westies were going to "go
8512-409: The SANFL's Port Adelaide (1997), the only pre-existing club outside Victoria to join the league. In 2011 and 2012, respectively, two new non-Victorian clubs were added to the competition: Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney . The AFL, currently with 18 member clubs, is the sport's elite competition and most powerful body. Following the emergence of the AFL, state leagues were quickly relegated to
8645-798: The West Adelaide Football Club was the West End of Adelaide. In 1911 after winning the SAFL premiership and beating Essendon to become Champions of Australia, the manager of the West End Brewery , which was located on Hindley Street , chose to adopt the black and red colours of the West Adelaide as those of the brewery and the nickname ‘The Bottletops’ soon followed for the Football Club. The club won its fourth SAFL premiership in five years in 1912 after again defeating Port Adelaide in
8778-581: The annual game between Essendon and Collingwood on Anzac Day, is one example of how the war continues to be remembered in the football community. The role of the Australian National Football Council (ANFC) was primarily to govern the game at a national level and to facilitate interstate representative and club competition. In 1968, the ANFC revived the Championship of Australia , a competition first held in 1888 between
8911-399: The award with Norwood legend Garry McIntosh . Former Norwood premiership player and Crows assistant coach Michael Taylor replaced Morris in 1996 and West would reach a best of third in 1998 before losing to Port Adelaide in the Preliminary final. Full-forward Adam Richardson became the first West Adelaide player since Ron Phipps in 1957 to lead the SANFL in goal kicking when he kicked 80 in
9044-415: The ball is in dispute at all times except when a free kick or mark is paid. Players can tackle using their hands or use their whole body to obstruct opponents. Dangerous physical contact (such as pushing an opponent in the back ), interference when marking, and deliberately slowing the play are discouraged with free kicks, distance penalties , or suspension for a certain number of matches depending on
9177-436: The ball. There are rules on how the ball can be handled; for example, players running with the ball must intermittently bounce or touch it on the ground . Throwing the ball is not allowed, and players must not get caught holding the ball . A distinctive feature of the game is the mark , where players anywhere on the field who catch the ball from a kick (with specific conditions) are awarded unimpeded possession . Possession of
9310-562: The biff" in a bid to unsettle the Roosters and in front of 39,276, the smallest SANFL Grand Final crowd since the 1950s, the game became a spiteful affair with many brawls erupting between opposing players following Norths Steven Sims knocking out Wests Matthew Simpson early in the second quarter (it was alleged after the game that Sims had hit Simpson, not to knock him out but to stop his overly close tagging of North's Darel Hart ). From that point on, West tended to forget about playing football and seemed more intent on punishing Sims, who finished
9443-623: The building of the underground dressing rooms at the Adelaide Oval during the summer of 1954/55 while leaving the rooms in the stands to the cricketers. West Adelaide and their captain Brian Faehse were given the honour of being the first team to use the new rooms and to run out onto the oval from them at the start of the 1955 SANFL season. Wests finished a disappointing seventh in 1955, but would return to form in 1956 where they would again be beaten grand finalists, again losing to Port. After finishing third in 1957, West Adelaide would play in both
9576-442: The case of Sydney , denial of access to grounds, the influence of university headmasters from Britain who favoured rugby, and the loss of players to other codes inhibited the game's growth. In 1896, delegates from six of the wealthiest VFA clubs— Carlton , Essendon , Fitzroy , Geelong, Melbourne and South Melbourne —met to discuss the formation of a breakaway professional competition. Later joined by Collingwood and St Kilda ,
9709-435: The clock, the field umpires are required to signal to the timekeepers to indicate when the clock should be stopped or restarted. Between each quarter, a break is observed to allow players a rest period. Two six-minute breaks are observed between the first and second quarters, and the third and fourth quarters. A longer 20-minute break is observed between the second and third quarter, commonly known as half-time . Each game
9842-460: The club after taking them to the 1962 Grand Final. The club slipped to sixth in 1992 and a disappointing eighth in 1993, ahead of perennial wooden spooners Sturt by only a small percentage gap. Following the 1993 season, Kerley was not retained and he was replaced by 220 game player Geoff Morris who led the team to second last in 1994, but improved to fifth in 1995. In 1995 Glenn Kilpatrick became West's thirteenth Magarey Medalist when he jointly won
9975-495: The club committee before the season and unsuccessfully asked them to re-instate Kerley as captain-coach. Kerley continued on as a player in 1963 honouring his contract, but the following season he left to become captain-coach of South Adelaide , taking the Panthers from bottom in 1963 to their last SANFL Premiership to date in 1964. Following the 1961 premiership win and subsequent runners-up in 1962, West Adelaide would go through
10108-583: The club required to finish third and beat Port Adelaide in the first semi before Sturt knocked the inexperienced Bloods out in the preliminary. Between 1942 and 1945 West Adelaide joined forced with Glenelg in a wartime competition, finishing second, third and fourth in a four-team competition. West Adelaide became one of the power teams in the SANFL following the resumption of full-scale competition in 1945. The club finished third in 1946 before winning its sixth premiership in 1947 defeating Norwood 10.15 (75) to 8.15 (63). One of Wests leading players during this time
10241-493: The club to a Grand Final for only the third time in 41 years. Facing a red-hot Central District team aiming for their third premiership in four years, West went down 17.9 (111) to 11.11 (77) in front of 28,199 at AAMI Stadium in the Grand Final. Darren Bradshaw won the Ken Farmer Medal as the SANFL's leading goal kicker in 2003, kicking 88 for the season. He added another nine goals in the finals to finish on 97 for
10374-514: The club while Coach Andrew Collins won a job at Williamstown Football Club. With Collins departing for Williamstown in the VFL , and club captain Ryan Ferguson following him, West Adelaide appointed club Hall of Famer Mark Mickan as its head coach for the 2014 season. Mickan has appointed co-club Best & Fairest winner from 2013 Chris Schmidt as the new captain. In 2015, West Adelaide broke
10507-533: The club, lights for night games were installed at Richmond Oval (now called City Mazda Stadium under a sponsorship deal) in 2010 and Friday night games became a success with 6,133 fans attending The Bloods first ever home game under lights against North Adelaide on 26 March. Despite winning their last game of the season at home against Sturt, West missed the SANFL Finals for the seventh straight season finishing third last with an 8–12 record. West Adelaide started
10640-541: The club. Roger Luders created history in 1983 when he became the first West Adelaide player to ever kick 100 goals in an SANFL season, finishing with 105 goals from 24 games played. Luders kicked 94 goals in the 22 game minor round and with the 6th of his 7 goals in the 2nd Semi-final against Norwood he kicked his 100th for the season. Luders remains the club's all-time leading goal kicker with 558 goals kicked in 162 games played between 1978 and 1986 at an average of 3.4 goals per game. Luders tally of 558 goals places him 14th on
10773-504: The clubs formed the Victorian Football League (VFL), which held its inaugural season in 1897 . The VFL's popularity grew rapidly as it made several innovations, such as instituting a finals system, reducing teams from 20 to 18 players, and introducing the behind as a score. Richmond and University joined the VFL in 1908, and by 1925, with the addition of Hawthorn , Footscray and North Melbourne , it had become
10906-490: The code took hold during a series of gold rushes . Likewise, when New Zealand experienced a gold rush , the sport arrived with a rapid influx of Australian miners. Now known as Australian rules or Australasian rules, the sport became the first football code to develop mass spectator appeal, attracting world record attendances for sports viewing and gaining a reputation as "the people's game". Australian rules football reached Queensland and New South Wales as early as 1866;
11039-566: The colours previously worn by the defunct Old Adelaide Football Club and moved its training headquarters from the South to the West Parklands. The club often struggled to field a full team in its early years as clubs were then controlled by wealthy businessmen and it was no secret that players were regularly poached from less wealthy clubs. West Adelaide was one of the "poor" clubs and consequently won only one of its first 31 matches. From
11172-750: The fairest and most brilliant player in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), as judged by field umpires. The award was created by William Ashley Magarey , then chairman of the league. The current recipients are Harry Boyd from the Norwood Football Club and Will Snelling from the Sturt Football Club . William Magarey was born in Adelaide , South Australia . A lawyer by vocation, he had an enduring interest in sports, although he did not play football. He was, however, an active sports administrator who, in 1897, became
11305-409: The field of play, it is deemed as a mark . To be awarded a mark, it must be deemed that the player sufficiently controlled the ball and took possession prior to it being touched, touching the ground, or in the case of a contest, being spoiled by an opponent. Upon a mark being taken, one opposition player may choose to stand on the point on the field where the mark was taken, known as "the mark". When
11438-413: The field, two sets of posts are erected in a straight line to indicate the scoring areas on the field, each with two kinds of posts, named the goal posts and the behind posts respectively. The goal posts are placed first, located 6.4 metres (7.0 yd) apart from each other, with a behind post being placed a further 6.4 metres to the side of each goal post. The name for the field line between two goal posts
11571-487: The first laws of Australian football in May 1859. Australian football has the highest spectator attendance and television viewership of all sports in Australia, while the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's only fully professional competition, is the nation's wealthiest sporting body. The AFL Grand Final , held annually at the Melbourne Cricket Ground , is the second-highest-attended club championship event in
11704-627: The first match in Darwin . The game went on to become the most popular sport in the Territory and build the highest participation rate for the sport nationally. Both World War I and World War II had a devastating effect on Australian football and on Australian sport in general. While scratch matches were played by Australian " diggers " in remote locations around the world, the game lost many of its great players to wartime service. Some clubs and competitions never fully recovered. Between 1914 and 1915,
11837-550: The first time defeating Norwood in the Grand Final at the Adelaide Oval but they also became Champions of Australia when they defeated powerful Victorian Football League team Carlton by five goals at the Adelaide Oval. Jos Dailey captained the Premiership and Champions of Australia team in 1908 and went on to captain the Bloods to 3 more Premierships and James "Sorry" Tierney was the club's first ever winner of
11970-453: The flow of the game) confer and award 3, 2 and 1 point(s) to the players they regard as the best, second best and third best during the match. Players suspended for a reportable offence during the season are ineligible to win the award though they can continue gaining votes leading to times when an ineligible player would poll the most votes in the medal count but not win the medal. This occurred in 1912, 1968, 1983 and 1987 (see table below). In
12103-462: The formation of the Adelaide Football Club , the oldest football club in Australia outside Victoria. It devised its own rules, and, along with other Adelaide -based clubs, played a variety of codes until 1876, when they uniformly adopted most of the Victorian rules, with South Australian football pioneer Charles Kingston noting their similarity to "the old Adelaide rules". Similarly, Tasmanian clubs quarrelled over different rules until they adopted
12236-409: The game with his right eye badly swollen and requiring 5 stitches. West Adelaide may have won the fights, but North Adelaide won the football game would go on to win easily by the score of 21.22 (148) to 11.7 (73). Crows player Darel Hart (who had played 18 AFL games for Adelaide during the year but had enough SANFL games to qualify for the finals) kicked seven goals for the Roosters on his way to winning
12369-435: The goal square and four players in the centre square with one in the centre circle. If this is breached, a free kick is awarded. A game lasts for 80 minutes, split into four-quarters consisting of 20 minutes playing time, with the clock being stopped for stoppages in play such as scores, or at the umpire 's discretion, e.g. for serious injury. Leagues may choose to employ shorter quarters of play at their discretion, such as
12502-467: The grand final before finishing their Golden Era with a third placing in 1913. After the SANFL resumed competition following World War I, West Adelaide would finish second in 1922, losing the Final to Norwood while player Robert Barnes was the club's third Magarey Madalist. Bruce McGregor became the club's fourth Magarey Madalist when he won the award in 1926 The club began playing their home games at
12635-585: The grand final to the Fos Williams led Port Adelaide by just three points. The 1954 final was marred by a brawl which broke out at half time of the match when angry Port supporters set upon Wests players as they attempted to enter the dressing room located in the Sir Edwin Smith Stand. This was a reaction to a heavy but legal clash prior to the end of the half between Wests captain Brian Faehse and Ports Dave Boyd in which Boyd had come off second best. Wests had been leading by 25 points at half time but
12768-554: The ground but it was captain Ian Borchard who won the Jack Oatey Medal as the best player in the Grand Final while Centre half-forward Bruce Lindner with 5 goals and Full-forward Roger Luders kicked 4. Lindner's fifth goal was the last of the game, a 65-metre kick on the full from inside the centre square only seconds before the game ended. Two of Wests best players throughout the 1983 season were unlucky to miss
12901-491: The inaugural Chairman of the South Australian Football Association (later renamed the SANFL). The sport at that time was known for often rough play, and Magarey wanted to help combat this, and help gain more respect for umpires. In 1898 Magarey presented the first Medal to South Australia’s "fairest and most brilliant player" of that season. Similar best and fairest player awards followed in other state-based competitions, notably
13034-424: The knees (a low tackle or a trip ) or above the shoulders (a high tackle ), the team with possession of the football gets a free kick. Furthermore, tackles deemed to be dangerous by the umpire and those conducted from front-on while an opposition player has their head over the football are deemed to be prohibited contact, and will incur a free kick against the offending player. Additionally, players may perform
13167-460: The list of all-time SANFL goal kickers. During his career Luders was known as one of the most spectacular high marking full-forwards in the SANFL In 1985 Grantley Fielke , a premiership player from 1983, would become the club's twelfth Magarey Medal winner. West Adelaide, coached by Port Adelaide premiership player and coach John Cahill (nephew of former West coach Laurie Cahill) finished 3rd in
13300-416: The melee in the crowd proved unsettling with some battered Wests players not making it back to the dressing room until the team was due to go back out onto the oval for the second half. Port came back to trail by only two points going into the last quarter of the game and snatched victory by three points. The half-time melee was the main topic of discussion at an SANFL meeting following the game which prompted
13433-400: The most recent coming in 2015 – breaking a thirty-two-year premiership drought dating back to 1983 ; the second longest in the SANFL. The Football club was formed in 1892 and adopted magenta and white as their colours. The Club patron was Mr Theo. Scherk, President Mr J. Hallow, Secretary R.M.L. Mander, Treasurer Mr J. McCabe, Captain A. Forrestal and Vice Captain W. Morris. A meeting
13566-568: The new national capital Canberra both soccer and rugby had a head start, but following the first matches in 1911, Australian rules football in the Australian Capital Territory became a major participation sport. By 1981 it had become much neglected and quickly lagged behind the other football codes. Australian rules football in the Northern Territory began shortly after the outbreak of the war in 1916 with
13699-461: The phasing out of many of the game's kicking styles and the increasing use of handball; while presentation was influenced by television. In 1982, in a move that heralded big changes within the sport, one of the original VFL clubs, South Melbourne, relocated to Sydney and became known as the Sydney Swans . In the late 1980s, due to the poor financial standing of many of the Victorian clubs, and
13832-407: The player has disposed of the ball, or "play on" is called, normal play resumes. Rucking is the only specialist skill and is performed by a ruck, the term for designated players from each side to which umpire sends the ball to commence play. Only a nominated ruck may contest ball-ups and throw-ins. They are the only player allowed within the 10 metre circle at a centre bounce. Functionally the role
13965-429: The player penalised for ' holding the ball ', except if the umpire deems there was a lack of prior opportunity to do so. The ball carrier may only be tackled between the shoulders and knees from the front or side. If the player forcefully contacts the opposing in the back while performing a tackle, the opposition player will be penalised for a push in the back . If the opposition tackles the player with possession below
14098-436: The playing surface at any given time. Each team may have up to four interchange (reserve) players who may be swapped for those on the field at any time during the game. Although some leagues in less populated areas may use as few as 12 players. In addition, some leagues notably including the AFL, have each team designate one additional player as a substitute who can be used to make a single permanent exchange of players during
14231-609: The preeminent league in the country and would take a leading role in many aspects of the sport. The time around the federation of the Australian colonies in 1901 saw Australian rules undergo a revival in New South Wales, New Zealand and Queensland. In 1903, both the Queensland Australian Football League and the NSW Australian Football Association were established, and in New Zealand, as it moved towards becoming
14364-530: The premiers of the VFA and SAFA. Although clubs from other states were at times invited, the final was almost always between the premiers from the two strongest state competitions of the time—South Australia and Victoria—with Adelaide hosting most of the matches at the request of the SAFA/SANFL. The last match took place in 1976, with North Adelaide being the last non-Victorian winner in 1972. Between 1976 and 1987,
14497-548: The regular season and five in the finals to finish with 85 for the season and win the Ken Farmer Medal . After missing the finals in 1999 and 2000, for 2001 West Adelaide hired former premiership captain and best and fairest winner Ian Borchard as coach. Borchard led the Bloods back to the finals in 2001 and 2002, but they lost the Elimination Final each time. Former West Adelaide junior and dual Adelaide Crows premiership player Shaun Rehn replaced Borchard in 2003 and led
14630-412: The season well with a 5–1 record but injuries to key players plus general poor form saw the Bloods lose seven games in a row mid-season. Early in the 2011 season coach Andrew Collins had his contract extended for a further two years tying him to the club until 2013. 2012 finally saw the work of Andy Collins and his staff finally come to fruition with the Bloods finishing the minor round in third place with
14763-564: The severity of the infringement. The game features frequent physical contests, spectacular marking , fast movement of both players and the ball, and high scoring. The sport's origins can be traced to football matches played in Melbourne , Victoria , in 1858, inspired by English public school football games . Seeking to develop a game more suited to adults and Australian conditions, the Melbourne Football Club published
14896-480: The side. Mickan's place was taken by 6'7" (200 cm) tall Dirk de Jong who had actually retired from league football one game into the season, but was persuaded by Kerley to come back following Mickan's injury. Despite some impressive performances in his final four games, including out playing experienced Sturt ruckman Frank Spiel in the Grand Final, de Jong, who started his SANFL career with Wests in 1978, again retired from football after 1983 having played 53 games for
15029-426: The site during World War 2. From the start of the 1940 season home games were again played at Adelaide Oval until the end of the 1957 season. An unexpected 112-point thrashing of North Adelaide in their last game of 1940, however, proved a true omen of what was to come in 1941. The Bloods carried all before them early in the season and after ten games had suffered only a draw and two narrow losses. A slump ensued before
15162-467: The sport across Australia, delegates representing the football associations of South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Queensland met in 1883 and updated the code. New rules such as holding the ball led to a "golden era" of fast, long-kicking and high-marking football in the 1880s, a time which also saw players such as George Coulthard achieve superstardom, as well as the rise of professionalism , particularly in Victoria and Western Australia , where
15295-472: The sport experienced a period of dominance in the former, and in the latter, several regions remain strongholds of Australian rules, such as the Riverina . However, by the late 1880s, rugby football had become the dominant code in both colonies, as well as in New Zealand. This shift was largely due to rugby's spread with British migration, regional rivalries and the lack of strong local governing bodies. In
15428-414: The substantial TV revenues they generated by playing on a Sunday went to the VFL. To protect these revenues the VFL granted significant draft concessions and financial aid to keep the expansion clubs competitive. The VFL changed its name to the Australian Football League (AFL) for the 1990 season , and over the next decade, three non-Victorian clubs gained entry: Adelaide (1991), Fremantle (1995) and
15561-613: The supremacy of the Melbourne rules, the first-club level competition in Australia, the Caledonian Society's Challenge Cup (1861–64), stipulated that only the Melbourne rules were to be used. This law was reinforced by the Athletic Sports Committee (ASC), which ran a variation of the Challenge Cup in 1865–66. With input from other clubs, the rules underwent several minor revisions, establishing
15694-541: The team won nine of its last eleven games to reach the finals in fifth place. With young players such as leading goal kicker Greg Mellor, full forward Tony Modra, and best and fairest Peter Banfield playing alongside returning experienced veterans such as captain Leon Grosser (who would miss the Grand Final through injury), Glenn Goss, as well as Mickan and Lindner (who while playing for the Adelaide Crows in
15827-607: The third time in 1933 but were terribly unlucky in losing five games by a goal or less They recovered to win eight games and draw one in 1934, but between 1935 and 1940 were never higher than seventh in an eight-team competition and overall won only 26 and drew one of 102 games. The club played its last home game at the Adelaide Showgrounds in Wayville on 19 August 1939 due to the Australian Army taking over
15960-412: The usage of other means, such as punching. While in possession of the ball, players may run with the ball, but are required to either bounce or touch the ball on the ground at least once every 15 metres (16 yd). Tackling is a technique employed by players used to force opposition players to dispose of the ball when they are in possession. Failure to dispose of the ball when legally tackled may see
16093-545: The world . The sport is also played at amateur level in many countries and in several variations . Its rules are governed by the AFL Commission with the advice of the AFL's Laws of the Game Committee. Australian rules football is known by several nicknames, including Aussie rules, football and footy. In some regions, where other codes of football are more popular, the sport is most often called AFL after
16226-407: The year. Once again West Adelaide failed to follow up its good form from the previous season and while still managing to qualify for the finals in 2004 had to be satisfied with just a fifth-placed finish. Things went from bad to worse for the club in 2005 when the team finished with the wooden spoon for the first time since 1979. Following such a dramatic drop in form, Rehn resigned as coach following
16359-429: Was "almost solely influenced by his experience at Rugby School". A loosely organised Melbourne side, captained by Wills, played against other football enthusiasts in the winter and spring of 1858. The following year, on 14 May, the Melbourne Football Club was officially established, making it one of the world's oldest football clubs . Three days later, Wills, Hammersley, Thompson and teacher Thomas H. Smith met near
16492-556: Was a 20-per-side affair, played with a ball that was roughly spherical, and lasted until a team scored two goals. The shape of the playing field was not standardised; matches often took place in rough, tree-spotted public parks, most notably the Richmond Paddock ( Yarra Park ), known colloquially as the Melbourne Football Ground. Wills argued that the turf of cricket fields would benefit from being trampled upon by footballers in winter, and, as early as 1859, football
16625-565: Was advertised for those interested in a Junior Football Club in West Adelaide. It was held at the Bristol Tavern, Franklin Street, Adelaide , on Tuesday, 3rd April 1894, at 8 p.m. A large number of members attended. Mr. J Coppinger presided. The following officers were elected : Patron, Dr. Todd; president, Mr W. Powell; and a large number of vice-presidents ; secretary, Mr. R.M L. Minder; treasurer, Mr. J. McCabe; committee, Messrs. Forrestall, Sheenan, Foyne, Weismeyer, and Brady; delegates to
16758-485: Was allowed on the MCG. However, cricket authorities frequently prohibited football on their grounds until the 1870s, when they saw an opportunity to capitalise on the sport's growing popularity. Football gradually adapted to an oval-shaped field, and most grounds in Victoria expanded to accommodate the dual purpose—a situation that continues to this day. Football became organised in South Australia in 1860 with
16891-467: Was almost a repeat of the 1981 season. Going into the final round West were locked in a battle for the 5th and final finals spot on the ladder. However, Norwood again ended their run when they thumped the Bloods at Norwood Oval consigning West to a 6th-place finish. The team hit its straps in the 1983 season, winning its first minor premiership since 1962 by two games from Sturt with an 18–4 record. The team finally got its revenge on Norwood when they put
17024-435: Was coined by scholar Ian Turner in 1978 to describe the "fictitious geographical barrier" separating the rugby-following parts of New South Wales and Queensland from the rest of the country, where Australian football reigned. It became a reference point for the expansion of Australian football and for establishing a national league. The way the game was played had changed dramatically due to innovative coaching tactics, with
17157-422: Was former Hawthorn (AFL) premiership player from 1991 Andrew Collins . However, Collins could not improve the results in 2008 and the club finished with an unwanted fourth wooden spoon in a row, an ignominy suffered previously by Sturt (1989 to 1996), Woodville (1980 to 1985), South Adelaide (1926 to 1929), Glenelg (1937 to 1940 and 1921 to 1925) and Norwood (1913 to 1919), but never despite several bleak eras by
17290-744: Was future SANFL legend Fos Williams who played 54 games for the club between 1946 and 1949 before moving on to captain-coach Port Adelaide in 1950, a move that would haunt West Adelaide for the next thirteen seasons as Wests would lose five Grand Finals, all by less than three goals, to the Williams-coached Port Adelaide between 1954 and 1962. During the mid-1950s, West Adelaide, under the coaching of Laurie Cahill and with strong players such as Neil Kerley , Brian Faehse , Doug Thomas , Ken Eustice , Ken McGregor and 1957 Magarey Madalist Ron Benton , became regular finals visitors and finished as beaten grand finalists in 1954, losing
17423-489: Was sacked following the season. Club General Manager Doug Thomas and President Bob Lee enticed 1961 premiership coach Neil Kerley away from West Torrens and back to West Adelaide in 1981 and the improvement in the team was immediate. The Bloods finished 5th in 1981, defeated in the Elimination Final by Norwood. Under Kerley players such as Roger Luders , Bruce Lindner , Ian Borchard , Peter Meuret, Geoff Morris and Mark Mickan all started to play their best football and 1982
17556-462: Was set in Round 5 of the 1969 season when 15,742 turned up to see Westies take on a Glenelg side coached by none other than Neil Kerley. Glenelg defeated the Bloods 18 18 (126) to 8.9 (57) on the day and the record crowd still stands as of 2013. In the early 1970s, West Adelaide declined to their lowest ebb for a third of a century, finishing last in 1972 for the first time since 1936, and repeating this ignominy in 1973 and 1974. In 1970 West unearthed
17689-500: Was the high point for the Bloods during the 1970s as they fell dramatically to ninth in 1978 in what was to be Williams' last season of coaching league football before again finishing last under coach Trevor Hughes in 1979. The other great highlight for the club during the 1970s was the recruitment of Port rover Trevor Grimwood who would become the club's eleventh Magarey Medal winner in 1977. The Bloods would continue to perform poorly as they finished second last in 1980 and Trevor Hughes
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