107-594: The laws of Australian rules football were first defined by the Melbourne Football Club in 1859 and have been amended over the years as Australian rules football evolved into its modern form. The Australian Football Council (AFC), was formed in 1905 and became responsible for the laws, although individual leagues retained a wide discretion to vary them. Following the restructure of the Victorian Football League's competition as
214-456: A free kick . There are rules on how the ball can be handled, including rules against running too far with the ball , throwing the ball and holding the ball . 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
321-539: A " push in the back rule". The rules adopted were printed and called "The Victorian Football Rules" which included all but one of the Melbourne rules. Geelong Football Club who could not attend the meeting was sent a copy of the rules for their approval. The 1860 rules were widely published and were included (along with those of Rugby and Eton) in J. B. Thompson 's widely distributed The Victorian Cricketer's Guide as "The Victorian Football Rules". The first competition,
428-622: A $ 4.5 million debt. Stynes immediately got to work and was instrumental in Melbourne's ‘Debt Demolition’ campaign held in a Kensington warehouse on 5 August. More than $ 1.3 million was raised on the night, with more than $ 3 million pledged to the cause. The Stynes' board sacked McNamee after just four months following criticism of him holidaying in Wimbledon to compete in a legends match. New club CEO Cameron Schwab declared that it required urgent AFL assistance to continue, requesting additional funding to its special annual distribution. In December,
535-634: A certain number of matches, depending on the seriousness of the infringement. These ten rules, instituted by the Melbourne Football Club , were originally known as "The rules of the Melbourne Football Club ;– May 1859." The original rules were widely published and distributed by James Thompson in the 1859 edition of The Victorian Cricketer's Guide as the "Laws of the Melbourne Football Club as played at Richmond Paddock 1859". 1. The distance between
642-666: A fallout in negotiations between the Melbourne Cricket Club resulted in the MCC not committing an expected $ 2 million to the club and Schwab declared that the club's immediate future was in doubt. This doubt was quickly put to bed when the AFL and MCC finalised negotiations. The AFL committed $ 1 million to the club in 2009, with the MCC matching the AFL contribution. Melbourne endured another poor season in 2009, winning just four matches to claim back-to-back Wooden Spoons. The year
749-413: A financial toll on the club with poor on-field performances and some players having the pressure of having to search for employment. Melbourne's fortunes were lifted however for the 1933 season when it lured Richmond's premiership winning coach Frank "Checker" Hughes and Richmond's secretary Percy Page to the club. Hughes was a tough and disciplined coach inspiring the changing of the club's nickname from
856-571: A founding member of the Victorian Football Association (VFA). During the same year the club took part in the first interstate football match involving a South Australian side, Victorian , defeating the home side 1–0. Melbourne never won a VFA premiership, although they were consistently one of the stronger teams in the competition, finishing as runners-up four times, to Carlton in 1877, Geelong in 1878 and twice to Essendon in 1893 and 1894. In 1884 Melbourne's stand at
963-533: A meeting chaired by Wills' cousin, H. C. A. Harrison . Harrison was a key figure in the early years of the club; he often served as captain and, in later years, as president. Due to his popular reputation and administrative efforts, he was officially named "Father of Australian Football" in 1908, the year of the sport's golden jubilee. During the 1870s, Melbourne fielded teams in the Seven Twenties and South Yarra Cup competitions. In 1877, Melbourne became
1070-464: A meeting of all clubs to develop rules all games are played under. A meeting, facilitated by Melbourne FC was held by players at the Argus Hotel on 28 May 1860. Clubs represented were: Melbourne, St. Kilda, South Yarra , Richmond, Scotch College , University , Williamstown , Collingwood, and Boroondara. The current Melbourne rules were debated, there was an unsuccessful motion by South Yarra for
1177-448: A minute to prepare for kicking their goals. The AFL made more stringent the interpretation of awarding 50-metre (55 yd) penalties for "scragging" (attempting to deliberately hold play up by grabbing the opposition player after they had taken a mark). Finally, the league made it unnecessary for players to wait for the flag waved after a behind to kick the ball back into play, and introduced a bucket of spare balls behind each goal to avoid
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#17327721098471284-534: A national competition and the League's renaming to be the Australian Football League (AFL), since 1994, the rules for the game have been maintained by the AFL through its Commission and its Competition Committee. Australian rules football is a contact sport played between two teams of eighteen players on an oval-shaped field , often a modified cricket ground . Points are scored by kicking
1391-556: A planned succession. Melbourne finished the 2017 season in ninth place with a win–loss record of 12–10, missing out on eighth spot to West Coast by 0.5%. Melbourne made history in 2017, competing as one of the eight foundation clubs in the inaugural AFL Women's competition. Led by captain Daisy Pearce and coach Mick Stinear , Melbourne took on the Brisbane Lions in the first game of the new league at Casey Fields. At
1498-419: A player has the ball in hand, except in the case provided in rule 6. 8. The ball may be taken in hand at any time, but not carried further than is necessary for a kick ; and no player shall run with the ball unless he strikes it against the ground in every five or six yards. 9. When a ball goes out of bounds (the same being indicated by a row of posts) it shall be brought back to the point where it crossed
1605-473: A space of not more than 200 yards [180 m] wide, the same to be measured equally on each side of a line drawn through the centres of the two Goals; and two posts to be called the "kick off posts" shall be erected at a distance of 20 yards [18 m] on each side of the Goal posts at both ends, and in a straight line with them. 5. In case the ball is kicked "behind" Goal, any one of the side behind whose Goal it
1712-552: A sporting section of the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) since 2009, having previously been associated with the MCC between 1889 and 1980. In the winter and spring of 1858, a loosely organised football team known as 'Melbourne' played in a series of scratch matches in the parklands outside the Melbourne Cricket Ground . This team was captained by Tom Wills , a prominent athlete and captain of
1819-455: A succession of coaches followed trying to reverse the Demons fortunes including John Beckwith (1968–70), Ian Ridley (1971–73), Bob Skilton (1974–77) and Dennis Jones (1978). Melbourne languished near the bottom of the ladder throughout the late 1960s and 1970s, including three wooden spoons in 1969, 1974 and 1978. Despite possessing gifted players including Robert Flower and Greg Wells ,
1926-591: Is at once apparent they have never practiced together", as well as noting that the club lacked leadership and organisation. During 1872, the club split into two groups of members who trained separately at St Kilda and South Yarra, which heralded the ultimate demise of the club: prior to the start of the 1873 season, the St Kilda-based members broke away to form a new club, the St Kilda Football Club , which survives today, while almost all of
2033-586: Is in rapid motion or in possession of the ball, except in the case provided for in Rule 6. 8. The ball may be taken in hand "only" when caught from the foot, or on the hop. In "no case" shall it be "lifted" from the ground. 9. When a ball goes out of bounds (the same being indicated by a row of posts) it shall be brought back to the point where it crossed the boundary-line, and thrown in at right angles with that line. 10. The ball, while in play, may under no circumstances be thrown. Although not explicitly mentioned in
2140-440: Is kicked may bring it 20 yards [18 m] in front of any portion of the space between the "kick off" posts, and shall kick it as nearly as possible in line with the opposite Goal. 6. Any player catching the ball "directly" from the foot may call "mark". He then has a free kick; no player from the opposite side being allowed to come "inside" the spot marked. 7. Tripping and pushing are both allowed (but no hacking) when any player
2247-576: Is possible that the first game played involving the Melbourne team took place on or adjacent to the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 14 August following Bryant's call for 'all good kicks' to take part with a subsequent match held among the Melbourne Cricket Club members on 30 August. On 25 September, Melbourne was challenged to a match by the South Yarra Football Club featuring 26 players a side, with Melbourne winning
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#17327721098472354-568: Is the world's oldest professional club of any football code . Its origins can be traced to an 1858 letter in which Tom Wills , captain of the Victoria cricket team , called for the formation of a "foot-ball club" with its own "code of laws". An informal Melbourne team played that winter and officially formed in May 1859, when Wills and three other members codified " The Rules of the Melbourne Football Club "—the basis of Australian rules football. The club
2461-506: The Carlton Football Club ). The twelve new laws that were widely published in early May were: 1. The distance between the goals shall not be more than 200 yards; and the width of playing place, to be measured equally on each side of a line drawn through the centre of the goals, not more than 150 yards. The goal-posts shall be seven yards apart, of unlimited height. 2. The captains on each side shall toss for choice of goal;
2568-475: The Challenge Cup stipulated that all competing clubs must adhere to these rules. The following changes were made: The most significant change was the provision for captains and umpiring in the newly added Rule 11: "In case of a deliberate infringement of any of the above rules, by either side, the captain of the opposite side may claim that any one of his party may have a free kick from the place where
2675-808: The Geelong Football Club in Geelong with the match resulting in a draw. In 1861, Melbourne participated in the Caledonian Society Challenge Cup , but lost the trophy to the Melbourne University Football Club . The club pushed for its rules to be the accepted rules, however many of the early suburban matches were played under compromised rules decided between the captains of the competing teams. By 1866 several other clubs had also adopted an updated version of Melbourne's rules, drafted at
2782-536: The Grand Final. Melbourne's greatest player at this time was Ivor Warne-Smith , who in the Premiership year won the club's first Brownlow Medal . Warne-Smith went on to win a second Brownlow in 1928, a year in which Melbourne would play finals again. Chadwick and Warne-Smith would both go on to have influential administrative roles in the club's most successful period in the 1950s. The Great Depression took
2889-610: The Melbourne Cricket Club "), and April 1859, when the Argus newspaper spoke of the formation of suburban clubs and mentioned the club by name, making it one of the first football clubs in Melbourne. The club did not initially play under the Melbourne Football Club rules which became the basis of Australian rules football , and was possibly at this time a Rugby football club. Its members, consistent with South Yarra's demographics, were chiefly upper class and white collar workers, with many of their members having played school football in
2996-605: The Victoria cricket team , who, on 10 July that year, had a letter of his published by the Melbourne-based Bell's Life in Victoria and Sporting Chronicle , in which he calls for the formation of a "foot-ball club" with a "code of laws" to keep cricketers fit during winter. Other figures associated with this embryonic Melbourne side included Melbourne Cricket Club members Jerry Bryant , William Hammersley and J. B. Thompson , and teacher Thomas H. Smith . It
3103-414: The oval-shaped ball between goal posts (worth six points) or between behind posts (worth one point). 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 the ball. If a player marks the ball (catches it from a long enough kick), they are awarded possession and allowed
3210-417: The "kick-off" posts, shall be erected at a distance of twenty yards on each side of the goal posts, and in a straight line with them. 5. In case the ball is kicked behind goal, any one of the sides behind whose goal it is kicked may bring it twenty yards in front of any portion of the space between the "kick-off" posts, and shall kick it towards the opposite goal. 6. Any player catching the ball directly from
3317-591: The AFL's contractual obligations with the MCG. Captain David Neitz would play his best season winning the Best and Fairest award and winning the club's first Coleman Medal as the league's leading goalscorer kicking 75 goals. Gutnick was replaced by Gabriel Szondy as president at the end of the year winning 65% of the members' vote. In 2003, Melbourne plunged into new on and off-field crises, winning only five games for
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3424-510: The Brownlow in 1991. In 1992, the club finished 11th, and Northey was replaced by Neil Balme as coach. Balme coached Melbourne into the finals in 1994, but a last game loss to Brisbane saw them drop out of the top-eight in 1995, and the club lingered at or near the bottom of the ladder for most of the 1996 season. By 1996, the club was also in dire financial straits. The club's board led by past club champion Ian Ridley as president decided on
3531-434: The Demons cemented their position as the best team in the league finishing top of the ladder and taking out the Premiership in the Grand Final against Collingwood. Melbourne became the only VFL team to win three premierships in succession twice by winning the 1956 and 1957 grand finals against Collingwood and Essendon. The Demons suffered a shock defeat to their rivals Collingwood in the 1958 grand final , but would regain
3638-400: The Demons finished top of the ladder again. In one of the most thrilling grand finals , Melbourne won its 12th VFL premiership in the dying seconds of the game against Collingwood with back-pocket player Neil Crompton kicking the winning goal. After the 1954 Grand Final loss to Footscray, no team was able to score 100 points against the Demons until Collingwood in round 5 1963. The next team
3745-492: The Demons in 1965 it was felt Barassi would eventually return and his arrival caused much excitement and an expectation of immediate success. Barassi set about implementing a 5-year plan for the Demons to win a Premiership, however the Demons finished 1981 with the wooden spoon after winning only one game. Recruits Brian Wilson from Footscray and Peter Moore from Collingwood would win the club's 4th and 5th Brownlow Medals in 1982 and 1984. However, despite sound recruiting, Barassi
3852-478: The Demons playing finals in 1950 and bringing talented new players into the club. After the Demons took out the Wooden Spoon in 1951, Smith returned to take up the coaching position in the 1952 season and set about forging a new team with future club champion Ron Barassi joining in 1953 under the newly created father-son rule . In 1954, the Demons made the Grand Final losing to a rampaging Footscray. In 1955
3959-499: The English public school system. The club played its first match against Melbourne under Melbourne rules – with one compromise that a mark could not be claimed from the kick of an opponent – on 9 and 23 July 1859, losing 3–0. Over the following years, the club was involved in conferences which further developed the Melbourne rules as they became widely used across the city; it was the first known club believed to have played with
4066-589: The Fuchsias to the Demons. You are playing like a lot of flowers. Lift your heads and play like demons! Under Hughes' leadership, and with star players including captain Allan La Fontaine , rover Percy Beames , backman Jack Mueller and Norm Smith at full forward, the Demons played finals in 1936 and 1937, and became the third club after Carlton and Collingwood to win three successive premierships in 1939 , 1940 and 1941 . Tragedy would fall on
4173-579: The Goals and the Goal Posts shall be decided upon by the Captains of the sides playing. 2. The Captains on each side shall toss for choice of Goal; the side losing the toss has the kick off from the centre point between the Goals 3. A Goal must be kicked fairly between the posts, without touching either of them, or a portion of the person of any player on either side. 4. The game shall be played within
4280-460: The Ladder winning nine and losing eight games. South Yarra Football Club (1858%E2%80%931873) The South Yarra Football Club was a 19th-century football club based in the Melbourne suburb of South Yarra which was seminal in the formative years of the sport of Australian rules football . Throughout the first decade of football in Melbourne, South Yarra was one of the pre-eminent clubs in
4387-598: The Laws of the Game (forming the official AFL Rules Committee). With control over the laws of the game, the AFL began a rush of new rules, many of which were aimed at cleaning up the game, reducing "thuggery" and making it more attractive to spectators. A player tribunal system was introduced to more effectively deliver penalties. The blood rule was introduced (players must be removed from ground when bleeding, also when having blood on their body/playing uniforms) to protect players from
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4494-502: The MCG on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Although most Melbourne players and officials were associated with the MCC, the football club was not initially allowed to use its ground, so matches were played on the fields at Yarra Park . On 17 and 21 May 1859, Wills, Hammersley, Thompson and Smith met near the MCG at the Parade Hotel, owned by Bryant, to draft " The Rules of the Melbourne Football Club ". The resulting ten codified rules are
4601-400: The MCG which catered for 3,000 spectators burned down precipitating a series of financial constraints for the club. With mounting debts, club officials running up unauthorised accounts, poor on-field form and players leaving to join other clubs, Melbourne's future was in serious jeopardy by 1888. It was proposed that the MCC intervene to provide assistance given the closeness of the two clubs and
4708-469: The Melbourne Cricket Club'. On 14 May the club held its first match of the year in the Richmond Paddock with two sides captained by Smith and Bryant, with Bryant's side kicking two goals for victory. A subsequent meeting was held to elect a Secretary, Treasurer and committee of five to administer the affairs of the club and to draft its rules, whilst an application to the MCC was made for use of
4815-496: The Preliminary Final. In 1999 Melbourne finished in the bottom three. In an exciting finish to the 2000 season, Melbourne stormed its way into the Grand Final , but were convincingly beaten by ladder leaders Essendon. Melbourne missed out on finals in 2001 finishing 11th, but would finish sixth in 2002 to eventually lose its semi-final to Adelaide at the MCG in a controversial ‘away’ game, only played in Melbourne due to
4922-408: The Premiership in 1893. This was to be the beginning of a long and fruitful partnership that produced 12 VFL Premierships between 1900 and 1964. In 1897, Melbourne joined other VFA powerhouse clubs Essendon, Collingwood, Fitzroy, Geelong, and South Melbourne to form the breakaway Victorian Football League with Carlton and St Kilda also joining. In the first season of the new competition, Jack Leith
5029-535: The VFL was rebranded as the AFL, the AFL, under its CEO Ross Oakley , pushed for the Australian Football Council to be disbanded. The AFL successfully argued that the council had become less relevant due to its increasingly successful national club competition. A memorandum of understanding was signed which effectively increased the league's power and cut red tape, allowing the AFL to gain control of
5136-547: The absence of New Zealand delegates, the council reverted to the title "Australian Football". The organisation was rebranded in 1927 and state leagues were encouraged to include "National Football League" in their name. (This continues to be used in the case of the SANFL; the Tasmanian Football League was briefly styled the "TANFL" from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s). Not all leagues chose to affiliate with
5243-713: The ball was won. During this time, transfer of official governing body took place after the formation of the Victorian Football Association in 1877, with the laws in Queensland being directly governed by the Victorian Association. Associations in Tasmania, Queensland and New South Wales would also affiliate from 1879 onward. By around 1884, Tasmanian goal umpires had begun to wave white flags to communicate with each other about
5350-510: The ball was won. A major rewrite occurred in 1877 and it is during this time that state bodies began to govern their own leagues and/or affiliate with Victorian Associations. The first of these was the South Australian Football Association (renamed the SANFL in 1907). A major inclusion in these laws was the ball-up which was introduced in 1872; prior to this, a scrimmage would be allowed to continue until
5457-433: The boundary-line, and thrown in at right angles with that line. 10. The ball while in play may under no circumstances be thrown. 11. In case of deliberate infringement of any of the above rules, the captain of the opposite side may claim that any one of his party may have a free kick from the place where the breach of rule was made. 12. Before the commencement of a match each side shall appoint an umpire, and they shall be
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#17327721098475564-423: The breach of the rules was made; the two captains in all cases, save where umpires are appointed, to be the sole judges of 'infringements'." In practice, Rule 8 was rarely enforced, umpires would commonly allow players to carry the ball a sufficient distance for which to execute an effective kick. Disputes involving this interpretation led to trials of the running bounce in 1862 and its eventual incorporation into
5671-492: The club soon after with 11 players giving their lives whilst serving in World War 2. These players included premiership players Keith 'Bluey' Truscott , Harold Ball , Syd Anderson and Ron Barassi Sr , all for whom club awards have been dedicated to, with the club's Best and Fairest award named in honour of Truscott. Hughes left the club at the end of the 1941 season but returned in 1945. The next year Don Cordner became
5778-587: The club took pride in its policy of amateurism and when World War I broke out, the club strongly petitioned for the league being suspended to prevent fit professional footballers from joining the war effort. In 1916 the club refused to take part in the competition for three seasons, returning in 1919. 14 Melbourne players lost their lives in the conflict, including Arthur Mueller 'Joe' Pearce, Clifford Burge, Jack Doubleday, Desmond McDonald, Ralph Robertson, Percy Rodriguez and Alfred Williamson. For instance, in May 1919, an unidentified former Melbourne footballer, wrote to
5885-537: The club's committee made the startling decision to sack Norm Smith as coach before its Round 13 fixture against North Melbourne. Hughes returned to coach the Demons in a losing game, while Melbourne identities, including Barassi took to the media to defend Smith. Smith was reinstated however the damage was done, the Demons would only win one more game and subsequently missed out on finals for the first time since 1953. Melbourne would not play in another finals series until 1987. Smith coached two more seasons with Melbourne and
5992-661: The colony in prestige and performance. In 1865 and 1866, the club won the Athletic Sports Committee Challenge Cup . Its demise played a role in the formation of the modern day St Kilda Football Club , formed in 1873. The formal date of the South Yarra Football Club's establishment is unknown, with contemporary reports placing it somewhere between September 1858 (when a match was played between "thirty gentlemen resident at South Yarra, and an equal number, chiefly members of
6099-528: The desperate step of a merger with Hawthorn . In the ensuing weeks, a passionate debate was fought between pro and anti-merger supporters. In the first few days of this debate, lifelong supporters Mark and Anthony Jenkins met with coterie member George Zagon to form the Demon Alternative – an anti-merger group that was to significantly impact on the plans of the incumbent board. Former player and politician Brian Dixon and Rabbi Joseph Gutnick became
6206-565: The elimination final to Geelong by 55 points. In 2006, after a slow start, Melbourne again finished the season in seventh position. After defeating St Kilda in the second Elimination Final by 18 points the season ended the following week when Fremantle beat the Demons by 28 points. Daniher had become the club's the second longest-serving coach while Neitz became Melbourne's all-time leading goal-kicker on 19 May, surpassing Norm Smith 's previous record of 546 goals. Two weeks later, he broke Robert Flower 's long standing record of 272 games, making him
6313-498: The end of the 2018 season Melbourne finished in fifth place on the ladder reaching the finals series for the first time since 2006. The Demons advanced to an eventual Preliminary final defeat to West Coast after defeating Geelong and Hawthorn. Melbourne's success could not be maintained in 2019 with the Demons finishing 17th on the ladder. In the shortened 2020 season interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Melbourne would finish ninth on
6420-440: The era, died aged 24 following the 1866 season. South Yarra's off-field organisation declined after 1866: as football began to transition from a club-based pastime to a more regular system of competition, the club lost many of its best players and performances declined. The club also became known for commitment issues, frequently turning up late to interclub matches. Despite these issues, the club continued to be considered one of
6527-457: The fact that football matches generated significant gate revenue for the MCC. At the end of the 1889 season, the MFC and MCC committees met and agreed to amalgamation of the two. The football club would become a section of the cricket club with the MCC handling the MFC's immediate and ongoing financial concerns. Melbourne's on-field prospects soon lifted finishing fourth on the ladder in 1892 and vying
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#17327721098476634-455: The final round, the Demons only needed to beat bottom side Collingwood, and for Footscray to lose to the top side Carlton. The Demons beat Collingwood at Victoria Park but an unexpected drawn match between Footscray and Carlton saw the Bulldogs edge out the Demons for the finals. Melbourne would then fall back into the bottom quarter of the ladder the following season, and in 1979 they suffered
6741-430: The finals again in 1902, Melbourne's first decade of the 20th century was poor on-field, with the club taking out the Wooden Spoon in 1905 and 1906 . In the 1910s the team had adopted the nickname 'Fuchsias' alongside the pre-existing Redlegs name and in 1912 the club adopted a club song to the tune of 'You're A Grand Old Flag". Harry Brereton was the VFL leading goalscorer in the 1911 and 1912 season. During this time
6848-420: The first club to win three consecutive cup matches without defeat. In 1865, the club fell one win short of claiming the cup after losing the final match of the year against Melbourne, but in 1866, they won the opening match of the year and were unbeaten thereafter, claiming permanent ownership after five draws and two more wins. Club captain and committee member George O'Mullane , one of the best footballers of
6955-406: The first ever drawn VFL grand final. The Demons returned the next week to win its sixth premiership with Jack Mueller kicking six goals in the match. Hughes retired again as coach at the end of the season and after being denied the position by a single vote of the club's committee, Norm Smith moved to Fitzroy to take a position as captain-coach. New coach Allan La Fontaine had limited success despite
7062-399: The foot or leg may call "mark;" he then has a free kick from any spot in a line with his mark and the centre of his opponents goal-posts; no player being allowed to come inside the spot marked, or within five yards in any other direction. 7. Tripping and hacking are strictly prohibited. Pushing with the hands or body is allowed; when any player is in rapid motion. Holding is only allowed while
7169-412: The football correspondent of The Argus as follows: Melbourne had little success in the immediate post-war years having not played a final since 1915, taking out another Wooden Spoon in 1919. However, finals form would return with the team defeating Geelong and later losing to Collingwood in 1925. In 1926 Albert Chadwick captain-coached the team to its second league Premiership defeating Collingwood in
7276-418: The game. Although the club had not yet been established as a formal entity, the year 1858 has long been recognised as being the foundation year of the Melbourne Football Club and for Australian rules football. With the cricket season finished The Argus reported in early May 1859 that the membership of the "Melbourne Football Club" was growing 'owing, probably, to its being no longer confined to members of
7383-402: The introduction of country zoning and poor management hampered the club's fortunes. Melbourne tried to supplement its list by recruiting older players from successful teams including Carl Diterich who played in two separate engagements with the Demons, the first between 1973 and 1975 and then serving as captain-coach in 1979 and 1980. Melbourne's best start to a season was in 1971 when the club
7490-525: The late 1870s. At some stage during the early 1870s, possibly 1874, it was also introduced to the South-West region of Ireland to become what is now Gaelic football . In 1869, a time limit – 100 minutes – was introduced to the game for the first time. In 1872, the Ball-up was first introduced to the rules; prior to this, a scrimmage would be allowed to continue until
7597-499: The laws from which Australian rules football evolved. In the early years of the club, football matches were conducted on a casual basis with no set fixture and teams often having to cancel engagements due to a lack of players. The first mention of an interclub match played under the new code was between Melbourne and South Yarra in July 1859, with Hammersley as Melbourne's inaugural captain. In 1860 Melbourne played its first match against
7704-438: The longest serving Demon in history. At the start of the 2007 AFL season, Melbourne were thought by many pundits to be contenders for the Premiership, but injuries to key players across the team resulted in the Demons losing its opening nine matches. Daniher resigned as coach mid-season with Mark Riley appointed as caretaker coach. Late in the season, David Neitz became the first Melbourne player to play 300 games. Dean Bailey
7811-502: The mark and incurred a 15-metre penalty, bringing Buckenara close enough to kick the winning goal after the siren. The Demons would try to exact revenge on the Hawks in the 1988 Grand Final but were trounced by 96 points. From 1987 to 1991, Melbourne had five positive win–loss differentials in successive seasons which the club had not been able to achieve since the 1950s. Thereafter things went downhill for Northey, although Jim Stynes won
7918-587: The need to wait for the crowd to return the ball. Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club , nicknamed the Demons or colloquially the Dees , is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne , Victoria, Australia . It competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition and plays its home games at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Melbourne
8025-586: The new body, which was seen by some to be increasingly swayed by the increasingly commercial and professional aspect of the sport. The Australian Amateur Football Council was formed in 1933. As a result, many amateur leagues interpret the laws of the game with subtle differences. Although some leagues adopted the name style, the style "Australian National Football" was not entirely successful. The game had only participation in New South Wales and Queensland and some did not consider it truly national. The name
8132-414: The premiership following wins in the 1959 and 1960 grand finals against Essendon and Collingwood. Between 1955 and 1960, Melbourne finished top of the ladder in every season, winning five premierships. Had the Demons not been defeated in 1958, they may have won seven premierships in a row. Despite playing in the finals series in 1961, 1962 and 1963, Melbourne failed to reach a grand final until 1964 when
8239-471: The principal senior clubs and was prominent in off-field organisation, including presenting its own Challenge Cup for competition in 1870. By 1870, the club's onfield standard was well short of the other senior clubs, and they failed to defeat a senior opponent after 1868. In 1871, the Australasian's sportswriter said of the club that "they have as good material players as any other club, but ... it
8346-405: The prominent leaders of the Demon Alternative group. The group quickly organised itself into a credible option for Melbourne supporters; however given the support of the AFL and other factors, when the merger issue was put to a vote, a majority of Melbourne members supported the board. In a meeting on the opposite side of town, Hawthorn members rejected their board's proposal and eventually the merger
8453-412: The rule now known as push in the back , advocating strongly for its inclusion in the laws of the game. Throughout the first decade of football in Melbourne, South Yarra was one of the pre-eminent clubs in the colony in prestige and performance. In 1865 and 1866, the club won the Athletic Sports Committee Challenge Cup , a perpetual trophy which was contested among the principal clubs and won outright by
8560-403: The rules, each captain was to umpire the game, and each team consisted of 20 per side. In the early days there were no set rules to decide the winner of a game, however it was most commonly the first side to kick two goals. In some circumstances this meant that games could draw out for long periods of time. The first significant redrafting of the rules occurred in 1860 after St Kilda FC called for
8667-538: The rules. Henry C. Harrison 's committee redrafted the laws of the game in 1866 at the Freemasons' Hotel in Melbourne, on Tuesday, 8 May 1866. The committee consisted of Henry Harrison and Richard Wilson Wardill (of the Melbourne Football Club ), George O'Mullane and Hugh Murray (of the South Yarra Football Club ), J.E. Clarke and Chadwick (of the Royal Park Football Club ) and Ben James (of
8774-432: The same time, with the Melbourne fans cheering towards the end of the game when news came through of the Hawks win. Melbourne cruised into the Preliminary Final defeating North Melbourne by 118 points and Sydney by 76 points. In Robert Flower's last game, the Demons lead the Hawks by 4 points at the final siren, though Hawthorn's Gary Buckenara had a free kick 55 metres out. But Melbourne Irish recruit Jim Stynes ran across
8881-605: The same way it had previously. The body worked to introduce a night representative series in 1976 and remodel representative football and interstate carnivals. In 1977, the VFL established a rival competition to the NFL's night series, called the Australian Football Championships (AFC), and by 1980 this competition had replaced the NFL's competition. Through the 1980s, administration of the game increasingly shifted towards Victoria. In 1993, three years after
8988-604: The scoring of goals or behinds. This was adopted in the Victorian Rules in 1887. In the same year, the umpire were required to bounce the ball instead of throwing it up in the air. In 1890, delegates from New Zealand were added and the Australasian Football Council was formed to facilitate a growing number of intercolonial matches which at one point also included leagues and teams from New Zealand. Major rule changes during this time were: With
9095-523: The second Demon to win the Brownlow Medal with Melbourne reaching the grand final , losing to Essendon by a margin of 63 points. Fred Fanning was the VFL leading goal scorer in 1943, 1944, 1945 and 1947 when he also kicked the league record 18 goals in a match during the last game of the season (a record that still stands). In 1948, Melbourne met Essendon in a grand final rematch. The Bombers' inaccurate kicking of 7 goals and 27 behinds resulted in
9202-446: The side losing the toss, or a goal, has the kick off from the centre point between the goals. After a goal is kicked the sides shall change ends. 3. A goal must be kicked fairly between the posts without touching either of them, or any portion of the person of one of the opposite side. In case of the ball being forced (except with the hands or arms) between the goal-posts in a scrummage a goal shall be awarded. 4. Two posts, to be called
9309-410: The sole judges of goals and breaches of rules. The nearest umpire shall be appealed to in every case of dispute. The major changes at this time were: The publishing of the laws prompted the adoption of the code by the first football clubs in the colonies of Queensland (22 May 1866) and New South Wales (26 May 1866). Though the shape of the ball is not specified in the rules, the game during this time
9416-447: The transmission of blood-borne disease . The sin bin rule was discarded in favour of player reports and the allocation of free kicks against the aggrieved side. In 1994, the AFL turned its focus to speeding up the game. To do this, the league increased the number of interchange players for their matches from 2 to 3 and increased the number of field umpires in the AFL from 2 to 3. In 1998, the number of interchange players for AFL matches
9523-572: The worst defeat in VFL/AFL history, losing to Fitzroy by 190 points in round 17 , although they would beat Essendon the following week. In an effort to attract more members and to improve the club's finances the club legally separated from the MCC, becoming a public company. In 1981, under the chairmanship of Sir Billy Snedden , and with a public campaign backed by radio broadcaster Derryn Hinch, Ron Barassi returned to Melbourne as coach and immediately appointed Robert Flower as captain. When he left
9630-483: The year and posting a $ 1 million loss. Szondy resigned as president and it seemed that Daniher's tenure as coach was under threat. Melbourne played finals again in 2004. In a seesawing Elimination Final, the Demons lost to Essendon by less than a goal. During the 2004 post-season, Melbourne player Troy Broadbridge was killed in the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami , when he was swept off Phi Phi island in Thailand . His body
9737-425: Was Geelong with 110 in round 1 1964. and dominant period of any team in the VFL/AFL no other team has ever won 10 premierships in just 31 years. In one of the greatest shock moves in the VFL history, Ron Barassi transferred to Carlton as captain-coach for the 1965 season. Despite this, Melbourne were still the dominant team of the league, winning its first eight games in succession. After having lost just three games,
9844-551: Was a dominant force in the early years of the game and a foundation member of the Victorian Football Association (VFA) in 1877 and the Victorian Football League (VFL) in 1896, now the national AFL. Melbourne has won 13 VFL/AFL premierships, the latest in 2021 . The club was a foundation team of the AFL Women's league (AFLW), and won its first AFLW premiership in 2022 season 7 . The football club has been
9951-594: Was appointed coach for the 2008 season , however Melbourne lost their first six matches, before breaking through with a record comeback win in round seven against Fremantle. Melbourne finished the season poorly finishing last on the ladder, taking out its first Wooden Spoon since 1997. Off field, the club remained in turmoil. In its 150th anniversary year club CEO Steve Harris resigned and was replaced by former Wimbledon tennis champion Paul McNamee in early 2008. Club President Paul Gardner also resigned mid-season making way for former club champion Jim Stynes who inherited
10058-415: Was at the top of the ladder after the first round and maintained that position until it lost to Collingwood in round 6. Melbourne was still in second place at the start of the second half of the season but a dramatic slump had them dropping to fifth position five weeks later. They finished with only two more wins and a draw. In 1976, Melbourne missed what looked to be an almost certain finals appearance. In
10165-564: Was considered too wordy by some and by 1980, many leagues had dropped the name style and the sport became better known as "Australian Football". The new body had direct jurisdiction over several state leagues. Rule changes in this era included: Notable Hall of Fame administrators during this period included: In the early 1970s, the ANFC changed its name to the National Football League but continued to operate in substantially
10272-545: Was defeated. Gutnick and Mark Jenkins were co-opted onto the club's board in the aftermath with Gutnick later being voted in as president. He put $ 3 million of his own money into the club, and sacked Balme as coach midway through the 1997 season. In 1998, under new coach Neale Daniher , the club spent most of the season in the top eight and beat the eventual premiers Adelaide in the Qualifying Final. Melbourne also eliminated St Kilda , but lost to North Melbourne in
10379-471: Was found on 3 January 2005, and brought home. A funeral was held on 20 January 2005 in recognition to the No. 20 guernsey he wore during his playing days. During the 2005 off-season, the whole team travelled to the island in which Broadbridge was killed to build a new school for those struck by the tsunami. The No.20 jumper was then rested for two years. Melbourne finished the 2005 season in seventh position but lost
10486-575: Was given a state funeral, given his remarkable legacy on and off the field. The AFL investigated Melbourne's 2009 season in August, following comments made by former Demon and Carlton player, Brock McLean, that the club had not been trying to win. See: Melbourne Football Club tanking scandal In 2013, Melbourne managed just one win from its first 11 games and Neeld was sacked as coach in Round 17 with assistant coach Neil Craig being appointed caretaker. This
10593-578: Was immediately sacked as coach with former club captain Todd Viney coaching the remaining games to finish 13th on the ladder. In August the club announced that its goal of wiping out the club's debt had finally been achieved and new coach Mark Neeld was announced in September. In 2012 Jim Stynes retired as president, with vice-president Don McLardy stepping up to take the reins. Tragically, on March 20, Stynes’ long fight with cancer came to an end. He
10700-520: Was increased from 3 to 4 to further speed up the game. The league began using its pre-season competition as a test-bed for experimental new rules . In 2003, the AFL forced the dissolution of the International Australian Football Council (formed in 1995) to become world governing body for the sport and in 1994 released its first official International Policy. In 2005, the 10-metre (11 yd) centre circle
10807-469: Was introduced for ruck contests, in response to an increasing number of posterior cruciate ligament injuries among ruckmen. In 2006, the AFL announced its intention to further speed up the game and reduce stoppages with the aim of enhancing the game as a spectacle, particularly aimed at television audiences. It introduced a time limit for set shots, which was thought by some to be in response to players such as Matthew Lloyd and Brendan Fevola taking up to
10914-438: Was made worse in July when Jim Stynes revealed he was fighting cancer. He temporarily stood down, with vice-chairman Don McLardy stepping up in his absence. In 2010 the club's on-field fortunes lifted, as they finished the season 12th on the ladder. The club's 2011 season took a dramatic turn when the Demons suffered its second greatest loss in league history, going down to Geelong at Kardinia Park in round 19 by 186 points. Bailey
11021-622: Was precipitated by the departures of CEO Schwab and President McLardy. In September the club announced Sydney premiership coach Paul Roos signed a two-year deal to coach the Demons, with the option of a third year. Paul Roos' first year in his tenure as the Demons' coach saw an improvement from their 2013 season, with the Demons doubling their win tally. Under Roos, the club continued to steadily improve winning 7 games in 2015 and key forward Jesse Hogan won Melbourne's second AFL Rising Star award. Roos left Melbourne after another improved season in 2016 with assistant coach Simon Goodwin taking over in
11128-482: Was primarily played with a round ball, unlike the prolate spheroid which was later widely adopted. Tom Wills had advocated for use of the rugby ball during the game's formative years arguing that it was more aerodynamic. The first documented use of a rugby ball was by the Richmond Football Club (1860–1861) (of which Wills was secretary) against the Melbourne Football Club in 1860 however its early use
11235-630: Was the league's leading goalscorer while Fred McGinis emerged as a champion player and league identity being judged Champion of the Colony for the season. In 1900, McGinis helped take Melbourne to its first VFL premiership , defeating Fitzroy in a Grand Final upset at the East Melbourne Cricket Ground; and, in 1904, Vin Coutie kicked 39 goals to be the League's leading goalkicker. But, despite this success, including playing in
11342-535: Was unable to take the Demons to an elusive finals series and John Northey took up the coaching position in 1986. Melbourne would finally make the finals in 1987 in dramatic fashion needing to beat Footscray at the Western Oval and requiring Geelong to lose to Hawthorn. The Demons beat the Bulldogs by two goals with the Hawks beating the Cats by three points in the dying seconds of the game. Both matches took place at
11449-406: Was unpopular and did not become customary until the 1870s. The laws were subsequently agreed upon by the major clubs playing the sport and widely adopted by several major leagues in Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales and New Zealand and with a slightly modified and played within a rectangular field. The colonies of South Australia and Tasmania would continue to resist adoption of these rules until
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