Quirky AFL Facts that make no sense but ...exist

Oct 2, 2008
8,897
18,482
AFL Club
Richmond
Other Teams
Brothers of Destruction
I think I'll get the ball rolling, keep adding to the increasing list. I always find these interesting. Happy Quirks!



- Gary Rohan & Ken Hinkley are cousins.

- Hawthorn & Richmond have won 26 of the last 100 AFL/VFL Premierships. They've crossed paths in finals only once and never in a Grand Final. The 2018 Qualifying Final was their only match up.

- Fitzroy won the wooden spoon in 1916. They also won the premiership in 1916.

- VFL Park's initial plan was for it to hold a capacity of 150,000 people.

- Collingwood have a better win/loss record than every single club in the AFL/VFL - Except one. West Coast. They are tied with Carlton too.

- Collingwood were once a financially strapped club. Their arch rival Carlton supported them joining the VFL in 1897 and even allowed Collingwood to keep gate receipt income from home matches!

- In 1924, Footscray from the VFA defeated the reigning VFL Premiers Essendon. This victory was the catalyst in the growth of the VFL competition. In 1925, Hawthorn, North Melbourne and Footscray all joined in the VFL.

- Essendon were once known as the 'Blood Stained N word'. No records can be found of Essendon referring to themselves as this, it was more a fan-made nickname such as 'mosquito fleet' and 'baby bombers'. None the less, a reflection of past generations and racism and a cruel reminder why we must continue to grow as a society.

- Although unrelated to the Richmond Football Club established in 1885. Tom Wills, the inventor of Aussie Rules, founded and captained the original Richmond Football Club in 1860.

- Geelong and Ford hold the WORLD record for longest tenured sponsorship between a sporting club and corporate company. Now that's cool!

- Port Adelaide shocked South Australian Football when they submitted an application to join the VFL. The other SANFL clubs hated them so much they banded together to form the Adelaide Crows. Which joined the competition instead. According to rumour and innuendo, Port Adelaide were furious because they wanted to use the moniker 'The Crows'. Could you imagine the Port Adelaide Crows? Weird...

- Luke Darcy had one 24 hour period where he partied with the US Open tennis champion, saw the twin towers collapse in New York City and Tony Liberatore have a conversation with Michael ******* Jackson.
 
Apr 3, 2016
5,381
10,937
AFL Club
Sydney
- Essendon were once known as the 'Blood Stained N word'. No records can be found of Essendon referring to themselves as this, it was more a fan-made nickname such as 'mosquito fleet' and 'baby bombers'. None the less, a reflection of past generations and racism and a cruel reminder why we must continue to grow as a society.

Whats the N word?
 

Brad Goodman

His name isn't important
Oct 7, 2002
15,832
16,221
AFL Club
Collingwood
Whats the N word?

1603842250687.png
 
In the original rules drawn up in 1858, the distance between the two sets of goals posts were to be decided by the competing clubs' captains.
The same year a match between Melbourne Grammar and Scotch College, the distance between the two sets of goal posts were aout 800 metres, four times the length of the current MCG.
 
Apr 28, 2008
11,211
8,194
AFL Club
West Coast
Other Teams
Arsenal Kilmarnock
2018 is the only time since Pearl Harbor that Melbourne & Richmond have featured in the same finals series. Was sad to wave goodbye to those 76 years ('42-'17). The final rounds of '98 and '17 and the Nathan Brown injury in '05 some particularly cursed highlights.
 

Cyclonus

Sardonic Wrath
Jun 20, 2011
1,772
2,567
Melbourne
AFL Club
Adelaide
I've read up on this before and found that, when the game first started, the first team to score 2 goals won the game! Can you imagine sitting in your seat after grabbing a drink and then the final siren goes?
Took a while, actually. The ground was 1KM long with 50 players a side.
 
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big_e

Existential crisis management consultant
Apr 28, 2008
12,559
38,503
Back Pocket
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Other Teams
Wycombe Wanderers
I think I'll get the ball rolling, keep adding to the increasing list. I always find these interesting. Happy Quirks!



- Gary Rohan & Ken Hinkley are cousins.

- Hawthorn & Richmond have won 26 of the last 100 AFL/VFL Premierships. They've crossed paths in finals only once and never in a Grand Final. The 2018 Qualifying Final was their only match up.

- Fitzroy won the wooden spoon in 1916. They also won the premiership in 1916.

- VFL Park's initial plan was for it to hold a capacity of 150,000 people.

- Collingwood have a better win/loss record than every single club in the AFL/VFL - Except one. West Coast. They are tied with Carlton too.

- Collingwood were once a financially strapped club. Their arch rival Carlton supported them joining the VFL in 1897 and even allowed Collingwood to keep gate receipt income from home matches!

- In 1924, Footscray from the VFA defeated the reigning VFL Premiers Essendon. This victory was the catalyst in the growth of the VFL competition. In 1925, Hawthorn, North Melbourne and Footscray all joined in the VFL.

- Essendon were once known as the 'Blood Stained N word'. No records can be found of Essendon referring to themselves as this, it was more a fan-made nickname such as 'mosquito fleet' and 'baby bombers'. None the less, a reflection of past generations and racism and a cruel reminder why we must continue to grow as a society.

- Although unrelated to the Richmond Football Club established in 1885. Tom Wills, the inventor of Aussie Rules, founded and captained the original Richmond Football Club in 1860.

- Geelong and Ford hold the WORLD record for longest tenured sponsorship between a sporting club and corporate company. Now that's cool!

- Port Adelaide shocked South Australian Football when they submitted an application to join the VFL. The other SANFL clubs hated them so much they banded together to form the Adelaide Crows. Which joined the competition instead. According to rumour and innuendo, Port Adelaide were furious because they wanted to use the moniker 'The Crows'. Could you imagine the Port Adelaide Crows? Weird...

- Luke Darcy had one 24 hour period where he partied with the US Open tennis champion, saw the twin towers collapse in New York City and Tony Liberatore have a conversation with Michael ******* Jackson.
1. Why doesn't it make sense that Rohan and Hinkley are cousins?

2. Fitzroy didn't win the wooden spoon in 1916.

3. Pretty much every club has been financially strapped at some point in its history, many of them multiple times.

4. What's quirky about Collingwood having the second best overall win/loss record? It has to be someone.
 
May 5, 2016
43,465
48,500
AFL Club
Geelong
1. Why doesn't it make sense that Rohan and Hinkley are cousins?

2. Fitzroy didn't win the wooden spoon in 1916.

3. Pretty much every club has been financially strapped at some point in its history, many of them multiple times.

4. What's quirky about Collingwood having the second best overall win/loss record? It has to be someone.

re. 3 and 4: Collingwood are lauded and in my lifetime always have been as being the one superpower that couldn't be put under. And the win-loss thing, though they have had a lot of success, and making grand finals and losing them is still a success, the fact that they lost so many of them gives them a slight aura of failure (undeservedly) so maybe it strikes people, given that Essendon and Carlton have long been the benchmarks of overall success, that Collingwood outrank them. (The last 20 years would have helped that situation immensely)
 

mfcrox

Club Legend
Oct 12, 2006
1,456
2,633
Melbourne
AFL Club
Melbourne
in afl you grow the game by holding the grand final in a rugby heartland state.

but only in 2020 - holding it outside victoria doesnt grow the game in ANY OTHER YEAR

Please do us all a favour and tell that idiot premier of yours to seek independence from the rest of us. Then start off your own competition and hold the GF wherever you like :)
 
Aug 4, 2003
22,984
23,444
WA
AFL Club
West Coast
At one point Adelaide and Port Adelaide were captained by Nathan Van Berlo and Dom Cassisi (both West Aussies), while West Coast and Fremantle were captained by Shannon Hurn and Matthew Pavlich (both South Australians).
 

Sumwun

Senior List
Apr 6, 2019
222
440
AFL Club
Fremantle
AFL is the only football code where the only way to score a goal is by foot.
AFL was the earliest football code in the world to have codified rules, therefore we can claim that AFL is the oldest football code on the planet.
 
Last edited:
Feb 6, 2016
5,066
9,922
AFL Club
Carlton
Jun 30, 2009
30,328
41,692
Deroesfromgero
AFL Club
West Coast
Other Teams
east perth
Please do us all a favour and tell that idiot premier of yours to seek independence from the rest of us. Then start off your own competition and hold the GF wherever you like :)
do you have any idea of how busted arse broke the rest of australia would be without us?

we earn half of australias export dollars

during the gfc it was our iron ore exports that kept australia going

west australia sent over 100 billion dollars east in 12 years.

careful what you wish for.
 
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