The 1877 South Australian Football Association season was the inaugural season of the top-level league of
Australian rules football in South Australia. The clubs participating were South Adelaide, Victorian, Adelaide,
Port Adelaide, Woodville, South Park,
Kensington and Bankers.[1]
The newly formed South Australian Football Association decided that the playing fields for the season must be between 180 and 200 yards (165-183m) long and 120-150 yards (110-137m) wide, with pushing from behind being prohibited. For clubs to gain membership of the association, they would need to pay two
guineas for the year.[3]
This result was originally reported as a 0-0 draw due to a goal umpire not allowing a goal scored by a South Adelaide player running on after taking a mark.
A game scheduled between
Port Adelaide and the Bankers at
Montefiore Hill was awarded to
Port Adelaide on forfeit: Port had a full team on the field when the Bankers' captain informed them and the umpire that the Bankers were unable to field a team.[24]
Teams were affected due to their star players involvement in a combined SAFA team (with players picked from Victorian, Woodville, South Park and Port Adelaide Clubs) vs.
Melbourne game being played at the Exhibition Grounds simultaneously: Melbourne defeated the combined team by five goals to nil.
Victorian claimed they had won the game, but a
South Park protest was upheld and the game's single goal was annulled. The match was noted as the roughest of the season.
A game was scheduled for September 15 between
Port Adelaide and Woodville at Woodville was awarded to
Port Adelaide as Woodville forfeited due to a lack of players (their principal players being involved in a practice cricket match at Norwood).[29]
Victorian finished the season with eight more goals but a slightly inferior record than
South Adelaide, but one should consider that
Victorian played the Bankers twice whereas
South Adelaide did not (their only scheduled match, in Round 6, was a forfeit when the Bankers could only muster 13 players). Further, while Adelaide finished with one more win than the other two clubs, they played 17 games to 13 and 14 respectively.
"FOOTBALL". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 3 October 1877. p. 2 Supplement: SUPPLEMENT TO THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN REGISTER. Retrieved 16 November 2014.