Australian rules football in South East Queensland

The earliest known record of Australian rules football commencing in Queensland was in May 1866, when the Brisbane Football Club was formed,^[1] with the aim of keeping cricketers fit in the winter months.^{[citation needed]} The club played its first match on Saturday 9 June 1866 at Queen's Park (now part of the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens).^[3] By 1870 four more clubs had been created: Volunteer Artillery, Brisbane Grammar School, Civil Service and Ipswich, all adopting Victorian Rules over rugby football.

The original Brisbane Football Club disbanded in the late 1880s and has no direct relationship to the modern Brisbane Bears or Lions clubs.

The first schoolboys match was between Brisbane Grammar played matches against Ipswich Grammar in 1870 – the outcome was a draw. Early games in Queensland were exceptionally long – one match between IGS and Brisbane Grammar in 1876 commenced at 10.30am and ended at 2.30pm, at which time IGS had scored 6 goals to Brisbane Grammar's nil.

During this era, no local governing body for the game was established. All rules and decisions about the rules and competitions were still made from Melbourne and was known in Queensland as "Victorian Rules".

However Victorian rules was growing rapidly and was the most popular football code in Queensland by 1880.^{[citation needed]} Queensland sent delegates to the Intercolonial Football Conference in 1883.^{[citation needed]}

By the early 1880s, there may have been as many as 300 players in the Brisbane and Ipswich region, as contemporaneous newspaper records show that there were at least six active clubs (Brisbane, Excelsiors, Grammars, Wallaroos, Rovers and Athenians (Ipswich)), each of which had at least two teams ('senior' and 'junior' 20s).Matches were played at the Albert Ground, Kedron Park, Grammar School and Ipswich, with occasional matches at Queen's Park.^[4][5]

In 1887, one of the most significant events in the history of the code occurred at this time. Independent Schools headmasters voted by 1 vote to adopt rugby football.^[6] The decision was influenced by the recent creation of a Queensland-based governing body to govern rugby, and the majority of councillors objected on the basis that the reference of "Victorian" in the name of the sport did not represent the interests of Queenslanders. This dealt a significant blow to the sport and advantage to rugby union.

Despite the advances made by Queensland football, it was clear that Victoria was progressing faster than any other state. On 21 June 1890, South Melbourne Football Club toured, playing against Queensland on Albion Park. The result of the match was a complete 6-17 to 1-0 humiliation (behinds were recorded in the scores at the time but did not actually count until 1897). The humiliation was obviously felt by the players as when Queensland defeated a New South Wales Rugby Union team shortly afterwards many of the former rugby players receded from the Australian football ranks and formed clubs of their own.^[7] Over the next few years, rugby union's popularity in South East Queensland would swamp Victorian Rules.

In 1969, the "South Queensland Australian Football Association" (SQAFA) was established with the purpose of developing players for the Queensland Australian Football League (QAFL). Most of the players were amateurs. In 1992, the league changed its name to the "Brisbane Australian Football League" (BAFL) and included clubs from the Sunshine Coast.

Another name change in 2000 brought about AFL South Queensland. In 2006, AFL South Queensland was taken under the umbrella of AFL Queensland and rebranded as the Queensland State Association. In 2012, it was renamed South East Queensland AFL.^[8] Finally in 2014 the local level was divided into two leagues, the Queensland Football Association (QFA) and the Queensland Amateur Football Association (QAFA). Again in 2017 the name will change again to the Queensland Football Association (QFA), now covering five (5) divisions and the re-introduction of two (2) regional based leagues (AFL Northern Rivers & AFL Sunshine Coast / Wide Bay).

Since 2017 to present:

Notes

^* Premiers
^** Wooden spooners

Clubs for the 2022 season:

Colours	Club Name	Nickname	Suburb/s	Location/s	Home Ground/s	Formed
	Beenleigh	Buffaloes	Beenleigh	Logan	Guardian Gantry Hire Oval	1998
	Caloundra	Panthers	Golden Beach	Sunshine Coast	Carter Park	1973
	Coorparoo [note 1]	Kings	Coorparoo	Brisbane	Giffin Park	1996
	Hinterland	Blues	Palmwoods	Sunshine Coast	G Rae Oval	1970
	Mayne	Tigers	Enoggera	Brisbane	Enoggera Memorial Park	1924
	Moreton Bay	Lions	Burpengary	Moreton Bay	Moreton Bay Regional Sports Park	1987
	Springwood	Pumas	Underwood	Brisbane	Lowe Oval	1972
	Uni. of Queensland	Red Lions	St Lucia	Brisbane	UQ Playing Field 2	1956

Notes

Colours	Club Name	Nickname	Suburb/s	Location/s	Home Ground/s	Formed
	Alexandra Hills	Bombers	Alexandra Hills	Redland City	Keith Surridge Park	1980
	Gympie	Cats	Glanmire	Gympie	Ray Warren Oval	1971
	Jindalee	Jags	Jindalee	Brisbane	Jindalee Districts AFC	1971
	Kedron	Lions	Kedron	Brisbane	EK (Ted) Anderson Oval	1937
	Kenmore	Bears	Chelmer	Brisbane	Chelmer Oval	1967
	Park Ridge	Pirates	Park Ridge	Logan	Park Ridge High School	2013
	Pine Rivers	Swans	Strathpine	Brisbane	Rob Akers Reserve	1970
	Redcliffe	Tigers	Kippa-Ring	Moreton Bay	Nathan Road Sports Complex	1974
	Sandgate	Hawks	Taigum	Brisbane	Sandgate Hawks AFC	1943
	Wynnum	Vikings	Wynnum West	Brisbane	Kianawah Oval	1971
	Yeronga South Brisbane	Devils	Yeronga	Brisbane	Leyshon Park	1929
	Zillmere	Eagles	Zillmere	Brisbane	O'Callaghan Park	1923

Colours	Club Name	Nickname	Suburb/s	Location/s	Home Ground/s	Formed
	Bond University	Bullsharks	Robina	Gold Coast	Bond University Oval	2011
	Burleigh [note 1]	Bombers	Burleigh Waters	Gold Coast	Bill Godfrey Oval	c. 1979
	Carrara	Saints	Carrara	Gold Coast	Alan Nielsen Oval	2012
	Coolangatta Tweed Heads	Blues	Coolangatta	Gold Coast	EXIMM Oval	2012
	Coomera	Magpies	Coomera	Gold Coast	Coomera Sports Park	2009
	Robina	Roos	Robina	Gold Coast	Scottsdale Reserve	1996
	Southern Stingrays	Stingrays	Ballina, Byron Bay	New South Wales	Fripp Oval, Cavanbah Centre	2024
	Tweed Coast	Tigers	Bogangar	Northern Rivers	Barry Sheppard Oval	2009

Colours	Club Name	Nickname	Suburb/s	Location/s	Home Ground/s	Formed
	Aspley	Hornets	Carseldine	Brisbane	Graham Road	1964
	Caloundra	Panthers	Golden Beach	Sunshine Coast	Carter Park	1973
	Coorparoo [note 2]	Kings	Coorparoo	Brisbane	Giffin Park	1996
	Marcellin Old Collegians	Gorillas	Stafford	Brisbane	iinergy Oval	1945
	Maroochydore	Roos	Maroochydore	Sunshine Coast	Neil Upton Oval	1969
	Moreton Bay	Lions	Burpengary	Moreton Bay	Moreton Bay Regional Sports Park	1987
	North Shore	Jets	Mudjimba	Sunshine Coast	North Shore Multisports Complex	1999

Colours	Club Name	Nickname	Suburb/s	Location/s	Home Ground/s	Formed
	Collingwood Park	Power	Redbank Plains	Ipswich	Redbank Plains Recreational Reserve	2012
	Coorparoo [note 2]	Kings	Coorparoo	Brisbane	Giffin Park	1996
	Jimboomba	Redbacks	Glenlogan	Logan City	Glenlogan Park	2000
	Moorooka	Roosters	Moorooka	Brisbane	Alexander Park	2009
	Morningside	Panthers	Hawthorne	Brisbane	Jack Esplen Oval	1947
	Ormeau	Bulldogs	Ormeau	Gold Coast	Ormeau Sports Park	2008
	Pacific Pines	Power	Pacific Pines	Gold Coast	McAuley Parade Oval	2005
	Sherwood	Magpies	Chelmer	Brisbane	Powenyenna Oval	1991

Colours	Club Name	Nickname	Suburb/s	Location/s	Home Ground/s	Formed
	Ferny Grove	Falcons	Ferny Grove	Brisbane	Ferny Grove Oval	1991
	Glasshouse Hinterland	Lions	Landsborough	Sunshine Coast	Landsborough Sport & Recreation Centre	1997
	Hinterland	Blues	Palmwoods	Sunshine Coast	G Rae Oval	1970
	Kedron	Lions	Kedron	Brisbane	EK (Ted) Anderson Oval	1937
	Mayne	Tigers	Enoggera	Brisbane	Enoggera Memorial Park	1924
	Redcliffe	Tigers	Kippa-Ring	Moreton Bay	Nathan Road Sports Complex	1974
	Sandgate	Hawks	Taigum	Brisbane	Sandgate Hawks AFC	1943
	Uni. Of Queensland	Red Lions	St Lucia	Brisbane	UQ Playing Field 2	1956
	Yeronga South Brisbane	Devils	Yeronga	Brisbane	Leyshon Park	1929

Colours	Club Name	Nickname	Suburb/s	Location/s	Home Ground/s	Formed
	Brisbane Valley	Rattlers	Fernvale	Somerset	Fernvale Sports Park	2016
	Carrara	Saints	Carrara	Gold Coast	Alan Nielsen Oval	2012
	Coolangatta Tweed Heads	Blues	Coolangatta	Gold Coast	EXIMM Oval	2012
	Coomera	Magpies	Coomera	Gold Coast	Coomera Sports Park	2009
	Ipswich	Cats	Amberley	Ipswich	Ivor Marsden Memorial Sports Centre	1959
	Ipswich	Eagles	Ipswich	Ipswich	Limestone Park	2001
	Greater Springfield	Storm	Springfield Central	Ipswich	Springfield Central Sports complex	2022
	Labrador	Tigers	Labrador	Gold Coast	Cooke-Murphy Oval	1964
	Mount Gravatt	Vultures	Mount Gravatt	Brisbane	Dittmer Park	1964
	Redland-Victoria Point	Sharks	Victoria Point	Redland	Totally Workwear Park	2014
	Southport	Sharks	Gold Coast	Southport	Fankhauser Reserve	1961

Several clubs from South East Queensland do not take part of local Leagues, giving priority to Queensland Australian Football League or Victorian Football League competitions where they compete.
Other clubs have teams in both, Queensland Football Association and Queensland Australian Football League/Victorian Football League or Australian Football League/Victorian Football League.

Colours	Football Club Name	Nickname	City/Region	Suburb/s	QFA	Other League/s
	Aspley	Hornets	Brisbane	Carseldine	Y	Queensland Australian Football League
	Brisbane	Lions	Brisbane	Woolloongabba	–	Australian Football League, Victorian Football League [note 1]
	Broadbeach	Cats	Gold Coast	Mermaid Waters	–	Queensland Australian Football League
	Gold Coast	Suns	Gold Coast	Carrara	–	Australian Football League, Victorian Football League [note 1]
	Labrador	Tigers	Gold Coast	Labrador	Y	Queensland Australian Football League
	Maroochydore	Roos	Sunshine Coast	Maroochydore	Y	Queensland Australian Football League
	Morningside	Panthers	Brisbane	Hawthorne	Y	Queensland Australian Football League
	Mount Gravatt	Vultures	Brisbane	Upper Mount Gravatt	Y	Queensland Australian Football League
	Noosa	Tigers	Noosa	Noosaville	–	Queensland Australian Football League
	Palm Beach Currumbin	Lions	Gold Coast	Palm Beach	–	Queensland Australian Football League
	Redland-Victoria Point	Sharks	Victoria Point	Victoria Point	Y	Queensland Australian Football League
	Southport	Sharks	Gold Coast	Southport	–	Victorian Football League
	Sherwood Districts	Magpies	Brisbane	Chelmer	Y	Queensland Australian Football League
	Wilston Grange	Gorillas	Brisbane	Stafford	Y	Queensland Australian Football League

Notes

As of 2018 season:

Colours	Club Name	Nickname	City/Town	Suburb/s	State/Territory	Home Ground/s	Formed	Fate
	Banyo	Bloods	Brisbane	Banyo	Queensland	Nudgee Recreation Reserve	1967	Folded
	Bribie Island	Bulldogs	Bongaree	Bribie Island	Queensland	Bribie Island Recreation Reserve		In recess
	Calamvale	Leopards	Brisbane	Calamvale	Queensland	Calamvale Sportsfield	????	Folded, still field junior teams
	Lismore	Swans	Lismore	Lismore	New South Wales	Gloria Mortimer Oval	2002	Moved to AFL North Coast, in recess since 2022 floods
	Marsden	Hawks	Brisbane	Marsden	Queensland	Mudgee Street Park	1992	Folded
	Murri	Mavericks	Brisbane	Kedron	Queensland	Melrose Park	1998	Merged with Ferny Grove
	Pomona	Demons	Sunshine Coast	Pomona	Queensland	Reserve Street Oval	1973	Entered recess, re-formed in AFL Wide Bay in 2024

Notable former Queensland Football Association regional Divisions

All four AFL Bundaberg-Wide Bay Clubs from 2002, Hervey Bay Bombers, Across the Waves Bundaberg Eagles, Brothers Bulldogs and Maryborough Bears were joined by teams further south, Gympie Cats, Pomona Demons, Glasshouse and Bribie Island to play one season against each other before reverting to their various regional leagues in 2004 once again.

Finals summary:

• Elimination Final - Maryborough 13.8-86 defeated Glasshouse 10.7-67
• Qualifying Final - Across the Waves 13.12-90 defeated Bribie Island 11.11-77
• First Semi Final - Maryborough 15.14-104 defeated Bribie Island 12.6-78
• Second Semi Final - Hervey Bay 18.15-123 defeated Across the Waves 9.7-61
• Preliminary Final - Across the Waves 14.15-99 defeated Maryborough 4.10-34
• GRAND FINAL - Hervey Bay 8.8-56 defeated Across the Waves 6.17-53

• Australian rules football in Queensland
• AFL Queensland

• SEQ teams and competitions on AFLQ website