Queensland Australian Football League

Prior to formation of the QFL, a precursor existed in the form of the Queensland Football Association (QFA) between 1880 and 1890. However poor alignment with the Victorian Football Association, a failure to secure intercolonial tests and its failure to rein in the popularity of rugby saw its ultimate demise. Following a decade long hiatus in the sport, Australian rules saw renewed interest during the Federation of Australia and fans in Queensland at the turn of the century regrouped floating the idea of a new competition that would endure in the state.

The Queensland Football League (QFL) was formed in July 1903 at a meeting with 50 present at the South Brisbane Cycling Club and a total of 150 signed on as members.^[1] Unlike the previous league which affiliated with the VFA, this new body decided to affiliate with the Victorian Football League.^[2] Practice matches were held in August that year in the Botanical Gardens and attracted large crowds and interest.^[3] The first premiership was held in 1904 with most games being played at Queen's Park, a sporting facility within the grounds of the Brisbane Botanic Gardens.

From 1905 to 1914 games were regularly played at the Brisbane Cricket Ground. Clubs included Brisbanes, Locomotives, Ipswich, Citys, Valleys, South Brisbane, North Brisbane, West Brisbane and Wynnum.

Between 1915 and 1919 the competition went into recess owing to World War I.

In 1926 Melbourne brewery Old Court Whisky donated the trophy to the competition. The first winner was Brisbane.^[4]

In August 1927 at a meeting of the Australian National Football Council it was decided that each of the state leagues were to include the words 'Australian National' in their names. Accordingly, the QFL was renamed the Queensland Australian National Football League (QANFL) and football continued a steady growth in Brisbane.

Yeronga and Taringa fielded senior sides in the league for the first time in 1931, both having an immediate impact^[5] and finishing runner up in the years to follow.

In 1964 the QANFL dropped the 'National' reference to their name and became the Queensland Australian Football League (QAFL), a limited liability company.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the QAFL saw a boom in popularity, boosted by televised matches it saw crowds of 500 to several thousand attending blockbuster matches, modest in comparison to attendances drawn in traditional football states but significant nonetheless.^[6] The QAFL and the Gold Coast league both competed directly with the VFL for local marketshare in 1982.^[7]

• 1904–1912:
  Queen's Park, Alice Street (now part of the City Botanic Gardens)
• 1905–1914:
  Brisbane Cricket Ground, Exhibition Ground
• 1920–1959:
  Perry Park, Bowen Hills; Exhibition Ground
• 1959–1971:
  Brisbane Cricket Ground
• 1972–1989:
  Windsor Park

• Exhibition Ground was used for some games including the 1950 interstate carnival

The Queensland Australian Football League operates on a single table system, with no divisions, conferences nor promotion and relegation from other leagues.

Current clubs

More information Club, Colours ...

Club	Colours	Nickname	Home venue	Former league(s)	Est.	Years in QAFL	QAFL Premierships
							Total	Most recent
Aspley		Hornets	Graham Road Oval, Carseldine	NEAFL, VFL	1964	2009–2010; 2022–	2	2023
Broadbeach		Cats	Subaru Oval, Mermaid Waters	GCAFL, NEAFL	1971	1997–2010, 2014–	1	2021
Coorparoo		Kings, Roos	Giffin Park, Coorparoo	QFA	1996	2025–	0	–
Labrador		Tigers	Cooke-Murphy Oval, Labrador	GCAFL, NEAFL	1964	1997–2010, 2015–	2	2016
Maroochydore		Roos, Maroochy	Neil Upton Oval, Maroochydore	QFA	1970	2020–	0	−
Morningside		Panthers	Jack Esplen Oval, Hawthorne	–	1947	1947–	11	2024
Mount Gravatt		Vultures	Dittmer Park, Upper Mt-Gravatt	QFA	1964	1994–	2	2007
Noosa		Tigers	Noosa Oval, Noosaville	QFA	1970	2021–	0	−
Palm Beach Currumbin		Lions	Salk Oval, Palm Beach	GCAFL	1961	1997–	2	2018
Redland-Victoria Point		Sharks	Totally Workwear Park, Victoria Point	–	2020	2021–	1	2025
Sherwood Districts		Magpies	Powenyenna Oval, Chelmer	–	1991	1991–	1	1996
Surfers Paradise		Demons	Sir Bruce Small Park, Benowa	QFA	1962	2014–	1	2019
Wilston Grange		Gorillas	Hickey Park, Stafford	–	1945	1950–1989, 2014–	3	1972

Close

16km
9.9miles

Noosa Tigers

Maroochydore

   

Locations of participating clubs from Sunshine Coast

Aspley

Morningside

Mount Gravatt

Redland-Victoria Point

Sherwood Districts

Wilston Grange

Coorparoo

Location of participating clubs from Brisbane

Broadbeach

Labrador

Palm Beach Currumbin

Surfers Paradise

Locations of participating clubs from Gold Coast

Uniforms

Aspley	Coorparoo	Broadbeach	Labrador	Maroochydore
Morningside	Mount Gravatt	Noosa	Palm Beach Currumbin	Redland–Victoria Point
Sherwood Districts	Surfers Paradise	Wilston Grange

Former clubs

More information Club, Colours ...

Club	Colours	Nickname	Home venue	Former league	Est.	Years in QAFL	QAFL Premierships		Fate
							Total	Most recent
Ascot				–			0	–	Defunct
Brisbane (R)		Lions	The Gabba, Woolloongabba	–	1996	1998–2010	3	2013	Moved to NEAFL in 2011
Brisbanes			The Gabba, Woolloongabba	–	1920	1920–1929	4	1926	Folded after 1929 season
Caloundra		Cool Cats	North Street Ground, Golden Beach	SCAFL	1973	1990	0	–	Returned to Sunshine Coast AFL in 1991
City			The Gabba, Woolloongabba	–			2	1906	Defunct
Coorparoo (original)		Roos	Giffin Park, Coorparoo	–	1935	1935–1952, 1955–1995	6	1986	Merged with Yeronga South Brisbane between 1953–1954. Folded after 1995 season
Coorparoo-Yeronga				–	1953	1953–1954	0	–	De-merged into Coorparoo and Yeronga South Brisbane in 1955
Ipswich		Athenians	North Ipswich Reserve, North Ipswich	–	1870		0	–	Defunct
Kedron		Redlegs	Kedron Oval, Kedron	–	1937	1937–1989	7	1980	Merged with Wilston Grange to form Kedron Grange in 1990
Kedron Grange		Demons		–	1990	1990–1996	0	–	De-merged into Wilston Grange and Kedron after 1996 season
Locomotives				–	1905	1905–1909	2	1908	Folded after 1909 season
Mayne		Tigers	Keith Beavis Oval, Windsor	–	1924	1925–1999, 2001–2004	15	1982	Excluded from competition in 2000, returned a year later. Moved to QFA in 2005
Norths				–			0	–	Defunct
North Brisbane		Eagles	O'Callaghan Park, Zillmere	–	1991	1991–1996	1	1995	Folded due to financial difficulties after 1996 season
Northern Territory		Thunder	Traeger Park, Alice Springs and Marrara Oval, Marrara	–	2008	2008–2010	1	2011	Moved to NEAFL in 2011
Redland		Bombers	Totally Workwear Park, Victoria Point	QFA	1966	2000–2010	0	–	Moved to NEAFL in 2011
Sandgate		Hawks	Sandgate Oval, Sandgate	–	1933	1933, 1944–1990	6	1986	Merged with Windsor-Zillmere to form North Brisbane after 1990 season
Sherwood		Magpies	Chelmer Oval, Chelmer	QFA	1956	1982–1990	0	–	Merged with Western Districts to form West Brisbane after 1990 season
Southport		Sharks	Fankhauser Reserve, Southport	GCAFL	1961	1983–2010	13	2008	Moved to NEAFL in 2011, Moved to VFL in 2020
Souths				–			0	–	Defunct
South Brisbane		Devils		–	1910	1910–1924, 1926–1940	4	1921	Folded after 1940 season
Sunshine Coast							0	–	Defunct
Uni. of Queensland		Students	University of Queensland Playing Fields, St Lucia	–	1956	1956–1969	0	–	Formed SQAFA in 1970
Valley		Valleys	Albion Park, Albion	–		1905–1927	3	1925	Merged with Brisbanes in 1928
Windsor-Zillmere		Eagles	O'Callaghan Park, Zillmere	–	1962	1962–1990	4	1988	Merged with Sandgate to form North Brisbane after 1990 season
West Brisbane		Warriors	Chelmer Oval, Chelmer	–	1991	1991–1997	0	–	Folded due to financial difficulties after 1997 season, re-formed as Western Magpies in 1999
Western Districts		Bulldogs	Powenyenna Oval, Chelmer	–	1931	1931–1990	4	1978	Merged with Sherwood to form West Brisbane after 1990 season
Windsor		Eagles		–	1924	1924–1961	12	1951	Merged with Zillmere to form Windsor-Zillmere after 1961 season.
Workshops				–			1	1945	Defunct
Wynnum		Tricolours		–	1905	1905–1925	2	1920	Folded after 1925 season
Yeronga South Brisbane	(1928–?) (?-1958-?) (?-1969)	Devils		–	1928	1928–1952, 1955–1960, 1967–1969	0	–	Merged with Coorparoo between 1953–1954. Formed SQAFA in 1970
Zillmere		Eagles	O'Callaghan Park, Zillmere	–	1923	1923–1961, 1997–2008	0	–	Moved to QFA in 2009

Close

The complete list of premiers teams is detailed below:^[11][12] In 2010, the QAFL competition was disbanded and its teams became part of the NEAFL Northern conference.
In 2014, the QAFL competition resumed with several former clubs of the NEAFL being relegated to the competition along with several newly promoted teams.

• Australian Rules football in Queensland
• AFL Queensland