1985 Australian Football Championships Explained

1985 Australian Football Championships
Sport:Australian football
Location:Adelaide and Perth, Australia
Start Date:14 May 1985
End Date:16 July 1985
Teams:3
Commissioner:Australian National Football Council
Format:Round Robin
Final Champion:South Australia
Previous:1984
Next:1986

The 1985 Australian Football Championships was an Australian rules football series between representative teams of the three major football states. Games involving Victoria were played under State of Origin rules, whilst the match between Western Australia and South Australia involved players based in their respective states at the time. The competition drew controversy when the result of the game between Victoria and South Australia, originally a 57 point win to Victoria, was overturned and awarded to South Australia as a result of Victoria fielding too many players when coach Kevin Sheedy snuck Shane Heard into the squad and into the team as an extra player.[1] [2] The competition was won by South Australia, and it was their first Australian championship since 1911.[3]

Results

Game 1

|- style="background:#ccf;"| Home team| Home team score| Away team| Away team score| Ground| Crowd| Date| Time| Broadcast Network|- style="background:#fff;"| South Australia| 11.10 (76)| Victoria| 20.13 (133)| Football Park| 44,287| 14 May 1985 [4] | 8:00pm| Seven

Game 2

|- style="background:#ccf;"| Home team| Home team score| Away team| Away team score| Ground| Crowd| Date| Time| Broadcast Network|- style="background:#fff;"| South Australia| 30.18 (198)| Western Australia| 16.15 (111)| Subiaco Oval|| 15 June 1985 ||

Game 3

|- style="background:#ccf;"| Home team| Home team score| Away team| Away team score| Ground| Crowd| Date| Time| Broadcast Network|- style="background:#fff;"| Victoria| 19.16 (130)| Western Australia| 9.11 (65)| Subiaco Oval| 38,000| 16 July 1985 [6] ||

All-Australian Team

Following completion of the series, the best players over the three games were selected in the All-Australian team.[7]

Notes and References

  1. News: League sacks Victoria. 20 February 2016. The Canberra Times. 17 June 1985. 28.
  2. News: McFarlane. Glenn. Glenn's 10: Glenn McFarlane names the top 10 moments in State-of-Origin footy. 20 February 2016. Herald Sun. News Limited. 29 May 2014.
  3. News: SA regains lost prestige. 20 February 2016. The Canberra Times. 16 June 1985. Sport 6.
  4. News: Win for Victoria. 20 February 2016. The Canberra Times. 15 May 1985. 45.
  5. Web site: Fos Williams Medallist. South Australian National Football League. 15 February 2016. 1 October 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151001042130/http://www.sanfl.com.au/awards/fos_williams_medallist/. dead.
  6. News: Smithers. Patrick. Victorious Vics don't hurt a bit. 23 February 2016. The Age. 18 July 1985.
  7. News: Sheedy tables his top 20 in 20 years. 21 February 2016. The Age. 18 July 1985.
  8. News: Selectors name 9 'rookies'. 21 February 2016. The Football Record. Round 7. VFL Media Department. 11 May 1985. 11.
  9. Web site: State Games 1951-2011. wafooty.com.au. 19 February 2016.
  10. News: Match Statistics. Westside Football. 18 July 1985. 11.