The Allies (Australian rules football)

Australian Football Alliance
Team information
Nickname Allies
Governing body Australian Football League
Team results
First game
Australia Australian Alliance 13.14 (92) to 8.13 (61) Western Australia Western Australia
1995
Biggest win
13.14 (92) to 8.13 (61) vs Western Australia, 18 June 1995
Biggest defeat
22.16 (148) to 14.11 (95) vs Victoria, 10 July 1998

Australian Football Alliance Australian rules football team, commonly known as The Allies are a representative Australian rules football team made up of players who played their junior football in Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland and Tasmania, formed to participate against other states in state of origin football matches. In women's football, the team also incorporates players from South Australia and Western Australia.

History

The team was first proposed as part of the AFL Commission's five-year plan released in August 1994. The team was intended to renew the public's waning interest in the state of origin series by creating a composite team of the sport's minor states which would be more competitive against the main states (Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia) than any individual minor state team.[1] The team was launched in March 1995, known in full as Australian Football Alliance, or for short as the Allies; the name was intentionally selected to honour World War II's Allies, which were celebrating the 50th anniversary of the war victory that year.[2]

Australian Football Alliance first played in 1995, against Western Australia, winning 13.14 (92) to 8.13 (61). In total, the team played four matches; two against Western Australia, winning both, and two against Victoria, losing both. The Allies played their last game in 1998.

Notable players for The Allies include Jason Akermanis (QLD), Marcus Ashcroft (QLD), Nathan Buckley (NT), Ronnie Burns (NT), Shane Crawford (NSW), Andrew McLeod (NT) and Matthew Richardson (TAS). The best on ground for the Allies in each game received the Alex Jesaulenko Medal, named in honour of future Hall of Fame Legend Alex Jesaulenko, who began his career in the ACT.

Australian Football Alliance played in a guernsey composed of a teal top half featured a logo consisting of a black star on a white background, and a bottom half consisting of an orange half and a black half divided in two by a jagged line.[3]

AFL Women's

Australian Football Alliance were reconstituted after the 2017 AFL Women's season, for the purpose of competing against Victoria.[4][5]

References

  1. ↑ Stephen Linnell (23 August 2014). "AFL plan dooms Lions". The Age. Melbourne, VIC. p. 50.
  2. ↑ Stephen Linnell (15 March 1995). "Allies join state-of-origin battle". The Age. Melbourne, VIC. p. 36.
  3. ↑ Allie jumper Archived 30 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine. - Retrieved 23 June 2011.
  4. ↑ Laughton, Max (15 July 2017). "State of Origin to return to footy with stand-alone women's match pitting Victoria against rest of Australia". Fox Sports. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  5. ↑ "Big names locked in for AFLW state of origin". AFL Media. Telstra Media. 25 July 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.