1881 SAFA premiership season
Teams6
PremiersNorwood
4th premiership
Leading goalkickerJoe Pollock
Norwood (7 Goals)
W J Duffy
Norwood (7 Goals)
Matches played34
Highest1,500 (Round 2, Norwood vs. Port Adelaide)
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The 1881 South Australian Football Association season was the 5th season of the top-level Australian rules football competition in South Australia. The premiership season began on Saturday 7 May.

Norwood went on to record its 4th consecutive premiership.

The years premiership trophy was called the Fowler Challenge Cup.[1]

Kensington and Adelaide merged to create a full squad but resigned from the competition after 4 games.[1]

Premiership season

Round 1

Round 1
Saturday, 7 May (3:12 pm) Victorian 0.7 (0) drew with South Adelaide 0.5 (0) Adelaide Oval [2]
Saturday, 7 May (3:30 pm) South Park 0.3 (0) def. by Norwood 2.7 (2) South Park Lands (crowd: 550) [2][3]
Saturday, 7 May (3:25 pm) Port Adelaide 3.15 (3) def. Adelaide-Kensington 1.2 (1) Alberton Oval (crowd: 200) [2]

Round 2

Round 2
Saturday, 14 May (3:20 pm) Victorian 3.21 (3) def. Adelaide-Kensington 0.0 (0) Montefiore Hill [4][5]
Saturday, 14 May (2:45 pm) Norwood 4.6 (4) def. Port Adelaide 1.3 (1) Adelaide Oval (crowd: 1,500) [4][5]
Saturday, 14 May (3:00 pm) South Park 0.6 (6) def. by South Adelaide 1.7 (1) South Park Lands [4][5]

Round 3

Round 3
Saturday, 21 May (3:15 pm) Norwood 2.5 (2) drew with Victorian 2.3 (2) Adelaide Oval (crowd: 1,500) [6][7]
Saturday, 21 May (3:15 pm) Port Adelaide 3.18 (3) def. South Park 1.2 (1) Alberton Oval [6]
Saturday, 21 May Adelaide-Kensington 0.4 (0) def. by South Adelaide 4.8 (4) Kensington Oval [8]

Round 4

Round 4
Saturday, 28 May (3:30 pm) Victorian 0.1 (0) drew with Port Adelaide 0.2 (0) Adelaide Oval [9]
Saturday, 28 May (3:30 pm) South Adelaide 3.5 (3) drew with Norwood 3.11 (3) South Park Lands [9][10]
Saturday, 28 May Adelaide-Kensington 0.1 (0) def. by South Park 7.14 (7) Adelaide Bridge Ground [11]
  • Adelaide-Kensington's game against South Park would be its last for the season resigning from the competition on the Wednesday 1 June.[12]

Round 5

Round 5
Saturday, 4 June (3:15 pm) Victorian 0.4 (0) def. by South Park 2.6 (2) Adelaide Oval [13]
Saturday, 4 June (3:30 pm) Port Adelaide 0.6 (0) drew with South Adelaide 0.8 (0) Alberton Oval [13]

Norwood were scheduled to play Adelaide-Kensington, but Adelaide-Kensington resigned from the competition on 1 June; Norwood were awarded the match on forfeit, and played against a 25 team from Royal Park instead.

Round 6

Round 6
Saturday, 25 June South Park 1.5 (1) def. by Norwood 4.6 (4) Adelaide Oval [14]
Saturday, 25 June Victorian 1.9 (1) def. South Adelaide 0.0 (0) Montefiore Hill [14]

Round 7

Round 7
Saturday, 2 July South Adelaide 2.4 (2) def. by South Park 4.6 (4) Adelaide Oval [15]
Saturday, 2 July Port Adelaide 1.11 (1) drew with Norwood 1.16 (1) Alberton Oval [15]

Round 8

Round 8
Saturday, 9 July (3:15 pm) Victorian 0.2 (0) def. by Norwood 4.8 (4) Adelaide Oval (crowd: 1,000) [16][17]
Saturday, 9 July (3:00 pm) South Park 3.9 (3) def. Port Adelaide 1.5 (1) South Park Lands [17]

Round 9

Round 9
Saturday, 16 July Norwood 6.17 (6) def. South Adelaide 0.1 (0) Adelaide Oval [18]
Saturday, 16 July (3:25 pm) Port Adelaide 0.11 (0) def. by Victorian 1.4 (1) Alberton Oval [18]

Round 10

Round 10
Saturday, 23 July (3:20 pm) South Adelaide 5.19 (5) def. Port Adelaide 0.7 (0) Adelaide Oval (crowd: 500) [19][20]
Saturday, 23 July South Park 3.10 (3) def. Victorian 0.6 (0) South Park Lands [19]

Round 11

Round 11
Saturday, 30 July (3:20 pm) Norwood 3.6 (3) def. South Park 0.10 (0) Adelaide Oval [21]
Saturday, 30 July (3:30 pm) South Adelaide 2.8 (2) def. Victorian 0.6 (0) South Park Lands [21]

Round 12

Round 12
Saturday, 6 August South Park 1.4 drew with South Adelaide 1.4 South Park Lands [22][23]

Round 13

Round 13
Saturday, 3 September Port Adelaide 0 drew with South Park 0 Alberton Oval [24]
  • The newspaper reporter at the game was critical of the ground condition at Alberton Oval noting that areas had grass up to one foot high.[24]

Round 14

Round 14
Saturday, 10 September South Adelaide 0.6 (0) def. by Norwood 3.10 (3) South Park Lands [25]
Saturday, 10 September Victorian 0 v Port Adelaide 0 Montefiore Hill [25]

The Victorian v Port Adelaide match was abandoned due to a crowd invasion and declared a draw. A disputed goal (due to the goal umpire not at his post) 20 minutes before time caused both teams to withdraw from the ground.

Round 15

Round 15
Saturday, 17 September (3:30 pm) Victorian 0.5 (0) drew with South Park 0.10 (0) Montefiore Hill [26]
Saturday, 17 September Port Adelaide 1 drew with South Adelaide 1.4 (1) Alberton Oval [26]

Round 16

Round 16
Saturday, 24 September (3:00 pm) Norwood 6.14 (6) v Port Adelaide 0.0 (0) East Park Lands [27]

Round 17

Round 17
Saturday, 1 October Victorian 1.2 (1) def. by Norwood 2.9 (2) Montefiore Hill (crowd: 500) [28][29]

Ladder

1881 SAFA Ladder
TEAM P W L D GF GA
1 Norwood 13 10 0 3 40 9
2 South Adelaide 13 4 4 5 19 18
3 South Park 13 5 5 3 21 17
4 Victorian 13 4 5 4 8 15
5 Port Adelaide 13 2 6 5 10 23
6 Adelaide / Kensington 5 0 5 0 1 17
Key: P = Played, W = Won, L = Lost, D = Drawn, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, (P) = Premiers [30]

Note:

Intercolonial matches

1881 Intercolonial Matches
Saturday, 20 August Victoria 8.24 def. South Australia 1.8 East Melbourne Cricket Ground [31]
Wednesday, 24 August Victoria 4.14 def. South Australia 1.5 East Melbourne Cricket Ground (crowd: 1,000) [32]

Additional matches

South Park vs. South Adelaide rematch
Saturday, 24 September South Park 0.10 (0) drew with South Adelaide 0.8 (0) South Park Lands [33]

References

  1. ^ a b "22 Oct 1881 - Football. THE FOOTBALL SEASON OF 1881". nla.gov.au.
  2. ^ a b c "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 9 May 1881. p. 1 Supplement: SUPPLEMENT TO THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN REGISTER. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  3. ^ "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 9 May 1881. p. 7. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  4. ^ a b c "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 16 May 1881. p. 6. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  5. ^ a b c "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 16 May 1881. p. 6. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  6. ^ a b "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 23 May 1881. p. 1 Supplement: SUPPLEMENT TO THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN REGISTER. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  7. ^ "Football". South Australian Weekly Chronicle. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 28 May 1881. p. 16. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  8. ^ "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 25 May 1881. p. 7. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  9. ^ a b "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 30 May 1881. p. 7. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  10. ^ "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 31 May 1881. p. 2 Supplement: SUPPLEMENT TO THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN REGISTER. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  11. ^ "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 1 June 1881. p. 6. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  12. ^ "SOUTH AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION". Adelaide Observer. National Library of Australia. 4 June 1881. p. 15. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  13. ^ a b "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 6 June 1881. p. 6. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  14. ^ a b "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 27 June 1881. p. 7. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  15. ^ a b "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 4 July 1881. p. 6. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  16. ^ "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 11 July 1881. p. 7. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  17. ^ a b "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 12 July 1881. p. 2 Supplement: SUPPLEMENT TO THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN REGISTER. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  18. ^ a b "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 18 July 1881. p. 2 Supplement: SUPPLEMENT TO THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN REGISTER. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  19. ^ a b "[No heading]". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 25 July 1881. p. 6. Archived from the original on 11 March 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  20. ^ "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 25 July 1881. p. 7. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  21. ^ a b "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 1 August 1881. p. 1 Supplement: SUPPLEMENT TO THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN REGISTER. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  22. ^ "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 11 August 1881. p. 7. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  23. ^ "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 9 August 1881. p. 6. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  24. ^ a b "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 9 September 1881. p. 6. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  25. ^ a b "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 12 September 1881. p. 7. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  26. ^ a b "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 19 September 1881. p. 7. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  27. ^ "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 26 September 1881. p. 6. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  28. ^ "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 3 October 1881. p. 7. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  29. ^ "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 4 October 1881. p. 3 Supplement: Supplement to the South Australian Register. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  30. ^ "22 Oct 1881 - Football. THE FOOTBALL SEASON OF 1881". nla.gov.au.
  31. ^ "Intercolonial Football Match". South Australian Register. Adelaide, SA. 25 August 1881. p. 6.
  32. ^ "Intercolonial Football Match". South Australian Register (Supplement). Adelaide, SA. 29 August 1881. p. 1.
  33. ^ "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 26 September 1881. p. 1 Supplement: SUPPLEMENT TO THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN REGISTER. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
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