Reporter District Football Association
| Sport | Australian rules football |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1903 |
| Folded | 1928 |
| Country | Australia |
The Reporter District Football Association (RDFA), also known simply simply as the Reporter Football Association (RFA), was an Australian rules football competition based around the Melbourne suburb of Box Hill.[1][2]
History
The RDFA was formed in 1903 by EFG Hodges, the proprietor of the Reporter newspaper. Six clubs − Bayswater, Box Hill, Canterbury, Ferntree Gully, Mitcham and Ringwood − participated in the inaugural season.[3] Mitcham were the inaugural premiers after defeating Box Hill in the grand final, after both club finished the season with an equal win-loss record.[3]
In 1928, the RDFA was absorbed into the Ringwood District Football League, which eventually became part of the present-day Eastern Football Netball League (EFNL).[3]
The competition was also known as the Box Hill Reporter District Football Association (BHRDFA) or the Box Hill Reporter District Football League (BHRDFL or RDFL).[4][5][6]
Clubs
Final
| Club | Colours | Nickname | Home Ground | Former League | Est. | Years in
RDFA |
RDFA Senior Premierships | Fate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Years | ||||||||
| Balwyn juniors | .svg.png) |
Balwyn Park, Balwyn | – | 1909 | 1927 | 0 | - | ? | |
| Box Hill Stars (Box Hill 1903-26) | Stars | Whitehorse Reserve, Box Hill | ESJFA | 1894 | 1903-1904, 1908, 1912-1914, 1920-1927 | 0 | - | Moved to VSDFL in 1928 | |
| Mitcham |  |
Tricolours | Walker Park, Mitcham | – | 1888 | 1903-1907, 1909-1910, 1913-1927 | 6 | 1903, 1904, 1914, 1915, 1919, 1921 | Moved to Ringwood District FA in 1928 |
| Ringwood juniors |  |
Magpies | Jubilee Park, Ringwood | – | 1899 | 1927 | 0 | - | Withdrew after 10 rounds |
| Surrey Hills (Nunawading 1907-10) | (1909) |
Surrey Park, Box Hill | MJFA | 1887 | 1907, 1909-1912, 1923-1927 | 1 | 1927 | Moved to MAFA in 1928 | |
| Tunstall |  |
Nunawading Recreation Reserve, Nunawading | – | 1927 | 1927 | 0 | - | Moved to Ringwood District FA in 1928 | |
Former
| Club | Colours | Nickname | Home Ground | Former League | Est. | Years in
RDFA |
RDFA Senior Premierships | Fate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Years | ||||||||
| Auburn | .svg.png) |
Victoria Road Reserve, Hawthorn East | – | 1920 | 1920-1926 | 2 | 1925, 1926 | Moved to VSDFL in 1927 | |
| Balwyn | |
Balwyn Park, Balwyn | – | 1909 | 1922-1926 | 0 | - | Moved to VSDFL in 1927 | |
| Bayswater | Bayswater Park, Bayswater | – | 1895 | 1903 | 0 | - | Entered recess in 1904. | ||
| Blackburn | .svg.png) |
Burners | Morton Park, Blackburn | ESJFA | 1890 | 1907-1925 | 2 | 1910, 1922 | Recess in 1926. Formed Ringwood District FA in 1927 |
| Burwood | (1909) |
– | 1904 | 1904-1905, 1908-1912, 1915-1923 | 1 | 1905 | Moved to MAFA in 1924 | ||
| Camberwell | (1909) |
Camberwell Sports Ground, Camberwell | ESJFA | 1886 | 1905, 1907-1911 | 4 | 1907, 1908, 1909, 1911 | Recess in 1912. Re-formed in VJFA in 1913. | |
| Canterbury |  |
Canterbury Sports Ground, Surrey Hills | – | 1881 | 1903-1904, 1915-1924 | 1 | 1920 | Recess between 1906-14 Moved to VSDFL in 1925 | |
| Croydon | (1909)  |
Croydon Oval, Croydon | YVFA | 1906 | 1909-1911, 1919, 1923 | 0 | - | Played merged with Kilsyth in 1912. Moved to Yarra Valley FA in 1920 and 1924 | |
| Croydon-Kilsyth | – | 1912 | 1912 | 0 | - | De-merged into Croydon and Kilsyth | |||
| Deepdene | Deepdene Park, Deepdene | – | 1911 | 1911-1912, 1914 | 0 | - | Recess in 1913. Folded after 1914 season | ||
| Doncaster |  |
Schramms Reserve, Doncaster | – | 1902 | 1909-1912, 1919, 1921-1922, 1926 | 0 | - | Recess in 1913-18, 1920 and 1923-25. Formed Ringwood District FA in 1927 | |
| East Burwood | East Burwood Reserve, East Burwood | – | 1910 | 1911, 1913-1914 | 0 | - | Recess from 1915-24, re-formed in Scoresby District FA in 1925 | ||
| Ferntree Gully |  |
Wally Tew Reserve, Ferntree Gully | – | 1892 | 1903-1905, 1910-1920, 1923 | 2 | 1912, 1913 | Unaffiliated between 1906-09. Joined Mountaineer FA in 1921 and 1924. | |
| Kew |  |
Victoria Park, Kew | MJFA | 1876 | 1912-1919 | 0 | - | Moved to VJFA in 19120 | |
| Kilsyth (1) | Pinks Reserve, Kilsyth | – | 1911 | 1911, 1913 | 0 | - | Played merged with Croydon in 1912. Folded after 1913 season | ||
| Lilydale |  |
Lilydale Recreation Reserve, Lilydale | YVFA | 1872 | 1912 | 0 | - | Moved to Yarra Flats FA in 1913 | |
| Ringwood | |
Magpies | Jubilee Park, Ringwood | – | 1899 | 1903-1904, 1907, 1910-1926 | 2 | 1923, 1924 | Recess in 1905-06 and 1908-09. Formed Ringwood District FA in 1927 |
| Rose of Camberwell | – | 1909 | 1909 | 0 | - | Disqualified for rough conduct during 1909 season and subsequently folded[7] | |||
| Vermont |  |
Vermont Recreation Reserve, Vermont | – | 1919 | 1920-1926 | 0 | - | Formed Ringwood District FA in 1927 | |
| Warrandyte |  |
Bloods | Warrandyte Reserve, Warrandyte | – | 1906 | 1907, 1909-1913, 1919-1921 | 0 | - | Recess in 1908 and 1914-18. Moved to Diamond Valley FA in 1922. |
Premierships
| Year | Premier | Score | Runner-up | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1903 | Mitcham | 7.3 (45) - 2.9 (21) | Box Hill | No grand final - Mitcham won first place play-off |
| 1904 | Mitcham | 5.11 (41) - 5.9 (38) | Burwood | No grand final - Mitcham won first place play-off |
| 1905 | Burwood | Ferntree Gully | No grand final | |
| 1906 | RDFA in recess | |||
| 1907 | Camberwell | Mitcham | No grand final | |
| 1908 | Camberwell | No grand final | ||
| 1909 | Camberwell | No grand final | ||
| 1910 | Blackburn | 6.7 (43) - 1.5 (11) | Camberwell | Sectional finals system introduced |
| 1911 | Camberwell | 3.14 (32) - 4.6 (30) | Burwood | |
| 1912 | Ferntree Gully | 6.7 (43) - 5.10 (40) | Burwood | |
| 1913 | Ferntree Gully | 8.17 (65) - 9.8 (62) | Mitcham | Final four system introduced |
| 1914 | Mitcham | 8.9 (57) - 4.7 (31) | Kew | |
| 1915 | Mitcham | 4.11 (35) - 4.6 (30) | Blackburn | |
| 1916-18 | RDFA in recess (WWI) | |||
| 1919 | Mitcham | 5.6 (36) - 4.7 (31) | Canterbury | |
| 1920 | Canterbury | 6.13 (49) - 7.6 (48) | Mitcham | |
| 1921 | Mitcham | 10.7 (67) - 3.6 (24) | Burwood | |
| 1922 | Blackburn | 11.6 (72) - 9.11 (65) | Ringwood | |
| 1923 | Ringwood | 7.11 (53) - 4.9 (33) | Blackburn | |
| 1924 | Ringwood | 8.8 (56) - 6.9 (45) | Blackburn | |
| 1925 | Auburn | 12.11 (83) - 3.8 (26) | Blackburn | |
| 1926 | Auburn | 16.14 (110) - 1.7 (13) | Balwyn | |
| 1927 | Surrey Hills | 14.12 (96) - 3.3 (21) | Box Hill Stars | |
References
- ↑ ""REPORTER" FOOTBALL COMPETITION". Trove. The Reporter. 3 July 1908. p. 7. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
- ↑ ""Reporter" Football Association". Trove. Box Hill Reporter. 5 March 1926. p. 4. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
- 1 2 3 "Box Hill Reporter District Football League / Reporter District Football League (Vic)". Footypedia. Archived from the original on 21 September 2024. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
- ↑ "Blackburn Football Club Honour Board" (PDF). Blackburn Football Club. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 April 2024. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
- ↑ "1919 BHRDFL Division 1". GameDay. Mitcham Football Club. Archived from the original on 21 September 2024. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
- ↑ "Premierships". Mitcham Football Club. Archived from the original on 21 September 2024. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
- ↑ "FOOTBALL". The Argus. 16 July 1909. p. 10. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
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