AFL Winners, Premiers and History - Who is the most successful Aussie Rules club?

The Essendon Bombers and Carlton Blues and have each won 16 VFL/AFL premierships with the Collingwood Magpies next best with 15. The Hawthorn Hawks have won 13 premierships, Melbourne Demons and Richmond Tigers 12 followed by Geelong Cats on nine.

The Sydney Swans have won five premierships with North Melbourne Kangaroos and West Coast Eagles next best with four each.

Australian Rules originated in Melbourne, Australia in 1858. Australian Rules has a proud history with the Melbourne Football Club publishing the first laws of the game in May 1859, making it the oldest of the world’s major football codes.

The Victorian Football Association (VFA) was established in 1877 before a split in the game saw six of the strongest clubs - Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong, Melbourne and South Melbourne - break away from the VFA. They invited Carlton and St Kilda to participate in the inaugural Victorian Football League (VFL) season in 1897.

The VFL's inaugural season made changes to the competition structure, namely including an annual finals tournament and establishing the modern scoring system where six points are awarded for a goal and one point for a behind.

In 1908 the VFL expanded to ten teams with the addition of Richmond and University Football Clubs. University were a disaster, finishing last in each season from 1911-14 and losing 51 consecutive matches in a row, forcing them to withdraw from the VFL at the end of 1914.

Footscray were the premiers of the VFA in 1924 and defeated VFL premiers Essendon in the Championship of Victoria. As a result Footscray, Hawthorn and North Melbourne gained entry into the VFL from the VFA in 1925.

Melbourne were dominant during the 1950s and early 1960s under legendary coach Norm Smith and influential midfielder Ron Barassi. The Demons qualified for seven consecutive grand finals between 1954 and 1960, winning five premierships including three in a row from 1955 to 1957.

The 1980s saw the structure of Australian football change around the country. The VFL was the most dominant state league and used their financial power to recruit top interstate players. Some of Victoria’s weaker clubs struggled to survive, with the South Melbourne Swans becoming the first VFL club to relocate interstate. 

South Melbourne renamed themselves the Sydney Swans in 1983 and became a successful team due to the private ownership of wealthy Dr Geoffrey Edelsten.

In 1986, the West Australian Football League and Queensland Australian Football League were awarded licences to establish teams in the VFL. This led to the creation of the West Coast Eagles and Brisbane Bears who joined the VFL in 1987.

The first National Draft was introduced in 1986 and a salary cap was introduced in 1987 which have remained since. In 1990 the competition's name was changed from the VFL to the Australian Football League (AFL) which reflected the introduction of interstate teams.

The West Coast Eagles won the AFL Grand Final in 1992 to become the first non-Victorian team to win an AFL premiership. The Adelaide Crows joined the AFL in 1991 and in 1994 the Fremantle Football Club was formed in Western Australia, joining the AFL in 1995.

Port Adelaide were awarded an AFL licence in 1994 but had to wait until Victorian team folded or merged. Fitzroy merged with Brisbane to form the Brisbane Lions at the end of 1996 which allowed Port Adelaide to enter the AFL for the 1997 season.

The 1990s saw many Melbourne-based teams move from smaller suburban venues to the larger MCG and Waverley Park. As such, the last matches were played at Windy Hill (Essendon), Moorabbin Oval (St Kilda), Western Oval (Footscray) and Victoria Park (Collingwood) with Princes Park abandoned by Hawthorn and then Carlton in 2005.

The AFL sold Waverley Park stadium in 1999 which facilitated the construction of a new stadium at Melbourne's Docklands. 

The AFL continued to expand with the introduction of the Gold Coast Suns in 2011 and Greater Western Sydney Giants in 2012. The first AFL match for premiership points was played in Shanghai, China on the 14th of May 2017 with Port Adelaide defeating the Gold Coast by 72 points.