View source for Barassi Line

{{Short description|Imaginary geographic line of football codes in Australia}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2018}}
{{Use Australian English|date=December 2017}}
[[File:Barassi Line.jpg|thumb|300px|The Barassi Line, as proposed by Ian Turner in 1978, The line divides regions where Australian rules football (southwest) and rugby league (northeast) dominate. Solid dots mark cities with at least one top-level club defying the divide; hollow dots indicate former clubs.]]
The '''Barassi Line''' is an [[imaginary line]] in [[Australia]] which approximately divides areas where [[Australian rules football]] or [[rugby league]] is the most popular [[Football in Australia|football code]]. The term was first used by historian [[Ian Turner (Australian political activist)|Ian Turner]] in his 1978 [[Ron Barassi Sr.|Ron Barassi]] Memorial Lecture.<ref>Referenced in {{cite book |last=Hutchinson |first=Garrie |year=1983 |title=The Great Australian Book of Football Stories |publisher=Currey O'Neil |location=Melbourne }}</ref> Crowd figures, media coverage, and participation rates are skewed in favour of the dominant code on either side.<ref>[http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/allprimarymainfeatures/1F8FAC9C2C7B1623CA2568A900139417?opendocument 4174.0 - Sports Attendance, Australia, 2005-06] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514005737/http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/allprimarymainfeatures/1F8FAC9C2C7B1623CA2568A900139417?opendocument |date=14 May 2011 }}; Australian Bureau of Statistics; 25 January 2007: "Notably, the states and territories which had low attendance rates for rugby league had the highest attendance rates for Australian rules football."</ref><ref name="researchgate">{{cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273772263|date=21 December 2013|title=The 'Barassi Line': Quantifying Australia's Great Sporting Divide |access-date=16 August 2018}}</ref><ref name="The Barassi Line: a globally unique divider splitting Australia’s footy fans">{{cite web|url=https://theconversation.com/the-barassi-line-a-globally-unique-divider-splitting-australias-footy-fans-185132|date=15 July 2022|title=The 'Barassi Line': Quantifying Australia's Great Sporting Divide |access-date=25 July 2022}}</ref> Most other sports are unaffected by the dichotomy; [[Cricket in Australia|Australian cricket]], for example, has maintained consistent national interest throughout its history, while soccer is also popular throughout Australia.

Roughly speaking, the line follows [[Queensland]]'s western border, drops southeast through western [[New South Wales]], and ends at the [[Pacific Ocean]] at [[Cape Howe]] on the border of New South Wales and [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]].<ref name="Marshall">{{cite news |last1=Marshall |first1=Konrad |title=Where do rugby codes' strongholds turn to rules? At the 'Barassi Line', of course... |url=http://www.smh.com.au/sport/where-do-rugby-codes-end-and-rules-begin-at-the-barassi-line-of-course-20160225-gn3lbe.html |access-date=11 November 2017 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=26 February 2016}}</ref> It divides New South Wales, with rugby league dominating in the state's eastern population centres but enjoying less popularity in the southwest and west; the [[Riverina]] region and western mining city of [[Broken Hill, New South Wales|Broken Hill]] both fall on the Australian rules football side. The line also runs through the [[Australian Capital Territory]], where each sport has similar prominence, although only elite rugby competitions have established representative teams there since it was first proposed.

A 2022 study of grassroots support found that just 15% of Australian rules football clubs (243 of 1616) and 13% of rugby league clubs (109 of 863) are located across the line.<ref name="Tweedie">[https://thepeoplesrepublicofcouch.org/the-barassi-line/ The Barassi Line] Brett Tweedie. December 2022</ref> Professional teams that compete across the line in national competitions include: [[Sydney Swans]] (1982), [[Brisbane Lions]] (1996), [[Melbourne Storm]] (1997), [[Gold Coast Suns]] (2009) and [[Greater Western Sydney Giants]] (2010). That is, four Australian rules football clubs in the [[Australian Football League]] (AFL), and one [[rugby football]] club in the [[National Rugby League]] (NRL) competitions. However the majority of these clubs would not be viable without ongoing financial support from their parent competitions,<ref>[https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-2022-variable-funding-of-all-18-afl-clubs-rich-and-poor-clubs-profits-which-clubs-are-in-debt/news-story/20542933202b3591ae1756cba7181bd4 Funding of AFL clubs revealed in massive $100m gap from rich and poor] by Ben Cotton from Fox Sports 8 March 2022</ref><ref>[https://www.footyindustry.com/nrl/nrl-finance/melbourne-storm-financials/ Melbourne Storm Financials] from FootyIndustry.com 5 October 2016</ref><ref>[https://www.afr.com/companies/sport/melbourne-rebels-may-have-traded-insolvent-since-2018-pwc-20240425-p5fmi2 Melbourne Rebels may have traded insolvent since 2018: PwC] by Zoe Samios Business reporter 25 Apr 2024</ref> with the AFL alone providing over [[AUD]]$70 million a year in total financial assistance in 2023 to its four northern clubs.<ref name="AFL club funding">[https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/winners-and-losers-the-2023-afl-club-funding-ladder-revealed-20230202-p5chix.html Winners and losers: The 2023 AFL club funding ladder revealed] by Jake Niall for The Age 3 February 2023</ref> Teams that no longer compete include the [[Brisbane Bears]] (1987–1995),<ref>[https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-22/brisbane-bears-and-how-afl-came-to-the-gold-coast/11769818 AFL sank its claws into Queensland thanks to Christopher Skase and the Brisbane Bears] By Solua Middleton ABC Gold Coast 22 March 2020</ref> [[WA Reds|Western/Perth Reds]] (1992–1997),<ref>[https://www.nine.com.au/sport/nrl/news-2023-mark-geyer-matt-fuller-western-reds-legends-call-for-perth-team-the-mole-20230806-p5j6gp.html 'Stop the fight': Western Reds legends call for introduction of Perth-based NRL team] Nine Wide World of Sports 6 August 2023</ref> [[Adelaide Rams]] (1995–1997)<ref>[https://www.sportingnews.com/au/rugby-league/news/what-happened-adelaide-rams-rugby-league%E2%80%99s-forgotten-club/dhoxbnc7coat1avveku2otrn What happened to the Adelaide Rams? The formation and demise of rugby league’s forgotten club] by Kye Kuncoro for Sporting News 4 May 2023</ref> and [[Melbourne Rebels]] (2009–2024).<ref>Fate of women's team still to be decided</ref><ref name=SMH30May24>{{cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/sport/rugby-union/melbourne-rebels-players-called-to-emergency-meeting-at-aami-park-20240530-p5jhul.html|title=Battle looms as Rugby Australia slams rescue plan, shuts down Melbourne Rebels|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=30 May 2024|author=Sarah Danckert, Iain Payten and Carla Jaeger}}</ref> Active expansion bids include [[Expansion_of_the_Australian_Football_League#Cairns,_North_Queensland_(2010–)|Cairns]] (AFL).

==Origin of the term==
[[File:Ron barassi statue.jpg|thumb|upright|Statue of Australian rules football star [[Ron Barassi|Ron Barassi Jr.]], namesake of the Barassi Line]]
The Ron Barassi Memorial Lecture was a series of lectures named after [[Ron Barassi Sr.]] given between 1966 and 1978 by [[Ian Turner (Australian political activist)|Ian Turner]], a professor of history at [[Monash University]].<ref>D. B. Waterson, [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A160513b.htm Turner, Ian Alexander Hamilton (1922 - 1978)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091025102922/http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A160513b.htm |date=25 October 2009 }}, ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 16, Melbourne University Press, 2002, pp 424-425.</ref> Barassi Sr. played a number of Australian rules football games for [[Melbourne Football Club|Melbourne]] in the [[Australian Football League|Victorian Football League]] (VFL) before enlisting to fight in [[World War II]] and subsequently dying in action at [[Siege of Tobruk|Tobruk]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Main |first1=Jim |title=Fallen, the Ultimate Heroes: Footballers who Never Returned from War |date=2002 |publisher=Crown Content |location=Melbourne, Victoria |isbn=1740950100 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VcfoPAAACAAJ&q=1740950100}}</ref>

The Barassi Line itself was named after [[Ron Barassi|Ron Barassi Jr.]], the elder Barassi's son, who was a star player for Melbourne and [[Carlton Football Club|Carlton]] and a premiership-winning coach with Carlton and [[North Melbourne Football Club|North Melbourne]]. He believed in spreading the code of Australian rules football around the nation with an evangelical zeal, and became coach and major supporter of the relocated [[Sydney Swans]]. He foresaw a time when Australian rules football clubs from around Australia, including up to four from [[New South Wales]] and [[Queensland]], would play in a national football league with only a handful of them based in [[Melbourne]], but his ideas were largely ridiculed at the time.<ref>Hess, Rob and Nicholson, Matthew. ''Beyond the Barassi Line: The Origins and Diffusion of Football Codes in Australia''</ref>

==History and development of Australia's football divide==
There is documentary evidence of "foot-ball" being played by European colonists in Australia as early as the 1820s. These games were poorly documented but appear to have been informal, one-off affairs.

===Origin of Australian rules football (1850s)===
In 1858, [[cricket]]ers, sports' enthusiasts and school students began to regularly play variants of [[English public school football games|English public school football]] in the parklands of Melbourne.<ref>{{cite book 
|last        = Pennings
|first       = Mark
|title       = Origins of Australian Football: Victoria's Early History: Volume 1: Amateur Heroes and the Rise of Clubs, 1858 to 1876
|publisher   = Connor Court Publishing
|year        = 2012
|isbn        = 9781921421471
|pages=8–10}}</ref> The following year, four members of the newly formed [[Melbourne Football Club]] codified [[laws of Australian rules football|the laws]] which was later known as Victorian rules and Australian rules football.

The code reached New South Wales as early as 1861, Queensland by 1866 and had been played in other colonies by 1868. However despite an explosion in popularity in Victoria, it struggled to gain acceptance outside of its home colony.

===Arrival of rugby (1860s)===
Rugby football became organised in Sydney, New South Wales in the early 1860s, and by the end of the decade, local schools were formally competing. During this time, Melbourne, in the wake of the [[Victorian gold rush]], had become Australia's largest and most influential city, and its homegrown football code was introduced to New South Wales as early as 1866. [[Australian regional rivalries|Intercolonial rivalries]] were strong and New South Wales saw Melbourne's rise not only as an economic threat, but a cultural one to their [[British Empire|British colonial status]]. As such, journalists in New South Wales began promoting the "old English game of football" (rugby football) as a viable alternative to the Victorian code.

===Australian rules and rugby vie for dominance in the north (1870s)===
The demise of Australian rules in Sydney began in 1869 when the largest schools, under pressure from the local media, switched to rugby.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13169464 |title=FROM THE 3RD JULY TO THE 10TH JULY. |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |volume=LVIII |issue=9408 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=15 July 1868 |accessdate=1 May 2022 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> Intercolonial rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne was by far the strongest with the Victorian colony surpassing it as Australia's most prominent city just a decade after its separation. While Australian rules remained dominant in Queensland, rugby began to prove a strong competitor in its capital Brisbane as interest in intercolonials against New South Wales began to grow. However Victorian rules began to increase its southern footprint with South Australia and Tasmania in the late 1870s, adopted the code to facilitate through [[Representative matches in Australian rules football|representative matches]] against Victoria. The decision was made easier given the similarities to their own code and the Victorian code would grow there virtually unopposed. While slow to grow initially, rugby by the 1880s had become firmly established in Sydney, Perth and Brisbane.<ref>{{cite book |last1 = de Moore |first1 = Greg |last2 = Hess |first2 = Rob |last3 = Nicholson |first3 = Matthew |last4 = Stewart |first4 = Bob |title = Australia's Game: The History of Australian Football |publisher = Hardie Grant Books |year = 2021 | isbn = 9781-74379-657-3 | p=188}}</ref>

===Divide begins to form (1880s–1890s)===
Queensland followed Sydney in 1884 when the colony's largest schools there voted to switch to rugby, causing the collapse of the code by there by the end of that decade.<ref>Ronald Lawson, University of Queensland Press, 1973, page 203</ref> By the 1890s, Australian rules was extinct in Sydney and Brisbane with rugby spreading virtually unopposed throughout the respective colonies of New South Wales and Queensland. In Queensland, the [[Northern Rugby Football Union]] successfully banned the Australian code and rugby's popularity rose through success in intercolonial matches with New South Wales. As Australian rules gradually recovered its position in New South Wales, the [[Southern Rugby Football Union]], the colony's governing football body introduced a ban on the Victorian code as early as 1874 to prevent its spread across the Victorian border.<ref name="Wagga History">A Brief History of Football in Wagga. The Riverina Weekender. 23 February 2013</ref> While it was not able to halt the Australian code, it severely impaired its growth until the turn of the century. 

In the 1890s Australian rules began to surpass rugby union as the dominant code in Western Australia by the turn of the 20th Century and clear north-east/west divide between Australian rules and rugby territory had begun to form. 

Australian rules experienced a national resurgence at the turn of the century however Rugby League's introduction in 1908 ushered in professionalism which after [[World War I]] firmly established the code over rugby union in Sydney and Brisbane respectively, with the governing bodies assisting to spread this code through the major cities to the remote areas of the state mainly through school football. Rugby league's spread however met resistance in areas where Australian rules remained strong, such as the Riverina and Broken Hill in New South Wales as well as the Northern Territory which had developed a strong Australian rules following after the war. In the newly declared territories of the Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory both codes would at times compete for marketshare, though Australian rules would continue to prove dominant.

===Battle lines drawn in the Riverina (1940s)===
In 1946, Rugby league authorities convinced the New South Wales government to ban Australian rules in public schools in an effort to oust it from the Riverina, which resulted in schools previously playing the code in its major heartlands of Albury and Wagga switching to Rugby league.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article178120317 |title=RUGBY IS OUSTING CODE IN RIVERINA |newspaper=[[Sporting Globe]] |volume= |issue=2523 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=24 August 1946 |accessdate=25 September 2022 |page=6 (Edition2) |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> While it did not succeed in extinguishing the Australian code there entirely, it usurped the Australian code's premier status in these places, allowing Rugby League to halt the line at Wagga. 

At the time the term was first used, existing club competitions were semi-professional and state-based. The first national club football competitions emerged in the late 20th century: the [[Championship of Australia]], the [[NFL Night Series]] and the [[National Soccer League]].<ref name="Warren2011">{{cite book |author=Johnny Warren |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tHAbdB5JzgEC |title=Sheilas, Wogs and Poofters |publisher=Random House Australia |year=2002 |isbn=1-74051-121-2 |page=179}}</ref> However, these struggled for national interest. 

===Code wars as national competitions professionalise and expand (1980s)===
In the 1980s, the VFL and [[New South Wales Rugby League premiership]] began a period of professionalism and expansion, forming the basis of today's Australian Football League (AFL) and [[National Rugby League]] (NRL). The Australian Capital Territory found itself isolated behind the line and it wasn't until the introduction of the [[Canberra Raiders]] in 1982 that it also began to fall into line. The result is the development of a regional dichotomy with strongly ingrained generational football cultures on either side.

Given the dominance of Australian rules and rugby on either side, other codes have also been slow to establish sustainable national competitions. The multinational body [[SANZAAR]], which organises the [[Super Rugby]] competition in rugby union, expanded their domestic competitions in 1996 to include teams from both sides. [[Football Federation Australia]] revamped its flagship competition, the [[A-League]], to focus on a more nationally balanced competition in 2005. However, its current composition reflects [[Soccer in Australia|association football's]] participation and growth per capita, which is by far strongest in the east (where it faces less competition with Australian rules).<ref>{{cite web |date= |title=Ausplay Research Football/soccer 2022 |url=https://www.clearinghouseforsport.gov.au/research/ausplay/results |access-date=2023-05-07 |publisher=Clearinghouseforsport.gov.au}}</ref>

===Current status===
[[File:Australian football Rugby League Rugby Union Participation AusPlay 2024 Data.png|thumb|300px|Bar graph showing the number of adult participants in Australian football, rugby league, and rugby union across Australian states and territories]]
[[Australian rules football in Australia|Australian rules football]] is now the most popular football code to the west and south, including the capitals of [[Melbourne]], Perth, [[Adelaide]], [[Hobart]], and [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]] while [[Rugby league in Australia|rugby league]] is more popular on the eastern side, including the capitals of [[Sydney]], [[Brisbane]] and [[Canberra]]. Each side represents roughly half of the Australian population due to the concentration of the population on the [[Eastern states of Australia|east coast]].<ref>https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Stephen_Frawley2/publication/273772263_The_%27Barassi_Line%27_Quantifying_Australia%27s_Great_Sporting_Divide/links/58b5233d45851503bea059db/The-Barassi-Line-Quantifying-Australias-Great-Sporting-Divide.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171212193616/https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Stephen_Frawley2/publication/273772263_The_%27Barassi_Line%27_Quantifying_Australia%27s_Great_Sporting_Divide/links/58b5233d45851503bea059db/The-Barassi-Line-Quantifying-Australias-Great-Sporting-Divide.pdf|date=12 December 2017}}  p.102</ref> In many areas the other side's sport remains virtually unknown, lacking any meaningful media profile or awareness. The football culture is significantly ingrained such that it even has an influence on Australians' movement throughout the country.<ref>[https://www.realestate.com.au/news/your-choice-of-footy-team-can-predict-where-youll-move/ Your choice of footy team can predict where you’ll move] Aidan Devine, The Telegraph 4 Jun 2018</ref> These "insurmountable cultural barriers" have created a significant challenge for each code's national development.<ref name="afl-to-senate">{{Cite web |title=AFL tells Senate to mind their own business |url=http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=4&ContentID=151020}}</ref>

==League structures and expansions==
The pursuit of national exposure for sports is influenced by the ratings systems used by Australian television. By the late 1980s, the main football codes in Australia realised that in order to garner the desired high national ratings, and increase the value of their product for television broadcast deals and corporate sponsors, they needed to maximise their national exposure.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://tensport.com.au/news/theroar/AFL-Why-AFL-expansion-really-is-worth-all-the-risks.htm |title=TEN Sport |first=Network |last=Ten |website=TenPlay - TEN Sport}}</ref><ref name="theaustralian">{{cite web|url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/opinion/patrick-smith/lessons-for-the-nrl-in-shaky-afl-expansion-strategy/news-story/cc9130280764e3bffa105775b196b285|title=Subscribe to The Australian &#124; Newspaper home delivery, website, iPad, iPhone & Android apps|website=theaustralian.com.au|access-date=16 August 2018}}</ref> This meant heavy investment in grassroots development and in the support of clubs on the "other" side of the Barassi Line.

===Australian rules football===
In 1990, the Victorian Football League changed its name to the [[Australian Football League]] (AFL) to pursue a more national focus. A major reason for the expansion into these non-traditional areas has been to increase both the number of games played each week, and the potential television audience. This resulted in income from [[television rights]] rising dramatically.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://tensport.com.au/news/theroar/AFL-Why-AFL-expansion-really-is-worth-all-the-risks.htm |title=Why AFL expansion really is worth all the risks - SPORTS OPINIONS - TEN SPORT |access-date=30 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120603114106/http://tensport.com.au/news/theroar/AFL-Why-AFL-expansion-really-is-worth-all-the-risks.htm |archive-date=3 June 2012 }}</ref><ref name="Pay2Play">{{cite news |last1=Hawthorne |first1=Mark |title=Pay to play: how sports bodies keeping winning the TV great rights battles |url=http://www.smh.com.au/business/media-and-marketing/pay-to-play-how-sports-bodies-keeping-winning-the-tv-great-rights-battles-20170323-gv58z9.html |access-date=16 November 2017 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=25 March 2017}}</ref> From the [[1997 AFL season]], six of sixteen AFL clubs ({{AFL Syd}}, {{AFL BL}}, {{AFL WC}}, {{AFL Ade}}, {{AFL Fre}} and {{AFL PA}}) were based outside Victoria, with two (Sydney and Brisbane) on the rugby league side of the Barassi Line. Barassi's prophecy of a national Australian rules football league with four teams in New South Wales and Queensland has since been fulfilled with the establishment of {{AFL GC}} and {{AFL GWS}} in 2011 and 2012 respectively.

====Australian Capital Territory====
[[File:Manuka_Oval.JPG|thumb|[[Manuka Oval]], home of the code in the ACT. The [[Greater Western Sydney Giants]] draw higher average attendances here than at their primary home ground, [[Sydney Showground Stadium|Giants Stadium]] in [[Sydney]].]]
The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) was once seen as one of the dividing points of the Barassi Line. In 1981, the [[AFL Canberra|Australian Capital Territory Australian Football League]] had just begun to edge out rugby league in popularity with an increase in participation, and the first calls were made for the VFL to become a national competition.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article122092603 |title=Swans might be Canberra's lever into AFL |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |volume=64 |issue=19,730 |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=15 October 1989 |access-date=9 December 2021 |page=14 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> Under significant pressure from rugby league junior development in the territory and fearing the impact on its strong local competition of entry of a Sydney team, a formal bid for a license to enter a [[Canberra]] team into the VFL was made. The VFL dismissed it, stating it would consider Canberra for a license "within the next 10 years".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article127058242 |title=Weaknesses exposed in VFL transfer plan |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |volume=55 |issue=16,746 |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=2 August 1981 |access-date=9 December 2021 |page=6 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> The league was insistent that the license should go to [[Sydney]], which it believed had a much larger potential broadcast audience. The following year, the [[New South Wales Rugby League]] entered the Canberra market with a new club, the [[Canberra Raiders]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article116443456 |title=Raiders only bright spot of ACT year |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |volume=57 |issue=17,276 |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=16 January 1983 |access-date=9 December 2021 |page=6 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> The long-term impact of the lack of an AFL club and the introduction of the Raiders saw Australian rules football fall from marginally most popular to least popular of the football codes. Subsequent bids for a Canberra team were rejected by the VFL in 1981, 1986 and 1988, and then by the AFL in 1990 and 1993.

The AFL began playing matches at the newly developed [[Canberra Stadium|Bruce Stadium]] as 1990 with a view of it being the future home of the sport. However, politician and former Canberra Raiders rugby league player [[Paul Osborne]] began a successful campaign to exclude the AFL from the expanding stadium which ultimately resulted in its conversion into a rectangular field in 1997, effectively putting an end to any future ACT AFL bids.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article127516405 |title=Ossie's plans for Bruce Stadium development get AFL off-side |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |volume=70 |issue=21,873 |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=7 March 1995 |access-date=14 September 2022 |page=22 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article127516289 |title=Ossie v AFL |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |volume=70 |issue=21,873 |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=7 March 1995 |access-date=14 September 2022 |page=1 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> Following this setback, the AFL preferred its existing clubs—most notably [[North Melbourne Football Club|North Melbourne]]—to sell their home games to [[Manuka Oval]]. AFL clubs have done so since 2002; however, they have refrained from committing to the market long-term.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chiefminister.act.gov.au/media.php?v=8083&m=49&s=14 |title=A fair go for local footy fans |date=30 May 2009 |website=Chief Minister, Australian Capital Territory|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110223034512/http://chiefminister.act.gov.au/media.php?v=8083&m=49&s=14 |archive-date=23 February 2011}}</ref><ref>"North Melbourne Kangaroos eye return to Canberra" from The Australian by Greg Denham | May 06, 2009</ref> 

In 2012, the [[Greater Western Sydney Giants]] signed a 10-year deal with the [[Government of the Australian Capital Territory|ACT Government]] worth $23&nbsp;million, which resulted in the club playing four home games in Canberra each season. The Giants draw higher average attendances at Manuka Oval in Canberra than at their home ground, [[Sydney Showground Stadium|Giants Stadium]] in Sydney. In 2015, in response to questions relating to a proposed Canberra team, then AFL CEO [[Gillon McLachlan]] stated that "Canberra have their own team, the Giants". The AFL also claimed that Manuka Oval needed to be upgraded in order for the league to commit further to the market.<ref name="theage1">[https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/afl-gil-mclachlan-20150819-gj2ooo.html AFL boss Gillon McLachlan says success in Canberra 'inevitable'] by David Polkinghorne for The Age 19 August 2015</ref> After a failed $800 million stadium upgrade proposal, the AFL stated that the Giants–Canberra deal would continue regardless of if the redevelopment occurs.<ref>[https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6033593/afl-boss-gillon-mclachlan-wants-sport-to-dominate-canberra-market-via-gws-giants/ AFL boss Gillon McLachlan wants sport to dominate Canberra market via GWS Giants] By Chris Dutton, David Polkinghorne 24 April 2018</ref> A significant share of Giants members are from the ACT; the figure was 5,800 in 2022.<ref>[https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7703033/were-the-afl-team-for-the-people-of-canberra-giants-eye-new-10-year-deal/ GWS Giants eye new 10-year deal with ACT government] from Canberra Times 18 Apr 2022</ref> In 2015, the Giants set a target to overtake the Raiders membership and have more than 10,000 members by 2018.<ref>[https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/gws-giants-boss-david-matthews-aiming-for-10000-canberra-members-20150413-1mjyyp.htmlGWS Giants boss David Matthews aiming for 10,000 Canberra] Canberra Times 20 Apr 2015</ref> However, this failed, and the Raiders membership has rapidly outpaced it. Despite this, the deal was extended by the ACT government and the AFL to 2032 for three AFL matches and one AFLW match.<ref>[https://www.gwsgiants.com.au/news/1257168/giants-announce-landmark-long-term-partnership-extension-with-act-government GIANTS Announce Landmark Long-Term Partnership Extension with ACT Government] by GIANTS Media 11 December 2022</ref>

According to Tweedie's 2022 study, the ACT remains behind the Barassi Line,<ref name="Tweedie" /> though participation has increased substantially since 2016 and GWS sold out three successive games during the [[2024 AFL season]]. The AFL is now challenging rugby union's Brumbies for popularity.<ref>[https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8819785/2025-afl-draw-gws-giants-reveal-canberra-anzac-round-at-manuka-oval/ Giants' 2025 Manuka games revealed: GWS bank on 'massive crowds' ahead of cross-code battle] By Caden Helmers and Chris Dutton for Canberra Times 14 November 2024</ref> but is facing continued growth in popularity of rugby league and soccer.{{cn|date=February 2025}} Inadequate ageing infrastructure continues a significant deterrent to any future AFL expansion there.<ref>[https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8802281/gws-giants-back-cricket-act-canberra-big-bash-licence-bid/ Can the AFL backing Canberra's Big Bash bid fast track a Manuka Oval redevelopment] By Chris Dutton
for Canberra Times 29 October 2024</ref>

====New South Wales====
{{further|Australian rules football in New South Wales}}
{{further|Australian rules football in the Riverina}}
[[File:GWS Giants Inaugural Banner, March 24, 2012.jpg|thumb|alt=GWS Giants Inaugural Banner, 24 March 2012|Banner at the inaugural [[Sydney Derby (AFL)|Sydney Derby]] between {{AFL GWS}} and {{AFL Syd}} in 2012, heralding the [[Australian Football League]]'s 'giant leap' in [[New South Wales]].]]
Encouraged by the VFL, the [[Sydney Swans|South Melbourne Football Club]] relocated to Sydney and became the [[Sydney Swans]] in 1982. The club endured limited success and a series of [[Wooden spoon (award)|wooden spoons]] in their first decade in Sydney before turning a corner in the mid-1990s, culminating in premierships in [[2005 AFL Grand Final|2005]] and [[2012 AFL Grand Final|2012]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Halloran |first1=Jessica |date=23 September 2005 |title=Bloods, sweat and tears: how the Swans became pride of Sydney - AFL - Sport |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/afl/bloods-sweat-and-tears-how-the-swans-became-pride-of-sydney/2005/09/22/1126982178837.html |access-date=16 November 2017}}</ref>

The lack of public support in Sydney caused significant financial losses to the club and league during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Excluding a period of privatisation, despite significant loans and writedowns to the club, the league declared the Sydney Swans insolvent in 1984 and again in 1988.<ref>[https://www.sydneyswans.com.au/news/688951/on-this-day-powerplay-sells-swans-for-10 On This Day: Powerplay sells Swans for $10] May 6, 2020</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article111971223 |title=TIMES Sport VFL takes control of Sydney Swans |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |volume=62 |issue=19,206 |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=7 May 1988 |access-date=10 December 2021 |page=64 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> In 1992, the 15 other AFL clubs were asked to vote on expelling the Swans due to its inability to survive in Sydney.<ref name="Swans deathbed">{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article126948764 |title=ACT hovers over Swans' deathbed |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |volume=67 |issue=21,002 |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=13 October 1992 |access-date=10 July 2022 |page=20 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> AFL clubs were left with little other option but to commit to subsidising the club to maintain an audience in Sydney.<ref name="Swans deathbed" /> These subsidies were increased until the Swans became viable in the long term. This long-term sustainability was initially aided by a [[1996 AFL Grand Final|grand final appearance in 1996]] and fallout from the [[Super League war]] on rugby league.

In addition to promoting the Swans, the AFL attempted to use [[Auskick]] participation as a tool to increase awareness in the Sydney market by introducing a generation of children to the sport; however, the success of this strategy has been criticised. The AFL commissioned a study in 2012 by David Lawson, a [[University of Melbourne|Melbourne University]] academic, that found that contrary to reports by the league, club participation rates in Sydney had actually stalled, and that the AFL was masking low figures by using short-term, non-club-affiliated Auskick participants and comparing them to competitive junior club participation numbers in other sports.<ref name="alffakedfiguresauskick">{{cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/auskick-putting-sydney-kids-off-20121023-283ge.html |title=Auskick putting Sydney kids off |access-date=15 December 2013 |location=Melbourne |work=The Age}}</ref> The league was also accused of faking registration figures in an attempt to gain access to Sydney playing fields.<ref name="alffakedfigures">{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/afl/afl-news/afl-accused-of-exploiting-figures-20120723-22knq.html |title=AFL accused of exploiting figures |access-date=15 December 2013 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref>

The AFL introduced a second New South Wales team, the [[Greater Western Sydney Giants]], in 2012, subsidised with millions of dollars of investment and a generational vision to grow into the [[Greater Western Sydney]] region. AFL CEO [[Andrew Demetriou]] predicted that it would take "20 to 30 years" for GWS to become a "powerhouse club" in terms of support drawing from a potential supporter base of over 2 million people.<ref>[https://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/former-afl-chief-executive-andrew-demetriou-tips-gws-giants-to-be-much-bigger-than-gold-coast-suns/news-story/9cc18d310d8ccb09845fd3c7bb3593d4 Former AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou tips GWS Giants to be ‘much bigger’ than Gold Coast Suns] by Marc McGowan 23 March 2022</ref> The league helped secure AFL legend coach [[Kevin Sheedy (Australian footballer)|Kevin Sheedy]] to help initially establish the club.<ref>[https://www.gwsgiants.com.au/club/history/foundation-years GWS Giants - Foundation Years]</ref> As part of its effort to win over rugby league followers in Sydney, the AFL recruited rugby league star [[Israel Folau]], who had not even heard of the sport, using a promotional salary of more than $6 million over four years. Folau broke his AFL contract after just one season and his conversion was criticised by the media as a failed promotional exercise.<ref>[https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/the-6-million-flop-israel-folau-experiment-fails-to-kick-goals-in-his-move-from-nrl-to-the-afl/news-story/24afaf77b6c52545ec3689e1f0ca0d3c The $6 million flop: Israel Folau experiment fails to kick goals in the former NRL star's move to AFL] By Tyson Otto from News Corp Australia Newspapers. 30 September 2022</ref><ref>[https://www.triplem.com.au/story/israel-folau-reveals-why-he-quit-the-afl-57907 Israel Folau Reveals Why He Quit The AFL] By Ethan Meldrum for TripleM 16 September 2017</ref> The strategic success of the Giants franchise has been widely questioned.<ref name="Two Sydneys">[https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/a-tale-of-two-sydneys-swans-soar-giants-a-sore-point-20220915-p5bic3.html A tale of two Sydneys: Swans soar, Giants a sore point] By Caroline Wilson for The Age. 17 September 2022</ref> Despite a [[2019 AFL Grand Final|grand final appearance in 2019]], the club's Sydney audience failed to grow,<ref name="Two Sydneys" /> especially among working class rugby league fans. Though in 2021, a fall in the popularity of rugby union and the [[NSW Waratahs]] saw many union fans switch to the Swans, further establishing it as a sports club of choice for Sydney's wealthy.<ref>[https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikemeehallwood/2021/04/01/the-nrl-isnt-killing-super-rugbythe-afl-is/ The NRL Isn’t Killing Super Rugby; The AFL Is] by Mike Meehall Wood for Forbes Business 1 April 2021</ref>

The AFL began zone and academy recruitment programs, fostering talented young players from clubs in [[Riverina|the Riverina]] (where the code retains a strong following) to Sydney and helping the code to recruit talented athletes from metropolitan areas. In addition to the growth of the game in Sydney, this grassroots expansion has contributed to the Barassi Line moving slightly further north of the border.<ref name="Poking its Tongue">[https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/how-afl-is-poking-its-tongue-out-at-rugby-league-heartland-20220908-p5bgmp.html How AFL is poking its tongue out at rugby league heartland] by Roy Masters 16 September 2022</ref> However, the long campaign to lift the sport's popularity in Sydney and New South Wales has been hindered by deep rooted cultural barriers, which even an [[Australian Senate]] inquiry has described as insurmountable.<ref>Healy, Matthew (2002). ''[https://nswfootballhistory.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/HardSell.pdf Hard Sell: Australian Football in Sydney]'' (PDF). {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180318215415/https://nswfootballhistory.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/HardSell.pdf|date=18 March 2018}}. Melbourne, Vic.: Victoria University. pp. 20–28.</ref><ref name="afl-to-senate"/> In 2023 and 2024, despite strong performances from the Giants and Swans, junior numbers are rapidly declining in Western Sydney with numerous junior clubs forced to fold or merge.<ref>[https://westernweekender.com.au/2024/03/call-for-help-junior-afl-clubs-struggling-for-numbers/ Call for help: Junior AFL clubs struggling for numbers]
By Nathan Taylor for the Western Weekender 13 March 2024</ref>

In the AFL's 2023 distribution of variable funding to all 18 clubs, GWS tied Gold Coast in receiving $25 million (equal highest amount), while the Swans, along with Melbourne, Port Adelaide and Western Bulldogs, received $16 million (equal 9th highest amount).<ref name="AFL club funding" />

====Queensland====
{{further|Australian rules football in Queensland}}
[[File:Adelaide_v_Gold_Coast_-_Carrara_media_facilities.jpg|thumb|The [[Gold Coast Suns]] at the redeveloped Cararra Stadium in 2011.]]
After existing in the shadow of rugby football for almost a century, interest in Australian rules and the [[Queensland Australian Football League]] grew substantially in the 1970s and 1980s, aided by significant interstate migration. The [[Brisbane Bears]] were founded as the VFL's first privately owned expansion team in 1986, initially based on the Gold Coast. It suffered enormously with the introduction of the [[Brisbane Broncos]], a rugby league expansion club based in the state's capital specifically created to deny the Bears and the VFL a market.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article118271829 |title=Sports |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |volume=61 |issue=18,655 |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=29 October 1986 |access-date=2 December 2021 |page=46 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> The Bears performed poorly on-field, including back-to-back wooden spoons in 1990 and 1991. Poor support for the club in both Gold Coast and Brisbane saw it run into financial difficulties despite significant AFL subsidies and concessions. With their demise imminent, the AFL intervened and forced a merger with the historic Melbourne-based club [[Fitzroy Football Club|Fitzroy]] in 1996.

The newly formed [[Brisbane Lions]] were vastly more successful, becoming the first triple-premiership winner in 46 years, winning back-to-back in 2001, 2002 and 2003.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rucci |first1=Michelangelo |title=The fall of AFL football in Queensland, once the pride of the national game |url=http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/afl/expert-opinion/michelangelo-rucci/the-fall-of-afl-football-in-queensland-once-the-pride-of-the-national-game/news-story/e5a40ed9295bd623ad8d1c40d3abf795?nk=88c3a474a5685eebe33c774794f67798-1510846981 |access-date=16 November 2017 |work=The Advertiser |issue=8 May 2015}}</ref> The success of the Lions contributed to a boom in the sport across the major Queensland cities.

On the back of the code's subsequent growth, the AFL pushed heavily for a permanent presence on the [[Gold Coast, Queensland|Gold Coast]], and despite failed attempts to relocate an existing club, granted a new license to the [[Gold Coast Football Club]] in 2009. As part of its effort to win over rugby league followers in Queensland, the AFL recruited rugby league star [[Karmichael Hunt]] using a promotional salary of more than $3.2 million.<ref>[https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/time-to-show-if-hunt-has-what-it-takes-20100611-y3mz.html Time to show if Hunt has what it takes] By Jon Pierik for The Age 12 June 2010</ref> The AFL considered Hunt's promotional recruitment "a good investment" despite his return to rugby league.<ref>[https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/gold-coast/gold-coast-suns-to-pay-outgoing-convert-karmichael-hunt-1-million-for-one-game-in-2014/news-story/e255fc8f3087e5f8f6427f3b35c67353 Gold Coast Suns to pay outgoing convert Karmichael Hunt $1 million for one game in 2014] by Sam Landsberger and Nick Smart for the Herald Sun 24 July 2014</ref>

While the AFL has gained market share in the major cities, the Barassi Line has barely moved in Queensland. A notable exception is the expansion of [[AFL Mount Isa]] in the state's west to include the outback [[Dajarra, Queensland|Dajarra]] Rhinos team in 2018, the only senior club of any code within hundreds of kilometres of the state border. Rugby league remains otherwise entrenched at the grassroots across the state.<ref>[https://theconversation.com/the-barassi-line-a-globally-unique-divider-splitting-australias-footy-fans-185132 The Barassi Line: a globally unique divider splitting Australia’s footy fans] by Hunter Fujak for The Conversation. 15 July 15, 2022</ref> The Lions and Suns generally only receive support from the Queensland public when they are performing well, and as such require significant concessions from the AFL to remain viable.<ref>[https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/lions-suns-argue-over-afl-concessions/nit2vretl Lions, Suns argue over AFL concessions] from sbs.com.au 7 August 2015</ref> The Lions, in particular, in 2023 had the competition's highest level of debt requiring more than $18 million a year in assistance from the AFL, while the Suns receive the highest amount of assistance - $25 million a year - to stay solvent.<ref name="AFL club funding" />

In 2023, the [[Far North Queensland]] city of [[Cairns, Queensland|Cairns]] entered an official bid for the AFL's 20th license with a team based out of a redeveloped [[Cazaly's Stadium]], vying with a [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]]-based club for entry by 2030.<ref>[https://www.codesports.com.au/sport/nt-task-force-reacts-to-cairns-afl-bid-for-20th-license/news-story/a1e9fb0823c9ceda151fef356cc0b413 NT task force reacts to Cairns AFL bid for 20th licence] by Nathaniel Chambers for Code Sports 20 June 2023</ref><ref>[https://www.cairnspost.com.au/sport/cairns-push-to-become-the-third-queensland-team-in-the-afl-closer-than-ever/news-story/bc6dabbbadec9b86e62db8e023193d81 Ambitious proposal for Cairns to join expanding AFL] from The Cairns Post 20 June 2023</ref> The stadium has hosted at least one AFL premiership match every year since 2011, with an average attendance of 7,120.<ref>[https://afltables.com/afl/crowds/vn_cazalys_stadium.html Cazaly's Stadium - Attendances (2011-2022)]</ref> While Cairns' population is higher than Darwin's, AFL attendances and overall participation are lower and a Cairns-based club would also compete for market share with the Townsville-based [[North Queensland Cowboys]] and would likely require a similar AFL assistance package to the Lions and Suns.

===Rugby league===
{{further|Rugby league in Victoria|Rugby league in South Australia|Rugby league in Western Australia|Rugby league in the Northern Territory}}
[[File:Players of Melbourne Storm after the 2007 NRL grand final.jpg|thumb|[[Melbourne Storm]] players after the [[2007 NRL Grand Final|2007 Grand Final]]. This premiership, among other team achievements, was later stripped from them due to [[Melbourne Storm salary cap breach|salary cap breaches]].]]
Apart from occasional visiting teams and false starts the Rugby league's local presence was virtually nonexistent behind the Barassi line until 1950 when the [[Northern Territory Rugby Football League Association]] was founded in Darwin, followed by the [[South Australian Rugby League]] in Adelaide in 1976. Rugby league's expansion across the Barassi line has been driven primarily from the top down by professional franchises and benefited in part from its familiarity with rugby union.<ref>League tackles growth beyond grass roots - Business News 20 Apr 2022</ref>

In 1995, the [[Australian Rugby League]] (ARL) created four new expansion teams including one in Perth, resulting in the first major rugby league club based on the Australian rules football side of the Barassi Line, the [[WA Reds|Western Reds]]. By the time the breakaway [[Super League war|Super League]] started in 1997, it had begun establishing more clubs on the opposite side of the line. The [[Adelaide Rams]] and the [[Melbourne Storm]] were due to start in the 1998 Super League season, but in the meantime, the opposing leagues made restitution and established the [[National Rugby League]] (NRL).<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ipkkAAAAIBAJ&dq=national+rugby+league&pg=1881,3576150 |title=Peace deal brings end to three disastrous years |date=27 December 1997 |work=The Nation }}</ref> Part of the agreement to form a new league included a reduction of clubs in the league, especially those recently established in difficult markets, resulting in the disbanding of the clubs in Perth and Adelaide.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=iJkkAAAAIBAJ&dq=national+rugby+league&pg=6368,2849683 |title=Rivals bury the hatchet in Australia |date=25 December 1997 |work=The Nation }}</ref> The Storm continued with success in the new competition, achieving their first premiership win in [[1999 NRL Grand Final|1999]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nrl-grand-final-countdown-no3-1999-melbourne-storm-v-st-george-illawarra/story-e6frg6n6-1225780998619 |title=NRL grand final countdown No.3: 1999, Melbourne Storm v St George Illawarra |first=Christopher |last=Boyd |date=30 September 2009}}</ref>

When a Melbourne NRL side was proposed in 1997, Barassi stated to the media, "I've always thought rugby league would be a success in Melbourne. They've got to start down here sometime and the earlier the better. Melburnians love their sport and I'm sure they'd get behind rugby league. But they won't accept rubbish and that's the key to it."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dunne |first1=Jeff |title=League bosses eye southern frontier in expansion strategies. |access-date=4 August 2021 |agency=The Australian |date=24 March 1997|url=https://www.stormfans.club/viewtopic.php?t=1563}}</ref>

In the aftermath of the [[Super League war]], the NRL became very reluctant to expand.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/tv-money-puts-brakes-on-nrl-expansion-20091123-iwz1.html |title=TV money puts brakes on NRL expansion |date=20 November 2009 |author=Brad Walter |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |archive-url=https://archive.today/20141002022656/http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/tv-money-puts-brakes-on-nrl-expansion-20091123-iwz1.html |archive-date=2 October 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/lack-of-player-talent-delaying-nrl-expansion-aspirations-say-leading-rugby-league-identities/news-story/e22065c5dd3bbe3204fd146b55e2f5e2 |title=Lack of talent delaying expansion dreams |author=David Riccio |date=22 March 2014 |website=The Daily Telegraph |location=Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/expanded-18team-competition-and-two-new-conferences-would-bring-back-tribalism-to-nrl/story-e6frf3ou-1226870163071?nk=2a73943d00782061639e8bcaf0b11407 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20141002022231/http://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/expanded-18team-competition-and-two-new-conferences-would-bring-back-tribalism-to-nrl/story-e6frf3ou-1226870163071?nk=2a73943d00782061639e8bcaf0b11407 |title=Expanded 18-team competition and two new conferences would bring back tribalism to NRL |archive-date=2 October 2014 |author=Phil Rothfield |date=1 April 2014 |publisher=Fox NRL |access-date=11 November 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/nrl/nrl-expansion-being-dropped-from-agenda-until-at-least-2015/news-story/341fd0f998ab99b1ed95a3e0b44c8d55 |title=NRL expansion being dropped from agenda until at least 2015 |author=Todd Balym |date=25 October 2012 |work=Herald Sun |access-date=11 November 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Kerr |first1=Jack |title=The key battlefronts in the football expansion wars |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-02/kerr-the-football-expansion-wars/7213618 |access-date=16 November 2017 |work=ABC News |date=2 March 2016}}</ref> Commissioner chairman [[Peter V'landys]] signalled that the competition was focused on creating a second team in Brisbane (which became the [[Dolphins (NRL)|Dolphins]]), instead of investing money into AFL states such as [[Western Australia]], which "don't have a huge audience" for rugby league.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/perth-nines-a-precursor-to-perth-team-no-chance-says-v-landys-20200213-p540c0.html|title=Perth Nines a precursor to Perth team? No chance, says V'landys|first=Andrew|last=Webster|date=13 February 2020|website=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref>

Melbourne remains the sole NRL club on the other side of the line. [[Perth]] is the only current expansion bid, the consortia chaired by Peter Cummins has been active since 2012,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-15/flo-casts-doubt-on-perth-nrl-bid/3832910 |title=Flo casts doubt on Perth NRL bid |date=15 February 2012 |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref> though some see it as only possible to maintain a national supporter base if merged with that of another bid by a Sydney club, such as that of the [[North Sydney Bears]] (known as the [[Perth Bears]] bid).<ref>[https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/perth-nrl-bid-open-to-bears-jets-liaison-but-would-rather-go-alone-20240512-p5jcwy.html Perth NRL bid open to Bears, Jets liaison but would rather go alone] By Joel Gould 12 May 2024</ref><ref name="foxsports.com.au">[https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/nrl-2024-nrl-licenses-for-18th-and-19th-team-png-north-sydney-bears-perth-bears-peter-vlandys-wayne-bennett-news-videos-expansion/news-story/093f6762a3f73b93e994f9b6d17ce2b9 ‘That’s the ambition’: V’landys’ plan for 18th, 19th NRL franchises revealed amid Bears return] Fox League from Fox Sports 13 May 2024</ref>

The ARL continues to use the [[State of Origin series]] as a promotional tool across the Barassi line, hosting more than eight Origin matches in Melbourne since 1990, two in Perth since 2019, and two in Adelaide since 2020, though some have criticised the promotional value of hosting it outside of its heartland.<ref>[https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/des-houghton-state-of-origin-is-dying-and-i-think-i-know-why/news-story/d160f6226d2b7c064cdbb4e204bf1f39 State of Origin is dying and I think I know why] by Des Houghton for the Courier Mail 25 May 2023</ref>

===Rugby union===
{{further|Rugby union in Victoria|Rugby union in Western Australia}}
[[File:Force runout lightened.jpg|thumb|[[Western Force]] running out for their first game home game at [[Subiaco Oval]] in 2006.]]
Rugby union has also attempted to expand on the Australian football side of line, with mixed results. Western Australia, and Perth in particular, is a market which has had strong historical grassroots support. This is due primarily to a strong expatriate presence, particularly of [[Anglo-Celtic Australians]], [[South African Australians]] and [[New Zealand Australians]] for whom rugby is generationally popular.<ref name="Business News">[https://www.businessnews.com.au/article/Rugby-the-glue-for-Force-s-O-Connor by Justin Gris for Business News 1 March 2024]</ref> While grassroots rugby participation is statistically lower in Victoria and Melbourne, it too has a statistically significant population of expatriates from which to draw support.<ref>[https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/the-unlikely-melbourne-suburbs-pumping-out-professional-rugby-players-20220317-p5a5p2.html The unlikely Melbourne suburbs pumping out professional rugby players] by Nicole Precel for The Age 28 March 2022</ref>

Shortly after the sport went professional in August 1995, the [[Australian Rugby Union]] (ARU) joined forces with the [[New Zealand Rugby|New Zealand Rugby Football Union]] and [[South African Rugby Union]] to create the Super 12 competition. It began in [[1996 Super 12 season|1996]] with five regional franchises from New Zealand, four provincial teams from South Africa, and three state/territory teams from Australia. The three Australian teams were all in rugby territory. For the [[2006 Super 14 season|2006]], with the competition then becoming the Super 14, significantly, the new Australian team, the [[Western Force]], was based in Perth.<ref name="Business News" />

The following year, the ARU sought to create a national domestic competition, launching the [[Australian Rugby Championship]] (ARC). It launched with eight teams, with the [[Melbourne Rebels (ARC)|Melbourne Rebels]] and [[Perth Spirit]] based on the opposite side of the line. However, the ARC lasted only one season.<ref>[https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/sport/rugby/185647/Axed-championship-splits-Aussie-game Axed championship splits Aussie game] from Stuff.co.nz 18 February 2009</ref>

The next expansion of rugby union on the opposite side of the line came in [[2011 Super Rugby season|2011]], when the current [[Melbourne Rebels]] were added as Australia's fifth team in the newly renamed Super Rugby.<ref>[https://rugby365.com/tournaments/super-rugby/teams-super-rugby/rebels-2011/ Rebels 2011] from Rugby 365 7 February 2011</ref>

In 2013, the ARU announced that a new domestic competition, the [[National Rugby Championship]] (NRC), would start play in 2014. Of its nine inaugural teams, two were across the line: [[Melbourne Rising]] and a revived Perth Spirit. Both Melbourne Rising and Perth Spirit made the finals series three times, and Perth won the NRC title in 2016. The NRC was last held in 2019.

Neither the Western Force nor the Melbourne Rebels have qualified for the finals series in either the Super 14 or Super Rugby. In 2017, the Western Force was cut from the Super Rugby competition for the 2018 season.<ref name="Western Force culled from Super Rugby competition">{{cite news |url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/rugby/western-force-culled-from-super-rugby-competition/news-story/5b379907a78f05c2fc1b554862cd9ffc |title=Western Force culled from Super Rugby competition |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=11 August 2017 |access-date=11 August 2017}}</ref>

In 2024, the Melbourne Rebels were axed after insurmountable financial debts and losses.<ref name=SMH30May24/>

==Physical commemorations==
The Barassi Line is symbolically marked on Federation Way between the towns of [[Corowa]] and [[Wahgunyah]] near the New South Wales—Victoria state border at the [[Murray River]]. Two sets of Australian rules football goal posts are aligned diagonally on either side of the road, with a sign located nearby explaining the site.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Barassi Line |url=https://read-the-plaque.appspot.com/plaque/the-barassi-line |access-date=17 September 2023 |website=Read The Plaque}}</ref> The set of goal posts were installed in 2005 as part of work associated with the Centenary of Federation funded bridge and bypass road, and was opened on 5 April 2005 by the Federal Member for Farrer, [[Sussan Ley]] on behalf of Prime Minister [[John Howard]]. Barassi himself visited the site in October 2012 on the occasion of installation of new signage by the [[Shire of Indigo|Indigo Shire]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=22 October 2014 |title=Marking 'The Barassi Line' |pages=3 |work=The Free Press Corowa |url=https://www.pressreader.com/australia/the-free-press-corowa/20141022/281496454542634 |access-date=17 September 2023}}</ref>

== See also ==

* [[Football in Australia]]

== References ==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
*[https://colinross.co/2016/05/05/the-barassi-line/ The Barassi Line] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171111095356/https://colinross.co/2016/05/05/the-barassi-line/ |date=11 November 2017 }} Investigation by Colin Ross

[[Category:Sport in the Riverina]]
[[Category:Rugby union in Australia]]
[[Category:Rugby league in Australia]]
[[Category:Australian rules football in Australia]]
[[Category:Sports culture in Australia]]