Australian rules football in New Zealand is notable as the first colony outside of Australia to take up the sport as early as the 1860s and was home to the first club formed outside Australia in 1876. The sport's official name was changed in 1890 to Australasian Football acknowledge New Zealand's participation and remained for some time even after the country was expelled from the Australasian Football Council. After a half century hiatus of organised competition, it has grown rapidly as an amateur sport. Today five of New Zealand's sixteen regions have organised competitions: Auckland (Auckland AFL); Canterbury (Canterbury AFL); Wellington (Wellington AFL); Waikato (Waikato AFL) and Otago (Otago AFL). A four-team national competition with a national draft has been contested at the North Harbour Stadium in Auckland since 2016 for men and 2019 for women. The national team were crowned International champions at the 2005 Australian Football International Cup and competed annually against the AFL Academy between 2012 and 2019. Since the 2010s the game has also grown at junior level among New Zealand schools as the "Hawks Cup".
The first Australian Football League match in New Zealand was played in 1991 and the first AFL premiership match played outside of Australia was the April 25, 2013 match held in Wellington. The average attendance for AFL premiership matches is 16,027. New Zealand is now considered as having the potential to host a professional team. The sport's athletes from New Zealand have become a major talent pool for both professional Australian rules and rugby football competitions and an AFL New Zealand Combine has been held since 2012.
More than 25 players have been listed by clubs in both the AFL and the AFLW since 2010, including descendants of both Māori and European New Zealanders. Wayne Schwass played 282 matches and a premiership in the AFL, more than any other New Zealand born player, Trent Croad has kicked the most goals (189) while Jesse Tawhiao-Wardlaw holds similar honours (premiership, most games and goals) in the AFLW.
History of Australian rules football in New Zealand
Beginnings
Before Europeans arrived in New Zealand, the Māori were playing a traditional ball game called ki-o-rahi which resembled Australian Rules Football in that included several features unique to the code including movement of the ball by hand and foot without an offside, protected zones and a rule similar to holding the ball.
Christ's College in Christchurch from 1851 was playing by "College Rules", inspired from public school football game played by the Church of England School in Oxfordshire. Though few details of the rules exists it has been claimed that from descriptions of the way it was played that it was remarkably similar to Melbourne Football Club rules. The college was later to play matches against the Christchurch Football Clubs which was also playing by similar rules.
Victorians accounted for more than half of New Zealand's Gold Rush immigrants, including those at Otago, Aorere and Coromandel in the 1850s and 1860s and the associated settlements were later to exhibit influences of early Australian football.
The Christchurch Football club, founded in 1863 and playing according to its own rules, one of which was the running bounce (every 4 yards) a feature which appeared 2 years later in Victorian rules. The club adopted rugby rules in 1876.
Australian Football is thought to have been first organised in New Zealand around 1868. The Nelson Football Club was formed this year and played a hybrid version of Victorian and Association (soccer) rules in its first two seasons. By the 1860s, there was regular trade between New Zealand ports and Victoria, and the Victorian rules would have been known by some of the immigrants. The Nelson Club was the first club in New Zealand to adopt Rugby rules, in 1870.
The Wellington Football Club was formed on 12 May 1871. The club initially adopted Victorian rules, but it soon switched to Rugby rules "principally for the reason that the clubs in adjoining provinces play under those rules, and as the club contemplate playing a match with the Nelson club before long the necessity of such a course is apparent." The last match played under Victorian rules was on 24 June 1871. This was not the end of the matter, however, with the club for a short period in 1875 adding the Victorian rule of bouncing the ball. The club reverted to full Rugby rules soon thereafter.