THE HISTORY OF REPRESENTATIVE / INTERSTATE FOOTBALL
VICTORIA - UNIFORMS (1990-2008)
1990
May 22 vs NSW / June 26 vs WA
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June 24 - Victoria 'B' vs Tasmania
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Victoria vs NSW & WA
The standard uniform remained basically the same as 1989, the only changes being the removal of the VFL logo from the socks and the removal of the sponsor patch from the upper-right of the jumper.
Victoria vs Tasmania
Due to Tasmania's official uniform featuring white shorts, the Victorian 'B' team wore navy blue shorts for this match in Hobart.
1991
1991 - standard uniform
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May 28 - Victoria 'B' vs Tasmania
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July 16 - Victoria 'B' vs Queensland
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1991 vs SA & WA (left)
A new AFL State of Origin logo was introduced to replace the Victorian coat of arms patch worn 1989-90. The bottom corners of each logo featured the names of the competing states, bottom left was the home state (SA, WA, QLD or TAS), bottom right was the visitors (VIC). NOTE: the shorts no longer featured a patch of any sort (previously it had been the VFL Shield 1976-1989 and the Victorian coat of arms 1989-1990).
1991 vs Tasmania (centre)
Following a shock loss to Tasmania in 1990 an attempt was made to differentiate between Victoria's 'A' and 'B' sides. This resulted in Victoria 'B' having white trim added to the shoulders of their jumpers (the same jumper design worn by the Victorian Amateur FA's representative side). For this match against Tasmania the white trim was paired with navy shorts and the chunkier V previously worn on Victoria's 1961-1975 uniforms. This side was lucky not to suffer the same fate as the 'B' team that visited Hobart a season earlier, eventually escaping with a 12 point win after trailing most of the day.
1991 vs Queensland (right)
The 'B' team again wore modified jumpers, but this time with the standard (classic) Big V. It had little effect as this Victorian side collapsed to a previously unimaginable 44-point loss against Queensland; the maroons' first ever win over Victoria.
Following these results it was clear the State of Origin concept had levelled the playing field a little too far and the AFL quietly discontinued the policy of selecting Victorian 'B' teams in future seasons. NOTE: the State of Origin logo for this match was stitched directly onto the jumper instead of appearing on a white patch (see image below).
Following these results it was clear the State of Origin concept had levelled the playing field a little too far and the AFL quietly discontinued the policy of selecting Victorian 'B' teams in future seasons. NOTE: the State of Origin logo for this match was stitched directly onto the jumper instead of appearing on a white patch (see image below).
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1992
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State of Origin patch:
- the words "AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL" became smaller so the year could be moved to the left of them (in 1991 the year was located above), this allowed the sponsor's logo to be incorporated at the top of the patch.
- a centre bar was added to the letter A in the word STATE.
- as in 1991, the names of the competing states varied on each set of patches.
- a centre bar was added to the letter A in the word STATE.
- as in 1991, the names of the competing states varied on each set of patches.
1993
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State of Origin patch:
- the year moved from the left of AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL down to the bottom left and right of the logo (removing the team names also removed the need for special patches to be produced for every State of Origin match played each season).
- a different font was used for the word STATE.
- a different font was used for the word STATE.
Shorts patch:
- Victorian State Football League (VSFL) logo added to the shorts.
NOTE: the VSFL was set-up in late-1991 to oversee football in Victoria after the VFL had expanded into the AFL national competition. However, the addition of the VSFL logo to the Victorian State of Origin team's uniform made little sense. Unlike the SANFL and WAFL which oversaw their respective State leagues and interstate teams, the VSFL from 1992 to 1999 ran the TAC Cup Under 18s competition and the AFL Reserves competition.
In late-1994 they also took over the running of the VFA, which had now become Victoria's main State league, renaming it the VFL in 1996. At no point in time did the VSFL have control of the AFL or have any involvement with the AFL's State of Origin teams. In reality, the VSFL logo should have appeared on the VFA's representative uniforms from 1995 onwards instead.
1994
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State of Origin patch: sponsor at the top of the logo changed from CUB to Foster's.
Sponsor patch: Carlton Draught logo added (first use of a sponsor patch since 1989).
1995
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State of Origin patch: new logo introduced (with blue border).
Sponsor patch: changed to Coca-Cola.
1996
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State of Origin patch: a modified logo was worn to recognise the VFL-AFL's 1996 Centenary season.
Sponsor patch: Coca-Cola continued as sponsor but a new design was used.
1997
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State of Origin patch: return to the 1995 design (but with a red border instead of blue)
Sponsor patch: Coca-Cola continued as sponsor but the design changed for a third straight season.
1998
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Shorts patch: VSFL logo no longer worn.
Apparel sponsor: Sekem logo added above the sponsor patch.
1999
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Shorts patch: a VFL shield was worn as a throwback to the 1980s, in recognition of this being the last State of Origin match.
Apparel sponsor: the Sekem logo was modified (a swirling S was added to the centre of their brand name).
2008
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The AFL Hall of Fame Tribute match, an exhibition game played as part of Australian football's 150th birthday celebrations, pitted the Victorians against a Rest of Australia combination named the Dreamteam. This was not an official interstate match.
DESIGN NOTES:
- Victoria wore navy shorts, despite this not being part of their traditional uniform.
- a sponsor logo appeared on the back of the Victorian jumper for the first time.
- the numbers were much smaller than usual (and in a non-traditional footy jumper font).
RELATED PAGES:
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Written and researched by David Eastman
Artwork by Rob Meredith |
First published 15/9/2015
Last updated 17/11/2018 |
