State of origin games also declined in importance, especially after an increasing number of withdrawals by AFL players.

There have been several players in the VFL / AFL who were born outside Australia and since 1982, an increasing number of players have been recruited from outside Australia through initiatives such as the Irish experiment and more recently, international scholarship programs.

Before the start of each AFL match, players run through a banner constructed by supporters.

Despite a formal request to the AFL being denied, players wore yellow armbands for the match which resulted in the club being fined $ 20, 000.

Category: Buffalo Bills ( AFL ) players

Category: Los Angeles Chargers ( AFL ) players

Category: San Diego Chargers ( AFL ) players

With players such as Alworth, Paul Lowe, Keith Lincoln and John Hadl, the high-scoring Chargers won divisional crowns five of the league ’ s first six seasons and the AFL title in 1963 with a 51 – 10 victory over the Boston Patriots.

Fearing that bidding wars over players would become the norm, greatly increasing labor costs, NFL owners, led by league Commissioner Pete Rozelle, obtained a merger with the AFL.

This was also Kangaroos ' veteran Shannon Grant's last AFL game, and he was given a standing ovation by both Swans and Kangaroos players as he represented both clubs throughout his career ( although it was at North Melbourne where Grant really made his mark in the game ) Their only clash in 2009 ( Round 14, which the Swans won by 15 points to end a four-game losing streak ) was aired into both the Sydney and Brisbane markets rather than the live vs. match which was a high-rating television match around the rest of the country.

Kelly led the Swans to the AFL Grand Final in 1996 — its first since 1945 — and was considered one of the best players in the competition during the mid-1990s, but from 1998 onwards was severely hampered by injuries.

He is a member of the AFL Hall of Fame and was listed by journalist Mike Sheahan as one of the top 50 players of all time.

A few AFL players spoke out in the media criticizing some of the media's negative comments towards Hird.

In 2011, the Herald Sun polled 21 past and present AFL greats, including Carey, to find the players ' opinion as to the greatest player of the AFL era.

During the AFL pre-season a number of Melbourne Australian Rules football League and Association teams run their players up the steps to promote team fitness.

The club had been much slower than others to embrace the AFL Draft as a means for recruitment, so when its champion players from the 1990s began to retire in the early 2000s, on-field performances fell away quickly, and in 2002, the club won the wooden spoon for the first time in its VFL / AFL history.

It is the most prestigious award for individual players in the AFL.

Some AFL players have gone successful in the NFL, most notably Kurt Warner.

Facing the threat of Red Grange's American Football League in 1926, the NFL was eager to get as many teams and players as possible into the fold to keep them away from the AFL.

Though several Hall of Famers have had AFL, Canadian Football League, World Football League and United States Football League experience, and there is a division of the Hall devoted to alternative leagues such as this, to this point no players have made the Hall without having made significant contributions to either the NFL, AFL or All-America Football Conference.

* Australian Football explained in 17 languages – a publication from AFL. com. au

It is the most successful AFL club of the last decade ( 2000 – 2009 ), having appeared in four consecutive AFL Grand Finals between 2001 and 2004, winning three premierships ( 2001, 2002 and 2003 ).

Oilman Clint Murchison Jr had been trying to get an NFL expansion team in Dallas ( also Lamar Hunt – who ended up with an AFL franchise ), but George Preston Marshall owner of the Washington Redskins had a monopoly in the south.

* slinging – a player slung to the ground in a tackle ( although in the AFL these days, if a player loses possession of the ball while they are being thrown, the tackler will often get penalised for " holding the man ".

Despite playing in five losing Grand Finals, four between 1989 – 1995, its fans waited 44 years until it won another premiership — an AFL-record 119-point victory in the 2007 AFL Grand Final.

* Royce Hart – Australian Rules Footballer, member of the AFL Hall of Fame with legend status and member of the Team of the Century

* Ian Stewart – Australian Rules Footballer who played 127 games for St. Kilda including the clubs first ( and thus far only ) Premiership in 1966, he is also a member of the AFL Hall of Fame with legend status

* Roy Cazaly – Australian Rules Footballer who died in 1963 in Hobart, member of the AFL Hall of Fame

* Peter Hudson – Australian Rules Footballer, considered one of the greatest full-forwards in the game's history, when playing for Glenorchy he kicked 616 goals in 81 games with some records stating he instead kicked 769 goals ; he is also a member of the AFL Hall of Fame

The Colts, however, were stunned by the Jets who won the game 16 – 7 in the first Super Bowl victory for the young AFL.

* 1972 – Troy Wilson, Australian racing driver and AFL player

In 1970 the Dolphins joined the NFL when the AFL – NFL merger occurred.

Since 2006, the Vikings have been known especially for their strong run defense (# 1 in the NFL in 2006, 2007, and 2008 ; they are the first NFL team to accomplish this since the AFL – NFL merger in 1970 ), anchored by the Williams Wall consisting of defensive tackle Kevin Williams and nose tackle Pat Williams ( no relation ).

By winning their first 13 games, the Saints also set the record for the longest undefeated season opening ( 13 – 0 ) by an NFC team since the AFL – NFL merger, surpassing the previous record ( 12 – 0 ) held by the 1985 Chicago Bears.

The team was founded in 1959 as the Titans of New York, an original member of the American Football League ; later, the franchise joined the NFL in the AFL – NFL merger.

Chargers ' AFL logo 1966 – 1969

The heavy underdog American Football League ( AFL ) champion New York Jets defeated the National Football League ( NFL ) champion Baltimore Colts by a score of 16 – 7.

The National Football League ( NFL ) champion Green Bay Packers defeated the American Football League ( AFL ) champion Kansas City Chiefs by the score of 35 – 10.

The National Football League ( NFL ) champion Green Bay Packers defeated the American Football League ( AFL ) champion Oakland Raiders by the score of 33 – 14.

The Raiders, led by head coach John Rauch, had stormed to the top of the AFL with a 13 – 1 regular season record ( their only defeat was an October 7 loss to the New York Jets, 27 – 14 ), and went on to crush the Houston Oilers, 40 – 7, in the AFL Championship game.

Two former AFL footballers competed in the 2009 NFC Championship game as punters, Saverio Rocca for the Philadelphia Eagles and Ben Graham for the Arizona Cardinals.

This period also saw the introduction of regular Saturday broadcasts of VFL ( now AFL ) with a football team headed by Graham ( Smokey ) Dawson.

AFL games record holder Michael Tuck and former Hawthorn defender Mark Graham hail from Berwick as does 2009 number one draft pick Tom Scully and Melbourne Demons team-mate Stefan Martin.

Notable alumni of ECU include entertainer Rolf Harris ; Musa Aman, the chief minister of the Malaysian state of Sabah ; former soccer player Alistair Edwards ; actors Frances O ' Connor, Hugh Jackman, Lisa McCune, Marcus Graham, William McInnes, Lucy Durack, Rachelle Durkin, Emma Matthews, Eddie Perfect, Tim Minchin and Simon Lyndon ; musician Jamie Oehlers ; and Indigenous rights activist and former AFL player Craig Turley.

" He was also named in the AFL Team of the Century, as the resting ruckman in the back pocket, with Graham Farmer taking the first ruck position.

Ben Graham, who entered the league with the New York Jets, became the first AFL player to play in a Super Bowl when he played in Super Bowl XLIII with the Arizona Cardinals.

Graham was recruited by Geelong at pick 40 in the 1992 Australian Football League ( AFL ) pre-season draft.

Graham played in Geelong's 1995 AFL Grand Final loss to Carlton.

Graham was first approached by the New York Jets to try out as a punter in 1997, however he decided to stay in the AFL.

When Graham played his first NFL regular season game, ( against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on 11 September 2005 ) he became the second person after Darren Bennett to play in both the AFL and the NFL, ( Colin Ridgeway played at AFL reserves level for Carlton ), and fourth Australian NFL player.

The AFL announces a AFL Team of the Century in 1996, which also featured Graham Farmer in the lead ruck position.

He later playing with Gippsland Power in the TAC Cup before being recruited by the Sydney Swans in the 2002 National AFL Draft under the father-son rule-his father, Graham Dempster, having played 64 games for South Melbourne Football Club between 1972 and 1979.