1877 SAFA season

The 1877 South Australian Football Association season was the inaugural season of the South Australian Football Association, the top-level league of Australian rules football in South Australia.

The clubs participating were Adelaide, Bankers, Kensington, Port Adelaide, South Adelaide, South Park, Victorian, Woodville.

and Victorian would share the premiership honours as there was no grand final playoff, while the Bankers Football Club, who finished last without a win and forfeited a number of games, folded before the end of the season.

South Australian Football Association
The newly formed South Australian Football Association decided that the playing fields for the season must be between 180 and 200 yards (165-183m) long and 120-150 yards (110-137m) wide, with pushing from behind being prohibited. For clubs to gain membership of the association, they would need to pay two guineas for the year.

Round 19
FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION MATCHES for SATURDAY, September 22. At Montefiore — Victorian v. South Adelaide. At South Park— Port v. South Park Football. — Two Association matches are announced for today one between the Port Adelaide and South Park Clubs on the ground of the latter, and the other between the Victorian and South Adelaide Clubs at Montefiore Hill. The latter match will decide the question of the championship of the season, and will, it is to be hoped, be largely attended, as a hat is to be passed round at half-time for the benefit of the sufferers by the Indian famine.

Summary of other matches
Thursday 24th May - Adelaide, 4 goals, beat Kapunda, 2. Thursday 24th May - Woodville, 1 goal, beat Gawler, 0. Adelaide, 1 goal tied Gawler, 1. Adelaide, 3 goals, beat Kapunda, 2. Melbourne, 1 goal, beat Victorian, 0. Melbourne, 5 goals, beat Combined Team, 0. South Australians, 3 goals, beat Victorians, 1. St. Kilda, 5 goals, beat Adelaide, 2. St. Kilda. 7 goals, beat South Australians, 2.

Ladder
finished the season with eight more goals but a slightly inferior record than, but one should consider that played the Bankers twice whereas  did not (their only scheduled match, in Round 6, was a forfeit when the Bankers could only muster 13 players). Further, while Adelaide finished with one more win than the other two clubs, they played 17 games to 13 and 14 respectively.

It was declared and  would be deemed joint Champion Club (premiers). which was also acknowledged by South Adelaide at their Annual Dinner on evening of Tuesday 2nd October.

Note: Woodville were ranked above South Park on head-to-head record (2-1).  It was reported at the end of the season that Bankers had forfeited 6 out of their 15 games. (Adelaide, Port Adelaide, South Adelaide, Kensington 1 each, and Woodville 2)