1890 SAFA season

The 1890 South Australian Football Association season was the 14th season of the top-level Australian rules football competition in South Australia.

Despite protests from Gawler the 1890 Programme gave them only five home games (one each against the other clubs) and two away games in Adelaide against each of the city clubs. They forfeited both of their games against Port Adelaide at Alberton and ended up collecting the wooden spoon. The end of year report stated they had a good deal to put up with in the way of a badly arranged programme, for they were brought down to town Saturday after Saturday, and sometimes to play the same team on two successive Saturdays. Despite rumours during the season that they were going resign they voted to complete their scheduled games.

The Gawler Football Association subsequently withdrew their Senior Club from the SAFA before the beginning of 1891 season and continued its own competition with 3 local teams, the predecessor of the current Barossa Light and Gawler Football Association.

Round 1
The start of the season on 5 May was delayed due to a dispute between the Association and Burnside District Council which owned the Kensington Oval. Initially only 4 matches were programmed for Kensington Oval whilst 17 were for Adelaide Oval. Burnside counter proposed 8 for Kensington and 13 for Adelaide Oval. The matter was settled when the Association presented a revised programme of 6 matches for Kensington Oval.

Game between South Adelaide and Gawler for Kensington Oval was postponed to later in the year.

Intercolonial Matches
On the weekends of 5 July and 12 July intercolonial matches were held and SAFA premiership matches suspended.

Round 12
Medindie vs Gawler at Kensington Oval – Game abandoned due to the weather and ground.

On Saturday 12 July 1890 the Gawlers journeyed to Kensington to fufil their engagement with the Medindie club. The weather was wretchedly bad, and after the Gawlers had 'stripped' and were in the field the Medindie captain refused to play, and appealed to the umpire, Mr. McIntyre, who acquiesced, and would not sanction the game owing to the bad state of the weather and the grounds, notwithstanding the fact that the Gawlers had a fully representative team on the field practising to keep themselves warm. When the result was made known to the Gawler players it was received with great dissention, and references were made to the Victorian Association, where engagements are kept whether playing in a lake or in a mud puddle.

Round 19

 * A game was scheduled between and Gawler at Alberton Oval but Adelaide forfeited due to most of their players wanting to watch the Port Adelaide vs Norwood Match at the Adelaide Oval. Initially this was showing in the published table on Monday 1 September as a win for Gawler but in the Final Table at the end of the year the game has been removed.

Ladder
Notes: Medindie played each Club 3 times. Gawler also played each Club 3 times (except Adelaide who they only played twice) See Round 15 – Adelaide forfeited to Gawler. Match was to be played at Alberton Oval. Gawler were programmed one home game and two away games against all the clubs. All the other clubs played each other 4 times.