Barassi Line

The Barassi Line, as proposed by Ian Turner in 1978. The line divides the regions where Australian rules football (southwest) or rugby league (northeast) is the most popular football code. Dots mark the locations of cities with at least one club at the highest professional level that deviates from the Barassi Line; hollow dots mark the locations of cities that formerly had a club.
Statue of Australian rules football star Ron Barassi Jr., namesake of the Barassi Line

The Barassi Line is an imaginary line in Australia which approximately divides areas where Australian rules football or rugby league is the most popular football code. The term was first used by historian Ian Turner in his 1978 Ron Barassi Memorial Lecture.[1] Crowd figures, media coverage, and participation rates are heavily skewed in favour of the dominant code on either side.[2][3][4] Other sports are unaffected by the dichotomy; Australian cricket, for example, has maintained consistent national interest throughout its history.

Roughly speaking, the line follows Queensland's western border, drops southeast through western New South Wales, and ends at the Pacific Ocean at Cape Howe on the border of New South Wales and Victoria.[5] It divides New South Wales, with rugby dominating in the state's eastern population centres but enjoying less popularity in the southwest and west; the Riverina region and western mining city of Broken Hill both fall on the Australian rules football side. The line also runs through the Australian Capital Territory, where each sport has had similar prominence at different times throughout history – although the rugby codes have established greater prominence there in the decades since it was first proposed.

A 2022 study of grassroots support found that just 15% of Australian rules football clubs (243 of 1616) and 13% of rugby league clubs (109 of 863) are located across the line.[6] Professional teams that compete across the line in national competitions include: Sydney Swans (1982), Brisbane Lions (1996), Melbourne Storm (1997), Western Force (2005), Gold Coast Suns (2009) and Greater Western Sydney Giants (2010). That is, four Australian rules football clubs in the Australian Football League (AFL), and two rugby football clubs across the National Rugby League (NRL) and Super Rugby Pacific competitions. However the majority of these clubs would not be viable without ongoing financial support from their parent competitions,[7][8][9] with the AFL alone providing over AUD$70 million a year in total financial assistance in 2023 to its four northern clubs.[10] Teams that no longer compete include the Brisbane Bears (1987–1995),[11] Western/Perth Reds (1992–1997),[12] Adelaide Rams (1995–1997)[13] and Melbourne Rebels (2009–2024).[14][15] Active expansion bids include the Western Bears (NRL) and Cairns (AFL).

  1. ^ Referenced in Hutchinson, Garrie (1983). The Great Australian Book of Football Stories. Melbourne: Currey O'Neil.
  2. ^ 4174.0 - Sports Attendance, Australia, 2005-06 Archived 14 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine; Australian Bureau of Statistics; 25 January 2007: "Notably, the states and territories which had low attendance rates for rugby league had the highest attendance rates for Australian rules football."
  3. ^ "The 'Barassi Line': Quantifying Australia's Great Sporting Divide". 21 December 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  4. ^ "The 'Barassi Line': Quantifying Australia's Great Sporting Divide". 15 July 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  5. ^ Marshall, Konrad (26 February 2016). "Where do rugby codes' strongholds turn to rules? At the 'Barassi Line', of course..." The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  6. ^ The Barassi Line Brett Tweedie. December 2022
  7. ^ Funding of AFL clubs revealed in massive $100m gap from rich and poor by Ben Cotton from Fox Sports 8 March 2022
  8. ^ Melbourne Storm Financials from FootyIndustry.com 5 October 2016
  9. ^ Melbourne Rebels may have traded insolvent since 2018: PwC by Zoe Samios Business reporter 25 Apr 2024
  10. ^ Winners and losers: The 2023 AFL club funding ladder revealed by Jake Niall for The Age 3 February 2023
  11. ^ AFL sank its claws into Queensland thanks to Christopher Skase and the Brisbane Bears By Solua Middleton ABC Gld Coast 22 March 2020
  12. ^ 'Stop the fight': Western Reds legends call for introduction of Perth-based NRL team Nine Wide World of Sports 6 August 2023
  13. ^ What happened to the Adelaide Rams? The formation and demise of rugby league’s forgotten club by Kye Kuncoro for Sporting News 4 May 2023
  14. ^ Fate of women's team still to be decided
  15. ^ Sarah Danckert, Iain Payten and Carla Jaeger (30 May 2024). "Battle looms as Rugby Australia slams rescue plan, shuts down Melbourne Rebels". The Sydney Morning Herald.