1885 SAFA season

The 1885 South Australian Football Association season was the 9th season of the top-level Australian rules football competition in South Australia.

1885 SAFA premiership season
South Adelaide, premiers
Teams	4
Premiers	South Adelaide 2nd premiership
Leading goalkicker	H R Hill South Adelaide (19 goals)
Attendance
Matches played	30
Total attendance	54,000 (1,800 per match)
Highest	8,000 (Round 6, Adelaide vs. South Adelaide)
← 1884 1886 →

A new senior Adelaide Football Club formed from a merger of North Adelaide Junior and North Parks clubs from the Adelaide and Suburban Football Association joined.

However, two inaugural clubs - South Park on 18 March 1885 and Victorians (North Adelaide) on 21 April 1885 both resigned and disbanded before the season commenced.

The 1885 SAFA season was the first time since 1878 that all clubs played a fixed number of games.

Twenty three of the thirty games played had crowd figures quoted for an approximate average of 1,800 spectators per game.

Premiership season

Round 1

	Round 1
Saturday, 2 May (3:15 pm)	Norwood 6.15 (6)	def.	Adelaide 1.5 (1)	Kensington Oval	[1]
Saturday, 2 May (3:15 pm)	South Adelaide 4.11 (4)	def.	Port Adelaide 3.3 (3)	Adelaide Oval (crowd: 1,500)	[2]

Round 2

	Round 2
Monday, 25 May	South Adelaide 5.13 (5)	def.	Norwood 0.8 (0)	Adelaide Oval (crowd: 4,500)	[3]
	Bye Port Adelaide, Adelaide
Port Adelaide was on a football trip in Victoria during rounds 2 and 3.

Round 3

	Round 3
Saturday, 31 May	South Adelaide 4.9	def.	Adelaide 2.11	Adelaide Oval (crowd: 950)	[4][5]
	Bye Port Adelaide, Norwood
Adelaide Oval's surface was in poor condition due to the famous Indigenous Corrobee the night before.

Round 4

	Round 4
Saturday, 6 June (3:10 pm)	South Adelaide 3.11 (3)	def. by	Norwood 5.8 (5)	Adelaide Oval (crowd: 2,000)	[6][7]
Saturday, 6 June (3:10 pm)	Port Adelaide 10.14 (10)	def.	Adelaide 2.11 (2)	Alberton Oval (crowd: 800)	[8][9]

Round 5

	Round 5
Saturday, 27 June (3:00 pm)	Port Adelaide 2.5 (2)	def. by	South Adelaide 3.16 (3)	Alberton Oval (crowd: 1,500)	[10]
Saturday, 27 June (3:15 pm)	Adelaide 4.5 (4)	def.	Norwood 0.13 (0)	Adelaide Oval	[11][12]

Round 6

	Round 6
Wednesday, 1 July (8:00 pm)	Adelaide 1.8 (1)	def.	South Adelaide 0.8 (0)	Adelaide Oval (crowd: 8,000)	[13]
Saturday, 4 July	Port Adelaide 2.12 (2)	def. by	Norwood 3.8 (3)	Alberton Oval (crowd: 2,000)	[14]
	Bye Adelaide, South Adelaide
The game between Adelaide and South Adelaide at Adelaide Oval under artificial light was the first night game ever played in South Australia.

Round 7

	Round 7
Saturday, 11 July (3:25 pm)	Norwood 0.5 (0)	drew with	South Adelaide 0.12 (0)	Kensington Oval	[15]
Saturday, 11 July (3:18 pm)	Adelaide 0.10 (0)	def. by	Port Adelaide 2.10 (2)	Adelaide Oval (crowd: 600)	[16]

Round 8

	Round 8
Saturday, 18 July	Norwood 1.20 (1)	def. by	Adelaide 4.10 (4)	Kensington Oval (crowd: 400)	[17]
Saturday, 18 July (3:13 pm)	South Adelaide 2.8 (2)	drew with	Port Adelaide 2.15 (2)	Adelaide Oval (crowd: 3,000)	[18]

Round 9

	Round 9
Saturday, 25 July (3:25 pm)	Norwood 3.11 (3)	def.	Port Adelaide 2.16 (2)	Kensington Oval (crowd: 1,000)	[19]
Saturday, 25 July	Adelaide 0.5 (0)	def. by	South Adelaide 6.14 (6)	Adelaide Oval	[20]

Round 10

	Round 10
Saturday, 1 August (3:16 pm)	South Adelaide 8.11 (8)	def.	Norwood 4.5 (4)	Adelaide Oval (crowd: 2,000)	[21][22]
Saturday, 1 August (3:20 pm)	Port Adelaide 8.17 (8)	def.	Adelaide 1.8 (1)	Alberton Oval (crowd: 500)	[23]

Round 11

	Round 11
Saturday, 8 August (3:10 pm)	South Adelaide 5.10 (5)	def.	Adelaide 3.11 (3)	Kensington Oval (crowd: 500)	[24][25]
	Bye Port Adelaide, Norwood

Round 12

	Round 12
Saturday, 15 August (3:29 pm)	Port Adelaide 2.11 (2)	def.	South Adelaide 1.5 (1)	Alberton Oval (crowd: 2,000)	[26]
Saturday, 15 August (3:28 pm)	Adelaide 3.5 (3)	def. by	Norwood 4.6 (4)	Adelaide Oval (crowd: 1,000)	[27][28]

Round 13

	Round 13
Saturday, 22 August (3:25 pm)	Port Adelaide 1.13 (1)	def. by	Norwood 6.16 (6)	Alberton Oval (crowd: 2,000)	[29][30]
Saturday, 22 August (3:20 pm)	Adelaide 2.4 (2)	def. by	South Adelaide 11.13 (11)	Kensington Oval (crowd: 300)	[31]

Round 14

	Round 14
Saturday, 29 August (3:20 pm)	Adelaide 6.9 (6)	def.	Norwood 1.13 (1)	Kensington Oval	[32][33]
Saturday, 29 August (3:15 pm)	South Adelaide 6.14 (6)	drew with	Port Adelaide 6.2 (6)	Adelaide Oval (crowd: 5,000)	[34][35]

Round 15

	Round 15
Saturday, 5 September	Norwood 2.11 (2)	def. by	South Adelaide 8.10 (8)	Kensington Oval (crowd: 550)	[36]
Saturday, 5 September	Adelaide 2.6 (2)	def. by	Port Adelaide 3.13 (3)	Adelaide Oval (crowd: 500)	[37][38]

Round 16

	Round 16
Saturday, 12 September (3:18 pm)	Adelaide 5.5 (5)	def. by	South Adelaide 8.7 (8)	Adelaide Oval	[39]
Saturday, 12 September (3:30 pm)	Norwood 4.14 (4)	def.	Port Adelaide 2.8 (2)	Kensington Oval (crowd: 800)	[40]

Round 17

	Round 17
Saturday, 18 September (3:30 pm)	Adelaide 3.5 (3)	def.	Port Adelaide 1.14 (1)	Adelaide Oval	[41]

Ladder

1885 SAFA Ladder
	TEAM	P	W	L	D	GF	BF	GA	BA
1	South Adelaide	15	11	2	2	72	159	36	96
2	Norwood	15	7	7	1	42	162	54	161
3	Port Adelaide	15	6	8	1	49	159	41	146
4	Adelaide	15	4	11	0	38	111	70	188
Key: P = Played, W = Won, L = Lost, D = Drawn, GF = Goals For, BF = Behinds For, GA = Goals Against, BA = Behinds Against, (P) = Premiers									[42]