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There are several Australian rules football leagues in regional Queensland.

The sport of Australian rules football has a rich history in Queensland which dates back to the 1860s, however the game outside of South East Queensland was slower to take off than in Brisbane.

In 1913, a team of servicemen briefly existed on Thursday Island, but was short-lived. In 1944, a league of servicemen was formed around the Atherton Tableland. Teams represented included Wongabel, Wondelca, Kairi, Mareeba and Ravenshoe. The league was a precursor to the nearby Cairns, Queensland league.

In 1955, the Townsville Australian Football League began. Two years later the Cairns Australian Football League was formed. AFL was also introduced to Mount Isa. In the early 1970s, organised leagues started appearing in Mackay, the Darling Downs and Central Queensland.

The Australian Football League has occasionally played pre-season matches in Cairns and there have been semi-regular premiership matches on the Gold Coast.

Current competitions

AFL Cairns

AFL Cairns is a semi-professional league that includes clubs from the Cairns region in Queensland, Australia. It is widely regarded as the strongest regional Australian rules football league in Queensland and has a large base at Cazaly's Stadium which has staged pre-season Australian Football League matches.

The league has significant coverage in local media such as The Cairns Post. Each year the Grand Final attracts between 2,000–3,000 spectators.

AFL Capricornia

AFL Capricornia is an amateur competition played in the areas of Rockhampton, Gladstone and Yeppoon between the months of March and September in the cooler seasons of the Central Queensland climate.

The league is covered primarily by the Rockhampton Morning Bulletin in the local print media.

AFL Darling Downs

AFL Darling Downs is an amateur competition formed as the Darling Downs Australian Football League in 1971. It is based around the city of Toowoomba west of Brisbane. The senior representative team is known as the Demons and wear guernseys modelled on the Melbourne Demons guernseys. The Under 18 representative team who participate in the AFLQ Under 18 competition are known as the "Crows" and wear guernseys modelled on the Adelaide Crows guernseys.

AFL Mackay

AFL Mackay is an amateur competition formed as the Mackay Australian Football League in 1970. It is based around the city of Mackay with further clubs in Airlie Beach, Sarina, Alligator Creek, Pioneer Valley and Moranbah. The representative team is known as the Crows.

AFL Mount Isa

AFL Mount Isa is an amateur competition formed as the North West Australian Football League in 1967, changing its name to the Mount Isa AFL in 1969. Prior to this the game was played but was not organised. It is based around the city of Mount Isa.

The first matches in Mount Isa were played in 1932.^[1] The city had 3 clubs by 1933.^[2] Another league was formed in 1955.^[3] However the current league wasn't established until much later.

Current Clubs

75km
50miles

Dajarra

Lake Nash

Mount Isa Tigers

Mount Isa Buffaloes

Locations of the teams home grounds

Official Name	Nickname	Home	Years in competition	Premierships	Premiership Years
Mount Isa Buffaloes	Buffaloes	Legend Oval, Mount Isa	1983-	5	1992, 1994, 1995, 2017, 2018
Mount Isa Tigers	Tigers	Legend Oval, Mount Isa	1967-	11	1971, 1973, 1983, 1989, 1998, 1999, 2006, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016
Lake Nash	Bats (formerly Bushies, Young Guns)	Alpurrurulam Oval, Alpurrurulam (NT)	*1993-	2	2002, 2003
Dajarra Rhinos	Rhinos	Monument Sports Oval, Dajarra	2018-	0	-

Former Clubs

Official Name	Colours	Nickname	Home	Years in competition	Premierships	Premiership Years
Mount Isa Rovers		Rovers	Legend Oval, Mount Isa	1967-2020	24	1968, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986,1988, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013

Premiers

North West Australian Football League (1967-1968) / Mount Isa AFL (1969-1999) / AFL Mount Isa (2000-present)

1967: Hawks
1968: Rovers
1969: Saints
1970: Saints
1971: Tigers
1972: Hawks
1973: Tigers
1974: Saints
1975: Hawks
1976: Rovers
1977: Mary Kathleen
1978: Mary Kathleen
1979: Mary Kathleen
1980: Rovers
1981: Rovers
1982: Rovers
1983: Tigers
1984: Rovers
1985: Rovers
1986: Rovers
1987: Saints
1988: Rovers
1989: Tigers
1990: Rovers
1991: Rovers
1992: Buffaloes
1993: Rovers
1994: Buffaloes
1995: Buffaloes
1996: Rovers
1997: Rovers
1998: Tigers
1999: Tigers
2000: Rovers
2001: Rovers
2002: Lake Nash, Mighty Bats
2003: Lake Nash, Mighty Bats
2004: Rovers
2005: Rovers^[4]
2006: Tigers
2007: Rovers
2008: Rovers
2009: Rovers
2010: Rovers
2011: Tigers
2012: Rovers
2013: Rovers
2014: Tigers
2015: Tigers
2016: Tigers
2017: Buffaloes
2018: Buffaloes

AFL Townsville

AFL Townsville is an amateur competition formed as the Townsville Australian Football League in 1955, the first AFL competition to be formed in Queensland outside of the South East. It is based around the city of Townsville. For a short period in the 1980s, the competition was played during the summer months. The representative team is known as the Eagles and they wear similar guernseys to the Zillmere Eagles old white and blue guernsey's.

AFL Wide Bay

The AFL Wide Bay competition was formerly known as the Bundaberg-Wide Bay Australian Football League which was formed in 1987 through the merger of the Bundaberg Australian Football League and Wide Bay Australian Football Leagues. The competition currently features teams from the cities of Bundaberg, Maryborough and Hervey Bay. The representative team is known as the Tigers wearing guernseys similar to those of the Richmond Tigers.

Defunct competitions

Bundaberg Australian Football League

The Bundaberg Australian Football League was an amateur competition formed in 1972 and continued until 1986, before merging with the Wide Bay Australian Football League, starting a new competition called the Bundaberg Wide Bay Australian Football League in 1987, now known as AFL Wide Bay.

The four foundation clubs were Burnett Heads, Southern Suburbs (South Bundaberg), Western Suburbs (West Bundaberg), and North Bundaberg.

Clubs

Club	Years in Competition	Premierships
North Bundaberg	1972–1986	5
South Bundaberg	1972–1986	1
West Bundaberg	1972–1986	5
Burnett Heads	1972–1982	-
Hervey Bay	1977, 1982–1983	3
South Bundaberg (2)	1979	-
Maryborough	1979	-
Biggenden	1983	-
Gympie	1984	-
Cooloola Coast	1984	-
Urangan	1984	1
Brothers	1985	-

Premiers

Bundaberg AFL (1972-1986)

1972: North Bundaberg
1973: Western Suburbs
1974: Western Suburbs
1975: North Bundaberg
1976: North Bundaberg
1977: Hervey Bay
1978: North Bundaberg
1979: North Bundaberg
1980: West Bundaberg
1981: South Bundaberg
1982: Hervey Bay
1983: Hervey Bay
1984: Urangan^[5]
1985: West Bundaberg
1986: West Bundaberg

Central Highlands Australian Football League

The Central Highlands Australian Football League was an amateur competition formed in 1983 and ceased operations after the 1997 season. Most of the previous clubs still exist and operate Auskick programs, including Dysart and Emerald. The Moranbah Bulldogs moved to the Mackay Australian Football League after the league folded.

The league was a once flourishing competition with Clubs competing in Seniors, Reserves and juniors in Under 16's, 14's, and 12's. Around 1994, the mines in the area shifted from a five-day week into a seven-day 12-hour roster, which in turn limited teams' playing rosters. The league then changed onfield playing numbers from 18 to 13 with unlimited bench players. Unfortunately this still did not help and most clubs were forced to cease operations due to lack of playing numbers and not of financial matters.

Prior to the formation of the competition, Dysart, Middlemount and Moranbah had played in Mackay's competition.

Clubs

Club	Colours	Nickname	Years in competition	Premierships
Blackwater	Dark Blue and White	Cats	1983–1997	3
Clermont	Red and Black	Bombers	1985–1986	-
Dysart	Red and White	Swans	1983–1997	2
Emerald	Black, White and Red	Saints	1983–1997	7
Middlemount	Blue and White	Kangaroos	1983–1991	1
Moranbah	Blue, White and Red	bulldogs	1983–1988, 1994–1997	2
Tieri	Black and Yellow	Tigers	1983–1991, 1996	-
United	Black and Yellow	Tigers	1992–1995	-

Premiers

Central Highlands AFL (1983-1997)

1983: Dysart
1984: Dysart
1985: Moranbah
1986: Moranbah
1987: Middlemount
1988: Emerald
1989: Emerald
1990: Blackwater
1991: Blackwater
1992: Blackwater
1993: Emerald
1994: Emerald
1995: Emerald
1996: Emerald
1997: Emerald

Gold Coast Australian Football League

The Gold Coast Australian Football League was a competition that operated from at least 1961 to 1996 before being absorbed by the Queensland AFL as its Gold Coast Division.

Clubs

Club	Colours	Years in Competition	Premierships
Ashmore Nerang	Black and White	1985-1989	0
Broadbeach	White and blue	1971–1996	2
Burleigh Heads	Red and Black	1979–1996	0
Coolangatta Tweed Heads		1965–1996	6
Ipswich		1963	0
Labrador	Black and Yellow	1964–1996	5
Lismore		1968–1970, 1978–1983	0
Palm Beach-Currumbin	Yellow and Purple	1961–1996	4
Robina Roos	Blue and White	1996	0
Southport	White and black	1961–1982	9
Surfers Paradise	Red and Blue	1962–1996	9

Premiers

Gold Coast AFL (1961-1996) / AFLQ - Gold Coast Division (1997-1999)

1961: Southport
1962: Southport
1963: Surfers Paradise
1964: Southport
1965: Palm Beach-Currumbin
1966: Southport
1967: Surfers Paradise
1968: Surfers Paradise
1969: Surfers Paradise
1970: Labrador
1971: Palm Beach-Currumbin
1972: Surfers Paradise
1973: Palm Beach-Currumbin
1974: Surfers Paradise
1975: Southport
1976: Southport
1977: Southport
1978: Coolangatta
1979: Southport
1980: Southport
1981: Coolangatta
1982: Coolangatta
1983: Coolangatta
1984: Surfers Paradise
1985: Palm Beach-Currumbin
1986: Labrador
1987: Broadbeach
1988: Coolangatta
1989: Coolangatta
1990: Surfers Paradise
1991: Labrador
1992: Surfers Paradise
1993: Labrador
1994: Labrador
1995: Palm Beach-Currumbin
1996: Broadbeach
1997: Palm Beach-Currumbin
1998: Surfers Paradise
1999: Palm Beach-Currumbin

Maryborough Australian Football League

The Maryborough Australian Football League was an amateur competition that lasted two full seasons in 1981 and 1982. In 1983, there was only a limited number of fixtures, and due to lack of players, the competition folded after the season was over.

In 1983, Biggenden played in both the Bundaberg AFL and the Maryborough competition. Biggenden 2 lost to Cooloola Coast in the 1983 MAFL Grand Final, as their seniors did the previous year.

Clubs

Club	Colours	Years in Competition	Premierships
Biggenden	Brown and White	1981–1983	1
Cooloola Coast	Navy Blue and White	1982–1983	2
Isis	Brown and Yellow	1981–1983	-
Maryborough^[6]	Black and Gold	1981–1983	-
Torbanlea^{[citation needed]}	Red and Blue	1981	-

Premiers

Maryborough AFL (1981-1983)

1981 Biggenden^[7]
1982 Cooloola Coast
1983 Cooloola Coast^[8]

Sunshine Coast Australian Football League

The Sunshine Coast Australian Football League was an amateur competition that was formed in 1970 and continued until 1992. The three foundation clubs were Noosa, Maroochydore and Nambour.

In 1993, the clubs from the competition played in the Brisbane Australian Football League, and later split up into various AFL South Queensland Divisions.

Clubs

Club	Colours	Nickname	Years in competition	Premierships
Caboolture	Maroon, Blue and Gold	Lions (Cats 73-75)	1973–1975, 1984–1987, 1990	-
Caloundra	Navy Blue and White	Panthers (Cats 73-80)	1973–1983, 1985–1989, 1991–1992	4
Gympie	Navy Blue and White	Cats	1971–1983, 1992	-
Hervey Bay	Red and Green	Seahawks	1978–1981	-
Kawana	Blue and Yellow	Eagles	1983–1984, 1990–1992	-
Maroochydore	Green and Gold		1970–1992	11
Maryborough	Black and Gold	Tigers	1977	-
Mooloolah Valley	Black and White	Magpies	1985–1988	-
Nambour	Navy Blue and White	Blues	1970–1975, 1977–1992	1
Noosa	Black and Gold	Tigers	1970–1992	7
Pomona	Blue and Gold	Demons	1975, 1987–1990	-
Pomona/Cooroy	Red and Blue	Demons	1976–1986	-
Pomona/Gympie	Blue, White and Gold	Devil Cats	1991	-
Southern Districts	Red, Blue and Gold	Wildcats	1987–1989	-

Premiers

Sunshine Coast AFL (1970-1992)

1970: Maroochydore
1971: Maroochydore
1972: Maroochydore
1973: Noosa
1974: Maroochydore
1975: Noosa
1976: Noosa
1977: Noosa
1978: Maroochydore
1979: Maroochydore
1980: Noosa
1981: Noosa
1982: Maroochydore
1983: Maroochydore
1984: Maroochydore
1985: Noosa
1986: Maroochydore
1987: Caloundra
1988: Caloundra
1989: Maroochydore
1990: Nambour
1991: Caloundra
1992: Caloundra

Wide Bay Australian Football League

The Wide Bay Australian Football League was a short-lived amateur competition that was formed in 1985 as a result of a breakaway from the Bundaberg Australian Football League. It only lasted two years before merging with the league it broke away from.

Clubs

Club	Colours	Years in competition	Premierships
Cooloola Coast	Navy Blue and White	1985–1986	-
Gympie Blues^[9]		1985	-
Gympie Cats	Navy Blue and White	1985–1986	-
Hervey Bay Bombers	Black and Red	1985–1986	2
Hervey Bay Hawks	Brown and Yellow	1985	-
Maryborough	Black and Gold	1986	-

Premiers

Wide Bay AFL (1985-1986)

1985: Hervey Bay Bombers
1986: Hervey Bay Bombers

References

^ "AT MOUNT ISA "Aussie" Rules Played". Sporting Globe. No. 1042. Victoria, Australia. 3 August 1932. p. 8 (Edition1). Retrieved 26 September 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "AUSTRALIAN RULES". The Brisbane Courier. No. 23, 485. Queensland, Australia. 9 May 1933. p. 16. Retrieved 19 June 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^ Bird, Murray; Parker, Greg (2018). More of the Kangaroo: 150 Years of Australian Football in Queensland - 1866 to 2016. Morningside, Qld. p. vii. ISBN 978-0-9943936-1-6. OCLC 1082363978.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ "Rovers Win". The North West Star Mount Isa. Mount Isa, Queensland. 12 September 2005. p. 20.
^ "Urangan in Rules Win". News Mail Bundaberg. Bundaberg, Queensland. 28 August 1984. p. 17.
^ "Up There Cazaly". Maryborough Chronicle Maryborough. Maryborough, Queensland. 4 August 1981. p. 14.
^ "Up There Cazaly". Maryborough Chronicle Maryborough. Maryborough, Queensland. 4 August 1981. p. 14.
^ "Dolphins win final 158-32". Maryborough Chronicle Maryborough. Maryborough, Queensland. 23 August 1983. p. 14.
^ Wide Bay AFL Year Book 1985.