Why Did Richmond Spend 23 Years in the VFA Before Joining the VFL?
Updated: Aug 30
The full RTSSG member feature, In The Beginning 1885-1907; The VFA years., opens the investigation behind this Public doorway.
Richmond spent its first 23 football seasons outside the VFL. Through the VFA years the club changed colours, experimented tactically, dealt with player poaching, crowd trouble and competition politics, and eventually won its first premiership before joining the League in 1908.
Why did Richmond remain outside when the VFL broke away in 1897? What had to change before the Tigers could force their way into the competition? And how much of the club’s early identity was forged by being on the wrong side of football’s new establishment?
The period also contained ideas that sound surprisingly modern: arguments over professionalism, tactical debate about the fastest route to goal, financial pressure and fierce battles over players. Which of those early tensions disappeared — and which simply changed their names?
Richmond’s VFL history begins in 1908. Its football identity does not. The full feature follows the less familiar years that made entry into the League possible.
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