Scope
This section includes short fiction and essays. The works cited are either specifically about Australian Rules football, make use of football as a setting or theme, or refer to football in ways that are important to the structure of a work. Many works listed here were found using the Australian Literature Gateway (Austlit) database, using the search term ‘Australian Rules football’
Short Fiction
Bachelor's Hall’, The Australian Journal, vol. 15, no. 173, October 1879, pp. 78-79.
A bachelor clerk living in Carlton is roused from bed where he is recovering from a football game with Richmond. He is asked to lunch at his married friend's house to meet his true match. DN.
Attwood, Alan, ‘If It's Just a Game, Why Did the World End One Day in September?’, in Powers, In Alan Mahar and John (ed.), Prose Writing for Australians: An Anthology of Feature Articles and Short Stories, Nelson, Melbourne, 1985, pp. 14-15.
Chan, Melissa, More on Getting Your Man, Artemis: Melbourne, 1994. pp. 93-113.
Contains a short story on football titled ‘Aussie Rules’. TH
Derrett, Andrew, ‘'In the Grandstand of the Gods’, in Derrett, Andrew (ed.), Black Angels, Janus Publishing, London, 1994, pp. 44-50.
Contains a short story on Australian Rules football titled ‘In the Grandstand of the God. TH.
Doust, Jon, ‘The Last Game’, West Australian, Big Weekend, 5 January, 2002, p. 5.
Dyson, Edward, ‘Barracking’, in Dyson, Edward (ed.), Benno and Some of the Push: Being Further "Fact'ry 'Ands" Stories, Bookstall Company, Sydney, 1911, pp. 139-49.
Also published in Garrie Hutchinson (ed.), The Great Australian Book of Football Stories, Viking O'Neil: Ringwood, Vic, 1989, pp. 101-107 and has the alternative title, 'Benno the Barracker'. TH.
Ewing, Jim, ‘Old Dogs and Ruckmen’, Australian Short Stories, no. 58, 1997, pp. 28-36.
Ford, John, ‘A Noble Art’, Westerly, no. 3-4, 1965, pp. 20-27.
Goldsworthy, Peter, ‘The Misogynist’, Quadrant, vol. 24, no. 8, August 1980, pp. 69-70.
Goldsworthy, Peter, ‘One of My Best Friends’, The List of All Answers: Collected Stories, Viking, Camberwell, Vic., 2004, pp. 320-26.
Contains a short story with a football theme titled ‘One of My Best Friends’. Part of 'Country Town Sketchbook' sequence. First published in Quadrant, vol. 25, no. 1-2, January-February 1981, pp. 95-96. TH
Greenwood, Kerry, ‘The Vanishing of Jock McHale's Hat’, in Knight, Stephen (ed.), More Crimes for a Summer Christmas, Allen & Unwin, North Sydney, NSW, 1991, pp. 97-106.
This crime fiction work was also published in the Advertiser, Adelaide, 9 January 1992, p. 12 and 10 January 1992, p. 10. TH.
Hardy, Frank, Billy Borker Yarns Again, Nelson, Melbourne, 1967.
Contains the famous short story 'How the Barefoot Booter from Borroloola Kicked Seven Goals One Behind in the Last Quarter', which is also published in Frank Hardy, The Great Australian Lover and Other Stories, Nelson: Melbourne, 1972, pp. 81-87. TH.
Howcroft, Wilbur G., Wilbur Howcroft Omnibus: A Collection of Bush Tales and Verse, Hutchinson, Hawthorn, Vic., 1985, pp. 35, pp. 230-232.
Contains essays titled ‘Aussie Rules’. TH.
Jedwab, Lou, ‘Footy’, Melbourne Chronicle, no. 68, 1999, pp. 16-18.
Leunig, Michael, ‘The Curly-Pyjama Letters’, Age, Saturday Extra, 8 October, 1994, p. 30.
Linnett, Ken, ‘A Love Story’, Going Down Swinging, no. 5, 1982, pp. 53-54.
McDuffie, Harry R. , ‘Corrawallop V Possum Bend’, in Hutchinson, Garrie (ed.), The Great Australian Book of Football Stories, Viking O’Neil, Ringwood, Vic., 1989, pp. 121-28.
McRae, David, ‘The Supporter’, Australian Short Stories, vol. 2, no. 7, 1984, pp. 1-8.
Morrison, John, ‘Black Night in Collingwood’, in Morrison, John (ed.), This Freedom, Penguin, Ringwood, Vic., 1985, pp. 130-40.
First published in the Bulletin, Sydney, vol. 76, no. 3947, 5 October 1955, pp. 20-21. TH.
Murray, Neil, ‘Home and Away’, Bulletin, ‘Literary Supplement’, 103, 5389, Sydney, 1 November, 1983, pp. 64-66.
Plum, ‘Misunderstanding’, Bulletin, Vol. 70, no. 3623, Sydney, 20 July, 1949, p. 33.
Pritchard, Andrew, ‘Training’, Australian Short Stories, no. 54, 1996, pp. 31-37.
With illustrations by Stephen Pascoe.
Spencer, Beth, ‘Playing the Man’, Ulitarra, no. 1, 1992, pp. 49-53.
Stretton, Andrea, ‘Swans and Tigers’, Bulletin, Literary Supplement, Vol. 102, no. 5321, Sydney, 6 July, 1982, pp. 64-68.
Symons, Peter, ‘Jack’, Island, no. 93-94, Winter-Spring 2003, pp. 197-201.
Williams, Gordon, ‘Where the Support Is’, Australian Short Stories, no. 19, 1987, pp. 32-41.
Zurbo, Matt, ‘Oren Komornik’, Viewpoint: On Books for Young Adults, vol. 6, no. 4, Summer 1998, pp. 4-5.
Zurbo, Matt, ‘Supermarket Footy’, Australian Short Stories, no. 42, 1993, pp. 105-07.
Also published in Viewpoint: On Books for Young Adults, vol. 6, no.4 Summer 1998, p. 3. TH.
Zurbo, Matt, ‘Whithem Had Nothing to Lose’, Viewpoint: On Books for Young Adults, vol. 6, no. 4, Summer 1998, pp. 5.
A bachelor clerk living in Carlton is roused from bed where he is recovering from a football game with Richmond. He is asked to lunch at his married friend's house to meet his true match. DN.
Attwood, Alan, ‘If It's Just a Game, Why Did the World End One Day in September?’, in Powers, In Alan Mahar and John (ed.), Prose Writing for Australians: An Anthology of Feature Articles and Short Stories, Nelson, Melbourne, 1985, pp. 14-15.
Chan, Melissa, More on Getting Your Man, Artemis: Melbourne, 1994. pp. 93-113.
Contains a short story on football titled ‘Aussie Rules’. TH
Derrett, Andrew, ‘'In the Grandstand of the Gods’, in Derrett, Andrew (ed.), Black Angels, Janus Publishing, London, 1994, pp. 44-50.
Contains a short story on Australian Rules football titled ‘In the Grandstand of the God. TH.
Doust, Jon, ‘The Last Game’, West Australian, Big Weekend, 5 January, 2002, p. 5.
Dyson, Edward, ‘Barracking’, in Dyson, Edward (ed.), Benno and Some of the Push: Being Further "Fact'ry 'Ands" Stories, Bookstall Company, Sydney, 1911, pp. 139-49.
Also published in Garrie Hutchinson (ed.), The Great Australian Book of Football Stories, Viking O'Neil: Ringwood, Vic, 1989, pp. 101-107 and has the alternative title, 'Benno the Barracker'. TH.
Ewing, Jim, ‘Old Dogs and Ruckmen’, Australian Short Stories, no. 58, 1997, pp. 28-36.
Ford, John, ‘A Noble Art’, Westerly, no. 3-4, 1965, pp. 20-27.
Goldsworthy, Peter, ‘The Misogynist’, Quadrant, vol. 24, no. 8, August 1980, pp. 69-70.
Goldsworthy, Peter, ‘One of My Best Friends’, The List of All Answers: Collected Stories, Viking, Camberwell, Vic., 2004, pp. 320-26.
Contains a short story with a football theme titled ‘One of My Best Friends’. Part of 'Country Town Sketchbook' sequence. First published in Quadrant, vol. 25, no. 1-2, January-February 1981, pp. 95-96. TH
Greenwood, Kerry, ‘The Vanishing of Jock McHale's Hat’, in Knight, Stephen (ed.), More Crimes for a Summer Christmas, Allen & Unwin, North Sydney, NSW, 1991, pp. 97-106.
This crime fiction work was also published in the Advertiser, Adelaide, 9 January 1992, p. 12 and 10 January 1992, p. 10. TH.
Hardy, Frank, Billy Borker Yarns Again, Nelson, Melbourne, 1967.
Contains the famous short story 'How the Barefoot Booter from Borroloola Kicked Seven Goals One Behind in the Last Quarter', which is also published in Frank Hardy, The Great Australian Lover and Other Stories, Nelson: Melbourne, 1972, pp. 81-87. TH.
Howcroft, Wilbur G., Wilbur Howcroft Omnibus: A Collection of Bush Tales and Verse, Hutchinson, Hawthorn, Vic., 1985, pp. 35, pp. 230-232.
Contains essays titled ‘Aussie Rules’. TH.
Jedwab, Lou, ‘Footy’, Melbourne Chronicle, no. 68, 1999, pp. 16-18.
Leunig, Michael, ‘The Curly-Pyjama Letters’, Age, Saturday Extra, 8 October, 1994, p. 30.
Linnett, Ken, ‘A Love Story’, Going Down Swinging, no. 5, 1982, pp. 53-54.
McDuffie, Harry R. , ‘Corrawallop V Possum Bend’, in Hutchinson, Garrie (ed.), The Great Australian Book of Football Stories, Viking O’Neil, Ringwood, Vic., 1989, pp. 121-28.
McRae, David, ‘The Supporter’, Australian Short Stories, vol. 2, no. 7, 1984, pp. 1-8.
Morrison, John, ‘Black Night in Collingwood’, in Morrison, John (ed.), This Freedom, Penguin, Ringwood, Vic., 1985, pp. 130-40.
First published in the Bulletin, Sydney, vol. 76, no. 3947, 5 October 1955, pp. 20-21. TH.
Murray, Neil, ‘Home and Away’, Bulletin, ‘Literary Supplement’, 103, 5389, Sydney, 1 November, 1983, pp. 64-66.
Plum, ‘Misunderstanding’, Bulletin, Vol. 70, no. 3623, Sydney, 20 July, 1949, p. 33.
Pritchard, Andrew, ‘Training’, Australian Short Stories, no. 54, 1996, pp. 31-37.
With illustrations by Stephen Pascoe.
Spencer, Beth, ‘Playing the Man’, Ulitarra, no. 1, 1992, pp. 49-53.
Stretton, Andrea, ‘Swans and Tigers’, Bulletin, Literary Supplement, Vol. 102, no. 5321, Sydney, 6 July, 1982, pp. 64-68.
Symons, Peter, ‘Jack’, Island, no. 93-94, Winter-Spring 2003, pp. 197-201.
Williams, Gordon, ‘Where the Support Is’, Australian Short Stories, no. 19, 1987, pp. 32-41.
Zurbo, Matt, ‘Oren Komornik’, Viewpoint: On Books for Young Adults, vol. 6, no. 4, Summer 1998, pp. 4-5.
Zurbo, Matt, ‘Supermarket Footy’, Australian Short Stories, no. 42, 1993, pp. 105-07.
Also published in Viewpoint: On Books for Young Adults, vol. 6, no.4 Summer 1998, p. 3. TH.
Zurbo, Matt, ‘Whithem Had Nothing to Lose’, Viewpoint: On Books for Young Adults, vol. 6, no. 4, Summer 1998, pp. 5.
Essays
Attwood, Alan, ‘If It's Just a Game, Why Did the World End One Day in September?’, in John Powers and Alan Mahar (eds), Prose Writing for Australians: An Anthology of Feature Articles and Short Stories, Nelson, Melbourne, 1985, pp. 14-15.
Carroll, John, ‘Let's Reclaim the Game’, in Peter Craven (ed.), The Best Australian Essays 2000, Black Inc, Melbourne, 2000, pp. 353-360.
Cash, John and Damousi, Joy, ‘Inside Footy Mania’, Meanjin, vol. 63, no. 4, 2004, pp. 218-25.
Cooke, Kaz, ‘It's All as Simple as Black and White’, Sunday Age, Agenda, 14 May, 1995, p. 2.
Fitzgerald, Ross, ‘All Duck and No Dinner’, in Ross Fitzgerald and Ken Spillman (eds), Fathers in Writing, University of Western Australia Press, Nedlands, WA, 1997, pp. 64-70.
Flanagan, Martin, ‘The Kick of Life’, Age, Saturday Extra, 1 October, 1994, p. 1 and p. 6.
Flanagan, Martin, ‘Peter Hay: A Tasmanian Intellectual’, Island, no. 92, pp. 40-46.
A commentary on Peter Hay’s Vandemonian Essays, Walleah Press: North Hobart, Tas, 2002. TH.
Flanagan, Martin, ‘The Real Soul of the City of Churches’, Age, Friday Football, 26 May, 1995, p. 2.
Harms, John, ‘Gabba’, Meanjin: Fine Writing and Provocative Ideas, vol. 60, 2001, pp. 117-120.
Part of the 'Making Spaces, Writing Spaces' sequence. TH.
Harvey, Tracey, ‘Stop Showing Off’, Age, Saturday Extra, 8 July, 1995, p. 16.
Howcroft, Wilbur G., Wilbur Howcroft Omnibus: A Collection of Bush Tales and Verse, Hutchinson, Hawthorn, Vic., 1985, p. 35, pp. 230-232.
Contains essays titled ‘Aussie Rules’. TH.
James, John Stanley, ‘A Brutal Football Match’, in Michael Cannon (ed.), The Vagabond Papers, Melbourne University Press, Carlton, Vic., 1969, pp. 207-209.
An account of an early football match between Carlton and Melbourne in 1876. John Stanley James, writing as 'Julian Thomas - The Vagabond', observes that this match, while not as rough as Rugby, was 'a disgrace to our civilisation'. Originally published in the Melbourne Argus newspaper, 30 September 1876. TH.
Linnett, Ken, ‘Sequences from the Seventies: Three Works of Fiction’, Neptune Press, Newtown, Vic., 1981, pp. 79-107.
Contains an essay with a football theme titled ‘Sandersson’. TH.
Oakley, Barry, ‘The Birth of Football and the Death of Jack Dyer’, in Peter Craven, (ed.), The Best Australian Essays 2003, Black Inc, Melbourne, 2003, pp. 320-325.
Oakley, Barry, ‘Final Story of a Switched-Off AFL Fan’, Weekend Australian, Review, 1-2 October, 1994, p. 3.
Savage, Georgia, ‘The Meaning of Life’, The Australian Magazine, Weekend Australian, 30-31 October, 1993, pp. 24-26.
Thorne, Tim, ‘Umpiring Idea Really for the Birds’, Mercury, 10 May, 1995, p. 20.
Trott, David, ‘The Gabba Development’, Meanjin: Fine Writing and Provocative Ideas, vol. 60, no. 1, 2001, pp. 121-23.
Part of 'Making Spaces, Writing Spaces' sequence. TH.
Watson, Don, ‘Theatre of War’, Age, Insight, 27 September, 2003, p. 3.
Attwood, Alan, ‘If It's Just a Game, Why Did the World End One Day in September?’, in John Powers and Alan Mahar (eds), Prose Writing for Australians: An Anthology of Feature Articles and Short Stories, Nelson, Melbourne, 1985, pp. 14-15.
Carroll, John, ‘Let's Reclaim the Game’, in Peter Craven (ed.), The Best Australian Essays 2000, Black Inc, Melbourne, 2000, pp. 353-360.
Cash, John and Damousi, Joy, ‘Inside Footy Mania’, Meanjin, vol. 63, no. 4, 2004, pp. 218-25.
Cooke, Kaz, ‘It's All as Simple as Black and White’, Sunday Age, Agenda, 14 May, 1995, p. 2.
Fitzgerald, Ross, ‘All Duck and No Dinner’, in Ross Fitzgerald and Ken Spillman (eds), Fathers in Writing, University of Western Australia Press, Nedlands, WA, 1997, pp. 64-70.
Flanagan, Martin, ‘The Kick of Life’, Age, Saturday Extra, 1 October, 1994, p. 1 and p. 6.
Flanagan, Martin, ‘Peter Hay: A Tasmanian Intellectual’, Island, no. 92, pp. 40-46.
A commentary on Peter Hay’s Vandemonian Essays, Walleah Press: North Hobart, Tas, 2002. TH.
Flanagan, Martin, ‘The Real Soul of the City of Churches’, Age, Friday Football, 26 May, 1995, p. 2.
Harms, John, ‘Gabba’, Meanjin: Fine Writing and Provocative Ideas, vol. 60, 2001, pp. 117-120.
Part of the 'Making Spaces, Writing Spaces' sequence. TH.
Harvey, Tracey, ‘Stop Showing Off’, Age, Saturday Extra, 8 July, 1995, p. 16.
Howcroft, Wilbur G., Wilbur Howcroft Omnibus: A Collection of Bush Tales and Verse, Hutchinson, Hawthorn, Vic., 1985, p. 35, pp. 230-232.
Contains essays titled ‘Aussie Rules’. TH.
James, John Stanley, ‘A Brutal Football Match’, in Michael Cannon (ed.), The Vagabond Papers, Melbourne University Press, Carlton, Vic., 1969, pp. 207-209.
An account of an early football match between Carlton and Melbourne in 1876. John Stanley James, writing as 'Julian Thomas - The Vagabond', observes that this match, while not as rough as Rugby, was 'a disgrace to our civilisation'. Originally published in the Melbourne Argus newspaper, 30 September 1876. TH.
Linnett, Ken, ‘Sequences from the Seventies: Three Works of Fiction’, Neptune Press, Newtown, Vic., 1981, pp. 79-107.
Contains an essay with a football theme titled ‘Sandersson’. TH.
Oakley, Barry, ‘The Birth of Football and the Death of Jack Dyer’, in Peter Craven, (ed.), The Best Australian Essays 2003, Black Inc, Melbourne, 2003, pp. 320-325.
Oakley, Barry, ‘Final Story of a Switched-Off AFL Fan’, Weekend Australian, Review, 1-2 October, 1994, p. 3.
Savage, Georgia, ‘The Meaning of Life’, The Australian Magazine, Weekend Australian, 30-31 October, 1993, pp. 24-26.
Thorne, Tim, ‘Umpiring Idea Really for the Birds’, Mercury, 10 May, 1995, p. 20.
Trott, David, ‘The Gabba Development’, Meanjin: Fine Writing and Provocative Ideas, vol. 60, no. 1, 2001, pp. 121-23.
Part of 'Making Spaces, Writing Spaces' sequence. TH.
Watson, Don, ‘Theatre of War’, Age, Insight, 27 September, 2003, p. 3.