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

### Round 2

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

### Round 3

| | Round 3 | Round 3 | Round 3 | |
| Saturday, 31 May | South Adelaide 4.9 | def. | Adelaide 2.11 | Adelaide Oval (crowd: 950) |
| | Bye Port Adelaide, Norwood | Bye Port Adelaide, Norwood | 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 | 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) |
| Saturday, 6 June (3:10 pm) | Port Adelaide 10.14 (10) | def. | Adelaide 2.11 (2) | Alberton Oval (crowd: 800) |

### Round 5

| | Round 5 | 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) |
| Saturday, 27 June (3:15 pm) | Adelaide 4.5 (4) | def. | Norwood 0.13 (0) | Adelaide Oval |

### Round 6

| | Round 6 | 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) |
| Saturday, 4 July | Port Adelaide 2.12 (2) | def. by | Norwood 3.8 (3) | Alberton Oval (crowd: 2,000) |
| | Bye Adelaide, South Adelaide | Bye Adelaide, South Adelaide | 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 | Round 7 | Round 7 | |
| Saturday, 11 July (3:25 pm) | Norwood 0.5 (0) | drew with | South Adelaide 0.12 (0) | Kensington Oval |
| Saturday, 11 July (3:18 pm) | Adelaide 0.10 (0) | def. by | Port Adelaide 2.10 (2) | Adelaide Oval (crowd: 600) |

### Round 8

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

### Round 9

| | Round 9 | 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) |
| Saturday, 25 July | Adelaide 0.5 (0) | def. by | South Adelaide 6.14 (6) | Adelaide Oval |

### Round 10

| | Round 10 | 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) |
| Saturday, 1 August (3:20 pm) | Port Adelaide 8.17 (8) | def. | Adelaide 1.8 (1) | Alberton Oval (crowd: 500) |

### Round 11

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

### Round 12

| | Round 12 | 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) |
| Saturday, 15 August (3:28 pm) | Adelaide 3.5 (3) | def. by | Norwood 4.6 (4) | Adelaide Oval (crowd: 1,000) |

### Round 13

| | Round 13 | 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) |
| Saturday, 22 August (3:20 pm) | Adelaide 2.4 (2) | def. by | South Adelaide 11.13 (11) | Kensington Oval (crowd: 300) |

### Round 14

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

### Round 15

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

### Round 16

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

### Round 17

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

## 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 | Key: P = Played, W = Won, L = Lost, D = Drawn, GF = Goals For, BF = Behinds For, GA = Goals Against, BA = Behinds Against, (P) = Premiers | Key: P = Played, W = Won, L = Lost, D = Drawn, GF = Goals For, BF = Behinds For, GA = Goals Against, BA = Behinds Against, (P) = Premiers | Key: P = Played, W = Won, L = Lost, D = Drawn, GF = Goals For, BF = Behinds For, GA = Goals Against, BA = Behinds Against, (P) = Premiers | Key: P = Played, W = Won, L = Lost, D = Drawn, GF = Goals For, BF = Behinds For, GA = Goals Against, BA = Behinds Against, (P) = Premiers | Key: P = Played, W = Won, L = Lost, D = Drawn, GF = Goals For, BF = Behinds For, GA = Goals Against, BA = Behinds Against, (P) = Premiers | Key: P = Played, W = Won, L = Lost, D = Drawn, GF = Goals For, BF = Behinds For, GA = Goals Against, BA = Behinds Against, (P) = Premiers | Key: P = Played, W = Won, L = Lost, D = Drawn, GF = Goals For, BF = Behinds For, GA = Goals Against, BA = Behinds Against, (P) = Premiers | Key: P = Played, W = Won, L = Lost, D = Drawn, GF = Goals For, BF = Behinds For, GA = Goals Against, BA = Behinds Against, (P) = Premiers | |