Carlton regarded itself as a more respectable working-class suburb than the factory suburb of Collingwood. Their best goalkicker was not equalled until 1999. Loyalty to Collingwood became a badge of one' s social origins, even as Melburnians whose families had been associated with the district moved up the social ladder and out into the leafier suburbs. The Victoria Park station was easily reached from the northern suburbs, where the club recruited actively for members. This same pattern was followed by the other clubs, and those clubs which remained parochial were doomed to fold.
University is a case in point.
Whereas successful clubs look far afield for new talent, 'the Students' was comprised only of graduates from the University of Melbourne. Its supporter base was similarly myopic, and it is not surprising that the club, whose colours were black and blue, lasted only 126 games, from 1910 to 1915. They volunteered for war service and the club folded. The story of Fitzroy is also instructive. Because Fitzroy was not a place of primary settlement for new immigrants after the 1920s, it did not have the advantage enjoyed by Carlton or other clubs built on the tribal loyalty of newcomers to Melbourne, and Fitzroy never succeeded in developing an outer suburban following.