AFL club names every solver should know
Every AFL Player Cross clue lists the clubs a player played for, in the order they played for them. When a club has changed its name, the clue uses the current name, so you don’t need to remember which era a player came from. Here’s a quick guide to the 18 clubs and the names behind them.
Adelaide
Joined in 1991 as the first South Australian club in the league.
Brisbane Lions
Formed in 1997 when the Brisbane Bears (who joined in 1987) merged with Fitzroy. Clues for players from before the merger name the Bears or Fitzroy.
Carlton
One of the league’s founding clubs, based in Melbourne’s inner north.
Collingwood
A founding club of the VFL and one of the best-supported clubs in the country.
Essendon
A founding club, known as the Bombers.
Fremantle
Joined in 1995 as the second Western Australian club.
Geelong
A founding club, based in Geelong rather than Melbourne.
Gold Coast
Joined in 2011.
Greater Western Sydney
Joined in 2012. Clues always use the full name rather than GWS.
Hawthorn
Joined in 1925.
Melbourne
A founding club, known as the Demons.
North Melbourne
Played as the Kangaroos from 1999 to 2007. Clues use North Melbourne for the whole period.
Port Adelaide
Joined in 1997.
Richmond
Joined in 1908, known as the Tigers.
St Kilda
A founding club, known as the Saints.
Sydney
South Melbourne moved to Sydney in 1982 and became the Sydney Swans. Clues use Sydney for both.
West Coast
Joined in 1987 as the first Western Australian club.
Western Bulldogs
Known as Footscray until 1996. Clues use Western Bulldogs for both names.
Reading a list of clubs
A long list of clubs usually means a player who was traded or delisted and picked up again. Two clubs from the same state often point to a player who moved home. The games count and the tier (easy, medium or hard) narrow it down from there. See how to solve AFL Player Cross puzzles for more tips.