It is the pinnacle of the AFL Football Season . Richmond Tigers fans are spending an anxious week awaiting their beloved teams appearance in the 2017 AFL Football Grand Final on Saturday the 30th of September. It has come down to that last day in September when two battle scarred and weary combatants slog it out for the final glory of taking home the AFL premiership Cup.

Geelong put up a valiant fight in Adelaide against the all conquering Adelaide Crows in the preliminary final . . The staunch Cats fought the mighty Crows in front of an Adelaide home town crowd but succumbed to the strength and pressure of the conquering Crows. Richmond annihilated Greater Western Sydney at the MCG in the Saturday afternoon preliminary final. Tigers fans let the roar go during most of the match many wearing their AFL Football jumpers, jerseys, guernseys. 

TAC Sponsor Jumper

Footscray aka as the Western Bulldogs secured a Grand Final win against all the odds in season 2016 beating the Sydney Swans breaking a 62 year drought. Now its Richmond's turn. Can they pull off the fairytale win after a 37 year drought between flags and a 35 year wait for a Grand Final appearance for the much loved local Victorian team. Passions are running high. There has already been dispute over home town guernsey strips.  So there is no clash between the yellow strip on both teams jumpers the Crows wear their home strip and Richmond their away or clash football jumper , jersey , guernsey . For Richmond this means a yellow jumper with black sash which has made many Tigers fans irate. As founding members of the AFL Competition many believe they should wear their traditional strip and the Crows their away one.

Football Jumpers, Jerseys, Guernseys evoke passion, loyalty and love. Being stripped of their preferred jumper in this Saturday's big game may be just enough incentive for the tigers to push themselves across the line at the final siren and bring a much lauded victory home for their supporters.

The Victorians taking on the South Australians is another contentious battle and passions will be running high whoever you support. Fans everywhere will be dusting off their football jumpers, jerseys, guernseys

tigers vintage jumper

and getting along to the game, a bbq, their local pub or friends house to watch a much anticipated game.

AFL Footy Headlines  for this week include

fitzroy

Can Blues topple Collingwood monster ?
Why can't Saints win ?
Is Tigerland the new wowser state ?
How many Abletts do the Suns need to win ?
Is Giants a nickname for Midgets ?
Can Swans get another flag ?
Do the Lions have more ranga' s than any other AFL team ?
Have the Dogs lost their bite ?
What is the Kangaroos shinboner spirit ?
Will the Crows stop crowing ?
Why are Freo purple ?
Do Port  like their new footy jumper ?
Are West Coast Eagles  to be 2012 Premiers ?
Does anyone follow Melbourne anymore ?
Why are Essendon always so cocky ?

Are Geelong running on empty ?

Is there a Hawthorn without Buddy?

All will be revealed , as fans , watch the footy , in their football jumpers , jerseys , guernseys  .

Giving new meaning to the term " Football Jumper " , another former Brisbane Broncos,  star NRL player , has signed up to join the national AFL Competition in 2011.

Both Israel Folau and Karmichael Hunt have signed to play for Greater West Sydney and the Gold Coast respectively.

Hunt will finish his season with French rugby union in 2010 with Top 14 side Biarritz Olympique.

Young, dynamic and talented , the AFL's newest recruits will be used by the AFL as ambassadors to promote the Game .

Will these two " football jumpers ' ,  be able to successfully switch codes to play Australian Rules Football from playing National Rugby League ?

Time will tell .

Fans will be out to cheer the ' new boys',  in their  new teams , wearing their football jumpers , jerseys , guernseys.

Football Jumper

Today's Age Newspaper features an academic engineer researching the aerodynamics of sports balls including the Australian Rules Football .

He claims soccer balls are more reliable .

A comparison is made between the new World Cup Soccer Ball and the humble Australian Rules Football.

Simplistically, the soccer ball flies more accurately but not as far .

The Aussie Rules Footy travels further because of its " shell " shape.

The laces , bladder and stitching make the air flow around the AFL football asymmetrical giving it an unpredictable or erratic flight.

Ask any disappointed fan on game day or disgruntled full foward of any afl team about the Footy and its unreliable path .

Sherrin make the AFL's footballs

The AFL football has not changed its design in 40 years.

Fans and players alike will follow the Football whatever the shape or design of the ball.

Likewise they will wear their jumper , jersey, guernsey to the Game and will be loyal and vocal in their support.

Ross Faulkner Native Brand Vintage Football

older style

All are used to play Australian Rules  Football in.

The early design was wool with a button up front , peak collar and often sleeveless  .

They were called jumpers because thats what they were a jumper in team colours to play sport in , in this case afl football.

Embellishments such as numbers , team logo , league playing in eg; VFL were sewn onto jumper .

Later the jumpers became a wool acrylic mix often now with long sleeves and all of the above embellishments .

Sponsors logo's came along to boost clubs often ailing funds and wool had by now been totally replaced by acrylic.

Today it is hightech dri fit polyester that breathes . Manufactured fabric has replaced any natural fibres and the peak collar is gone along with any buttons . The long sleeve style is still available but with a few notable exceptions like Saints Stephen Milne and previous decade carlton player Steve Silvagni players wear the sleeveless style. These have ribbed armholes and v neckbands .

They are  brightly coloured with futuristic mascots , have sewn on makers logo tag to authenticate item and are plastered with sponsors logo's front and back . A big difference is these are all printed on and not sewn on as in yesteryear .Even the back number is imprinted with  an afl logo across bottom of the numbers. A modern work of art to differentiate it from the opposition and to attract as much sponsorship as is allowable these items are signed by players and auctioned by the clubs for vast sums of money  . Bearing litte resemblance to the older style jumper the old timers are still popular with historians ,collectors , traditionalists ,die hard fans and people who just want to have their own slice of the good old days .

The high tech polyester treatment has also extended to football shorts and socks again printed with team ,afl and sponsors logos . Todays football kit bears little resemblance to the old monoliths of the past .

modern guernsey

Mums everywhere are grateful that no longer do they a mass of muddy wet wool to wash on a saturday afternooon after the saturday morning game .