Here is one possible reason:
Six clubs broke away from the VFA in 1896: Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong, Melbourne and South Melbourne. Carlton were invited to join because they had a decent home ground. St Kilda? Probably so they had two teams south of the Yarra, but I suspect a consideration was having an even number of teams.
After University left the competition after 1914, the competition had nine teams, but some were in recess until 1919 due the the war, so the odd number wasn't felt. After six years of nine teams, the desire for an even number of teams was the reason why Footscray, Hawthorn and North Melbourne were invited to join in 1924, with the first season 1925. Originally the VFL was only going to invite Footscray, but Hawthorn and North Melbourne were included as well. This was perhaps a mistake IMO, as the fixture for 12 teams was mostly an unbalanced one over 18 rounds for decades, and a complete 22-round season wasn't introduced until 1972.
An odd number of teams is always awkward due to the byes. I have previously demonstrated an arrangement where every team of a 19-team competition had two byes in a 21-round season and played other teams only once. However, there will be a strong incentive to make the numbers even. This will most likely be the introduction of a 20th team.
Where would a 20th team be based? My guess is northern Australia, with a team that I call the "Northern Australian Rovers": a team with no fixed home ground, but plays its home games in northern Queensland (Cairns) and the Northern Territory (Darwin and Adelaide). "Rovers" has a double meaning here: it's a playing position, and is also occasionally used for a team without a fixed home ground. I expect the AFL would meet some of the cost of fielding such a team.
Another possibility is as Deja suggested, a team that plays out of the ACT. The problem with a Canberra team is finding a good nickname because many good ones are already taken.
Six clubs broke away from the VFA in 1896: Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong, Melbourne and South Melbourne. Carlton were invited to join because they had a decent home ground. St Kilda? Probably so they had two teams south of the Yarra, but I suspect a consideration was having an even number of teams.
After University left the competition after 1914, the competition had nine teams, but some were in recess until 1919 due the the war, so the odd number wasn't felt. After six years of nine teams, the desire for an even number of teams was the reason why Footscray, Hawthorn and North Melbourne were invited to join in 1924, with the first season 1925. Originally the VFL was only going to invite Footscray, but Hawthorn and North Melbourne were included as well. This was perhaps a mistake IMO, as the fixture for 12 teams was mostly an unbalanced one over 18 rounds for decades, and a complete 22-round season wasn't introduced until 1972.
An odd number of teams is always awkward due to the byes. I have previously demonstrated an arrangement where every team of a 19-team competition had two byes in a 21-round season and played other teams only once. However, there will be a strong incentive to make the numbers even. This will most likely be the introduction of a 20th team.
Where would a 20th team be based? My guess is northern Australia, with a team that I call the "Northern Australian Rovers": a team with no fixed home ground, but plays its home games in northern Queensland (Cairns) and the Northern Territory (Darwin and Adelaide). "Rovers" has a double meaning here: it's a playing position, and is also occasionally used for a team without a fixed home ground. I expect the AFL would meet some of the cost of fielding such a team.
Another possibility is as Deja suggested, a team that plays out of the ACT. The problem with a Canberra team is finding a good nickname because many good ones are already taken.
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