The schism began in 1938, when the VFA introduced several rule changes, including legalising throwing of the football in general play.
The changes helped to speed up the game, and promoted more run-and-carry play in an era which had previously been dominated by a long kicking style.
Throughout the 1940s, the VFL and VFA worked towards ending the schism, as they both believed that a single controlling body playing under a uniform set of rules was in the best interests of football as a whole.
[18] Port Adelaide secretary Charles Hayter commented that by encouraging more play along the boundary lines, the rules brought the action closer to the spectators.
[34] South Australian sportswriter Steve McKee feared that allowing the throw-pass would rob the game of its individuality, which could affect its ability to compete with and distinguish itself from rival sports in the long term; and that the game would become dominated by smaller, faster players, making it impossible for larger or slower players to have a successful top-level career.
[36] A statistical analysis of the 1938 VFA Grand Final between Brunswick and Brighton was published and compared with the averages from ten VFL matches around the same time to illustrate the effect that the rule changes had on making the game more non-stop.
[6] The new rules generated the interest of other competitions, and to promote its new code, VFA teams played exhibition matches, including in Geelong, Camperdown and Frankston.
[48] Interest in the new code spread, and by 1939 the Bairnsdale and Bruthen District League[49] and the Hume Highway Football Association[50] had adopted the rules.
Tasmanian administrators had long advocated introducing throwing the ball, having unsuccessfully raised the motion at several ANFC meetings since 1911,[14][54][55] so that there was interest in the new code in Tasmania was natural.
The delegates from New South Wales and Canberra were concerned that the change would make the game unable to distinguish itself from the rival rugby codes which were popular in their regions; and Victoria and Western Australia were strongly opposed, believing it would take the difficulty and skill out of the game; South Australia, which had expressed favour for the throw-pass, also declined to second the motion, preferring to see the rule in action in the VFA for at least another year before making a commitment.
[61] The change to the out-of-bounds rule in the national code is often considered to have brought an end to the era of dominant full-forwards which had existed during the 1930s: century goalkickers such as Gordon Coventry and Bob Pratt in the VFL, Frank Seymour in the VFA, Ken Farmer in South Australia, and George Doig in Western Australia had been common during the 1930s, but they were decidedly less common over the next thirty years, generally put down to the fact that play could be more safely directed along the boundary lines, bringing the forward pockets and half-forward flankers into play and resulting in a wider spread of goalkickers.
[62] In spite of this, the four VFA seasons played between 1939 and 1945 under throw-pass rules featured some of the most dominant goalkicking displays by full-forwards in the game's history.
The 1931 agreement was more extensive than simply covering permit reciprocity; it was intended to foster co-operation between the two competitions, and provide somewhat unified control of football in Victoria.
[8] With the agreement terminated, clubs now had the freedom to recruit players from the VFL to the VFA, and vice versa, without clearances and would have no fear of legal recourse.
There were four particularly significant transfers involving superstar players: Other notable VFL players to switch to the VFA, with or without clearances, were: Nash, Pratt, Todd, Fothergill, Vallence, Titus, Matthews, both Collier brothers, and Roy Cazaly (who played a few games for Camberwell at age 48 while he was there as coach in 1941)[113] are all inductees in the Australian Football Hall of Fame, with Pratt and Cazaly recognised in the Legend category.
[114] Although World War II began in September 1939, its impact on football was not substantially felt until 1942, when most suburban and country leagues went into recess.
The VFL and VFA both intended to continue operating into the 1942 season;[115] but on 20 April, only a couple of weeks out from the opening round, the VFA decided to cancel the season, citing the unavailability of grounds (many were being used to support the war effort), the lack of players due to enlistments, and the lack of committeemen due to the increased workload required to support the war effort.
[117] The VFL continued to stage its premiership uninterrupted throughout the war, with the only exception being that Geelong was unable to compete in 1942 and 1943 due to travel restrictions.
[122] After the war-time hiatus, the VFA clubs had less money to offer star players, and so many opted to take the opportunity to return to the VFL.
[137] Organisationally, by the end of the 1940s the Association employed a full-time secretary and managed a players provident fund, none of which existed prior to the throw-pass era.
The lack of a united front made it difficult to effectively promote the game in New South Wales and Queensland – where rugby was more popular – or to defend Victoria from other football codes, particularly as the trafficking of players from one body by the other was undermining public opinion.
The VFA stated on several occasions that it was prepared to "sink its identity" into the VFL if its clubs were given the opportunity to contest the Victorian senior premiership.
[151] However, the two bodies never agreed to terms, with a number of sticking points preventing a compromise: Although at times the VFL and VFA executive committees made progress on negotiations, both bodies required constitutional changes to be ratified by a vote of their club delegates; even if the committees had agreed to an amalgamation, there is no guarantee that the clubs would have voted in favour.
[155] As an alternative to amalgamation, it was thought that a new single control council could be established to manage football in Victoria, which would answerable to the ANFC and which would comprise delegates from the VFL and VFA as well as schools and junior competitions.
Although the Association's rules were played only by very small leagues in Tasmania after the war, they were still important in off-field control discussions during the late 1940s.
[159] The northern leagues were ultimately unsuccessful in establishing a council, and did not follow through with their threat; the TANFL continued to serve as Tasmania's sole voice on the ANFC, although its relationship with the NTFA and NWFU improved in the early 1950s.
The ANFC had a revived enthusiasm for spreading Australian rules football to other parts of Australia and the world, as it saw a strong opportunity at that time to promote the game in the United States of America.
ANFC president Walter Stooke called in 1948 upon the old adage that "a house divided against itself is easiest upset" when describing the importance of reunification.
[169] This gave the VFA a formal say in the control and administration of Australian football at the national level, and made Victoria the only state represented by two delegates on the council.
At the same time, the end of petrol rationing in 1950 and increased affordability of motor cars during the 1950s freed up suburban dwellers for other activities, or to attend VFL matches, on Saturday afternoons, and the introduction of television to Australia in the late 1950s affected attendances at the social nights which were vital for VFA clubs' finances at the time.