Hawthorn Oval
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Hawthorn Oval, Adelaide, Australia — opened Not confirmed in sources checked, 1 rugby league games hosted, home of Not confirmed; no source identifies a permanent club based at this ground.
Sourcing caveat: No opening date, name history, home club, capacity, floodlighting, or surface information for this ground was found in sources checked, so these are omitted rather than guessed.
Ground facts
| Opened | Not confirmed in sources checked (Not to be confused with the separate Hawthorn Oval (St James Park) in Melbourne, Victoria — this is a different ground in Adelaide, South Australia, confirmed by cross-checking both matches recorded there against South Australian rugby league history sources.) |
| Home club | Not confirmed; no source identifies a permanent club based at this ground |
| Games hosted (rugby league, on record) | 1 |
| Top recorded crowd | 2,500 |
| Capacity | Not confirmed; only match attendance figures are documented (2,500 in 1914 and 4,000 in 1948) |
| Floodlights installed | Not confirmed in sources checked |
| Surface | Grass (presumed; not explicitly confirmed) |
| Years used | 1914 |
| Location | Adelaide, South Australia |
Name history
- Hawthorn Oval — the only name found in sources checked
Rugby league history
Hawthorn Oval hosted the first-ever rugby league match played in South Australia, on 24 May 1914, during the Great Britain Lions tour of Australia: the touring Northern Union side demolished a South Australian representative team 101-0 in front of 2,500 fans, reflecting the vast gulf between the code's elite and its brand-new presence in the state. The same ground later hosted a second rugby league fixture on 11 August 1948, when Australia beat South Australia 96-5 (attendance 4,000) during a Kangaroos tour, underlining its occasional role as South Australia's home for representative rugby league in the sport's early years there.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
← Rugby League · Champions list · All-time records · Grand Final results · World Cup · All competitions · Teams · Players