ABSTRACT
League and Union had chosen contrasting paths. The professional game recommended military training and encouraged their men to go to war, yet continued; the amateur game ceased competitions at all levels as energies were directed to the war effort. Within each code the absence of dissension was a striking feature which highlighted differences in the initial responses to the war on the home front. While there was almost unanimous support for the nation's cause and that of the empire, the working class did not share the single-mindedness advocated by middleclass patriots. In the years that followed, the subsequent actions of Australians would diverge even further. The football codes would reflect the strident middle-class view of loyalty to the Allied cause and workingclass disenchantment with conditions on the domestic scene.
