Defunct footy clubs in Melbourne

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Joe Mama said:
By the time when the Senior club was booted out for on-field behavior, there wasn't much of a link between the Junior & Senior Club because they played in different grounds (The Juniors played at Research Park, Research while the Seniors played on the back oval of Eltham Lower Park, which they shared with the Eltham Lacrosse Club), and they had an idiot element which lead to their demise as a Senior Club.

Lower Plenty filled the void and moved in to form a link with the Research Juniors when they joined the DVFL in 1995, and they've been a solid club in Division One ever since.

Their last game was a Reserves Grand Final in 1991, they were beaten by West Preston & although I was only a kid at the time, (I was there to support Mernda who won the Second Division Flag that year against West Preston at Epping), I remember the final being a bloodbath and the crowd got involved, so much so that the DVFL abandoned the trophy & flag presentation to avoid further trouble.

They were already on probation at the time for similar issues the previous year, so the DVFL booted them, when they folded, quite a few of the players & officials went to Panton Hill at the time (thankfully, the idiots didn't follow) who were then in the Yarra Valley Mountain District League, they were good for a couple of years then went back in the cellar before the Redbacks found a home in the DVFL in 1997
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Good to hear the actual story - heard a few blurred ones in my time. Never knew they played at the Lacrosse club either really interesting. Would be a great venue for a footy club these days with a revamped oval. Did they ever have senior success or not really?

Grew up playing footy at Research and followed the Lower Plenty mould initially as I moved into seniors but did not like the club, moved elsewhere but I think i'll give away my identity if I reveal that lol.
 
I played ammos for Ivanhoe for 17 years and also in the DVFL for juniors and 19s, so recognize many sides listed.

Glenhuntly is listed and thats an interesting one. IIRC they were Balaclava, then Glenhuntly, then merged with St Kilda CBC who had merged with Murrumbeena/Sth Caulfield to become St Kilda/South Caulfield.... and then became whats now Glen Eira. Thats some very creating merging!

We groundshared with Bellfield in the early 90's. They wore brown and red (or mud and blood as they professed) and am almost certain they were NOT in the VAFA....
Just down the road was West Ivanhoe who wore Royal Blue with a white V. Sadly they folded too, even if we did pick up a few of there players including a guy who become a club champion for us.
I played against Fawkner and they were a tough gig, but Heidelberg Colts was the longest day on a ground i've had. Wow....were they an angry mob!
 

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extractasam said:
Good to hear the actual story - heard a few blurred ones in my time. Never knew they played at the Lacrosse club either really interesting. Would be a great venue for a footy club these days with a revamped oval. Did they ever have senior success or not really?

Grew up playing footy at Research and followed the Lower Plenty mould initially as I moved into seniors but did not like the club, moved elsewhere but I think i'll give away my identity if I reveal that lol.
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Cheers mate, as I said, I was only a kid at the time and what of what I know about this was second hand info due to my family being heavily involved with Mernda (who played against Research for nearly all of it's time as a senior club), but that ground they had was a good one, and although it's used with Lower Eltham C.C & Eltham Lacrosse Club, it's a shame that there's no footy being played there.

Research, for most of it's time in the PHFL was a solid, but not spectacular club in the league until they beat Mernda twice in 1984 & 1985 to win their only two senior premierships, but theirs is a cautionary tale of not letting a dickhead element rot a club from within, because they would probably still be around if they nipped it in the bud.
 
Big Unit 30 said:
I played ammos for Ivanhoe for 17 years and also in the DVFL for juniors and 19s, so recognize many sides listed.

Glenhuntly is listed and thats an interesting one. IIRC they were Balaclava, then Glenhuntly, then merged with St Kilda CBC who had merged with Murrumbeena/Sth Caulfield to become St Kilda/South Caulfield.... and then became whats now Glen Eira. Thats some very creating merging!

We groundshared with Bellfield in the early 90's. They wore brown and red (or mud and blood as they professed) and am almost certain they were NOT in the VAFA....
Just down the road was West Ivanhoe who wore Royal Blue with a white V. Sadly they folded too, even if we did pick up a few of there players including a guy who become a club champion for us.
I played against Fawkner and they were a tough gig, but Heidelberg Colts was the longest day on a ground i've had. Wow....were they an angry mob!
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Bellfield went from the VAFA to the ESCFA (and then a short stint in the Melbourne North League at the end of the 1980s?) but I am not sure if they made it to the SFL when the Churches and the South East Suburban comps merged.
 
Joe Mama said:
Cheers mate, as I said, I was only a kid at the time and what of what I know about this was second hand info due to my family being heavily involved with Mernda (who played against Research for nearly all of it's time as a senior club), but that ground they had was a good one, and although it's used with Lower Eltham C.C & Eltham Lacrosse Club, it's a shame that there's no footy being played there.
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Do you happen to know if they were any clubs that used the ground in the mid 90's?
I swear I watched a family friend play there around 95-96 and for some reason I reckon he might've played for Templestowe back then?
 
Punt Road Feral said:
Do you happen to know if they were any clubs that used the ground in the mid 90's?
I swear I watched a family friend play there around 95-96 and for some reason I reckon he might've played for Templestowe back then?
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Unused for senior footy since around 1992 - been lacrosse only since that time.

Tempy moved to the Eastern Districts in 1991
 
MortlockWatcher said:
I have a one copy of the ESCFA Record from each season from 1985-88 and it is a passing parade of defunct clubs.

All the member clubs from this period are as follows:

Five Grades - 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988


Ashburton (1985 - C)
Chadstone Salesians (1985 - E)
Ashburton/Chadstone (1986-88 - D)

Aquinas (1985-86 - B)
went to VAFA and currently play in D3

Balwyn Combined (1985 - C; 1986-87 - B; 1988 - A)
went to EDFL in 1994(?) and folded after that season

Bellfield (1987-88 - E)

Bentleigh (1985-88 - B)

Black Rock (1985 - C)
are they connected to the current SFL club?

Blackburn North Burners (1985-88 - E)

Box Hill Adelphians (1985 - C; 1986 - D; 1987-88 - E)
Did they become Camberwell Power(?) ex-SFL club

Box Hill North (1985-86, 1988 - D; 1987- C)
currently in VAFA D4

Box Hill Pioneers (1985-1986, 1988 - B; 1987- A)
became Whitehorse Pioneers and currently play in EFL Div. 3

Brighton (1985-88 - B)

Burwood United (1985-88 - A)

Canterbury/North Balwyn (1985, 1987-88 - B; 1986 - C)

Caulfield (1985-88 - E)

Cheltenham Assumption (1985 - A; 1986 - B; 1987 - C)

Clayton Saints (1985-86, 1988 - E; 1987 - D)

Collingwood (1987 - E; 1988 - D)

Dandenong South (1987 - D; 1988 - C)
current day Dandenong SFL Div. 3 (?)

Dandenong West (1987-88 - E)
current day Dandenong SFL Div. 3 (?)

Donvale United (1985-88 - A)
went to EDFL Div. 3 in 1991 and rose to Div. 1. In recess in 2014 and now play in Div. 4

East Bentleigh (1985 , 1987-88 - D; 1986 - E)

East Camberwell (1985-87 - A; 1988- B)
merged with Surrey Hills EDFL as Surrey Park. Playing in Div. 4

East Malvern (1985-87 - E)

Elsternwick (1985-86, 1988 - C; 1987 - B)

Emmanuel (1985 - A; 1986-88 - B)

Fairfield (1987-88 - D)
went to SFL and then to DVFL as Fairfield Park

Gardenvale (1985-87 - D; 1988 - C)

Glen Waverley (1985-87 - B; 1988 - C)

Glenhuntly S.A. (1985 - D; 1986-88 - C)

Hampton United (1985-88 - A)
now Hampton SFL Div. 2 (?)

Hartwell (1985, 1988 - D; 1986-87 - E)

Hawthorn Y.C. (1985 - E; 1986-88 - D)

Highfield (1985-86 - C; 1987-88 - D)

Koonung (1985 - D; 1986 - C)

Knox (1985 - E; 1986-88 - D)
currently in EFL Div. 1

Lower Plenty (1986 - D; 1987- C; 1988 - B)
played in SFL before moving to DVFL in 1995. Now plays in Div. 1 ofNFL

Mazenod (1985, 1988 - B; 1986-87 - A)
now in VAFA and currently play in B Section

Mt. Waverley (1985 - B; 1986-88 - C)
now plays in Div. 3 SFL

Moorabbin West (1986-88 - E)
now plays in Div. 3 SFL as Moorabbin

Murrumbeena/Sth Caulfield (1985-86 - C; 1987-88 - B)
part of the current day Glen Eira (D3 VAFA)?

Noble Park Bears (1985, 1987-88 - C; 1986 - B)
later played in EDFL as Noble Park Bears, folded c.mid-1990s

North Blackburn (1985-88 - E)

Oakleigh Scared Heart (1985-88 - A)

Richmond Amateurs (1987-88 - D)

Ringwood (1985-87 - E)
South Ringwood (1988 - E)

St Kevin's Ormond (1985-86 - B; 1987-88 - A)

St Leo's/Wattle Park (1985-88 - A)
ent to VAFA and now play as Emmaus St.Leo's in D3

St Mary's (1985-86 - A; 1987-88 - B)

St Pats/Mentone (1985-88 - C)
ex-YCWNFA team, later merged with Parkdale and are currently playing as Parkdale Vultures in VAFA B Section

St Paul's Bentleigh (1985 - B; 1986-88 - A)
went to SFL and currently play in Div. 1

Salvation Army (1986 - E)
Salvo Saints (1987 - D; 1988 - E)

Sandringham Sacred Heart (1985-86, 1988 - D; 1987 - E)

South Yarra (1985-87 - D; 1988 - E)
current South Yarra SFL Div. 3(?)

Springvale (1985 - D; 1986-88 - C)
Springvale Districts - currently in SFL Div.2(?)

Syndal-Tally Ho (1985-86, 1988 - A; 1987 - B)
now Chadstone VAFA in D4

Wattle Park (1985-87 - C; 1988 - B)
later merged with Doncaster East EDFL

West Ivanhoe (1986 - D; 1987-88 - C)
ex-YCWNFA?

Wonga Park (1985 - C)
moved to EDFL, renamed Croydon North and folded c.1990s - plays as a Veterans club now
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East Bentleigh later merged with St Pauls to become the current St Pauls East Bentleigh FC

Mt Waverley in the 80's was Mt Waverley FC that merged with Burwood and then later Waverley FC to formed the current Waverley Blues FC.

The current Mt Waverley in the SFL was the former Mt Waverley Catholics FC.

Parkmore Pirates is a another club not on the list that went under in the mid 2000s.
 
MortlockWatcher said:
I believe that the Richmond team from the YCW comp. has a connection to Richmond Rosellas and Fairfield from the VAFA ended up in the DVFL as Fairfield Park. You'd be thinking of Box Hill Adelphians, but I am not sure what they became.
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A huge flock of the Rosellas ended up at Central Land (Richmond Central Snakes VAFA) in the 90s.
 
In the early 80's I played footy for Carlton Rovers the club reformed then and we played in the Preston Junior league against sides Heidelberg Colts, Bellfield & Regent Scouts it was a very tough comp, I can remember meeting at the Rising Sun Hotel and having a couple of beers before the game. After a couple of years the club folded and most of us returned to our old clubs.
 

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I played VAFA during the 1980s and 1990s so remember some of the teams mentioned.

One was State Bank (who are mentioned) which "merged" with Commonwealth Bank around 1990 when the actual State Bank of Victoria was sold off to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (that's one way to get two clubs together). Both clubs played at different grounds at Albert Park - one on the eastern side of the lake and the other on the western side.

I also worked with some blokes in the Victorian Public Service who had played with the Public Service team during the 1960s. I think they played in a Wednesday afternoon workplace competition but may have also played earlier in the VAFA or the Metropolitan League.
 
Reekoe said:
Who were South Ringwood? Did they play on the other ground at Jubilee Park or Gracedale Park in Heathmont/Bayswater maybe? I was an East Ringwood kid in those days, I should know this!!!
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I remember playing South Ringwood years ago. They wore Footscray jumpers and played at the footy ground that was out the front of the area the RIngwood baseball club played. Not far from the Ringwood golf course. Where the footy ground was is now taken up by Ringwood baseball club's newer main diamond.
 
Big Unit 30 said:
I played ammos for Ivanhoe for 17 years and also in the DVFL for juniors and 19s, so recognize many sides listed.

Glenhuntly is listed and thats an interesting one. IIRC they were Balaclava, then Glenhuntly, then merged with St Kilda CBC who had merged with Murrumbeena/Sth Caulfield to become St Kilda/South Caulfield.... and then became whats now Glen Eira. Thats some very creating merging!

We groundshared with Bellfield in the early 90's. They wore brown and red (or mud and blood as they professed) and am almost certain they were NOT in the VAFA....
Just down the road was West Ivanhoe who wore Royal Blue with a white V. Sadly they folded too, even if we did pick up a few of there players including a guy who become a club champion for us.
I played against Fawkner and they were a tough gig, but Heidelberg Colts was the longest day on a ground i've had. Wow....were they an angry mob!
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I was a boundary umpire in the ESCFA in the early 90's and umpired at Bellfield (brown with red V) against Box Hill Adelphians, which was akin to Hells Angels v Salvation Army.

Dandy West I'm pretty sure was around but I definitely ran at Mt Waverley Catholics.

Wattle Park looked for a junior club to align with for a while and in my time looked to join forces with Park Orchards JFC, who later merged with North Ringwood Parish JFC.
 
Punt Road Feral said:
Do you happen to know if they were any clubs that used the ground in the mid 90's?
I swear I watched a family friend play there around 95-96 and for some reason I reckon he might've played for Templestowe back then?
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Both Eltham & Templestowe have used the Lower Eltham park at times due to renovations at their home grounds. Can't recall the exact years.
 
Joe Mama said:
Keon Park (YCWFL & Panton Hill FL), Black with a Gold Yoke, folded in 1988 after winning the last PHFL Premiership in 1987
St George/Reservoir (Ended up in the Panton Hill League in 1981 & folded in 1983).
Thornbury (Royal Blue & Red stripes, ended up in the Diamond Valley F.L, but folded in 1990).
North Fawkner (It's last league was the Riddell League, where they were whipping boys, folded around the mid 90's).
Fawkner Park (A merger between Fawkner Amateurs & Moomba Park, wore Navy with light blue wings like the west coast eagles, with a white FFC logo, merged with North Coburg to be the Northern Saints in the EDFL in the mid 00's).
Carrum has reemerged as Carrum/Patterson Lakes in the Southern FL, wearing the 1957-1973 style Fitzroy jumpers.
The current Reservoir Football Club was in the Metropolitan League but moved to the Panton Hill FL in 1971, then to the DVFL in 1981, before they changed their colours to Royal & Light Blue, they wore Red with a White Yoke.
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In the Keon Park Junior era, who had the great Black and Gold Yoke jumper, there were some teams with some great names. Preston Swimmers (Garry Wilson Fitzroy Champ played there), Opportunity FC (Denis Banks) Preston RSL (Daics), Reservoir RSL, North Reservoir, Keon Park Stars (Tony and the other Shaws) Keon Park (Des Herbert Fitzroy), Preston Wanderers, Kingsbury.
 
MortlockWatcher said:
I think it was called the Victorian Public Service Football League from memory. Graeme Anderson wrote a book about it during the 1980s. Pretty sure they didn't have a team in the Ammos.
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I have a copy of a book "History of the Victorian Public Service Football Association" written by Dennis Porter. This comp ran from 1964-1983 but never included a State Bank team. It had 18 clubs over its lifetime with a maximum 10 in any one year. Public Works, Premiers (Dept.), State Insurance & Government Printers were mainstays of the comp with Public Works & Premiers each winning 6 flags.
 
Have several fixture books from the early 90s for the FDFL (now WRFL) and its amazing how quickly clubs come and go. This all happened in a 15-20 year period, showing the incredible change that has occurred in the western region. Thankfully the WRFL is growing again. Some of those listed who are no longer around are:

Altona North Brooklyn Youth (ANBY) Black / Gold sash, only had a senior team for 2 years, folded late 90s;
Ascot Vale (ex-EDFL) Black / Red sash, folded late 90s
Braybrook YCW (ex YCWNFL), Maroon, Gold 'V', folded early 90s
Brooklyn went to SFL in mid 2000s before folding (ex Wembley Park????)
Brunswick Amateurs (ex-VAFA), Red & White stripes, folded around 2000
Brunswick Power, Red,Yellow & Black, expelled in 2007 & folded, forerunner to current Fitzroy Stars (NFL) ???
Central Altona (ex WSFL), Black, Yellow Yoke, expelled for behaviour 2007
East Brunswick (ex-??), Black & White stripes, folded late 90s
Fawkner Amateurs (Ex-VAFA), Navy, Light blue, with white monogram, became Fawkner Park, moving to EDFL around 2000
Flemington (ex-YCWNFL), Royal Blue, Gold sash, folded around 2003
Gladsone Park (ex EDFL), blue & red stripes, folded 2007
Kealba Green Gully, Bottle Green, white 'V', folded early 2000s
Kensington Hill (Hammerheads), folded 2002
Kingsville, Navy Blue, gold sash became Yarraville (not associated with former VFA side), eventually merging with Seddon in 2008
Newlands Coburg (ex-VAFA), Royal Blue, Red Yoke, folded early 90s
Newport, Maroon, Gold 'V', expelled behaviour late 90s
Newport East (ex Newport YCW, YCWNFL) Black, white monogram, folded late 1980s
North Essendon derived from Ess.High School Ex-Students (ex-EDFL), folded late 90s
North Melbourne & Kensington, Blue,White sash, expelled behaviour late 90s
RAAF Melbourne, Royal Blue & Gold, folded early 90s
Sandridge (ex-VAFA), White, Red Yoke, folded early 90s
Seddon, Brown & Gold stripes, merged with Yarraville 2008
St.Albans South (WSFL) folded early 80s
Sunshine VRI, Footscray jumpers, folded early 90s
Wembley Park, Maroon, White 'V', folded late 90s
West Newport (ex-WSFL), red & blue stripes, folded early 2000s
Williamstown United, formerly W'Town Methodists, became Hobsons Bay, Blue, gold sash, folded late 90s
 
Dogs till i die said:
Have several fixture books from the early 90s for the FDFL (now WRFL) and its amazing how quickly clubs come and go. This all happened in a 15-20 year period, showing the incredible change that has occurred in the western region. Thankfully the WRFL is growing again. Some of those listed who are no longer around are:

Altona North Brooklyn Youth (ANBY) Black / Gold sash, only had a senior team for 2 years, folded late 90s;
Ascot Vale (ex-EDFL) Black / Red sash, folded late 90s
Braybrook YCW (ex YCWNFL), Maroon, Gold 'V', folded early 90s
Brooklyn went to SFL in mid 2000s before folding (ex Wembley Park????)
Brunswick Amateurs (ex-VAFA), Red & White stripes, folded around 2000
Brunswick Power, Red,Yellow & Black, expelled in 2007 & folded, forerunner to current Fitzroy Stars (NFL) ???
Central Altona (ex WSFL), Black, Yellow Yoke, expelled for behaviour 2007
East Brunswick (ex-??), Black & White stripes, folded late 90s
Fawkner Amateurs (Ex-VAFA), Navy, Light blue, with white monogram, became Fawkner Park, moving to EDFL around 2000
Flemington (ex-YCWNFL), Royal Blue, Gold sash, folded around 2003
Gladsone Park (ex EDFL), blue & red stripes, folded 2007
Kealba Green Gully, Bottle Green, white 'V', folded early 2000s
Kensington Hill (Hammerheads), folded 2002
Kingsville, Navy Blue, gold sash became Yarraville (not associated with former VFA side), eventually merging with Seddon in 2008
Newlands Coburg (ex-VAFA), Royal Blue, Red Yoke, folded early 90s
Newport, Maroon, Gold 'V', expelled behaviour late 90s
Newport East (ex Newport YCW, YCWNFL) Black, white monogram, folded late 1980s
North Essendon derived from Ess.High School Ex-Students (ex-EDFL), folded late 90s
North Melbourne & Kensington, Blue,White sash, expelled behaviour late 90s
RAAF Melbourne, Royal Blue & Gold, folded early 90s
Sandridge (ex-VAFA), White, Red Yoke, folded early 90s
Seddon, Brown & Gold stripes, merged with Yarraville 2008
St.Albans South (WSFL) folded early 80s
Sunshine VRI, Footscray jumpers, folded early 90s
Wembley Park, Maroon, White 'V', folded late 90s
West Newport (ex-WSFL), red & blue stripes, folded early 2000s
Williamstown United, formerly W'Town Methodists, became Hobsons Bay, Blue, gold sash, folded late 90s
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Few clubs expelled for behaviour. What was the story with them?
 
mikey127 said:
Few clubs expelled for behaviour. What was the story with them?
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Brunswick Power were expelled not so much for behaviour but because of their uncompetitiveness often turning up with only 25-30 players to cover both teams. To their credit I don't think they ever forfeited in either 1's or 2's. From memory (might be wrong here) they were an aboriginal based team with limited numbers and resources and for that reason the WRFL were concerned but were convinced to accept them by AFL Victoria. Lasted 3-4 seasons.

North Melbourne / Kensington were poorly ran in the end, lacked discipline although were pretty successful in Division 1 for a time. Several nasty incidents in their juniors and in a senior final brought about their demise. Re-formed for a 2nd time but didn't last.

Central Altona / Newport were in areas of changing demographics and let's just say they had cultural issues that couldn't be overcome. Newport have re-formed and this year are fielding senior teams in Divvy 3 and are currently in the top 2 or 3. Look to have a promising future with good people at the top. Being coached by Mark Williams, ex Hawthorn / Essendon forward.
 

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Defunct footy clubs in Melbourne

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