Yarraville Football Club

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This article is about the Australian rules football club. For the Soccer club, see Yarraville FC.
Not to be confused with Yarraville Seddon Football Club.

Yarraville
Names
Full nameYarraville Football Club
Nickname(s)Villains, Eagles
Club details
Founded1903
Dissolved1984; 40 years ago (1984)
Colours   
CompetitionVFJA (1903–1927)
VFA (1928–1984)
PremiershipsVFA (2)
VJFA (7)
Ground(s)Yarraville Oval
Uniforms
Home

Yarraville Football Club was an Australian rules football club founded in 1903 and played in the VJFA until 1927. In 1928, the club joined the Victorian Football Association where it played until 1984 when the club went into recess. The club's home ground, Yarraville Oval, is now used by the Yarraville Seddon Eagles, but the modern-day club is not considered part of the Yarraville Football Club lineage.[1]

History

The VJFA years (1903–1927)

Yarraville Football Club was formed on April 1, 1903. It then joined the Victorian Junior Football Association, where it was highly successful. Between 1905 and 1913, the club missed the Grand Final only once, and won a total of four premierships: in 1905,[2] 1908,[3] 1909[4] and 1912.[5] The 1912 premiership came after a controversial final: Yarraville had lost to Port Melbourne Railway United by three points, but protested that the goal umpire had erred in awarding one of Railway's goals in the second quarter; the protest was upheld and the game was awarded to Yarraville. Railway was the minor premier and still had the right to challenge for the premiership, but declined to challenge as its own act of protest, resulting in Yarraville winning the premiership.

Yarraville won three more premierships during its time in the association – in 1920,[6] and back-to-back in 1925[7] and 1926.[8] Overall, it won seven premierships – the most of any club in the Association's history – and finished runners up six times in its 25 years in the competition. It was also the only two-time outright winner of the John Wren Shield, a perpetual premiership trophy which was awarded annually to the VJFA premiers, then permanently to the first team to win it three times; the club received the shield in 1909 and 1926.

The VFA years (1928–1984)

Yarraville joined the VFA senior competition in 1928. Prior to the season, the club merged with the neighbouring VJFA rival, the Kingsville Football Club.[9] In 1935 the club won its first VFA grand final. Its next VFA grand final win was in 1961 the same year the VFA added a division 2. By the mid 70s the club had been relegated to the 2nd division and in 1976 finished last on the ladder. The club struggled for support in Division 2, and in the mid-1970s when Association-wide crowds were averaging more than 4,500, Yarraville still seldom drew more than 1,000 fans to games.[10]

The club's on-field position improved in 1977 thanks to a big sponsorship deal, and Yarraville finished on top of the ladder, but was unable to win the grand final. Yarraville remained a top side in 2nd division until 1980, but its form deteriorated dramatically thereafter. The club moved from Yarraville Oval to Western Oval in 1983, but won only one game across all three grades in the season. Seeing no prospects for lasting viability, the VFA withdrew Yarraville's playing licence in January 1984.[11]

Present day

Kingsville and Yarraville Seddon Eagles (1996–)

In 1996, Kingsville Football Club in the Western Region Football League took over Yarraville Oval and subsequently changed its name to Yarraville, later merging with nearby Seddon to form the Yarraville Seddon Eagles in 2006. While the current-day Eagles acknowledge the history of the Yarraville Football Club, the original Yarraville is not considered its predecessor club.[1]

Premierships

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yarraville Football Club.
  1. ^ a b "History". Yarraville Seddon Eagles. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  2. ^ "V.J.F.A. premiership". The Age. Melbourne. 18 September 1905. p. 9.
  3. ^ "Football – Junior premiership". The Argus. Melbourne. 5 October 1908. p. 8.
  4. ^ "Football – Victorian Junior Association". The Argus. Melbourne. 27 September 1909. p. 5.
  5. ^ "Junior premiership". The Argus. Melbourne. 25 September 1912. p. 11.
  6. ^ "Junior Association". The Argus. Melbourne. 27 September 1920. p. 11.
  7. ^ "Football – Port Juniors lose Grand Final". The Record. Melbourne. 10 October 1925. p. 2.
  8. ^ "Victorian Juniors' Grand Final". The Age. Melbourne. 4 October 1926. p. 17.
  9. ^ Onlooker (23 April 1928). "Association – keen interest shown". The Argus. Melbourne. p. 7.
  10. ^ Marc Fiddian (25 June 1976). "Crowds up at VFA". The Age. Melbourne. p. 23.
  11. ^ Marc Fiddian (26 January 1984). "Yarraville axed". The Age. Melbourne. p. 30.
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