Albury & District Football League
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The Albury & District Football League was established at a delegates meeting in Culcairn in 1930 from the following Australian Rules Football clubs – Albury Rovers, Culcairn, Henty and Holbrook[1] and folded after the 1957 football season.
The Albury & District Football League was established at a delegates meeting in Culcairn in 1930 from the following Australian Rules Football clubs – Albury Rovers, Culcairn, Henty and Holbrook. The first season saw 12 games played, plus semi finals and a grand final which was won by Henty.
Brocklesby had a famous grand final victory over Henty to win the 1939 Albury & District Football League premiership after Wally Crooks kicked a goal after the siren, from a free kick to win by two points, under captain / coach, Jim Steigenberger.[2] Henty then lodged an appeal to the Albury & DFL, which was defeated then appealed to the Murray District Football Council,[3] which was then upheld,[4] awarding the premiership to Henty. Brocklesby then appealed that decision to the Victorian Country Football League, which was up held, allowing Brocklesby to finally be declared the 1939 premiers.[5] Brocklesby's full forward, Shadrach "Shady" James kicked 82 goals in the home and away series[6] plus 16 goals in the finals, for a total of 98 goals in 17 games in 1939.
In August 1943, Mr. A D S Vivian, the league's foundation president from 1930 to 1935 died in Sydney. Vivian was the driving force behind the Albury Rovers FC and a former club president too. He was the vice president of the NSW branch of the National Football League.[7]
In 1950 the Albury & District Football League introduced a Reserve Grade Competition,[8]
North Melbourne visited Bolton Park, Wagga in 1952 and defeated a combined Albury & DFL side,[9] with North's Jock Spencer kicking 18 goals.[10]
The 1952 A&DFL Reserves competition was divided into two division – North (Wagga) and South (Albury).[11]
Culcairn's Henry "Splinter" Liston licked 91 goals in the 1953 home and away series, plus 8 more in the finals, to finish on 99 goals![12]
In June 1954 the Albury & DFL played an inter-league match against the South Western DFL at Wagga, resulting in a win to Albury & DFL, 12.20 – 92 to 10.7 – 67.[13][14]
Culcairn's Henry "Splinter" Liston kicked 102 goals in 1954, which included the finals series.[15]
In 1955, Ron Clegg was captain-coach of the North Wagga Football Club in the Albury & DFL,[16] winning the £50 – Border Mail Newspaper / Albury & DFL Footballer of the Year Award, before returning to South Melbourne in 1956.[17]
In 1957 the Farrer Football League was first formed as a breakaway from the Albury & District Football League. Culcairn, Henty, Holbrook and Mangoplah-Cookardinia United competed in the first season. In 1958 all remaining clubs from the Albury & District Football League moved across to the Farrer Football League.
Clubs
Final
| Club | Jumper | Nickname | Home Ground | Former League | Est. | Years in comp | SFNL/SESFL Senior Premierships | Fate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Most recent | ||||||||
| Junee | .svg) |
Bulldogs | Laurie Daley Oval, Junee | WSFL | 1919 | 1957 | 0 | - | Moved to Farrer FL following 1957 season |
| Lockhart |  |
Bombers | Lockhart Recreation Ground, Lockhart | CRFL | 1898 | 1957 | 0 | - | Moved to Farrer FL following 1957 season |
| North Wagga |  |
Saints | McPherson Oval, North Wagga Wagga | – | 1957 | 1957 | 0 | - | Moved to Farrer FL following 1957 season |
| The Rock | Victoria Park, The Rock | TR&DFL, CRFL | c.1920s | 1939-1940, 1948-1957 | 0 | - | Moved to Farrer FL following 1957 season | ||
| Wagga |  |
Tigers | Robertson Oval, Wagga Wagga | WAFL | 1928 | 1949-1957[18] | 1 | 1957 | Moved to Farrer FL following 1957 season |
| Yerong Creek |  |
Magpies | Yerong Creek Sports Ground, Yerong Creek | CRFL | c.1910s | 1956-1957 | 0 | - | Moved to Farrer FL following 1957 season |
Former
| Club | Jumper | Nickname | Home Ground | Former League | Est. | Years in comp | SFNL/SESFL Senior Premierships | Fate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Most recent | ||||||||
| Albury Rovers | Rovers | T&DFA, C&DFA | 1926 | 1930-1937, 1946 | 1 | 1933 | Played in Chiltern & District FA between 1938-40. Merged with East Albury to form East Albury Rovers following 1946 season[19] | ||
| Brocklesby |  |
Kangaroos | Brocklesby Recreation Reserve, Brocklesby | C&DFL, CHFA | 1907 | 1931-1932, 1935-1940 | 1 | 1939 | Played in Central Hume FA between 1933-34. Moved to Hume FL following WWII |
| Cookardinia | TR&DFL | 1934-1954 | 0 | - | Merged with Mangoplah to form Mangoplah-Cookardinia United following 1954 season[20] | ||||
| Culcairn |  |
Lions | Culcairn Sportsground, Culcairn | RFA | 1895 | 1930-1956 | 3 | 1952, 1953, 1954 | Formed Farrer FL following 1956 season |
| East Albury Rovers | – | 1947 | 1947 | 0 | - | Moved to Hume FL following 1947 season[21] | |||
| Henty | .svg) |
Swans, Swampies | Henty Showground, Henty | RFA | 1895 | 1930-1956 | 3 | 1930, 1935, 1937 | Formed Farrer FL following 1956 season |
| Holbrook | .svg) |
Brookers | Holbrook Sports Complex, Holbrook | RFA | 1882 | 1930-1956 | 5 | 1931, 1932, 1934, 1951, 1955 | Formed Farrer FL following 1956 season |
| Mangoplah | Mangoplah Sports Ground, Mangoplah | WFA | 1937-1954 | 7 | 1938, 1940, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950 | Merged with Cookardinia to form Mangoplah-Cookardinia United following 1954 season[20] | |||
| Mangoplah-Cookardinia United |  |
Goannas | Mangoplah Sports Ground, Mangoplah | – | 1955 | 1955-1956 | 1 | 1956 | Formed Farrer FL following 1956 season |
| Marrar | |
Bombers | Langtry Oval, Marrar | 1918 | 1952-1956 | 0 | - | Moved to Central Riverina FL following 1956 season | |
| North Wagga Saints | Saints | McPherson Oval, North Wagga Wagga | 1940s | 1948-1956 | 0 | - | Merged with North Wagga Stars to form North Wagga following 1956 season[22] | ||
| RAAF seconds | Hornets | RAAF Base Oval, Forest Hill | 1948 | 1950 | 0 | - | ? | ||
| Rand | .svg) |
Pigeons | Rand Recreation Reserve, Rand | 1925 | 1939-1940 | 0 | - | Moved to Hume FL following WWII | |
| St Patricks (Albury CYMS 1934) | 1934-1936[23][24] | 0 | - | Folded in April 1937[25] | |||||
| Turvey Park |  |
Bulldogs | Maher Oval, Wagga Wagga | 1954 | 1954[26] | 0 | - | Moved to Central Riverina FL following 1954 season | |
| Woomargama-Mullengandra | 1948 | 0 | - | Folded after 1948 season[27] | |||||
Grand Finals
- Seniors
| Year | Premiers | Score | Runners up | Score | Captain | Coach | Venue | Gate | Premiership Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 | Henty | 14.12 – 96 | Holbrook | 8.14 – 62 | Culcairn | [28] Kennedy Gold Cup | |||
| 1931 | Holbrook | 13.11 – 89 | Brocklesby | 5.7 – 37 | Cec Field | Culcairn | [29] Kennedy Memorial Cup | ||
| 1932 | Holbrook | 9.11 – 65 | Albury Rovers | 8.10 – 58 | Culcairn | [30] Kennedy Memorial Cup | |||
| 1933 | Albury Rovers | 16.12 – 108 | Henty | 9.10 – 64 | Charlie Kolb | Charlie Kolb | Albury Showgrounds | £40 | [31] Kennedy Memorial Cup |
| 1934 | Holbrook | 10.11 – 71 | Albury Rovers | 7.14 – 56 | Culcairn | £55 | [32][33] Kennedy Memorial Cup | ||
| 1935 | Henty | 18.14 – 122 | Holbrook | 18.12 – 120 | W W Paech | W W Paech | Culcairn | £67 | [34] Ballarat Brewery Cup |
| 1936 | Culcairn | 12.13 – 85 | Henty | 11.13 – 79 | Jack Clarke | Jack Clarke | Cookardinia | £56 | [35][36] |
| 1937 | Henty | 14.12 – 96 | Mangoplah | 11.10 – 76 | W W Paech | W W Paech | Culcairn | £127 | [37] Shugg Cup |
| 1938 | Mangoplah | 20.10 – 130 | Culcairn | 12.11 – 83 | Russell Madden | Russell Madden | Henty | £120 | [38][39][40] Mackie Cup |
| 1939 | Brocklesby | 14.10 – 94 | Henty | 13.14 – 92 | Jim Steigenberger | Jim Steigenberger | Culcairn | [41][42][43][44][45][46] | |
| 1940 | Mangoplah | 16.18 – 114 | Culcairn | 13.13 – 78 | Ray Roberson | Ray Roberson | Cookardinia | [47] Mrs F A Parker Cup | |
| 1941-5 | In recess – WW2 | ||||||||
| 1946 | Mangoplah | 12.13 – 85 | Culcairn | 9.20 – 74 | Allan Klimpsch | Ray Roberson | Henty | £184 | [48][49] |
| 1947 | Mangoplah | 16.11 – 107 | Holbrook | 14.10 – 94 | Ray Roberson | Ray Roberson | Culcairn | £204 | [50] |
| 1948 | Mangoplah | 18.13 – 121 | The Rock | 11.18 – 84 | Ray Roberson | Ray Roberson | Culcairn | £169 | [51] Cannon Cup |
| 1949 | Mangoplah | 14.15 – 99 | Wagga | 9.18 – 72 | Allan Klimpsch | Allan Klimpsch | Culcairn | £394 | [52][53] Cannon Cup |
| 1950 | Mangoplah | 12.9 – 81 | Holbrook | 11.11 – 77 | Allan Klimpsch | Allan Klimpsch | The Rock | £406 | [54][55] Cannon Cup |
| 1951 | Holbrook | 12.9 – 81 | Culcairn | 9.8 – 62 | Mangoplah | £400 | [56] | ||
| 1952 | Culcairn | 8.20 – 68 | Wagga | 9.9 – 63 | Ted Hill | Ted Hill | Mangoplah | £499 | [57][58] |
| 1953 | Culcairn | 8.13 – 61 | Wagga | 6.9 – 45 | Frank O'Leary | Frank O'Leary | The Rock | £777 | [59][60][61][62][63] |
| 1954 | Culcairn | 19.30 – 144 | Wagga | 4.9 – 33 | Frank O'Leary | Frank O'Leary | Henty | £650 | [64][65] |
| 1955 | Holbrook | 11.9 – 75 | M C U | 8.9 – 57 | Stan Rule | Stan Rule | Culcairn | [66] | |
| 1956 | M C U | 12.11 – 83 | The Rock | 7.13 – 55 | Bill Byrne | Bill Byrne | [67] | ||
| 1957 | Wagga | 14.14 – 98 | The Rock | 5.12 – 42 | |||||
- MCU – Mangoplah Cookardinia United FC
- Cannon Cup: Donated by John Cannon from the Culcairn Hotel.
- Most Senior Premierships / Runners Up
| Club | Most Premierships | Runners up |
|---|---|---|
| Mangoplah | 7 | 2 |
| Holbrook | 5 | 4 |
| Culcairn | 4 | 4 |
| Henty | 3 | 3 |
| Albury Rovers | 1 | 2 |
| Brocklesby | 1 | 1 |
| M C U | 1 | 1 |
| Wagga | 1 | 4 |
| The Rock | 2 | |
| Totals | 23 | 23 |
- Reserves
The Albury & DFL Reserves competition ran from 1950 to 1957.
| Year | Premiers | Score | Runners up | Score | Captain | Coach | Venue | Gate | Premiership Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | RAAF Blues | 11.12 – 78 | Henty | 4.11 – 35 | [68][69] | ||||
| 1951 | Holbrook | [70] | |||||||
| 1952 | Marrar | 105 | Army | 66 | [71] | ||||
| 1953 | Culcairn | v | Holbrook | [72] Unsure who won 2nds G Final | |||||
| 1954 | Turvey Park | 8.12 – 60 | Culcairn | 4.8 – 32 | [73][74] | ||||
| 1955 | Culcairn | 11.4 – 70 | M C U | 7.10 – 52 | |||||
| 1956 | Wagga | 3.17 – 35 | Culcairn | 4.6 – 30 | |||||
| 1957 | Wagga | d | The Rock | ||||||
League Best & Fairest Award
- In 1932, Mr. D M Stavley of Wodonga donated a medal for the best and fairest player to be decided on by the umpires votes.[75]
- The Carlton Brewery Medal was first donated in 1936.
- The Baz Medal was first donated in 1952 by Mr. Mick Baz of Culcairn.[76]
| Year | Winner | Club | Votes | Runner up | Club | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 | no record of award | |||||
| 1931 | no record of award | |||||
| Stavley Gold Medal | ||||||
| 1932 | W Carroll | Culcairn | ||||
| 1933 | Charlie Kolb[77] | Albury Rovers | ||||
| 1934 | Dinny Ryan[78] | Albury Rovers | ||||
| 1935 | Tom Eames[79] | Albury Rovers | ||||
| Carlton Brewery Medal | ||||||
| 1936 | Ron Nolan[80] | Cookardinia | Bert Clarke | Brocklesby | ||
| 1937 | Merv Cooper[81] | Mangoplah | 31 | Vin Smith | Brocklesby | 22 |
| 1938 | Jim Kendall | Holbrook | 27 | Merv Cooper | Mangoplah | 22 |
| Albert Bert Clay * [82] | Henty | (27) | Vin Smith | Brocklesby | 22 | |
| 1939 | Albert Bert Clay[83] | Henty | 21 | Jim Kendall[84] | Holbrook | 19 |
| 1940 | A R "Ray" Roberson[85] | Mangoplah | ||||
| 1941-5 | In recess WW2 | |||||
| 1946 | Alan Papworth[86] | Culcairn | Charlie Craig[87] | Cookardinia | ||
| 1947 | Charlie Craig[88] | Cookardinia | 17 | G Bedggood[89] | Henty | 15 |
| 1948 | J Mullarvey[90] | Woomargrama | ||||
| 1949 | Brian Brennan[91] | Holbrook | ||||
| 1950 | Des Donkin | The Rock | 16 | H Clark | Mangoplah | 15 |
| Brian Brennan * [92] | Holbrook | (16) | Charlie Craig | Cookardinia | 15 | |
| 1951 | Jim Stockton[93] | North Wagga | 29 | Brian Brennan & | Holbrook | 18 |
| Ron Bunyan | Cookardinia | 18 | ||||
| Baz Medal | ||||||
| 1952 | Ron Bunyan[94] | Cookardinia | 26 | |||
| Tim Robb * [95] | The Rock | (26) | ||||
| 1953 | Merv Pieper[96] | North Wagga | Tim Robb | The Rock | ||
| 1954 | Harry Gardiner[97][98] | Culcairn | 16 | Neale Rutzou & | Wagga | 14 |
| Sid Ruhe | Henty | 14 | ||||
| 1955 | Len Wornes | Holbrook | 20 | Ron Bunyan | M C U | 17 |
| 1956 | Hayden Hensel | Culcairn | ||||
| 1957 | E Feeney | The Rock | ||||
VFL Players
The following footballers from the Albury & DFL went onto to play senior VFL football, with the year indicating their VFL debut.
- 1934 – Dinny Ryan – Albury Rovers to Fitzroy
- 1940 – Albert Clay – Henty to Fitzroy
- 1940 – Shadrach "Shady" James – Brocklesby to Fitzroy
- 1941 – Ivor Clay – Henty to Fitzroy
- 1950 – Neale Rutzou – Wagga to Fitzroy
- 1957 – Percy Appleyard – Culcairn to South Melbourne
- 1957 – Bill Byrne – Mangoplah / Cookardinia United to Melbourne