Wikipedia

Brunswick Amateurs Football Club

This article is about the former Australian rules football club. For the present-day VAFA club, see Brunswick Football Club (1963). For the former VFA club, see Brunswick Football Club.

The Brunswick Amateurs Football Club, nicknamed the Lions, was an Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick West. The club competed in the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) almost continuously from 1926, winning a total of six senior premierships.

Brunswick Amateurs
Names
Full nameBrunswick Amateurs Football Club[1]
Nickname(s)Lions[2]
Club details
Founded1926; 98 years ago (1926)
DissolvedLate 2001; 23 years ago (2001)
Uniforms
Home

In 2001, the club merged with Broadmeadows Power to form the Brunswick Power Football Club, which competed in the Western Region Football League (WRFL) until the end of 2007.[3]

History

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Brunswick Amateurs

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Brunswick Amateurs was formed by past members of the Brunswick Presbyterian Young Men's Club in 1926, entering the Metropolitan Amateur Football Association (MAFA, later VAFA) the same year in C Section.[4] The club made its won its first premiership in 1932, defeating West Hawthorn by 10 points in the B Section grand final, and entered A Section for the first time in 1933.[5] Old Scotch full-forward Bill Pearson kicked 30 goals against Brunswick in a 1934 A Section match.[6]

The club was based at Dunstan Reserve in Brunswick West in its early years.[7] At one point in 1939, the VAFA instructed the club to find another home ground to play at as it was in a "shocking condition".[8][9] They were defeated by Elsternwick later that year in the B Section grand final where a melee also took place, resulting in Brunswick being warned by the VAFA about "drastic action" if a similar incident happened again.[10][11]

Brunswick won its second premiership in 1955, defeating East Malvern by 32 points in the C Section grand final.[2][12]

At the end of the 1994 season, Brunswick left the VAFA and joined the Footscray District Football League (FDFL).[2]

On 8 June 1997, Brunswick captain-coach Danny Hall was stabbed to death during a street brawl.[13] He had previously played for Preston, Moomba Park, Broadford and Southbank as a ruckman, and played in Brunswick's 1992 VAFA E Section premiership and the VAFA's representative side in 1993.[13] Brunswick's vice-captain and another player were also stabbed but survived.[13]

In 1999, Brunswick returned to the VAFA in D4 Section.[14] The club remained in D4 Section in 2000, but withdrew from senior competition and entered the VAFA's Club XVIII social competition in 2001.[15][16]

Brunswick Power

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In late 2001, Brunswick were struggling to find players and made the decision to merge with Broadmeadows Power (also known as Broady Power), a club run by Indigenous Australians, to form the Brunswick Power Football Club.[17][18] The club played in Club XVIII North Section in 2002 before being promoted to D4 Section for the 2003 season.[19][20]

After one senior season in the VAFA, Brunswick Power moved to the Western Region Football League (WRFL) in 2004, competing in Division 2 and playing its home games at Fleming Park in Brunswick East.[21][22]

In 2005, the club had 180 registered players − 80% Indigenous and 20% from other backgrounds, including Lebanese and Greek.[17] However, their on-field performances were poor, including a 59.28 (382) to 2.4 (16) loss to Central Altona in round 16.[23][24][25]

During the 2006 season, Brunswick Power was suspended by the WRFL for fielding unregistered players.[a][26] The club returned to the WRFL for the 2007 season, but only won a single match and folded at the end of the season.[31][32][33]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ The article "Footy clubs out" published by the Williamstown Star erroneously states its publication date as 30 April 2008.[26] All other sources indicate the suspension took place on 20 July 2006.[27][28][29][30]

References

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  1. ^ "Current details for ABN 93 455 700 201". abr.business.gov.au. Archived from the original on 3 October 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Brunswick Amateurs Football Club (Vic)". Footypedia. Archived from the original on 27 September 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  3. ^ "Broadmeadows Power Football Club (Vic)". Footypedia. Archived from the original on 3 October 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  4. ^ "Amateur Ideal at Brunswick". Trove. Sporting Globe. 18 April 1931. p. 6. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  5. ^ "BRUNSWICK AND WEST BRUNSWICK WIN". Trove. The Age. 26 September 1932. p. 12. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  6. ^ "A BRIEF HISTORY" (PDF). Victorian Amateur Football Association. 9 April 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-04-19. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
  7. ^ "State of Brunswick Ground". Trove. The Age. 20 June 1939. p. 13. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  8. ^ "Threat by Amateurs". Trove. The Argus. 20 June 1939. p. 15. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  9. ^ "Council Officer's Reply". Trove. The Age. 27 June 1939. p. 14. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  10. ^ "University Blacks Favored Amateur Final". Trove. The Sun News-Pictorial. 14 September 1939. p. 25. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  11. ^ "AMATEUR CLUB WARNED". Trove. The Argus. 26 September 1939. p. 12. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  12. ^ "Ormond has second semi in the bag". Trove. The Argus. 2 September 1955. p. 25. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  13. ^ a b c "The media and glorifying the dead". Crikey. 14 October 2004. Archived from the original on 3 October 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  14. ^ "Former VAFA Clubs". Victorian Amateur Football Association. Archived from the original on 1 August 2024. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  15. ^ "The Amateur Footballer, Week 1, 2000". Issuu. VAFA Media. 1 April 2000. Archived from the original on 29 September 2024. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  16. ^ "The Amateur Footballer, Week 14, 2001". Issuu. VAFA Media. 28 July 2001. Archived from the original on 22 July 2024. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  17. ^ a b "Moreland Post Contact Aboriginal Heritage Study" (PDF). merri-bek.vic.gov.au. Moreland City Council. April 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  18. ^ "A release for prisoners, especially when the rules are bent". The Age. 12 July 2002. Archived from the original on 3 October 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  19. ^ "The Amateur Footballer, Week 13, 2002". Issuu. VAFA Media. 13–20 July 2002. Archived from the original on 27 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  20. ^ "The Amateur Footballer, Week 1, 2003". Issuu. VAFA Media. 5 April 2003. Archived from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  21. ^ "BRUNSWICK POWER 12.6-78 def by WESTERN MAGPIES 14.10-94". GameDay. Brunswick Power. 13 August 2005. Archived from the original on 3 October 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  22. ^ Bittar, Nicole (16 September 2006). "Sleeping beauty small in size but big in heart". The Age. Archived from the original on 3 October 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  23. ^ "CENTRAL ALTONA 59.28-382 def. 2.4-16 BRUNSWICK POWER". rochedalejuniors.aflq.com.au. Western Region Football League. 7 August 2005. Archived from the original on 3 October 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  24. ^ "Western suburbs sports results". Star Community. 8 August 2005. Archived from the original on 3 October 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  25. ^ "Handball king's title going West?". The Age. 9 August 2005. Archived from the original on 3 October 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  26. ^ a b Heenan, Mark (20 July 2006). "Footy clubs out". Williamstown Star. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  27. ^ "WRFL Division 2". bigfooty.com. 27 May 2006. Archived from the original on 3 October 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  28. ^ "MatchWorks Cup Division 2 Seniors 2006". caloundra.aflq.com.au. Brunswick Power. Archived from the original on 3 October 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  29. ^ "MatchWorks Cup Division 2 Seniors 2006 Ladder". GameDay. Brunswick Power. Archived from the original on 3 October 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  30. ^ "MatchWorks Cup Division 2 Reserves 2006". GameDay. Brunswick Power. Archived from the original on 3 October 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  31. ^ "Division 2 Seniors 07". GameDay. Brunswick Power. Archived from the original on 3 October 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  32. ^ "2007 Division 2 Team of the Year". GameDay. Western Region Football League. 16 March 2008. Archived from the original on 3 October 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  33. ^ Newton, David. "WESTERN REGION FOOTBALL LEAGUE SEASON 2008 ANNUAL REPORT" (PDF). Western Region Football League. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 October 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024. The senior competition saw some changes from 2007 with the loss of Brunswick Power and Gladstone Park which created two 10 team competitions within Division 1 and Division 2.
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