Ovens & Murray Football Netball League: Difference between revisions
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|}The '''Ovens and Murray Football League''', often |
|}The '''Ovens and Murray Football League''', often referred to locally as the '''O&M''', is a [[semi-professional]] [[Australian rules football]] league based around ten clubs in north-eastern [[Victoria, Australia|Victoria]] and the southern [[Riverina]] region of [[New South Wales, Australia|New South Wales]], and affiliated with the [[Victorian Country Football League]]. The current chairman of the league is Greg Claney and the current general manager is Tom O'Connor. |
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All clubs field teams in three grades - senior, reserve and under 18s - as well as three grades of women's [[netball]] in an associated competition. A home and away season of eighteen rounds is played so that each club plays each other twice, followed by a series of finals involving the top five teams, played to a [[McIntyre System]] schedule culminating in a [[Grand Final]], usually played at the [[Lavington Sports Ground]]. Attendances at games during the home and away season vary from 300 to 2,000, while the grand final |
All clubs field teams in three grades - senior, reserve and under 18s - as well as three grades of women's [[netball]] in an associated competition. A home and away season of eighteen rounds is played so that each club plays each other twice, followed by a series of finals involving the top five teams, played to a [[McIntyre System]] schedule culminating in a [[Grand Final]], usually played at the [[Lavington Sports Ground]]. Attendances at games during the home and away season vary from 300 to 2,000, while the grand final can draw in excess of 15,000 spectators. |
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==History== |
==History== |
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===Beginnings=== |
===Beginnings=== |
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Organised competition in the area started as the ''Ovens & Murray Football Association'' in 1893, although it was interrupted in 1911 when Albury was excluded, with the competition renamed Rutherglen DFA for that season. Albury was readmitted in 1912 and after some club shuffling with The Chiltern & District FA, the competition reformed under the ''Ovens & Murray Football Association'' banner again in 1914. |
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After a three-year break |
After a three-year break due to [[World War I]], the association reformed for the 1919 sesason with four clubs, Border United, Howlong, Lakes and Rutherglen. In 1920 the league didn't reform; the clubs moved to the Chiltern DFL. |
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The competition reformed in 1921 with Lakes Rovers, Rutherglen, St Patricks, Cowora, Springhurst and Wahgunyah. In 1922, larger town clubs Benalla and Wangaratta joined the OMFA whilst Wahgunyah and Springhurst moved to the Chiltern DFL. In 1926, the name was changed to its present form. Around this time the clubs contesting the league included Wangaratta, Hume Weir (which drew many of its players from workers constructing the [[Lake Hume|Hume Dam]] at the time), Yarrawonga and two clubs from the town of [[Albury, New South Wales|Albury]], St Patricks and Albury (not to be confused with the present [[Albury Football Club|Albury]] club). These two clubs were largely divided amongst sectarian lines, St Patricks being [[Roman Catholic]] and Albury being [[Protestant]] and, after much tension, in 1929 the two clubs agreed to disband and form two new clubs, East Albury and West Albury, with the player base to be drawn geographically. |
The competition reformed in 1921 with Lakes Rovers, Rutherglen, St Patricks, Cowora, Springhurst and Wahgunyah. In 1922, larger town clubs Benalla and Wangaratta joined the OMFA whilst Wahgunyah and Springhurst moved to the Chiltern DFL. In 1926, the name was changed to its present form. Around this time the clubs contesting the league included Wangaratta, Hume Weir (which drew many of its players from workers constructing the [[Lake Hume|Hume Dam]] at the time), Yarrawonga and two clubs from the town of [[Albury, New South Wales|Albury]], St Patricks and Albury (not to be confused with the present [[Albury Football Club|Albury]] club). These two clubs were largely divided amongst sectarian lines, St Patricks being [[Roman Catholic]] and Albury being [[Protestant]] and, after much tension, in 1929 the two clubs agreed to disband and form two new clubs, East Albury and West Albury, with the player base to be drawn geographically. |
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===Post-World War Two=== |
===Post-World War Two=== |
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In 1940, the league went into recess |
In 1940, the league went into recess for the duration of [[World War II]], before full competition resumed in 1946. In 1947 [[North Albury Football Club|North Albury]] was admitted, followed by [[Wangaratta Rovers Football Club|Wangaratta Rovers]] and [[Myrtleford Football Club|Myrtleford]], who were admitted from the [[Ovens & King Football League]] in 1950. The Wangaratta Rovers would go on to dominate the O&M for the remainder of the 20th Century, winning fifteen premierships to date, a number only recently overhauled by Albury with their own streak of flags. |
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Throughout the 1950s and 1960s the league began to gain a reputation within Victoria as being the strongest competition outside the then VFL and [[Victorian Football League|VFA]]. The best players were often recruited from the O&M to play for one of the "city" clubs, but it was not uncommon for a VFL player to retire from the "big" league and play in the O&M or another country league, and perhaps start a coaching career there as well, often at the same time as a playing coach. One notable example of this, as far as the O&M was concerned, was [[Bob Rose (footballer)|Bob Rose]], who retired from [[Collingwood Football Club|Collingwood]] as a player in 1955 and coached the [[Wangaratta Rovers Football Club|Wangaratta Rovers]] to two premierships in 1958 and 1960, after which he returned to [[Collingwood Football Club|Collingwood]] to continue his coaching career. |
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s the league began to gain a reputation within Victoria as being the strongest competition outside the then VFL and [[Victorian Football League|VFA]]. The best players were often recruited from the O&M to play for one of the "city" clubs, but it was not uncommon for a VFL player to retire from the "big" league and play in the O&M or another country league, and perhaps start a coaching career there as well, often at the same time as a playing coach. One notable example of this, as far as the O&M was concerned, was [[Bob Rose (footballer)|Bob Rose]], who retired from [[Collingwood Football Club|Collingwood]] as a player in 1955 and coached the [[Wangaratta Rovers Football Club|Wangaratta Rovers]] to two premierships in 1958 and 1960, after which he returned to [[Collingwood Football Club|Collingwood]] to continue his coaching career. |
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===1970s and 1980s=== |
===1970s and 1980s=== |
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In 1968, the VFL introduced country recruitment zones throughout Victoria and [[Riverina]], which limited the areas from which each VFL club could recruit. The |
In 1968, the VFL introduced country [[Zoning (Australian rules football)|recruitment zones]] throughout Victoria and [[Riverina]], which limited the areas from which each VFL club could recruit. The O&MFL was allocated to [[North Melbourne Football Club|North Melbourne]], and thus quite a few of the better players from the O&M came to play for the [[North Melbourne Football Club|Kangaroos]], contributing in part to that club's rise to success in the 1970s. These included [[Xavier Tanner]] and [[John Longmire]], who had won the O&M seniors leading goalkicker in a season in the 1980s with [[Corowa Rutherglen Football Club|Corowa-Rutherglen]] before his move. |
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In 1974 the O&MFL was disaffiliated by the [[Victorian Country Football League]] (VCFL) when the O&MFL refused to accept an application from the [[Lavington Football Club]] to join the league. By this stage the football club was based at the [[Lavington, New South Wales|Lavington]] Sports Club, an established licensed club, and was strong enough to field teams in both the [[Tallangatta & District Football League|Tallangatta League]] and [[Hume Football League]] the following year. |
In 1974 the O&MFL was disaffiliated by the [[Victorian Country Football League]] (VCFL) when the O&MFL refused to accept an application from the [[Lavington Football Club]] to join the league. By this stage the football club was based at the [[Lavington, New South Wales|Lavington]] Sports Club, an established licensed club, and was strong enough to field teams in both the [[Tallangatta & District Football League|Tallangatta League]] and [[Hume Football League]] the following year. |
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[[Lavington Panthers Football Club|Lavington]]'s home ground, the [[Lavington Sports Ground|Lavington Sports Club Oval]], provided an ideal venue for many sports as the sports club gradually developed it after its construction in the 1970s. The league has designated it as the venue for most of the league's grand finals since the 1980s. Recently, added assistance for the staging of the grand final through regional promotion and in-kind sponsorship has been provided by the [[Albury, New South Wales|Albury]] City Council. |
[[Lavington Panthers Football Club|Lavington]]'s home ground, the [[Lavington Sports Ground|Lavington Sports Club Oval]], provided an ideal venue for many sports as the sports club gradually developed it after its construction in the 1970s. The league has designated it as the venue for most of the league's grand finals since the 1980s. Recently, added assistance for the staging of the grand final through regional promotion and in-kind sponsorship has been provided by the [[Albury, New South Wales|Albury]] City Council. |
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In 1983, after an unsuccessful debut season playing for [[Hawthorn Football Club|Hawthorn]] the previous year, [[Gary Ablett, Sr.|Gary Ablett]] played for [[Myrtleford Football Club|Myrtleford]] in the O&M for a year, before he was recruited by [[Geelong Football Club|Geelong]] where he recommenced his career in the VFL/AFL and established himself as one of the code's best players |
In 1983, after an unsuccessful debut season playing for [[Hawthorn Football Club|Hawthorn]] the previous year, [[Gary Ablett, Sr.|Gary Ablett]] played for [[Myrtleford Football Club|Myrtleford]] in the O&M for a year, before he was recruited by [[Geelong Football Club|Geelong]] where he recommenced his career in the VFL/AFL and established himself as one of the code's best players, being inducted into the [[Australian Football Hall of Fame|Australian Football Hall of Fame]] in 2005. |
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By the late 1980s, the Wodonga Demons of the [[Tallangatta & District Football League|Tallangatta League]] had made a number of bids to join the O&M, and in 1989 were accepted into the competition to serve the west of the city of [[Wodonga, Victoria|Wodonga]], based at Birralee Park. They changed their name to the [[Wodonga Raiders Football Club]] so as to not cause confusion with the [[Benalla Football Club|Benalla Demons]] and the long established [[Wodonga Football Club]]. |
By the late 1980s, the Wodonga Demons of the [[Tallangatta & District Football League|Tallangatta League]] had made a number of bids to join the O&M, and in 1989 were accepted into the competition to serve the west of the city of [[Wodonga, Victoria|Wodonga]], based at Birralee Park. They changed their name to the [[Wodonga Raiders Football Club]] so as to not cause confusion with the [[Benalla Football Club|Benalla Demons]] and the long established [[Wodonga Football Club]]. |
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===Recent years=== |
===Recent years=== |
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In 1996, after a string of unsuccessful seasons in the O&M, Benalla moved to the [[Goulburn Valley Football League]]. In 2000 the Penrith Panthers Leagues Club, financiers of the [[Penrith Panthers]] [[National Rugby League]] team, merged with the Lavington Sports Club. As a result, the Lavington Football Club changed their nickname from the Blues to the Panthers, added "Panthers" to their title, and adopted a guernsey |
In 1996, after a string of unsuccessful seasons in the O&M, Benalla moved to the [[Goulburn Valley Football League]]. In 2000 the Penrith Panthers Leagues Club, financiers of the [[Penrith Panthers]] [[National Rugby League]] team, merged with the Lavington Sports Club. As a result, the Lavington Football Club changed their nickname from the Blues to the Panthers, added "Panthers" to their title, and adopted a guernsey in the same colours as the NRL Panthers, but in the [[Port Adelaide Football Club|Port Adelaide]] AFL pattern. |
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Also around this time, the [[Wagga Tigers Football Club]], which had dominated the [[Riverina Football League]], made a bid to join the O&MFL; however, partially due to concerns from the league's southern clubs about travel times, the bid was rejected. The Wagga Tigers then successfully bid to join the [[AFL Canberra]]. |
Also around this time, the [[Wagga Tigers Football Club]], which had dominated the [[Riverina Football League]], made a bid to join the O&MFL; however, partially due to concerns from the league's southern clubs about travel times, the bid was rejected. The Wagga Tigers then successfully bid to join the [[AFL Canberra]]. |
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In 2000 the O&MFL, in |
In 2000 the O&MFL, in an association with the [[Australian Football League|AFL]] [[North Melbourne Football Club]], fielded a team in the [[Victorian Football League]] called the [[Murray Kangaroos Football Club|Murray Kangaroos]], playing home games between [[Coburg City Oval|Coburg]] and Lavington. However, due to concerns from O&M clubs about player availability, the Kangaroos about travel time, and poor attendances compared with O&M league games, the venture was discontinued after three seasons and the Kangaroos subsequently set up an affiliation with the established VFL club [[Port Melbourne Football Club|Port Melbourne]]. |
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== Junior Development == |
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In 2005, the Grand Final between Myrtleford and Lavington drew an official attendance of 14,811.<ref>http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:95T5Ul0QPzwJ:www.omfl.com.au/hist_item.html%3Foid%3D1292674%26sectionid%3D0%26sectionname%3DHistory%26parentid%3D0%26parenttitle%3DOM%2520Match%2520Statistics+yarrawonga+premiers+crowd&hl=en&gl=au&ct=clnk&cd=2</ref> A record grand final attendance was set for the match between Wangaratta and North Albury of 15,442. <ref>http://www.alburycity.nsw.gov.au/publications/images/Sporting_News_October_07_Final.pdf</ref> |
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== Developing juniors == |
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More successful has been the [[Murray Bushrangers]] [[TAC Cup]] Under 18s side, who play their home games in [[Wangaratta, Victoria|Wangaratta]]; prior to the AFL national draft and the inception of the [[TAC Cup]], young players in the area would usually play through the grades with their local club, with less likelihood of being scouted by the recruitment staff from AFL clubs. Although there has been some concern from clubs about these players being removed from the local competition, the ones that do not get drafted usually return to their home clubs to play locally once they come of age. |
More successful has been the [[Murray Bushrangers]] [[TAC Cup]] Under 18s side, who play their home games in [[Wangaratta, Victoria|Wangaratta]]; prior to the AFL national draft and the inception of the [[TAC Cup]], young players in the area would usually play through the grades with their local club, with less likelihood of being scouted by the recruitment staff from AFL clubs. Although there has been some concern from clubs about these players being removed from the local competition, the ones that do not get drafted usually return to their home clubs to play locally once they come of age. |
||
Even in that case, there is some chance that a late-maturing "older" player in their early 20s will be drafted by an AFL club. Several notable examples to be drafted directly from the O&MFL include [[Fraser Gehrig]] ([[Wodonga Raiders Football Club|Wodonga Raiders]]/[[West Coast Eagles]]/[[St Kilda Football Club|St Kilda]]), [[Guy Rigoni]] ([[Myrtleford Football Club|Myrtleford]]/[[Melbourne Football Club|Melbourne]]), and [[Brett Kirk]] ([[North Albury Football Club|North Albury]]/[[Sydney Swans]]). |
Even in that case, there is some chance that a late-maturing "older" player in their early 20s will be drafted by an AFL club. Several notable examples to be drafted directly from the O&MFL include [[Fraser Gehrig]] ([[Wodonga Raiders Football Club|Wodonga Raiders]]/[[West Coast Eagles]]/[[St Kilda Football Club|St Kilda]]), [[Guy Rigoni]] ([[Myrtleford Football Club|Myrtleford]]/[[Melbourne Football Club|Melbourne]]), and [[Brett Kirk]] ([[North Albury Football Club|North Albury]]/[[Sydney Swans]]). |
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Currently, all clubs field sides in the Under 19s competition, aside from Myrtleford, which fields a joint team with the Bright Football Club as the Alpine Eagles. |
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==Current clubs== |
==Current clubs== |
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! width="200" align="right"|SENIORS |
! width="200" align="right"|SENIORS |
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! width="200" align="right"|RESERVES |
! width="200" align="right"|RESERVES |
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! width="200" align="right"|UNDER |
! width="200" align="right"|UNDER 19s |
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! width="200" align="right"|TOTAL |
! width="200" align="right"|TOTAL |
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|- |
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Most Premierships/CLUB/PREMIERSHIP YEARS |
Most Premierships/CLUB/PREMIERSHIP YEARS |
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18/Albury/1902, 1908, 1913, 1928, 1937, 1939, 1940, 1947, 1956, 1966, 1982, 1985, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2009, 2010, 2011 |
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15/Rutherglen/1895, 1896, 1898, 1899, 1901, 1903, 1904, 1907, 1909, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1936, 1954 |
15/Rutherglen/1895, 1896, 1898, 1899, 1901, 1903, 1904, 1907, 1909, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1936, 1954 |
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Revision as of 16:14, 19 October 2011
| General Information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1893 | |
| Current clubs | Albury Corowa Rutherglen Lavington Myrtleford North Albury Wangaratta Wangaratta Rovers Wodonga Wodonga Raiders Yarrawonga | |
| 2010 Season | ||
| Premiers | Albury | |
The Ovens and Murray Football League, often referred to locally as the O&M, is a semi-professional Australian rules football league based around ten clubs in north-eastern Victoria and the southern Riverina region of New South Wales, and affiliated with the Victorian Country Football League. The current chairman of the league is Greg Claney and the current general manager is Tom O'Connor.
All clubs field teams in three grades - senior, reserve and under 18s - as well as three grades of women's netball in an associated competition. A home and away season of eighteen rounds is played so that each club plays each other twice, followed by a series of finals involving the top five teams, played to a McIntyre System schedule culminating in a Grand Final, usually played at the Lavington Sports Ground. Attendances at games during the home and away season vary from 300 to 2,000, while the grand final can draw in excess of 15,000 spectators.
History
Beginnings
Organised competition in the area started as the Ovens & Murray Football Association in 1893, although it was interrupted in 1911 when Albury was excluded, with the competition renamed Rutherglen DFA for that season. Albury was readmitted in 1912 and after some club shuffling with The Chiltern & District FA, the competition reformed under the Ovens & Murray Football Association banner again in 1914.
After a three-year break due to World War I, the association reformed for the 1919 sesason with four clubs, Border United, Howlong, Lakes and Rutherglen. In 1920 the league didn't reform; the clubs moved to the Chiltern DFL.
The competition reformed in 1921 with Lakes Rovers, Rutherglen, St Patricks, Cowora, Springhurst and Wahgunyah. In 1922, larger town clubs Benalla and Wangaratta joined the OMFA whilst Wahgunyah and Springhurst moved to the Chiltern DFL. In 1926, the name was changed to its present form. Around this time the clubs contesting the league included Wangaratta, Hume Weir (which drew many of its players from workers constructing the Hume Dam at the time), Yarrawonga and two clubs from the town of Albury, St Patricks and Albury (not to be confused with the present Albury club). These two clubs were largely divided amongst sectarian lines, St Patricks being Roman Catholic and Albury being Protestant and, after much tension, in 1929 the two clubs agreed to disband and form two new clubs, East Albury and West Albury, with the player base to be drawn geographically.
In 1930, Haydn Bunton was recruited from the league by Victoria Football League (VFL) club Fitzroy, where he became regarded as one of the best VFL players in the Depression era and would go on to win three Brownlow Medals. Bunton Park, where North Albury Football Club is based, was not named after Haydn, but rather his brother Cleaver Bunton, who was elected president of the O&MFL in 1930 and would serve in that role until 1969. (Cleaver would also later serve as mayor of Albury for 30 years.)
Post-World War Two
In 1940, the league went into recess for the duration of World War II, before full competition resumed in 1946. In 1947 North Albury was admitted, followed by Wangaratta Rovers and Myrtleford, who were admitted from the Ovens & King Football League in 1950. The Wangaratta Rovers would go on to dominate the O&M for the remainder of the 20th Century, winning fifteen premierships to date, a number only recently overhauled by Albury with their own streak of flags.
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s the league began to gain a reputation within Victoria as being the strongest competition outside the then VFL and VFA. The best players were often recruited from the O&M to play for one of the "city" clubs, but it was not uncommon for a VFL player to retire from the "big" league and play in the O&M or another country league, and perhaps start a coaching career there as well, often at the same time as a playing coach. One notable example of this, as far as the O&M was concerned, was Bob Rose, who retired from Collingwood as a player in 1955 and coached the Wangaratta Rovers to two premierships in 1958 and 1960, after which he returned to Collingwood to continue his coaching career.
1970s and 1980s
In 1968, the VFL introduced country recruitment zones throughout Victoria and Riverina, which limited the areas from which each VFL club could recruit. The O&MFL was allocated to North Melbourne, and thus quite a few of the better players from the O&M came to play for the Kangaroos, contributing in part to that club's rise to success in the 1970s. These included Xavier Tanner and John Longmire, who had won the O&M seniors leading goalkicker in a season in the 1980s with Corowa-Rutherglen before his move.
In 1974 the O&MFL was disaffiliated by the Victorian Country Football League (VCFL) when the O&MFL refused to accept an application from the Lavington Football Club to join the league. By this stage the football club was based at the Lavington Sports Club, an established licensed club, and was strong enough to field teams in both the Tallangatta League and Hume Football League the following year.
The makeup of the competition remained stable until 1979, when Corowa and Rutherglen merged into Corowa-Rutherglen, and the Lavington Football Club was finally admitted from the Farrer Football League, so the number of clubs remained at ten.
Lavington's home ground, the Lavington Sports Club Oval, provided an ideal venue for many sports as the sports club gradually developed it after its construction in the 1970s. The league has designated it as the venue for most of the league's grand finals since the 1980s. Recently, added assistance for the staging of the grand final through regional promotion and in-kind sponsorship has been provided by the Albury City Council.
In 1983, after an unsuccessful debut season playing for Hawthorn the previous year, Gary Ablett played for Myrtleford in the O&M for a year, before he was recruited by Geelong where he recommenced his career in the VFL/AFL and established himself as one of the code's best players, being inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2005.
By the late 1980s, the Wodonga Demons of the Tallangatta League had made a number of bids to join the O&M, and in 1989 were accepted into the competition to serve the west of the city of Wodonga, based at Birralee Park. They changed their name to the Wodonga Raiders Football Club so as to not cause confusion with the Benalla Demons and the long established Wodonga Football Club.
Recent years
In 1996, after a string of unsuccessful seasons in the O&M, Benalla moved to the Goulburn Valley Football League. In 2000 the Penrith Panthers Leagues Club, financiers of the Penrith Panthers National Rugby League team, merged with the Lavington Sports Club. As a result, the Lavington Football Club changed their nickname from the Blues to the Panthers, added "Panthers" to their title, and adopted a guernsey in the same colours as the NRL Panthers, but in the Port Adelaide AFL pattern.
Also around this time, the Wagga Tigers Football Club, which had dominated the Riverina Football League, made a bid to join the O&MFL; however, partially due to concerns from the league's southern clubs about travel times, the bid was rejected. The Wagga Tigers then successfully bid to join the AFL Canberra.
In 2000 the O&MFL, in an association with the AFL North Melbourne Football Club, fielded a team in the Victorian Football League called the Murray Kangaroos, playing home games between Coburg and Lavington. However, due to concerns from O&M clubs about player availability, the Kangaroos about travel time, and poor attendances compared with O&M league games, the venture was discontinued after three seasons and the Kangaroos subsequently set up an affiliation with the established VFL club Port Melbourne.
Junior Development
More successful has been the Murray Bushrangers TAC Cup Under 18s side, who play their home games in Wangaratta; prior to the AFL national draft and the inception of the TAC Cup, young players in the area would usually play through the grades with their local club, with less likelihood of being scouted by the recruitment staff from AFL clubs. Although there has been some concern from clubs about these players being removed from the local competition, the ones that do not get drafted usually return to their home clubs to play locally once they come of age.
Even in that case, there is some chance that a late-maturing "older" player in their early 20s will be drafted by an AFL club. Several notable examples to be drafted directly from the O&MFL include Fraser Gehrig (Wodonga Raiders/West Coast Eagles/St Kilda), Guy Rigoni (Myrtleford/Melbourne), and Brett Kirk (North Albury/Sydney Swans).
Currently, all clubs field sides in the Under 19s competition, aside from Myrtleford, which fields a joint team with the Bright Football Club as the Alpine Eagles.
Current clubs
| Club | Nickname | Colours | Location | Official Website |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albury Football Club | Tigers | Albury | official site | |
| Corowa Rutherglen Football Club | Kangaroos | Corowa | official site | |
| Lavington Panthers Football Club | Panthers | File:LavingtonPanthersDesign.png | Lavington | official site |
| Myrtleford Football Club | Saints | Myrtleford | official site | |
| North Albury Football Club | Hoppers | File:GreenGoldWingsDesign.png | North Albury | official site |
| Wangaratta Football Club | Magpies | Wangaratta | official site | |
| Wangaratta Rovers Football Club | Hawks | Wangaratta | official site | |
| Wodonga Football Club | Bulldogs | File:Wodonga FC Monogram.png | Wodonga | official site |
| Wodonga Raiders Football Club | Raiders | Wodonga | official site | |
| Yarrawonga Football Club | Pigeons |  |
Yarrawonga | official site |
Premiership table
| Premierships | Football | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLUB | SENIORS | RESERVES | UNDER 19s | TOTAL |
| Albury (1896-) | 17 | 2 | 1 | 20 |
| Balldale (1909–1913) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Barnawartha (1911–1919) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Beechworth (1893–1915) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Benalla (1946–1996) | 4 | 3 | 2 | 9 |
| Border United (1895–1947) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Chiltern (1893–1911) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Corowa (1898–1978) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Corowa-Rutherglen (1979-) | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| East Albury (1929–1950) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eldoraldo (1893) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Excelsior (1896–1910) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Howlong (1911–1914) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hume Weir (1924–1925) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lake Rovers (1903–1919) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Lavington (1979-) | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Lilliput (1894) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Myrtleford (1950-) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| North Albury (1947-) | 6 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
| Rutherglen (1893–1978) | 15 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| Southern (1898–1907) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Springhurst (1921) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| St. Patrick's (1921–1934) | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| United Miners (1894–1895) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wahgunyah (1908 + 1921) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wangaratta (1893-) | 13 | 4 | 3 | 20 |
| Wangaratta Rovers (1950-) | 15 | 7 | 7 | 29 |
| Wangaratta West End (1893) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Weir United (1930–1931) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| West Albury (1929–1932) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Wodonga (1939-) | 7 | 19 | 12 | 38 |
| Wodonga Raiders (1989-) | 1 | 4 | 2 | 7 |
| Yarrawonga (1929-) | 3 | 5 | 0 | 8 |
NOTES:
1893-1910: Ovens & Murray Football Association
1911-1913: Rutherglen & District Football Association
1914-1915: Ovens & Murray Football Association
1916-1918: Recess - World War I
1919-1925: Ovens & Murray Football Association
1926-1940: Ovens And Murray Football League
1941-1945: Recess - World War II
1946-2009: Ovens And Murray Football League
Most Premierships/CLUB/PREMIERSHIP YEARS
18/Albury/1902, 1908, 1913, 1928, 1937, 1939, 1940, 1947, 1956, 1966, 1982, 1985, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2009, 2010, 2011
15/Rutherglen/1895, 1896, 1898, 1899, 1901, 1903, 1904, 1907, 1909, 1910, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1936, 1954
15/Wangaratta Rovers/1958, 1960, 1964, 1965, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1988, 1991, 1993, 1994
14/Wangaratta/1925, 1933, 1936, 1938, 1946, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1957, 1961, 1976, 2007, 2008
7/Wodonga/1967, 1969, 1981, 1987, 1990, 1992, 2004
6/St Patrick's/1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1927
6/North Albury/1948, 1955, 1980, 1984, 1999, 2002
4/Benalla/1953, 1962, 1963, 1973 (Left O&M and joined GVFL in 1998)
4/Lavington/1983, 1986, 2001, 2005
3/Yarrawonga/1959, 1989, 2006
3/Lake Rovers/1905, 1906, 1919
2/Weir United/1930, 1931
2/Corowa/1932, 1968
2/Corowa-Rutherglen/2000, 2003 (merged 1979)
1/Howlong 1911
1/West Albury/1929
1/Border United/1934
1/Myrtleford/1970
1/Wodonga Raiders/1998
Interleague competition
The O&M has won the first division of the Victorian Country Football League interleague championship fourteen times, the most recent victory being in 2006. In interleague competition the team wears a gold guernsey, emblazoned with a modern-style black and gold "O&M" logo, and black shorts.
Morris Medal
The Morris Medal is given for the best and fairest player in the O&MFL during the home and away season, similar to the AFL's Brownlow Medal. In the week preceding the grand final, a vote count is held to decide the recipient of the award. The player who has won the most Morris Medals is Robbie Walker, who won five whilst playing for the Wangaratta Rovers, followed by Jim Sandral (Corowa) and John Brunner (Yarrawonga) with three apiece. The list of Morris Medallists follows:
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The 1990 Bloodbath Grand Final
Shortly after the commencement of the 1990 grand final between Wodonga and Lavington, played at the Albury Sportsground, most of the players of the two teams became involved in a bench-clearing brawl. As the game was televised by a local TV station, the footage received sensationalistic national media coverage where the brawl was generally described as a shocking indictment on the code. Even though over a decade had elapsed, comparisons to this incident were made after the 2004 AFL Cairns Grand Final descended into a similar fracas. [1]
Wodonga eventually won the match by 20 points and thus the premiership, and the league tribunal handed out a number of lengthy suspensions to players from both sides for the following season. Incidentally, the result marked the second premiership for Wodonga's coach of that time, Jeff Gieschen, his first for the club being in 1987, before he went on to coach West Perth and then an ill-fated stint at Richmond in 1997-1999.
2007 Ladder
| Ovens & Murray FL | Wins | Byes | Losses | Draws | For | Against | % | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wangaratta | 14 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1945 | 1306 | 148.93% | 56 |
| Yarrawonga | 14 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1809 | 1215 | 148.89% | 56 |
| North Albury | 12 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1887 | 1485 | 127.07% | 48 |
| Wodonga | 11 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1599 | 1263 | 126.60% | 44 |
| Wang Rovers | 11 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1682 | 1376 | 122.24% | 44 |
| Albury | 10 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1704 | 1611 | 105.77% | 40 |
| Lavington | 6 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 1558 | 1736 | 89.75% | 24 |
| Wodonga Raiders | 6 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 1361 | 2103 | 64.72% | 24 |
| Corowa-Rutherglen | 3 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 1434 | 1871 | 76.64% | 12 |
| Myrtleford | 3 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 1247 | 2260 | 55.18% | 12 |
FINALS
| Final | Team | G | B | Pts | Team | G | B | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elimination | Wodonga | 13 | 11 | 89 | Wangaratta Rovers | 11 | 12 | 78 |
| Qualifying | North Albury | 15 | 14 | 104 | Yarrawonga | 8 | 11 | 59 |
| 1st Semi | Wodonga | 16 | 12 | 108 | Yarrawonga | 11 | 13 | 79 |
| 2nd Semi | North Albury | 12 | 10 | 82 | Wangaratta | 11 | 6 | 72 |
| Preliminary | Wangaratta | 15 | 15 | 105 | Wodonga | 10 | 11 | 71 |
| Grand | Wangaratta | 15 | 10 | 100 | North Albury | 6 | 13 | 49 |
2008 Ladder
| Ovens & Murray FL | Wins | Byes | Losses | Draws | For | Against | % | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wangaratta | 15 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2149 | 1236 | 173.87% | 62 |
| Corowa-Rutherglen | 13 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1769 | 1390 | 127.27% | 52 |
| Lavington | 12 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1842 | 1373 | 134.16% | 48 |
| Wodonga | 12 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1646 | 1388 | 118.59% | 48 |
| Yarrawonga | 10 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1905 | 1572 | 121.18% | 40 |
| Albury | 9 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 1652 | 1532 | 107.83% | 38 |
| Wang Rovers | 8 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 1679 | 1441 | 116.52% | 32 |
| North Albury | 8 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 1779 | 1665 | 106.85% | 32 |
| Wodonga Raiders | 2 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 1080 | 2264 | 47.70% | 8 |
| Myrtleford | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 813 | 2453 | 33.14% | 0 |
FINALS
| Final | Team | G | B | Pts | Team | G | B | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elimination | Wodonga | 11 | 10 | 76 | Yarrawonga | 9 | 12 | 66 |
| Qualifying | Corowa-Rutherglen | 11 | 15 | 81 | Lavington | 13 | 10 | 88 |
| 1st Semi | Wodonga | 18 | 8 | 116 | Corowa-Rutherglen | 10 | 8 | 68 |
| 2nd Semi | Wangaratta | 10 | 12 | 72 | Lavington | 8 | 8 | 56 |
| Preliminary | Lavington | 12 | 18 | 90 | Wodonga | 13 | 9 | 87 |
| Grand | Wangaratta | 12 | 14 | 86 | Lavington | 7 | 12 | 54 |
2009 Ladder
| Ovens & Murray FL | Wins | Byes | Losses | Draws | For | Against | % | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albury | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2383 | 1295 | 184.02% | 72 |
| Yarrawonga | 15 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2029 | 1300 | 156.08% | 60 |
| Wodonga | 11 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1851 | 1284 | 144.16% | 44 |
| Wangaratta | 10 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1898 | 1380 | 137.54% | 40 |
| Corowa-Rutherglen | 9 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1751 | 1480 | 118.31% | 36 |
| Lavington | 9 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1488 | 1592 | 93.47% | 36 |
| North Albury | 8 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 1548 | 1612 | 96.03% | 32 |
| Wodonga Raiders | 5 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 1480 | 1640 | 90.24% | 20 |
| Wang Rovers | 5 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 1366 | 1545 | 88.41% | 20 |
| Myrtleford | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 569 | 3235 | 17.59% | 0 |
FINALS
| Final | Team | G | B | Pts | Team | G | B | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elimination | Wangaratta | 17 | 18 | 120 | Corowa-Rutherglen | 6 | 13 | 49 |
| Qualifying | Yarrawonga | 17 | 11 | 113 | Wodonga | 15 | 8 | 98 |
| 1st Semi | Wodonga | 15 | 11 | 101 | Wangaratta | 13 | 17 | 95 |
| 2nd Semi | Albury | 18 | 16 | 124 | Yarrawonga | 10 | 9 | 69 |
| Preliminary | Yarrawonga | 15 | 10 | 100 | Wodonga | 6 | 11 | 47 |
| Grand | Albury | 22 | 13 | 145 | Yarrawonga | 9 | 14 | 68 |
References