Dunolly Football Club
Known as: The Eagles
Established: 1873
Club Colours: Blue and yellow vertical stripes
Prior to 1958 red and white vertical stripes.
Home Ground: Dunolly Recreation Reserve
Ground Dimensions: 149m x 118m
Competitions participated in: Maryborough District Football League1919-1935
Loddon Valley Football League 1936-1939
Maryborough District Football League 1940-1979
Lexton Football League 1982-1998
Lexton Plains Football League 1999-2003
Loddon Valley Football League 2004 to
Maryborough Castlemaine DFNL
Club Championships:
Brief history of club:
Named after Dunolly Castle near Oban, Scotland.
Early Club History
Dunolly & Bealiba Shire Express
July 15, 1873 reported that? In many parts of the Colony we find that athletes are paying attention to football as a game calculated to bring out the vigour and activity of youth and a means of exhilarating the more robust frames of their fathers? This robust diversion will no doubt become yet more general, and ere long we expect to hear football clubs being formed in all the surrounding townships and occasional matches being played on each others grounds by respective teams?
A meeting was held at Frayne’s Commercial Hotel on the evening of Tuesday July 23rd 1873 to form the Dunolly Football Club. Mr T. W. Sayer was appointed as Acting Secretary. The Express was to report that the meeting was not as well attended as it might have been; however? the club is a position to at once commence play. A ball has been procured and we hope soon to hear of a contest between our local men and some of the surrounding clubs. We hear that there are some crack kickers amongst those who have joined Dunolly?
It took some time before the club had its first game. There is no record of play until a scratch match was held on the Market Square on the afternoon of Saturday 30th August. Play commenced at 4.30 p.m. and as reported by the Express: An exciting and well contested game was played until six o’clock, with neither side being successful in obtaining a goal, the match was declared a draw.
The first recorded match against an opposing Club was played on Wednesday 8th October 1873 against Maryborough. This game was played in McBride’s Paddock near the Flour Mill (the relatively flat ground just north of the present Broadway-Raglan St Intersection). The game was played in two one hour halves. The highlight of the game was a fall by one of the Maryborough Players and as the Express reported: which so injured his left shoulder as to render the arm useless? After the first hour no goals were scored and the teams took a break, and rolled up to the refreshment booth in good humour with each other. In the second half Maryborough had the favour of the wind and after 45minutes of play kicked the first goal. For the next 15 minutes Dunolly had the ball well up to their goal but were unable to capitalise for want of experienced players. Maryborough won the game one goal to nil.
Premierships :
Senior: 1895 (Dunolly Goldsborough combined) –1909 – 1930 – 1932 – 1958 – 1959 –
1961 – 1962 – 1963 – 1969 –
1930 Grand Final: Dunolly 11-8-74 d. Clunes 6-8-48
1932 Grand Final: Dunolly 15-7-97 d. Bealiba 10-13-73
1958 Grand Final: Dunolly 13-9-87 d. Campbells Creek 10-6-66
1959 Grand Final: Dunolly 21-8-134 d. Primrose 16-10-106
1961 Grand Final: Dunolly 13-11-89 d. Carisbrook 10-15-75
1962 Grand Final: Dunolly14-11-95 d. Talbot 3-4-2257
1963 Grand Final: Dunolly 11-8-74 d. Carisbrook 8-9-57
1969 Grand Final: Dunolly 11-6-72 d. Newstead 9-12-66
Reserves: 1986
1986 Grand Final: Dunolly 7-7-49 d. Lexton 4-5-29
Under 15: 1983 – 1984
1983 Grand Final: Dunolly 9-7-61 d. Marnoo 8-7-55
1984 Grand Final: Dunolly 8-8-56 d. Marnoo 8-7-55
Under 16: 1995 – 1996
1995 Grand Final: Dunolly 9-9-63 d. Avoca 9-6-60
1996 Grand Final: Dunolly 8-8-56 d. Avoca 7-4-46
Lexton Football League Best & Fairest:
Seniors:
Nil
Reserves:
Nil
Under 16:
1990: Pat Edmunds
1993: Shane Hutchins
Lexton Football League Maffescioni Award:
1985: Geoff Mottram
1990: Wayne Deledio
1997: James Brady
Lexton Football League Leading Goalkicker Award:
1983: Leigh Hunt 114 goals
1986: Leigh Hunt 83 goals
1998: Leigh Hunt 65 goals
LIFE MEMBERS
Britten* Fred
Cann, Barry
Coombes, Peter
Deledio, Ron (Sen)*
Edwards, Robert
Flett, Ian
Graco,* Beryl
Graco,* Joe
Graco, Tim
Hutchins, Glen
Jenkin, Jim
Lacy, Arthur “Joe”
Lanfranchi, Bernie
O'Kane, Tim
Reeves, Greg
Skene, Doug
Smith,* Doug
Strahan, Bill
Watts*, Graham “Chong”
Watts,* Maurie “Peanut”
Williams, Chris
Williams, Len