FOOTBALL TIMELINE OF THE ALL BLACKS FNC
1934 - 1940: Tatong / Thoona FL
1941 - 1952: Club in recess
1953 - 1977: Benalla & DFL
1978 - 1995: Tungamah FL
1996 - 1998: Goulburn Valley FL - Division Two.
1999 - 2004: Central Goulburn FL
2005 - 2023: Ovens & King FNL
In 1996 the Goulburn Valley Football league absorbed the clubs from the Tungamah FL and had a second division for three years (1996–1998). These second division clubs then left to form the Central Goulburn Football League in 1998. This league ceased to exist in 2005.
NETBALL TIMELINE OF THE ALL BLACKS FNC
1978 - 1995: Tungamah FL
1996 - 1998: Goulburn Valley FL - Division Two.
1999 - 2004: Central Goulburn FL
2005 - 2023: Ovens & King FNL
Benalla's Other Club
The All Blacks have been around since 1934, when a group of locals decided the town needed a second club (the original Benalla FC plays in the powerful Goulburn Valley league).
''When they formed, they had no money,'' said 2010 club President, Linley Flack said. ''So what they did to get started, they all brought a guernsey from home and they died them all black. It's as simple as that. Some people think the club has an indigenous connection, but it's not actually the case.''
Premiers in their first season, the All Blacks - or Panthers as they've become known in recent years - quickly became a powerhouse in the Benalla and District league. By the time organised footy was halted by World War II, they already had five flags to their name.
The club continued to enjoy success through the 1950s, '60s and '70s, winning premierships at regular intervals. Eventually, its players and supporters became tired of dominating the Benalla and District league, so they applied to enter the higher-standard Tungamah FL.
Allowed to move by the VCFL, the All Blacks initially handled the change with ease, and won their 13th flag in 1981. But during the following 25 years, the club gradually fell from grace. By the time yet another bush footy restructure led to it being shunted into the Ovens and King league for the 2005 season, it was battling to win a game.
Looking back, the people who have resurrected the All Blacks say the disastrous 2007 campaign, in which the seniors were competitive in only a handful of their matches, was the wake-up call they needed.
While Flack subsequently took over the presidency and began cleaning up the club's off-field reputation, it was the arrival of a new coaching team that kick-started the on-field revival.
By - Adam McNicol
8th August, 2010.
