The club has a fantastic 415 page club history book titled -
UNITED WE STAND
Which was published in 2012 and gives a fantastic account of the past 75 years of history of our great club, with most of the book research performed by former premiership player, Angelo Cavallin.
United We Stand charts the progression of the King Valley United Football Netball Club (KVUFNC) from 1934 to 2012 in the Ovens and King Football League in country Victoria.Spanning nearly 80 years, United We Stand is compiled of dated entries with games played, scores, goalkickers, best players, club meetings, game reports, honours board and items of interest during the Ovens and King football season.
United We Stand forms the backbone of King Valley United's history and covers the entrance of the club into the Ovens and King Football League in 1935, the advancement of football to include the reserves and thirds teams, the formation of junior football, the inclusion of netball into the ranks and information on the club's soccer and basketball teams.
United We Stand also tells the story of the interruption of football during World War II, football players who enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (told by their families) and the development of football after the war.United We Stand is a historically significant collection of dated events, photos, and newspaper memorabilia of the KVUFNC and of local historical relevance to the King Valley region.
The majority of the content of this book has been compiled from excerpts from the Wangaratta Chronicle from 1934 to 2012.
This book is available through the club secretary via email at - kingvalleyfnc@gmail.com
Below is a brief club history sourced from the - www.australianfootball.com
King Valley United
From 1920 onwards, the area around King Valley boasted its own football association, which featured teams from Cheshunt, Edi, Greta, King Valley, Moyhu Rovers (Moyhu Seconds), Myrrhee and Whitfield.
The economic depression of the 1930s badly affected the competition as many footballers moved elsewhere to look for work. Prior to the 1935 season the number of available players had declined to such an extent that it became clear that it would not be possible for the association to continue. Instead, the remaining players joined forces to create the King Valley United Football Club, which was quickly accepted into the Ovens and King Football League.
The Valley’s debut season in the OKFL proved quite promising, with the side numbering the previous year’s premiers, Moyhu, among its scalps, and in the end only narrowly failing to reach the finals.
King Valley and Eldorado withdrew from the O&KFL in June 1940 due to player enlistments in the AIF.
King Valley United’s first major round appearance came in 1947 when it lost a hard fought first semi final to Moyhu by 19 points. Ten years later, the side made its first ever grand final after downing Chiltern in the second semi final by 7 points. The grand final rematch was a vastly different affair, however, with the Swans’ greater experience proving decisive as they won comfortably by more than 7 goals.
The ‘Roos next contested a grand final in 1966, but lost a low scoring war of attrition against Greta by 13 points. It was the appointment of Bob Atkinson as captain-coach three years later that proved to be the catalyst for the club’s transformation from pretender to crown prince. In 1969, King Valley’s seniors reached the first semi final, while the reserves went top. The following year, several members of the reserves premiership side bolstered the ranks of the seniors who, after opening the season with a 20.24 (144) to 13.6 (84) rout of Bright, did not really look back. With players like Terry Crapper, Ray Hooper and Terry Ryan to the fore, the ‘Roos comprehensively defeated Milawa in the grand final, reversing the result of the second semi. Full forward Hooper contributed an amazing 11 goals to his side’s tally of 14.13 (97), while all the Demons could muster in reply was 7.9 (51).
After such a memorable triumph, the remainder of the 1970s proved disappointing, although by the end of the decade there were signs that the corner had been turned. With Richie Allen at the helm in 1981 the ‘Roos finally managed to go all the way, downing Milawa by a bare point in the qualifying final, narrowly overcoming Chiltern in the second semi final, and then finishing all over Milawa in the grand final to record a convincing and wholly meritorious 29 point win. Final scores were King Valley 15.14 (104) to Milawa 10.15 (75). For captain-coach Allen the victory capped a dream season which had earlier seen him acknowledged as the league’s pre-eminent player for the year with the award of the Baker Medal.
There has been no further premiership glory since, although the ‘Roos reached the preliminary final in 2001, and also contested the 2002, 2004, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016 finals series. The 2017 season saw them tumbling down the twelve team ladder to tenth before putting in an improved campaign in 2018 which resulted in finals qualification for an eventual finishing position of fifth.
