Coldstream Over The Years…
99 years ago - 1912:
After Lilydale left to play in a different competition and the team from Coranderrk folded, Coldstream lined up against Yarra Glen and Healesville for a round robin style district competition. At the end of the 8 games (no finals were played), Coldstream had notched up 3 wins and 5 losses. Not a great result, but still the best season the Club had ever played!
As an interesting side note, the victory against Yarra Glen in Round 2 was the only the Club’s second victory in 27 matches since the creation of the team in 1890.
In Round 4 Coldstream’s home game against Yarra Glen was interrupted by a fox hunt! The umpire was forced to stop play until the fox - and the chasing pack - had made their dash across the ground!
50 years ago - 1961:
Coldstream were playing in the ‘B’ Section of the Croydon - Ferntree Gully Football League (which would become the Eastern Districts Football League the following year). After scraping into 4th place in 1960, the Club was looking good for finals action again in 1961. They would have to do it without Colin Mellors, who after winning the last 3 League B & Fs had been recruited by Footscray. Mellors would return in Round 7, when the Dogs had a bye, to play a game; kicking two goals and being named in the best in the 6 point win over Scoresby.
In April a committee was formed to discuss the development of a new reserve within the Cheviot Park estate. Donated by Mr. McFadzean, the new reserve would eventually become Halley Supple Reserve.
The season started on a sad note. A minute’s silence was observed before the first match in honour of Barry Madigan, a former Coldstream junior and promising young utility, who had been tragically killed in a car accident.
In Round 19 Tony Skate kicked 14 goals as Coldstream demolished Warrandyte (B) by 240 points.
Finishing 4th again, the team headed to Croydon Oval to meet Scoresby in the First Semi Final. 3 goals to Tony Skate in the first quarter saw Coldstream take an early lead, but by the half it had been reduced to a single goal. Holding strong, the final margin was a mere 8 points. Former Carlton player and Coldstream captain Bob Kelsey was listed as BOG. It was only the Club’s second ever finals victory (after 1958’s semi final win over The Basin).
Things all fell apart in the Preliminary Final against Mulgrave. By quarter time they trailed by 45 points and by the main break the margin was 61.
The boys toughed it out and ‘won’ both the 3rd and 4th quarters, but it was all in vain as Mulgrave progressed to the 1961 Grand Final with a 55 point win.
Graeme Ellis (father of current coach Sean) won both the Club B & F as well as the League’s best U21 player. The VFL came knocking and Ellis headed off to play for Richmond in 1962.
25 years ago - 1986:
After playing finals in 3 of the past 4 years, confidence was high at Coldstream that a second flag was on the horizon. Coldstream was no longer in the bottom division as the EDFL launched a fourth division.
Gary Galvin joined the club as Captain and coach and by the halfway point of the year, the Club sat 3rd on the ladder with a record of 7 wins and two losses. The run home was tough going given the bad weather over the 1986 winter. It got so bad that Round 15 was postponed a week due to too many grounds being in poor, muddy condition!
The season finished with a top of the table clash - Mooroolbark (1st) vs. Coldstream (2nd). In what most people thought was a Grand Final preview, Coldstream went down by an even 3 goals. The loss didn’t change much, with the Club finishing up the season 2nd on the ladder with a 14 and 4 record.
Now for the ‘real’ stuff…
Facing Mooroolbark again in the Second Semi Final was a real chance to show if the boys had what it took to win the premiership. With some great footy, the boys did just that; reversing the result of Round 18 to win the final by 19 points. The win gave Coldstream the week off and direct entry into the 1986 Grand Final. Even better, it meant that Mooroolbark, the year’s best team, had to fight through a preliminary final if they wanted another shot at Coldstream!
In the Reserves First Semi Final, Coldstream found themselves on the wrong end of a low scoring wrestle, losing to Upper Ferntree Gully by 4 points.
In a great result for the Cougars, Fair Park knocked Mooroolbark out of the premiership race in the preliminary final. The door was now open for a Coldstream flag! However, Fair Park were just as hungry, having lost the 1985 Grand Final.
It had been 11 years since the Club had seen a senior premiership and the club had lost 3 Grand Finals in between, but this was to be Coldstream’s year.
It was a tight game and inaccuracy threatened to derail Coldstream’s premiership hopes. In the end however, it was the sheer weight of numbers that told the tale, with Coldstream able to post 11 more scoring shots.
Those extra 11 behinds would end up being the final margin; Coldstream winning the 1986 crown 14.19.103 to 14.8.92.
10 years ago - 2001:
Coldstream was in division 4 after a disastrous 1999 season saw them relegated. They have reached the 2000 Grand Final, but were stopped in their tracks by a rampaging Waverley Blues.
But with a new coach and even more determination, the Cougars dominated the 2001 season, winning 16 games to finish on top of the ladder.
Facing Rowville in the First Semi Final, Coldstream made a little piece of club history with their 123 point win - it was the Club’s biggest ever winning margin in a final and it was also the Club’s highest ever score kicked in a final (25.16.166 to 6.7.43).
Heading into the 2001 decider as red hot favourites, the boys didn’t disappoint - bringing home the Club’s fourth Senior premiership with a 49 point victory over Ferntree Gully.
The Reserves had just as successful a season, also winning 16 games and finishing on top of their ladder. Their 26 point win over the Eastern Lions bringing home just the third Reserves flag in the 38 years the Club had been running two senior teams.
To round out the celebrations, the U16s also won the premiership, their 6 point win over Blackburn making it back to back flags for them.
