Wantirna South Football Club

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The Wantirna South Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Melbourne. It was formed in 1952 and is based at Walker Reserve which is located at Tyner Road in Wantirna South. The club until the completion of the 1997 season were known as the South Wantirna Football Club, but due to the amalgamation with the Wantirna Football Club (which was a junior club) the name was decided upon Wantirna South Football Club.

The Club is nicknamed the 'Devils' and wear a bottle green jumper with two white stripes.

[edit] Club History

The club was formed in 1952 and started in the Croydon-Ferntree Gully Football League and was placed in B Grade where it played against many side's reserve grade sides. Tragedy struck the Walker family in 1953 with the accidental drowning of Jim Walker and his daughter Lorraine at Phillip Island. The community got together and erected the entrance gates and plaque in their memory and from that day the three parcels of land became known as Walker Reserve.

The club had minimal success within the five seasons of this league and in 1957 transferred to the Mountain District Football League and was again placed in B Grade. Success within this competition came almost immediately with the club finishing runners-up in its first season within the competition, and were then able to win its inaugural premiership in 1958 under the guidance of Coach Trevor Wightman defeating Silvan in the Grand Final by 58 points.

1959 saw the club move up to the A Grade part of the competition for the first ever time. The club was competitive within its first year, but struggled for the next few seasons, which included wooden spoons in 1960 and 1961. At the completion of the 1964 it was decided that the club would move to the newly formed Eastern Districts Football League.

The club started in the Eastern Districts Football League in 1965 and was placed in the second of three divisions, but the club only managed to win one game over the course of its first two seasons, and was then placed in the third division from 1967 until its relegation at the completion of the 1985 season. This era was a very dark one for the club, failing to make the finals at any stage and finishing last several times.

The 1986 season saw the league bring in a fourth division for the first time, and it took only until 1988 to see the club play in its first finals series since its premiership in 1958. Unfortunately, the club's finals campaign was unsuccessful losing both its finals to Lilydale and Nunawading respectively.

The club would then have to wait until the 1994 season to play finals again, but yet again the campaign was unsuccessful. The following year saw the club reform an Under 18 side for the first time in many years, and the club had one its most successful years which saw the senior, reserve and under 18 sides all make the Grand Final. The reserves were the only ones successful on the day, with the seniors falling only four points short of Fairpark.

The 1996 season was the club's most successful season, both the senior and reserve sides went through their respective seasons undefeated and the club took home its first ever premiership in the Eastern Districts Football League, defeating Waverley in the Grand Final by 25 points.

The club went back up to Third Division in 1997 and spent most of its time around the middle of the ladder. The club took the big step in 2002 when it won the premiership again, this time against Doncaster East by a nail-biting three points. It was also our Golden Jubilee year and a testament to our early pioneers for their vision and commitment as well as the opportunity to remember those who contributed so much to the club particularly in the lean years.

This saw the club move up to Second Division for the first time since the 1966 season, and the club made an immediate impact in the division, just failing to make finals in the first year, but taking out the premiership the following year by defeating Montrose in the Grand Final by only 2 points.

This saw the club move into First Division for the first ever time in 2005, the side was competitive for the most of the season, but was unable to get over the line and only managed the two wins for the season and saw itself in last place at the completion of the season.

The Devils though have seen some good players enter the AFL including Kieran McGuinness for the Western Bulldogs.