The Ardmona Football Club is an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

club from the

Goulburn Valley The Goulburn Valley is a sub-region, part of the Hume region of the Australian state of Victoria. The sub-region consists of those areas in the catchment of the Goulburn River and other nearby streams, and is part of the Murray-Darling Basin. ...

town of Ardmona,

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, Australia that plays in the

Kyabram & District Football League The Kyabram District Football League (KDL) is an Australian rules football league in Victoria. It is made up of 15 teams; the most recent additions include Dookie United in 2018 and Shepparton East in 2019. The KDL is made up of smaller country ...

History

Ardmona Football Club was established in 1920 by the local young men of Ardmona, playing in Wednesday afternoon competitions at the primary school grounds. An attempt was made in 1920 to secure a ground for the club but the deal was not brought to completion. A letter to the editor in the Shepparton Advertiser in November 1921 claimed that Ardmona needed a recreation ground for the locals to utilize. The local young men were travelling to Mooroopna to play sport. Ardmona played its first league game in the Toolamba District Association on 24 June 1922 against Toolamba. In 1923 a committee was formed to raise funds to secure land for an oval. In May 1923, a public meeting was held to discuss the question for an Ardmona Recreation Reserve. There was a very large attendance and two sites were discussed, either 10 acres north of Ardmona Store or 20 acres next to the property of Mr Eli North. The latter property was purchased with community donations and Messrs. W, J. Pearson, A. Lenne, C. W. Norton, J. Simson, E. Young and E.North were appointed as trustees. The club has played in the

Goulburn Valley Football Association The Goulburn Valley Football Association (GVFA) is an Australian rules football competition that was first established in 1888 in the Goulburn Valley of Victoria, Australia, with the foundation clubs being Cobram, Muckatah, Nathalia, Numurkah, ...

, the

Central Goulburn Valley Football League The Central Goulburn Valley Football League (CGVFL) was established on Monday, 11 March 1946 at the Annual General Meeting of the Goulburn Valley Football Association, when a name change of this Australian rules football competition took place. Hi ...

and the

. Ardmona played in eight

Goulburn Valley Second Eighteens Football Association The Goulburn Valley Football Association (GVFA) is an Australian rules football competition that was first established in 1888 in the Goulburn Valley of Victoria, Australia, with the foundation clubs being Cobram, Muckatah, Nathalia, Numurkah ...

grand finals between 1928 and 1936, winning four premierships. The Cats consistently featured among the K&DFNL competition's pace setters – for a time, earning a total of 15 football Premiership Flags. Since 2015, the Cats have struggled on field and financially. 2019 saw the club faced with suspension. The club was featured on Channel 7's Sunday Night Program in a bid to help raise funds to pay debts. On 14 November 2019 the club was suspended from the league, but after a successful appeal to AFL they were reinstated on 17 December 2019. AFL legend

Shane Crawford Shane Barry Crawford (born 9 September 1974) is a former Australian rules football player, television media personality and author. He played 305 senior games for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) and won the ...

has signed to coach the Ardmona Cats for the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

Football Premierships

;Seniors *

**1932, 1933, 1935, 1936 *

**1947 *

**1993, 1995, 1996, 2002, 2006 ;Reserves *

**1968, 1969, 1976, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2006 ;Thirds / Under 18's *

**1971, 1972, 2014

Football – Runners Up

;Seniors *

**1928, 1929, 1930, 1934 *

** 1974, 1992, 1997, 2007, 2008,

Football League – Best & Fairest Winners

;SENIORS

* 1968 – Colin Barnes. (Barnes also won the 1960 & 1961

Ovens & King Football League The Ovens & King Football Netball League is a minor country Australian rules football league based in North-Eastern Victoria in the vicinity of Wangaratta and more recently Benalla. History The ''Ovens & King Football League'' was formed on ...

Best & Fairest award) * 1972 – D. McKellar * 1979 – G. Saunders * 2005 – B. Lowe * 2008 – M. Young * 2019 – C. Atkinson ;RESERVES

* 2013 – D. Moor * 2014 – X. Hand * 2019 – B. Lodding ;THIRDS

* 2013 – J. Castle * 2014 – S. Cashion * 2019 – T. Lackmann

Leading Goal Kickers

* 1969 – Stan Atkinson, (100) * 1974 – Stuart Florence, (101) * 1992 – Perry Meka, (151) * 1993 – Perry Meka, (143) * 1995 –

Shane Loveless Shane Loveless (born 15 November 1958) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Footscray in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Loveless is best known as a prolific full-forward in country football, mostly for Victoria clubs ...

, (125) * 1996 – Shane Loveless, (140) * 2002 – Damien Yze, (129) * 2006 – Perry Meka, (138) * 2007 – Perry Meka, (105) * 2008 – Adrian Meka, (97)

VFL / AFL Players

The following footballers played with Ardmona prior to making their VFL / AFL debut. *1949: Fred Payne – Essendon *1953: Ray Preston - South Melbourne The following footballers either played in the VFL / AFL or were drafted prior to making their debut with Ardmona FC. *

– Footscray *Perry Meka – Footscray. Pick No. 58 in the

1986 VFL Draft The 1986 VFL draft was the third formal draft to provide recruitment opportunities to clubs participating in Australian rules football's elite Victorian Football League. Held on 26 November 1986 after the end of the 1986 VFL season, it consisted ...

References

External links

Official Kyabram and District Football League Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kyabram and District Football League * 1922 establishments in Australia Australian rules football clubs established in 1922