The Fitzroy Stars Football Club is an

Australian rules 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 ...

football club located 7 km north east of central Melbourne in the suburb of Thornbury. The club is based in the Aboriginal community of Melbourne's inner northern suburbs. They usually play their home games at

Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to: Places Australia * Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales * Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse * Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...

in Abbotsford, the former home ground of the

Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed the Magpies or colloquially the Pies, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. The club w ...

, but have also played at other venues including the Bill Lawry Oval in 2012.

History

The Fitzroy Stars Football Club was formed in 1970 and moved between different football leagues throughout Melbourne. These included the Metropolitan Football League, the Northern Metropolitan Football League, the YCW National Football Association and the Melbourne North Football League of which FSFC was a foundation member in 1988. The FSFC activity was only interrupted by the collapse of these leagues. The club achieved a deal of success during this period as the club played finals on a consistent basis as well as winning premierships in 1977, 1986,Sunday Press 7 September 1986 1989, 1990 and 1992. The club disbanded in 1997 and was reformed in the Northern Football League in 2008. In 2008 the Darebin City Council assisted the FSFC to negotiate Crispe Park, Bill Lawry Oval and

Preston City Oval The Preston City Oval is an Australian rules football stadium in Cramer Street in Preston, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne. It has a main grandstand and the ground is capable of holding around 5,000 spectators. The Ground The ground was the ...

for home games in that season. The FSFC also used Preston RSL Youth Club's Ruthven Reserve as a training venue. In 2009 the club was given the go-ahead to use

as its home venue. The club now trains at the

Aborigines Advancement League The Aboriginal Advancement League was founded in 1957 as the Victorian Aborigines Advancement League (VAAL), is the oldest Aboriginal rights organisation in Australia still in operation. Its precursor organisations were the Australian Abori ...

in Watt Street Thornbury.

Current status

The club fields senior and reserve teams in Division Two. The teams currently play their home games at

Sir Douglas Nicholls Oval ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

in Thornbury. In 2008, Lionel "Jacko" Proctor won the Division Two League Best and Fairest. He achieved this goal once again by winning the League Best and Fairest for the 2012 season. The club has achieved a steady rise in success that most recently sees both teams qualifying for finals spots.

References

External links

Fitzroy Stars Football Club Website

Northern Football League Website
{{DVFL Northern Football League (Australia) clubs Australian rules football clubs established in 1970 1970 establishments in Australia Fitzroy, Victoria Sport in the City of Darebin Sport in the City of Yarra Australian rules football clubs in Melbourne Organisations serving Indigenous Australians