The Shepparton Swans Football Netball 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 ...

and

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

club based in the city of

Shepparton Shepparton () ( Yortayorta: ''Kanny-goopna'') is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River in northern Victoria, Australia, approximately north-northeast of Melbourne. As of the 2021 census, the estimated population of Shepparton, ...

in northern Victoria. The club teams currently compete in the

Goulburn Valley League Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters patent b ...

History

The Shepparton Swans were originally known as the "Lemnos Football Club", named after the Greek island of the same name where some local Shepparton men were posted during World War I (the local area, originally known as 'Thomas Estate No. 5', became known as that from then on) and played in black and yellow jumpers. The club would play in the

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 ...

from its establishment in 1928 to 1936. The association's name was changed to 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, ...

(GVFA) at the 1937 AGM (winning three premierships in this time: 1937, 1938, and 1940). When the GVFA's title was changed to the Central Goulburn Valley Football League in 1946, Lemnos applied for admission into the newly formed league, but was refused. It also found that their colours were already being used by the Shepparton East Football Club, who joined the GVFA in 1945. As a result, the club applied for and entered the Goulburn Valley Football League in 1946. Being a town-based league, the club's name was changed to Lemnos-Shepparton. Again, the black and yellow colours were already in use (this time by the Rushworth Football Club). As a result, in 1946 the club took up the use of a white jumper with a red v (similar to the

VFL The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

team of South Melbourne at the time). The first premiership the club won in this league was in 1959, beating

Kyabram Kyabram is a town in north central Victoria, Australia. Kyabram is located in the centre of a rich irrigation district in the Goulburn River Valley, north of Melbourne. It is the second-largest town in the Shire of Campaspe, situated between t ...

by 39 points. In the 1960s a series of improvements led to the club moving from Deakin Reserve to Princess Park in Shepparton. It wasn't until 1970 that Lemnos-Shepparton won another premiership, again beating Kyabram (this time by 35 points). In 1999, Lemnos-Shepparton formally adopted the new names of the Shepparton Swans, staying with this permanently.

Honours

Football Premierships

Football League – Best & Fairest winners

;Seniors

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 ...
– N Gribble Cup

Lemnos

*1934 – Paul Bell

Goulburn Valley Football League – Morrison Medal

Lemnos

* W Tyquin (1949) * R Orrman (1951, 1954, 1959) * N Smith (1975) * M Lambourn (1996)

Shepparton Swans

* J Sutherland (2002) * B Durbridge (2009)

World War II – Roll of Honour

The following four, former Lemnos FC players died in active duty during World War II. * Paul Bell * Stepper Hawkings * George Pearce * Ron Taylor

References

External links

Official website1939 - Lemnos FC team photo
{{Goulburn Valley Football League Australian rules football clubs in Victoria (state) Sports clubs and teams established in 1928 Australian rules football clubs established in 1928 1928 establishments in Australia Goulburn Valley Football League clubs Netball teams in Victoria (state)