Goulburn North East Football Association is an association football (soccer) competition in
Shepparton, Victoria
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, ...
. It was known as the North Eastern Soccer League from the competition's inception in 1971 until February 2009. Between 2012 and 2014 the men's top division was known as the Regional Premier League.
Ten clubs participate in the GNEFA across various divisions and age groups for men, women, boys and girls.
Clubs
Shepparton
:Formerly named as Lemnos Makedonia, Shepparton is nicknamed "The Reds". Shepparton's home colours are red and black stripes, similar to Macedonian team
FK Vardar
FK Vardar Skopje ( mk, ФК Вардар Скопје), or simply Vardar, is a football club based in the capital city of Skopje, North Macedonia, North Macedonia. The club was founded in 1947 and currently competes in the Macedonian Second Foo ...
.
Shepparton once had former
Cambridge Utd
Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on New ...
player Michael Kyd play a guest stint at the club.
Shepparton is the GNEFA's most successful senior club, having won eight premierships as Lemnos and six as Shepparton for a total of 14.
Shepparton home games are played at Vibert Reserve. The club forms the base of
Preston Lions
Preston Lions Football Club (formerly Preston Makedonia Soccer Club) is a soccer club from Preston, a northern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The club was established in 1947 to play non-professional soccer matches against other t ...
supporters club of country Victoria.
Shepparton United
:Shepparton United is nicknamed "United" or "The Blues" and is the reigning women's premier of the GNEFA.
United's home colours are all blue.
United has won six GNEFA men's premierships, the most recent in 1998 while it won four in a row from 1988 to 1991.
United is also the league's most successful women's club, having won four premierships including a three-peat from 2006-8.
United home games are played at Central Park in Shepparton East.
Seven-time capped Australian international and ex-
Portsmouth FC
Portsmouth Football Club is a professional football club based in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, which compete in . They are also known as ''Pompey'', a local nickname used by both HMNB Portsmouth and the city of Portsmouth; the ''Pompey'' nick ...
player Robert Enes hails from Shepparton and played for United.
Former
Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system.
The history of Oldham Athletic ...
midfielder
Kelvin Lomax
Kelvin Lomax, or Kelvin Trippier, (born 12 November 1986) is an English footballer. He plays as a defender.
He started his career in the youth team at Oldham Athletic before working his way through to the first team. He went on loan spells with ...
and former
Socceroos
The Australia men's national soccer team represents Australia in international men's soccer. Officially nicknamed the Socceroos, the team is controlled by the governing body for soccer in Australia, Football Australia, which is affiliated with ...
goalscorer Michael Curcija have also played for the club.
Shepparton South
:Shepparton South is nicknamed "South" or "The Southerners" and plays in black and white stripes similar to Italian team
Juventus
Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...
.
South has won Four GNEFA premierships, a hat-trick from 1999 to 2001 and again in 2009 and 2010.
South's recent success has come in junior grades, its under-17s won the division three times consecutively (2005-7) It also won the under-12 boys and went unbeaten in the inaugural season of junior girls (under-14)in 2008.
South home games are played at McEwen Reserve.
Steven Weir
Steven Weir (born 3 October 1988) is a Scottish Junior footballer who plays as a striker for Junior League Side Fauldhouse United club Fauldhouse.Livingston FC and
Cowdenbeath FC
Cowdenbeath Football Club ( ) is a Scottish semi-professional football team based in Cowdenbeath, Fife. They are members of the Lowland Football League, the fifth tier of the Scottish football league system after their relegation from Scottish ...
previously played at the club.
Their most notable product is Frankie Lagana, who played for Airdrie United in the
Scottish Football League
The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km south ...
Tatura
:Tatura is nicknamed "The Ibises" and its home colours are red shirts and white shorts.
Tatura has won two GNEFA men's premierships, in 1980 and 1987.
Tatura's home games are played at Frank Howley reserve. Tatura is also a regular host venue for the GNEFA grand final.
Tatura is the club of the only current
A-League
A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...
player from the GNEFA; were
Vince Lia
Vince Lia (born 18 March 1985) is an Australian professional football (soccer) player who plays for Altona Magic in the National Premier Leagues Victoria.
Born in Shepparton, Lia played youth football in Victoria before making his senior deb ...
of
Wellington Phoenix
Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. It competes in the Australian A-League, under licence from Football Federation Australia. Phoenix entered the competition in the ...
played junior soccer.
Kyabram
:Kyabram is nicknamed the "Go-Annas", a play on words inspired by a founding member of the club being named Anna and the
Goanna
A goanna is any one of several species of lizards of the genus '' Varanus'' found in Australia and Southeast Asia.
Around 70 species of ''Varanus'' are known, 25 of which are found in Australia. This varied group of carnivorous reptiles ranges ...
animal.
Kyabram fields a women's team but does not have a men's division one team.
Kyabram's home colours are orange and black.
Benalla
:Benalla soccer club is a former men's premier of the GNEFA.
Benalla competed in Albury Wodonga Football Association from 1994 to 2008 before re-affiliating with the GNEFA in time for the 2009 season.
Former Clubs
Hanwood
:Hanwood Soccer Club is from
Griffith, New South Wales
Griffith is a major regional city in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area that is located in the north-western part of the Riverina region of New South Wales, known commonly as the food bowl of Australia. It is also the seat of the City of Griffith ...
and was men's premier from 2004 to 2006.
Hanwood left the GNEFA citing a player numbers shortage and a lack of commitment to travelling three hours from Griffith to Shepparton for away games.
The club officially left the league in early 2008.
Yoogali
:Yoogali Soccer Club is from
Griffith, New South Wales
Griffith is a major regional city in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area that is located in the north-western part of the Riverina region of New South Wales, known commonly as the food bowl of Australia. It is also the seat of the City of Griffith ...
and is the arch rival of Hanwood.
Yoogali won numerous premierships in the men's and women's North Eastern Soccer League, including four in a row in the 1990s.
Yoogali withdrew from the GNEFA in early 2008, citing a loss of almost its entire senior team to retirement, re-location, or a lack of commitment to the three-hours travel required to play away games in Shepparton and Tatura.
Not helping the Yoogali players' commitment to the league was the controversial circumstances Shepparton defeated it under in the 2007 men's GNEFA grand final; the first documented case in Australian soccer history of a player already substituted off the park taking a penalty (for Shepparton) in the game-deciding shoot-out.
2007 season
Shepparton won the 2007 men's premiership on penalties 8-7 after a 1-1 draw with Yoogali in the grand final at Tatura Park. Yoogali protested the result and had a replay ordered after their protest was upheld by a league tribunal. Shepparton then had the decision reversed at another appeal tribunal and was authorised as competition premier /sup>
Shepparton won the minor premiership with 46 competition points to Yoogali's 44. Yoogali won the qualifying final to advance to the grand final 4-3 at Deakin Reserve in Shepparton. Hanwood defeated Shepparton United 2-0 in the elimination final and hosted the preliminary final in Griffith, NSW against Shepparton. Shepparton won the preliminary final 1-0 to advance to a re-match with Yoogali in the grand final.
Competition best-and-fairest was Carl Fannon of Cobram.
Top scorer was Stuart Vance of Shepparton with 22 goals in the regular season and three in finals for a total of 25.
Women's premiers were Shepparton United after an extra-time goal in the grand final against Tatura. United won back-to-back premierships with the 1-0 victory. United won the minor premiership with 51 points, scoring 110 goals, from Tatura on 43 points.
Competition best-and-fairest was Derya Tankrikulu of Tatura.
Top scorer was Jess Theobald of Shepparton United with 39 goals in the regular season and two in the finals for a total of 41.
2008 season
Shepparton completed back-to-back premierships by defeating Cobram Victory 1-0 in the grand final at Tatura Park. The Reds won the minor premiership with 53 points from Cobram Victory on 48, but lost the qualifying final on penalties after a 2-2 draw.
It meant Shepparton had to play Shepparton United in the preliminary final, United defeated Shepparton South on penalties in the elimination final after a 2-2 draw. Shepparton won the preliminary final against United 2-1 to advance to a re-match with Victory in the grand final. Competition top-scorer Stuart Vance scored the only goal in the grand final.
Competition best-and-fairest was Frank Bazzano of Cobram Victory.
Top scorer was Stuart Vance of Shepparton with 26 goals in the regular season and three in the finals for a total of 29.
Women's premiers were Shepparton United after a 3-0 penalty shoot-out win against Cobram after a 1-1 draw in the grand final.
United needed a late equaliser from competition top scorer Jess Theobald to send the game into extra time after trailing 1-0 for most of the game. The Blues had won the minor premiership with 60 points from Cobram on 43.
Competition best-and-fairest was Georgia Oudeman of Cobram Victory
Top scorer was Jess Theobald of Shepparton United with 40 goals in the regular season and two in finals for a total of 42.
2009 season
Shepparton South won the GNEFA men's division one premiership by defeating Shepparton United 2-0 in the grand final at Tatura Park. South won the minor premiership wit 33 points to Shepparton United in second on 27.
Back-to-back league top scorer Stuart Vance switched clubs, moving from Shepparton to Shepparton South at the start of the season.
United finished second after a series of tribunals concerning its appeal of a 5-2 loss to Shepparton in the home and away season.
The reversal of the 5-2 Shepparton win by the tribunal to a 3-0 United win meant the top four was Shepparton South 33, United 27, Shepparton 25 and Tatura 23.
Shepparton eliminated Tatura 5-0 in the first week of finals, while South advanced direct to the grand final with a 1-0 win against United in the second week.
United qualified for the grand final by defeating Shepparton 1-0 in the preliminary final.
Second-half goals to Stuart Vance and Luke Nardella won the grand final 2-0 for Shepparton South.
Shepparton South's Connor Campbell won the league best and fairest, while Stuart Vance was top scorer with 22 goals in the home and away season and one goal in the grand final for a total of 23 for the season.
Women's premiers for the first time in league history were Shepparton South after a 1-0 grand final win against Shepparton United.
The game's only goal was scored by Bonnie Kilmartin, a long and
bouncing ball
The physics of a bouncing ball concerns the physical behaviour of bouncing balls, particularly its motion before, during, and after impact against the surface of another body. Several aspects of a bouncing ball's behaviour serve as an introd ...
from midfield which was scrambled out of the goal mouth by United's defenders, but not before the referee's assistant had flagged for a goal.
Amateur video footage and newspaper photographs showed the ball had crossed the line.
Shepparton United had won the minor premiership with 34 points from South on 32, Shepparton on 30 and Tatura on 24.
Tatura eliminated Shepparton on penalties in the first week of finals, while United advanced to the grand final with a 1-0 extra-time win against Shepparton South in week two.
South defeated Tatura 1-0 in the preliminary final to set up the grand final re-match against United.
Competition best and fairest was Shepparton United's Holly Dimstas, while Cobram's Bianca Dikkenberg was top scorer with 15 goals.
2010 season
Shepparton South won the GNEFA men's grand final to complete back-to-back premierships after a 4-2 penalty shoot-out win against Tatura. Scores after regular and extra time were 0-0. Victory gave South its fifth senior men's premiership.
Key moments in the game included a first-half save by Tatura goalkeeper Stephen Sellwood from South's Joel Aitken, goal ruled offside for Tatura in stoppage time of regular time, and a save from South goalkeeper Robbie Taylor from Tatura's Cody Sellwood in the last minute of extra time.
Taylor saved one penalty in the shoot-out and Tatura missed another kick, while South scored all four of its penalties.
Shepparton South were minor premiers with 34 points from Tatura (28), Shepparton (27) and Cobram Victory (22). Shepparton 4 d Victory 2 in elimination final, Shepparton South 0 lt Tatura 1 in qualifying final, Shepparton South 1 d Shepparton 0 in prelim final.
Best and fairest and competition top scorer was Cobram Victory's Craig Carley, he scored 30 goals.
Women's premiers were Shepparton United after a 6-0 win against Shepparton South in the grand final. Victory gave United its fifth senior women's premiership.
Scorers in the final were Megan Carr (2), Amanda Lawless, Tiarna Meka and two own goals. The score was 2-0 at half time. Statistics announced on the match DVD suggest United had 31 shots on goal.
Shepparton United were minor premiers with 42 points from Tatura (40), South (33) and Numurkah (24). Shepparton South 3 d Numurkah 1 in elimination final, Shepparton United 3 d Tatura 1 in qualifying final, Tatura 0 lt Shepparton South 1 in preliminary final.
Best and fairest was Cobram Victory's Imogen Head, while Shepparton United's Leanne Rawson scored 34 goals in the regular season and one in finals for a total of 35.
Men's division two premiers were Kialla United, under-16s Shepparton, girls under-15s Shepparton South, under-14s Shepparton South and under-12s Shepparton South.
Media
Daily newspaper Shepparton News is the main source of GNEFA news, while Prime Television and WIN Television preview and review match rounds. Radio stations such as 3SR (FM 95.3) and 3ONE (FM 98.5) also have shows with regular segments that discuss the league.