The Nathalia Football Netball Club, nicknamed the ''Purples'', 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 town of

Nathalia Nathalia ( ) is a town in northern Victoria, Australia. The town is located within the Shire of Moira local government area on the banks of Broken Creek and on the Murray Valley Highway. At the 2021 census, Nathalia had a population of 1,982. ...

located in north east

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 ...

. The club currently compete in the Murray League, which Nathalia joined in 1931.

Club history

The club was established in 1888 and played in a number of different football associations in its early years, winning a number of premierships along the way. The club managed to win five

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, ...

premierships between 1896 and 1930. At a

Murray Football League The Murray Football Netball League is an Australian rules football and netball league affiliated with the Victorian Country Football League. The league covers a large area of northern Victoria and southern New South Wales from Shepparton in the ...

(MFL) club's delegates meeting in June, 1940, MFL club's decided to abandoned the season and a motion was carried to conclude the season at the end of the first round. Nathalia Football Club were undefeated when the season was officially abandoned in 1940 "and will retain the pennant until the end of next season's play". Between 1941 and 1945 the MFL went into recess for World War II. Former

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington *Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport *Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League United King ...

and Glenelg ruckman,

Norm Betson Norman Edward Betson (8 July 1914 – 5 May 1988) was an Australian rules footballer who played for Essendon in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the early 1940s. Before arriving at Essendon, Betson played with Albury and was captain ...

was appointed as captain / coach in 1950. Nathalia won four in a row from 2005 to 2008 and five in a row from 2015 to 2019. Nathalia now boast the equal most (14) premierships in the Murray Football league alongside the Deniliquin Rams with 10 premierships coming from the last 15 seasons.

Football Competitions Timeline

* 1888 & 1889 ;Nathalia Football Club *1890 & 1891 – Unsure, in recess ?

*1892 to 1897 Nathalia & District Football Association *1898 & 1899

*1900 Barmah & Lower Moria Football Association *1901 to 1903 Nathalia & District Football Association *1904 Picola & District Football Association *1905

*1906 Picola & District Football Association *1907 Western & Moria Ridings Football Association *1908 to 1915 ;Nathalia Football Club *1916 to 1918 – Club in recess due to World War I. Western & Moria Ridings Football Association *1919 to 1920

*1921 to 1930 Western & Moria Ridings Football Association *1931 to 1932

*1933 to 1940 ;Nathalia Football Club *1941 to 1945 – Club in recess due to World War II.

*1946 to present day

Football Premierships

;Seniors *

(5): ** 1896, 1897, 1923, 1927, 1930 * Barmah Central Football Association (1): ** 1901 * Nathalia District Football Association (1): ** 1904 * Western & Moira Ridings Football Association (1): ** 1932 *

Picola & District Football League The Picola & District Football Netball League is an Australian rules football and netball league affiliated with the AFL Victoria Country. The league covers a large area of northern Victoria, Australia, Victoria and southern New South Wales f ...

** 1947 (NFC 2nds) *

(14): ** 1939, 1949, 1963, 1978, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 ;Reserves *

** 1997, 2000

O'Dwyer Medallists (League Best & Fairest)

* 1976 – P. Pettigrew (15 votes) * 1983 – Wayne Deledio (28 votes) * 1985 – B. Morrison (26 votes) * 2004 – Ashley Gemmill (25 votes) * 2005 – Nathan Gemmill (19 votes) Joint winner

Les Mogg Perpetual Trophy Winners (Murray FL – Leading Goalkicker)

* 1950 – Denis Bourke (70 goals) * 1962 – M. McKay (64 goals) * 1987 – Michael Souter (125 goals) * 1988 – Michael Souter (117 goals) * 2000 – Adam Rudd (78 goals) * 2004 – Brendon Parker (92 goals) * 2005 – Brendon Parker (120 goals) * 2006 – Brendon Parker (108 goals) * 2007 – Brendon Parker (106 goals) * 2012 – Jason Limbrick (76 goals) * 2018 – Brodie Ross (59 goals)

Rising Star Award Winners

* 2004 – Drew Barnes * 2014 – Tom Nihill * 2017 – Bailey Bell * 2018 – Adam Jorgensen

Nathalia FC / VFL / AFL senior football players

The year indicates their VFL / AFL debut match.

Victorian Football League 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 ...

*1912 – Keith Doig – University *1921 – George Robinson – Richmond *1925 – John Sutherland – Footscray *1930 – Hope Collins – Richmond *1932 –

Matt Carland Matthew John Carland (8 September 1909 – 5 February 1998) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon and Footscray in the Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football l ...

– Essendon & Footscray *1936 – Alan Crawford – North Melbourne *1941 –

Jimmy Bates Thomas James Edward Bates (25 June 1910 – 6 October 2009) was an Australian rules footballer for the Essendon Football Club and a boundary umpire in the Victorian Football League. Playing career Bates played just one game in the VFL. R ...

– Essendon *1943 –

Frank Bourke Francis Michael "Frank" Bourke (3 February 1922 – 27 December 2011) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club in the Victorian Football League during the 1940s. He played one game during the 1943 seaso ...

(1943, 1946–1947) Richmond – 16 games *1965 – Wes Smith – Hawthorn *1967 –

Francis Bourke Francis William Bourke (born 2 April 1947) is a former Australian rules footballer and coach who represented Richmond in the Victorian Football League (VFL) between 1967 and 1981, and coached the club in 1982 and 1983. A key figure in a suc ...

(1967–1981) Richmond – 300 games played & 46 games as coach of Richmond.

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

– National Draft *1989 – Brett Hawkey (

1989 VFL Draft The 1989 VFL draft was the fourth annual national draft held by the Victorian Football League (since changed its name to Australian Football League) as the main method for the 14 teams to recruit players for the 1990 season. It consisted of a tra ...

– # 20) North Melbourne – 0 games *1991 – Brendon Parker ( 1991 AFL Mid-Season Draft – #7) Carlton – 5 games

References

External links

*
Gameday website
{{pdfl Murray Football League clubs 1887 establishments in Australia Sports clubs established in 1887 Australian rules football clubs established in 1887 Netball teams in Victoria (Australia) Australian rules football clubs in Victoria (Australia)