The Queenscliff Football Netball Club, nicknamed the Coutas (short for "

barracouta ''Thyrsites atun'' (Bengt Anders Euphrasén, Euphrasén, 1791), the snoek, is a long, thin species of Gempylidae, snake mackerel found in the seas of the Southern Hemisphere, and a popular food fish in South Africa, particularly along the west ...

", a type of fish),Coutas hope to hook the flag
on ''The Age'', 14 August 2011 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 club that plays in the Bellarine Football League and is situated in the township of Queenscliff, Victoria, on the Bellarine Peninsula. Queenscliff teams currently play in the Bellarine Football League, of which the club is a founding member. Queenscliff plays its home games at the Queenscliff Recreation Reserve. Queenscliff also has a junior section with under 10s, under 12s, under 14s, under 16s, under 18s along with the reserves and the seniors.

History

The club was established in 1884, just as the fishing-village of Queenscliff began to gain popularity as a tourist destination, due in part to the railway line from

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

which had recently been completed. The Coutas played in an early version of the Bellarine Football League that ran from 1895 to 1914. Reformed after World War I, the club continued to play locally until 1923 when it joined the Geelong Football Association where it enjoyed some success. Queenscliff played the 1957 season in the Polwarth Football League and continued in this league until the Bellarine Football League was formed in 1971. During its years in the Polwarth league, Queenscliff dominated it with Kevin Coltish at full-forward, winning seven premierships in eight seasons.History - Queenscliff
on SportsTG After the formation of the Bellarine League in 1971, Queenscliff remained a power club for some time, winning a premiership in 1975. But after that achievement, a 36-year premiership drought followed. Queenscliff's return to greatness came in 2011 when the club won its second BFL premiership, repeating the feat 2012 and 2013 to mark a rare three-peat.

Premierships

* Queenscliff Football Association (4): ** 1899, 1900, 1901, 1902 * Queenscliff & Bellarine Football Association (7): ** 1904, 1905, 1907, 1908, 1910, 1913, 1920 * Geelong Football Association (2): ** 1929, 1937 * Polwarth Football League (7): ** 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968 * Bellarine Football League (4): ** 1975, 2011, 2012, 2013

League best and fairests

* 1952: Keith Wayth * 1954: Keith Wayth * 1976: Robert Warren * 1977: Mike Birrell * 1978: Mike Birrell * 1988: Dean McNeil * 1993: Jamie Dalton * 2003: Matt Primmer * 2011: Dylan Chaplin-Burch

Highest win

* 1976 season, rd 8: Queenscliff 44.23 (287) v Newcomb 5.4 (34)

Notable VFL/AFL players

* Terry Farman with

George 'Jocka' Todd George "Jocka" Todd (10 January 1903 – 13 August 1986) was an Australian rules footballer in the (then) Victorian Football League (VFL). Football A tight checking full-back who spoiled well, Todd played his whole career with Geelong Foo ...

with

Ron Shapter Ronald William Shapter (1 July 1905 – 3 November 1977) was an Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne, Fitzroy and Essendon in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1930s. A ruckman and forward from the Quee ...

with South Melbourne, Fitzroy and Essendon *

Darcy Gardiner Darcy Gardiner (born 22 September 1995) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL). Recruited from the Queenscliff Coutas, Gardiner was drafted by the Lions with their second sele ...

with Brisbane

Bibliography

* ''Cat Country: History of Football in the Geelong Region'' by John Stoward – Aussie Footy Books, 2008 –

References

External links

Twitter page

Facebook page

Team app
{{Bellarine Football League Bellarine Football League Australian rules football clubs in Victoria (state) Australian rules football clubs established in 1884 Sports clubs and teams established in 1884 1884 establishments in Australia Netball teams in Victoria (state) Borough of Queenscliffe