The Shepparton Football Netball Club, nicknamed the ''Bears'', 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 in the

Goulburn Valley Football League The Goulburn Valley Football Netball League is an Australian rules football and netball competition based in the Goulburn Valley region of Victoria, Australia. It is a member of the Victorian Country Football League and has won the Victorian Co ...

. The

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, ...

Bears, a local football team, play their home games at Deakin Reserve, Shepparton's premier football ground. The Bears, once known as the Maroons, are based in Shepparton. They share the ground with the

Shepparton United Football Club The Shepparton United Football Netball Club, nicknamed the ''Demons'', is an Australian rules football and netball based in the city of Shepparton in northern Victoria (Australia), Victoria. The club teams currently compete in the Goulburn Vall ...

History

Competitive football began in the Shepparton region in the 1880s, but it wasn't until the formation of the Goulburn Valley District Football Association in 1894 that a formal structure for the sport was established. The Association provided a framework for teams to compete in a league, with a coherent set of rules and regulations. Shepparton was one of six founder members of the Goulburn Valley District Football Association (GVDFA). The Shepparton Bears were incredibly successful in the early years of the GVDFA, winning their first flag (championship) in 1899. This was followed by another flag in 1903, and a run of six premierships from 1906 to 1914, interrupted only by the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The Shepparton Bears were undoubtedly the dominant team in the region during this period. From 1911 until early in the 1913 season in particular, Shepparton was widely regarded, and indeed often described in the local press, as ‘invincible’. At the end of the 1913 season, this evaluation was further enhanced when Shepparton beat South Bendigo by 3 points in a special challenge match for ‘the championship of the north’. After World War I, Shepparton continued to enjoy regular success, but they left the GVFL in 1939 because the league decided to change from a Wednesday competition to a Saturday. They joined the

Central Goulburn Valley Football League The Central Goulburn Valley Football League (CGVFL) was established on Monday, 11 March 1946 at the Annual General Meeting of the Goulburn Valley Football Association, when a name change of this Australian rules football competition took place. Hi ...

and only returned to the GVFL in 1951. In 1961, the club appointed

Tom Hafey Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

, a former back pocket player with , who preached a fast-paced, aggressive, highly team-orientated football. Hafey coached the club to a hattrick of flags before Richmond offered him the main coaching position in the VFL. Hafey made sure to sign the best young talent in the GVFL and in his second year got the Tigers a flag. The introduction of zoning in 1968 meant that Shepparton was assigned to the

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

recruiting region. Further premierships followed in 1968-9 under Ken Rowe, and in 1972-3 under Bill Sykes. Since then, the club has enjoyed only sporadic success, at least by its own lofty standards, but there is little doubt that dynastic potential still simmers not far beneath the surface.

Football Premierships

;Seniors

VFL/AFL players

* Steven King – , *

Shannon Byrnes Shannon Byrnes (born 7 April 1984) is a former Australian rules footballer who last played for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) after a ten-year career with the Geelong Football Club. He is currently a develop ...

– *

David Code David Code (born 6 April 1957) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL). An Old Haileyburian, Code spent just one season at Melbourne. He later played with Devonport in the TFL St ...

– *

Lachlan Ash Lachlan Ash (born 21 June 2001) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was recruited by the Greater Western Sydney Giants with the 4th draft pick in the 2019 ...

- *

Will Brodie Will Brodie (born 23 August 1998) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), having been initially drafted to the Gold Coast Suns. Early career He grew up in ...

- *

Jordon Butts Jordon Butts (born 31 December 1999) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was recruited by the Adelaide Football Club with the 39th draft pick in the 2019 rookie ...

References

External links

australianfootball: Shepparton

Official Club Website
{{Goulburn Valley Football League Australian rules football clubs in Victoria (state) Goulburn Valley Football League clubs