The Wodonga Football Netball Club, nicknamed the ''Bulldogs'', is an Australian rules football 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

Wodonga Wodonga ( Waywurru: ''Wordonga'') is a city on the Victorian side of the border with New South Wales, north-east of Melbourne, Australia. It is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of Wodonga LGA. Its population is approximately ...

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 ...

History

Wodonga's first recorded match was against the Albury Football Club on Saturday, 6 July 1878 in Wodonga. Between 1878 and 1891, Wodonga played many intermittent friendly matches against other local club's and towns, before organised fixtures and competitions were starting to be arranged from the early 1890s. In 1886, the Wodonga Junior Football Club played Chiltern in a very rough match, with T Powell captaining the winning Wodonga side and in 1887, Wodonga Junior's journeyed to and were beaten by Chiltern. Walter Pemberton captained the side. In 1891, Wodonga "Starlights" played in a series of matches against Albury United, Chiltern, Osborne's Flat and Wagga Wagga. In 1893 Wodonga played in a series of matches against, Albury, Barnawartha, Corowa Federals, Osborne's Flat and Wangaratta. At the club's 1895 Annual General Meeting at the Terminus Hotel, the following gentlemen were voted in – Mr. R H Smyth (President), Mr. George Bodycomb (Honorary Secretary) and Mr. George Leighton (Honorary Treasurer). In 1899, the Wodonga FC – "Starlights" junior club was reformed and adopted the club colours of blue, black and a white star. The club patrons were Joseph Hoddinott MLA, and

Isaac Isaacs Sir Isaac Alfred Isaacs (6 August 1855 – 11 February 1948) was an Australian lawyer, politician, and judge who served as the ninth Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1931 to 1936. He had previously served on the High Court of Au ...

MLA. This team went on to win the Fagan Trophy premiership (Donor – Chris Fagan – Market Hotel, Albury). In 1900, the Wodonga FC – "Starlights" played in the Albury Football Association and finished in third position. In 1903, 1904 and 1905, the Wodonga FC – "Shamrocks" entered a team in the local Federal Junior Football Association. They were runners up to the Albury "Endeavours" in 1904 and to the "Britons" in 1905. In April 1906, the Wodonga FC – "Shamrocks" met and decided to become a senior team and be known as just the Wodonga FC. The Wodonga FC senior team played in the Border Football Association (BFA) in 1901, 1902, 1903 and also in 1906. In May, 1907 the BFA was wound up after being in debt and "in a state of muddle". Wodonga FC played in the Wednesday Half Holiday Football Association in 1908 and were runners up to the Albury Catholic Young Men's FC (CYM) on the Albury Sports Ground. After winning the 1909 – Twomey / Stewart Football Association Premiership, in early 1910, Wodonga FC attempted to form a local football association, but due to a lack of commitment, Wodonga FC were left with no official competition in 1910. They did manage to play some friendly matches with other local clubs during the 1910 season. In 1911, Wodonga FC applied to both the Ovens & Murray Junior Football Association and the Rutherglen & District Football Association to play in these competitions, but were both rejected due to other club's opinion that the travel would be too far. In 1911 Wodonga played their home matches at Wodonga Park. The Albury Senior Football Association was established in 1911, in which Wodonga FC entered and were runners up to the Catholic Young Men's FC (CYM) again! The club first played in the Chiltern & District Football Association in 1912 (runners up), 1913 and 1915 and also from 1930 to 1935, prior to joining the Ovens & Murray League in 1936. In 1913 the club arranged for 100 membership tickets to be printed in the club colours - blue and black! In 1914, Wodonga FC played in the Wodonga and District Football Association against - Bethanga, Federal Railways, Sandy Creek and Tallangatta. Wodonga finished second on the ladder to premiers, Federal Railways. In 1914, the Wodonga Military FC was formed, with W Twomey appointed as President. They played matches against Albury Battery FC and Albury Infantry FC in 1914 and 1915. In 1917 the Wodonga Cadets played the Chiltern Cadets in three games of football. In 1921, Wodonga lost to Diggers in the Albury & Border Football Association Preliminary Final. In 1921 Wodonga had both an A team and a B team, with the B team playing their first game against Bowna at the Racecourse Oval. At the club's 1924 AGM, under financial difficulties, the Wodonga FC applied for admission into the Kiewa Football Association, but were rejected. It appears that the Wodonga FC went into recess at this time, mainly due to a lack of community support and financial debt. In 1924, the Wodonga Rovers FC was formed and this new club entered the Chiltern & District Football Association and had a reasonable amount of success, winning a premiership in 1926 and being runners up in 1927 (minor premiers) and 1928. At a meeting of the Wodonga Rovers FC on Tuesday, 16 April 1929, the committee voted to alter the club's name to the "Wodonga Football Club" and entered the Tallangatta Football Association, for one year, then returns to the Chiltern & DFL in 1930. In 1932, Wodonga's H. Scott shared the Chiltern & DFL best and fairest trophy, with Arthur Costin - Howlong FC. In the 1933 Chiltern and District Football League's grand final, Wodonga defeated Beechworth Wanderers. Wodonga's Clive Bohr was judged as the best and fairest player in the grand final. In 1934 C W Randell, donated a gold medal for the club's best and fairest winner, which was won by ? At the start of the 1935 season, Wodonga FC applied for a clearance from the Chiltern & DFL to the Albury District Football League, but were refused. They remained in the Chiltern & DFL and went onto win the premiership, defeating Kiewa at Barnawartha on Saturday, 26 October. Wodonga remained undefeated throughout the year, winning 24 consecutive matches in a very long season! In 1936 the club order 24 white felt monograms for the club jumpers, with WFC on them. and in 1937 they were known as the "Maroons". In 1936 and 1937, Colin Wilcox from Wodonga FC played reserves with Melbourne Football Club, before moving across to

Williamstown Football Club The Williamstown Football Club, nicknamed The Seagulls, is an Australian rules football club based in Melbourne. The club currently competes in the men's and women's Victorian Football League and VFLW competitions. History The Williamstown Fo ...

, where he played 173 games, was a premiership player i
1939, 1945 and 1949
He won the 1938 and 1948 best and fairest and was later selected in Williamstown's Team of the Century on the half back flank. He served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

with the

RAAF "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

. The club joined the Ovens & Murray League in 1936 after a committee meeting on Monday, 23 March 1936. Wodonga FC finished third, losing the preliminary final to eventual premiers, Wangaratta Football Club. Crackerjack full forward, Fred Matthews, who kicked 113 goals in Wodonga's 1935 Chiltern and District Football Association premiership year, then kicked 123 goals for Wodonga in 1936. Fred was signed by the Melbourne Football Club and played three reserves games with them in early 1937, kicking 29 goals. Matthews coached Barnawartha in 1938, before returning to Wodonga and played in their 1939 O&MFL grand final loss to Albury. He would later die in World War II in 1943, while serving his country with the RAAF, when his Wellington Bomber plane went down in a fierce snowstorm in England. In 1940, Wodonga entered a second eighteen team in the

Chiltern and District Football Association Chiltern can refer to the following places: In England: * Chiltern Hills, an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, known locally as "the Chilterns" ** Chiltern District, a local government district in Buckinghamshire named after the hills ** Chiltern ...

and lost the first semi final to

Barnawartha Football Club Barnawartha is a small town located on the Hume Highway in regional north-east Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, approximately from Melbourne on the banks of Indigo Creek which runs into the Murray River to the north. Barnawartha commer ...

. The Chiltern & DFA then went into recess between 1941 and 1944 due to World War II. In 1945, the Wodonga Football Club entered a team in the Border Football Association and competed against other local clubs, Catholic Young Men, East Albury, Lavington, North Albury and South Albury. Wodonga were defeated by South Albury in the grand final at the Albury Sportsground. Dudley "Doug" Probyn (Captain / Coach) won the club best and fairest award and the Border Mail Medal in 1945. In 1946, the

Ovens and Murray Football League The Ovens and Murray Football Netball League (O&MFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball competition containing ten clubs based in north-eastern Victoria, the southern Riverina region of New South Wales and the Ovens and Murray are ...

reformed and Wodonga rejoined along with the following club's - Albury, Benalla, Border United, Rutherglen, Wangaratta and Yarrawonga. Wodonga lost the Preliminary Final to Albury on the Wangaratta Showgrounds to finish third in their return to the O&MFL. There appears to be no Wodonga team in the Chiltern & DFA in 1945 and 1946, but in 1947 there was a Wodonga Ex Servicemen's Football Club that played in the

and lost the Preliminary Final to Howlong at Lavington. Then in 1948, Wodonga Rovers Football Club reformed and they played in the

and lost the preliminary final to the Howlong Football Club. Both these teams were not directing related to the Wodonga FC, but it does indicate that football in Wodonga was getting stronger after the war, to warrant having two senior teams in the town. Wodonga Rovers competed in the Chiltern & DFA between 1948 and 1952. In 1953 when the Ovens & Murray League introduced a Seconds football competition, Wodonga Rovers left the Chiltern & DFA and entered the O&MFL Seconds as "Wodonga". Around 1949, Wodonga FC set up a Provident Fund for injured players to be compensated if they were not able to work for a length of time. In 1953, the Wodonga "Thirds" won the Albury Midgets Football League Under 15 premiership when they defeated West Albury. In March 1954, the Wodonga FC decided to enter a third team in the Albury and Border Junior Football League and the competition age limit was reduced from 21 years to 18 years. Wodonga made three consecutive Ovens & Murray League grand finals, winning in 1967 & 1969 (losing to

Corowa Football Club The Corowa Football Club, nicknamed the Spiders, was an Australian rules football club based in Corowa, New South Wales, that competed in the Ovens & Murray Football League. The club merged with the Wahgunyah Football Club on several occasions d ...

in 1968), coached by former Collingwood Football Club player,

Mick Bone Michael Bone (born 3 October 1942) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Collingwood in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1960s. Bone, who kicked four goals in his second VFL game, was recruited from Thornbury ...

and they played in four consecutive grand finals in 1992 (premiers), 1993, 1994 and 1995, but lost the last three. The club's Thirds / Under 18 side played in eleven consecutive grand finals between 1977 and 1987, winning seven premierships in a period of dominance, when Wodonga was a real powerhouse in the Ovens & Murray League. The Thirds then played in seven consecutive grand finals between 2001 and 2007, winning five. In 1980, Wodonga Thirds player, Craig Powell (Cleary) was the first O&MFL Under 18 footballer to kick 100 goals in a season. In 1981, Wodonga achieved the rare feat of winning football premierships in the firsts, seconds and thirds. No other team has done this. In 1991, the club made, but later withdrew, a bid to join the

Victorian Football Association 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 ...

. In 1993 the Ovens & Murray League introduced a netball competition, with A & B Grade initially. This short history summary of the Wodonga Football / Netball Club is a continual work in progress.

Football Competitions

Wodonga Football Club have played in the following competitions – *Johnson's Football Association (Donor – Johnson's Waterloo Hotel, Yackandandah) **1896 *The Weis Trophy (Donor – Karl Weis' Saloon, Wodonga). **1897 *The Alty's Football Trophy Association (Donor – Alty's Royal Hotel, Yackandandah) **1898 *The Simons / Loveridge Football Association **1900 *Border Football Association **1901 – 1903 & 1906. *Federal Junior Football Association **1903, 1904 & 1905 *Wednesday Half Holiday Football Association **1908 *Twomey / Stewart Football Association **1909 * Chiltern & District Football Association **1912 and 1913 *Wodonga District Football Association **1914 * Chiltern & District Football Association **1915 *World War I, club in recess **1916, 1917 and 1918 *Albury & Border Football Association ** 1919 to 1923 * Chiltern & District Football Association **1924 to 1928 (Wodonga Rovers FC) *Tallangatta & District Football Association ** 1929 * Chiltern & District Football Association **1930 to 1935 *

Ovens & Murray Football League The Ovens and Murray Football Netball League (O&MFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball competition containing ten clubs based in north-eastern Victoria, the southern Riverina region of New South Wales and the Ovens and Murray ar ...

** 1936 to 1940 *World War II, club in recess **1941 to 1944 *Border Football Association **1945 *

** 1946 to present day

Senior Football Premierships

*Twomey & Stewart Association Trophy ** 1909 * Chiltern & District Football Association ** 1926, 1933, 1935 – undefeated. *

(7) ** 1967, 1969, 1981, 1987, 1990, 1992, 2004

Senior Football Runners Up

*Wednesday Half Holiday Football Association **1908 * Albury Senior Football Association **1911 * Chiltern & District Football Association **1912, 1915, 1927 - (minor premiers), 1928, 1931 - (minor premiers), 1934. *Wodonga & District Football Association **1914 *Border Football Association **1945 *

**1939, 1951, 1958, 1960, 1968, 1979, 1984, 1989, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2003

Reserves Football – Premierships

(19) **1956, 1957, 1960, 1961, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1979, 1981, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006.

Reserves Football – Runners Up

(10) **1967, 1968, 1976, 1980, 1986, 1988, 1992, 2002, 2009, 2015.

Thirds / Under 18's Premierships

**1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1987, 1991, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007,

Thirds / Under 18's Runners Up

*Fagan's Trophy (Donor – Chris Fagan – Market Hotel, Albury) **1899 *Federal Junior Football Association **1904, 1905 *

**1975, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1992, 1995, 2002, 2003, 2015.

Ovens & Murray Football League The Ovens and Murray Football Netball League (O&MFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball competition containing ten clubs based in north-eastern Victoria, the southern Riverina region of New South Wales and the Ovens and Murray ar ...
– Senior Football Best & Fairest Award – Morris Medal Winners

*1938: Kelt Emery *1939: Gordon Strang Polled the most votes, with 20, but was suspended by the O&MFL Tribunal during the season, but was presented with a Morris Medal Trophy. Bill Francis (Rutherglen) won with 17 votes. *1940: Gordon Strang *1949:

Jack Eames Jack Eames (22 December 1922 – 16 January 2017) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Richmond in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Eames was one of many present and future VFL footballers who served in World War II. He enlis ...

*1952:

Norm Webb Norman Arthur "Bunny" Webb (18 May 1921 – 16 June 1996) was a former Australian rules footballer who played with Footscray in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Webb was originally from the Granya Football Club and played in their 19 ...

*1967: Gary Williamson *1989: Brett Allen *1992: Steven Murphy *2016: Matthew Seiter *2019: Jarrod Hodgkin

Ovens & Murray Football League The Ovens and Murray Football Netball League (O&MFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball competition containing ten clubs based in north-eastern Victoria, the southern Riverina region of New South Wales and the Ovens and Murray ar ...
– Reserves Football Best & Fairest Award

*Ralph Marks Medal – 1953 to 1970 **1956: K Adamson **1958: B McKoy *Leo Burke Medal – 1970 onwards **1976: K Keating **1977: Bruce Calder **1978: Bruce Calder **1983: S Brown **1984: C Reynolds **1992: B Smith **1993: C Baker **2005: G Mathey

Ovens & Murray Football League – Under 18's – Football Best & Fairest

* 1975 –

Steven Hedley Steven Hedley (born 12 September 1959) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Sydney in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Originally from the Wodonga Football Club, he won the Ovens and Murray Football League Under ...

* 1979 – John Pennington * 1982 – Ian McGregor * 2001 – Ryan McEvoy * 2007 – Brenton Olsen

Club Football Best and Fairest Winners

Wodonga FC players who played in the VFL (pre draft)

The following footballers played football with Wodonga, prior to playing senior football in the VFL, with the year indicating their VFL debut. *1941 – Gerald Tanner – Richmond *1954 – Don Star – South Melbourne *1957 – Percy Appleyard – South Melbourne *1957 –

Geoff Feehan Geoff Robert Feehan (19 January 1935 – 31 October 2022) was an Australian rules footballer who played with St Kilda in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and Norwood in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Originally fro ...

– St. Kilda *1964 – John Perry – Richmond *1966 –

Mike Andrews Michael Jay Andrews (born July 9, 1943) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an infielder for the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics. After his playing career, he served fo ...

– Fitzroy *1971 –

Vin Doolan Vin Doolan (born 20 August 1952) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with North Melbourne Football Club, North Melbourne in the Australian Football League, Victorian Football League (VFL). Doolan came to North Melbourne from the ...

– North Melbourne *1976 – Xavier Tanner – North Melbourne & Melbourne *1980 – Danny Murphy – North Melbourne *1983 –

Jonathan Collins Jonathan Collins (born 14 March 1961) is a former Australian rules footballer who represented the North Melbourne Football Club and the St Kilda Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1980s. A speedy wingman, Collins ...

– North Melbourne & St. Kilda *1983 –

– Sydney Swans *1986 –

David Ceglar David Ceglar (born 14 June 1966) is a former Australian rules footballer who played in the Victorian Football League during the 1980s. He played 7 games for North Melbourne between 1986 and 1987. He was recruited from Wodonga. His son John Ce ...

– North Melbourne *1988 –

Michael Garvey Michael Garvey may refer to: * Michael Garvey (Australian footballer) (born 1965), Australian rules footballer * Michael Garvey (rugby league) (born 1988), American rugby league player * Mike Garvey (born 1962), American stock car racing driver ...

– Carlton Check out the "External Links" section at the bottom of this page for a list of former Wodonga players drafted to an AFL club from 1987 onwards.

VFL / AFL footballers who have come to play at the Wodonga FC

The following footballers have come to play with Wodonga FC, with senior football experience from an VFL / AFL club. The year indicates their debut with Wodonga FC. * 1939 – Gordon Strang – Richmond * 1945 -

Dudley Probyn Dudley Charles "Doug" Probyn (1 October 1912 – 13 December 2005) was an Australian rules footballer who played with St Kilda in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Probyn was recruited to St. Kilda via Prahan FC after playing in their 1940 ...

- St. Kilda * 1947 –

– Richmond * 1951 –

Stan Rule Stanley William Rule (17 January 1924 – 12 August 2007) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Melbourne Football Club, Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (1897–1989), Victorian Football League (VFL). Rule enlisted in t ...

– Melbourne * 1952 -

- Footscray * 1954 – Don Calder – Carlton * 1956 -

Des Healey Desmond Jules Healey (5 September 1927 – 18 March 2009) was an Australian rules footballer, who played in the VFL/AFL with the Collingwood Football Club, and was also a first-grade cricketer with the Collingwood Cricket Club. He married the ...

- Collingwood * 1961 - Lionel Ryan – Footscray * 1966 – Gary Williamson – Richmond * 1967 –

Dick Grimmond Dick Grimmond (born 6 July 1938) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Richmond Football Club, Richmond in the Australian Football League, Victorian Football League (VFL). From his debut in the fifth round of the 1959 VFL sea ...

– Richmond * 1967 –

– Collingwood * 1974 – Ron Montgomery – North Melbourne * 1976 –

Frank Hodgkin Frank D. Hodgkin (20 June 1941 – 17 December 2017) was an Australian rules footballer who played with St Kilda in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Hodgkin, originally from Kergunyah in the Tallangatta & District Football League, debutin ...

– St. Kilda * 1980 – Neil Brown – North Melbourne * 1981 – David McLeish – South Melbourne * 1982 – Chris Perry – Collingwood * 1982 - Garry Wheeler - Footscray * 1986 –

Jeff Gieschen Jeff Gieschen (born 22 September 1956) is the former National Umpire Manager of the Australian Football League (AFL) and a former Australian rules football player and coach who played in the Victorian Football League (VFL) between 1974 and 1978 ...

– Footscray * 1990 – Graeme Cordy – Footscray * 1992 –

Mark Stockdale Mark Stockdale (born 26 October 1968) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Richmond in the Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving a ...

– Richmond * 1993 – Neil Cordy – Footscray & Sydney Swans * 1994 –

Dean Harding Dean Harding (born 10 October 1971) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Fitzroy in the Australian Football League (AFL). Harding was selected by Fitzroy, from the Wangaratta Rovers, with the 78th overall pick of the 1990 ...

– Fitzroy * 1994 –

Robert Hickmott Robert Hickmott (born 28 January 1969) is an Australian racehorse trainer and former Australian rules footballer, who played for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). In 2012, he became the first former football ...

– Melbourne * 1996 – Darren Dennerman – Geelong & Sydney Swans * 1999 –

Leon Higgins Leon Higgins (born 27 June 1968) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the Sydney Swans and Hawthorn in the Australian Football League (AFL). A red headed left footer, he was usually seen at the half forward line. He rep ...

– Sydney Swans & Hawthorn * 2003 – Ben Hollands – Richmond * 2004 –

Matthew Shir Matthew Shir (born 12 September 1981) is an Australian rules footballer who played with the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Shir, a defender, was drafted by Adelaide from the Murray Bushrangers of the TAC Cup, a ...

– Adelaide Crows * 2007 – David Antonowicz – West Coast Eagles

References

External links

*{{cite news , url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article254992419#/ 1939 - O&MFL 1st Semi Final winners: Wodonga FC team photo] *{{cite news , url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article255002271#/ 1939 - O&MFL Runners Up - Wodonga FC - Team Photo] *{{cite news , url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article254999452/ 1939 - O&MFL Morris Medal Presentation: Gordon Strang photo] *{{cite news , url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article255166565#/ 1940 - O&MFL Wodonga Football Club - Team Photo] *{{cite news , title=1941 – Wodonga Football Club – Team Photo , url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article255287227 , newspaper=Border Morning Mail Newspaper, via=Trove *{{cite news , url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article258030005/28702147/ 1945 - Wodonga Football Club - Team Photo] *{{cite news , url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article258043512/ 1945 - Wodonga & Mangoplah FC - Team Photos] *{{cite news , url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article263539681/ 1947 - Wodonga FC Team Photo] *{{cite news , url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article263781208/ 1948 - Wodonga Football Club - Team Photo] *{{cite news , url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article264035128/ 1949 - Wodonga Football Club - Team Photo] *{{cite news , url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article264030426#/ 1949 - Wodonga Football Club - O & MFL grand final runners up Team Photo]
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This link provides a list of former Wodonga FC players to be drafted by an AFL club from 1987 onwards.
{{Ovens & murray football league Ovens & Murray Football League clubs Australian rules football clubs established in 1890 Sports clubs established in 1890 1890 establishments in Australia Sport in Wodonga Netball teams in Victoria (Australia)