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Monash Blues Football Club

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Monash Blues Football Club
Names
Full nameMonash University Blues Football Club[1][2]
Former name(s)Monash University Football Club (1961−1963)
Nickname(s)Blues, Ashes, Ashers
2024 season
Home-and-away seasonVAFA: 9th
VAFAW: 10th
Leading goalkickerVAFA: Nicholas Darling (22)[3]
VAFAW: Clare Konstanty (8)[4]
Best and fairestVAFA: TBC
VAFAW: TBC
Club details
Founded1961; 63 years ago (1961)
Colours  Turquoise   Silver   Gold
CoachVAFA: Dylan Cousins
VAFAW: Shane Chapman
PremiershipsVAFA (5) VAFAW (1)
Ground(s)Frearson Oval
Other information
Official websitemonashblues.com.au

The Monash Blues Football Club is an Australian rules football club that represents Monash University in the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA).[5]

The club was formed in 1961 as Monash University, changing its name to the Blues when the Monash Whites joined the VAFA in 1964. In 2001, the two teams merged, and the Whites now compete as the Blues' Club XVIII team.

As of 2024, the club's men's team competes in the Premier C division of the VAFA, while the women's team is in the Premier Division of the VAFA Women's (VAFAW).

History

[edit]

Monash University Football Club was formed in 1961, shortly after Monash University opened on 13 March of that year. Whilst too late to be accepted into a local competition for the 1961 season, the club played internal matches, as well as matches against teams from Newman College, Ormond College and Burwood Teachers' College. In 1962, the club entered the VAFA, going undefeated and winning the E Section premiership in its inaugural season.[6][7]

1967 marked the beginning of the club's most successful decade, including two periods in A Section. The club was first in the highest division from 1969 until 1973, with its best finishing position in fifth place in 1970.[8]

After being relegated, the club made the 1974 B Section grand final and, although they lost to Old Trinity, immediately returned to A Section.[9] The club avoided relegation in 1975, but finished last in 1976 and was sent back to B Section, beginning a period of decline for the Blues.[8]

The Blues lost the 1986 D Section grand final to Balaclava, but finally won its second senior premiership in 1987 with a 25-point victory over Kew in the C Section grand final.[8][10][11] Further senior premierships came in 1996 and 2003.[12][13]

The club established a women's team in 2016 and it entered the inaugural VAFAW season in Development Division 1 in 2017.[14]

In 2022, the Blues won their first women's premiership, defeating Collegians by three points in the VAFAW reserves grand final.[15] One month later, the club's senior men's team won its fifth premiership with a 21-point victory over Old Geelong in Premier C.[16]

Monash Whites

[edit]
Monash Whites Football Club
Names
Full nameMonash Whites Football Club
Nickname(s)Whites, Ashes, Ashers
Club details
Founded1964 (as a team)
1980 (separate entity)
Dissolved2001 (remerged)
Colours  Turquoise   Silver
PremiershipsVAFA (2)
Other information
Official websitemwfc.net.au

Monash University established a second team in 1964, the Monash Whites, which entered F Section. However, after just two seasons, the Whites (along with F Section itself) went into recess for five years.[17]

The Whites were replaced by a junior side in 1966, but as numbers continued to grow, the Whites were revived in 1971 in the reformed F Section.[18] The first Whites premiership came in 1972, winning the F Section reserves grand final. A senior premiership came in 1975, defeating Heatherton in the F Section grand final.[19]

Despite the premiership, the Whites struggled in E Section in 1976, winning only four games and being relegated back to F Section for the 1977 season.[18]

At the end of the 1979 VAFA season, the Blues and the Whites split, with the Monash Whites Football Club being established as a separate entity.[18]

The Whites' end-of-season review in 1980 wrote:

"The start of the season began in reality at the end of the 1979 season when there was a big push from a lot of quarters to have the Whites thrown out of the VAFA. The first push came in the form of the Monash Blues; who in their wisdom decided it would be for the betterment of all concerned if the Whites did no longer exist. We were blamed for all sorts of things as well as the Blues bad showing during the year. So, the Blues thought, they had the right to decide where 40 odd players would not be playing in 1980."

The club struggled on its own, unable to win a premiership post-split until 1998, when they defeated Kew by 11 points in Club XVIII Section 2.[20]

In 2000, the Blues and Whites merged. The Whites played its final game as a separate club in the first Club XVIII semi-final, before merging and becoming the Blues' Club XVIII team at the start of the 2001 season.[18][21]

Seasons

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Source: [22]

Premiers Grand Finalist Minor premiers Finals appearance Wooden spoon Division best and fairest Division leading goalkicker

Men's

[edit]

Seniors

[edit]
Year League Division Finish W L D Coach Captain Best and fairest Leading goalkicker Goals Ref
1961 N/A (Exhibition matches only)
1962 VAFA E Section 1st Peter Longney Peter Longney Peter Longney
1963 VAFA D Section 2nd Lloyd Middleton Peter Longney Peter Robinson
1964 VAFA C Section 7th Lloyd Middleton Peter Robinson Peter Robinson Peter McDonald 50
1965 VAFA C Section 4th Lloyd Middleton Paul White Colin Bell
1966 VAFA C Section 8th Lloyd Middleton Mick Myers Rod Evans
1967 VAFA C Section 2nd Clyde Laidlaw Peter Rattray Jack Bray
1968 VAFA B Section 2nd Clyde Laidlaw Peter Rattray David Hone
1969 VAFA A Section 8th Sam Birtles Peter Rattray Jeff Thomas
1970 VAFA A Section 5th Sam Birtles Nich Rogers Stuart Galbraith
1971 VAFA A Section 6th Sam Birtles Phil Knight Stuart Galbraith
1972 VAFA A Section 8th Clyde Laidlaw Phil Knight David Wilson
1973 VAFA A Section 9th Clyde Laidlaw Ross Booth Ross Booth
1974 VAFA B Section 2nd 16 2 0 Gary Rasmussen Ross Booth Ross Booth C. Moore 68 [23]
1975 VAFA A Section 8th Bill Harding Mike Sweetland Peter Golding
1976 VAFA A Section 10th Bill Harding John Syme Dave Bickford
1977 VAFA B Section 8th Daryl Cranch Roger Olds Bruce Anderson
1978 VAFA B Section 6th Jeff Thomas Dave Bickford Roger Olds
1979 VAFA B Section 7th Stuart Schneider Bruce Anderson Garry Black
1980 VAFA B Section 8th Stuart Schneider Roger Olds Barry McKenzie
1981 VAFA B Section 8th Denis Flett Barry McKenzie Mark Kershaw
1982 VAFA B Section 5th Denis Flett Mick Rodger Craig Lovel
1983 VAFA B Section 8th Denis Flett Peter Bergin David Petrie
1984 VAFA B Section 10th Ian Edney Peter Bergin Anthony Loorham
1985 VAFA C Section 9th Brian Ford Peter Bergin Chris Deighton
1986 VAFA D Section 2nd Brian Ford Ivan Sest;
Peter Forbes
Peter Forbes
1987 VAFA C Section 1st 14 4 0 Brian Ford Peter Forbes John Quin [24]
1988 VAFA B Section 5th Brian Ford Andrew McGregor John Quin
1989 VAFA B Section 7th Brian Ford Jamie Sturgess Jamie Sturgess
1990 VAFA B Section 10th Trevor Read Jamie Sturgess Anthony Quin
1991 VAFA C Section 2nd Brian Ford Jamie Sturgess Barry Seaton
1992 VAFA B Section 9th Brian Ford Andrew McGregor Ian Kohler
1993 VAFA C Section 7th Brian Ford Andrew McGregor Greg Hipwell
1994 VAFA C Section 6th Brian Ford Dan Carman Adrian Barker
1995 VAFA C Section 9th Brian Ford Dan Carman Greg Hipwell
1996 VAFA D Section 1st Dave Rogers Greg Hipwell Greg Hipwell
1997 VAFA C Section 9th Dave Rogers Tony Kiers;
Jeremy Smith
Dave Rogers
1998 VAFA D Section 5th Dave Rogers Jeremy Smith Julian Smith
1999 VAFA D Section 3rd Dave Rogers John Caldwell Sam McGee
2000 VAFA D1 Section 3rd Dave Rogers Julian Smith Sam McGee
2001 VAFA D1 Section 8th Dave Rogers;
Tim Powell
Julian Smith Liam Holloway
2002 VAFA D1 Section 8th 7 11 0 Tim Powell Liam Holloway George Smyth
2003 VAFA D1 Section 1st Tim Powell Liam Holloway;
Julian Smith
Julian Smith
2004 VAFA C Section 3rd John Edgar Liam Holloway;
Julian Smith
George Smyth
2005 VAFA C Section 7th 7 11 0 John Edgar Julian Smith Michael Davidson [25]
2006 VAFA C Section 7th 7 10 1 Andrew McGregor Julian Smith Aaron Williams [26]
2007 VAFA C Section 8th 4 13 1 Andrew McGregor George Smyth George Smyth
2008 VAFA C Section 7th 8 10 0 Andrew McGregor Andrew Hickey;
Aaron Williams
Michael Davidson
2009 VAFA C Section 10th 3 15 0 Bruce Waldron Brendan Waldron Tim McKenzie [27]
2010 VAFA Division 1 2nd Tim Powell Jordan Bell;
George Smyth
George Smyth
2011 VAFA Premier C 8th 6 10 2 Tim Powell George Smyth Joel Bartram
2012 VAFA Premier C 9th 3 15 0 Tim Powell Jordan Bell;
George Smyth
Andrew Hickey
2013 VAFA Premier C 4th 13 5 0 Hayden Stanton Sam Baring Andrew Young
2014 VAFA Premier C 4th 13 5 0 Hayden Stanton Sam Baring Tim McKenzie
2015 VAFA Premier C 2nd 15 3 0 Paul Groves Sam Baring Maddison Hardiman
2016 VAFA Premier B 4th 11 7 0 Paul Groves Sam Baring Maddison Hardiman
2017 VAFA Premier B 4th 10 8 0 Mark Passador Andrew Young;
Maddison Hardiman
Joe Harrison
2018 VAFA Premier B 8th 4 14 0 Mark Passador Maddison Hardiman Nicholas Argento [28]
2019 VAFA Premier B 10th 4 14 0 Mark Passador Keegan Mason MacGregor Cameron
2020 VAFA Premier C (No season) Mark Passador Keegan Mason (No season)
2021 VAFA Premier C 1st 10 1 0 Mark Passador Joe Cosgriff;
Daniel Easson
Daniel Easson [29]
2022 VAFA Premier C 1st 18 2 0 Mark Passador Joe Cosgriff;
Daniel Easson
MacGregor Cameron Nicholas Darling 69
2023 VAFA Premier B 10th 1 17 0 Dylan Cousins Daniel Easson Daniel Easson James Flett 24 [30]
2024 VAFA Premier C 9th 2 16 0 Dylan Cousins Charles Cosgriff Nicholas Darling 22
  • Although the Monash Blues finished first in 2021, no finals series was held as the season was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic
  • The following players won the Division Best & Fairest Award but did not win the Club's Best & Fairest in the same year: 1986 D Section Andrew McGregor; 1991 C Section Jamie Sturgess; 1999 D Section A. Anderson; 2005 C Section George Smyth; 2021 Premier C MacGregor Cameron.

Women's

[edit]

Seniors

[edit]
Year League Division Finish W L D Coach Captain Best and fairest Leading goalkicker Goals Ref
2016 N/A (Exhibition match only) Ian Mills (Exhibition match only)
2017 VAFAW Division 1 7th 4 10 0 Ian Mills Ella Stephenson Xanthea Dewez Molly McFarlane 23 [31]
2018 VAFAW Prem B Blue 3rd 9 4 1 Ian Mills Ella Stephenson Xanthea Dewez Ella Stephenson 22
2019 VAFAW Premier B 3rd 8 4 0 Ian Mills Ella Stephenson Xanthea Dewez Ella Stephenson 36
2020 VAFAW Premier B (No season) Ian Mills Ella Stephenson (No season)
2021 VAFAW Premier B 5th 4 6 0 Ian Mills Ella Stephenson Ainslee Elliott Ella Stephenson 14
2022 VAFAW Premier B 8th 2 12 0 Shane Chapman Ella Stephenson;
Ainslee Elliott
Ainslee Elliott;
Emily Conroy
Emma Draffin;
Stacey Barbagallo
6
2023 VAFAW Premier B 1st 15 2 1 Shane Chapman Ainslee Elliott Ainslee Elliott Molly McFarlane 24
2024 VAFAW Premier 10th 2 16 0 Shane Chapman Alicia Myers Clare Konstanty 8

References

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  1. ^ "The Monash University Blues Football Club mourns the recent passing of Ross Booth". Instagram. Monash Blues. 6 June 2024. Archived from the original on 26 September 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  2. ^ "Fixtures". Monash Blues. Archived from the original on 2 August 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024. Monash University Blues Football Club
  3. ^ "Premier C Men's 2024 Statistics". PlayHQ. Archived from the original on 26 September 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  4. ^ "William Buck Premier Women's 2024 Statistics". PlayHQ. Archived from the original on 26 September 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  5. ^ "AFL Football Club (Blues)". Monash University. Archived from the original on 2 August 2024. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
  6. ^ "Division 2 Section Grand Finals". Victorian Amateur Football Association. Archived from the original on 2023-03-15. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  7. ^ "Monash Blues Football Club (Vic)". Footypedia. Archived from the original on 28 July 2024. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
  8. ^ a b c "MONASH BLUES". Australian Football. Archived from the original on 14 November 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
  9. ^ "Premier B Section Grand Finals". Victorian Amateur Football Association. Archived from the original on 2023-03-15. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  10. ^ "The Amateur Footballer Week 22 1987" (PDF). Victorian Amateur Football Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 June 2024.
  11. ^ "PREMIERSHIPS". Monash Blues. Archived from the original on 28 October 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
  12. ^ "Monash Blues Football Club (Vic)". Footypedia. Archived from the original on 26 September 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  13. ^ "The Amateur Footballer, Week 23, 2003". Issuu. VAFA Media. 20 September 2003. Archived from the original on 26 September 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  14. ^ "Women's Development Division 1". GameDay.
  15. ^ Stevens, Lucas (29 August 2022). "A historic premiership win for the Monash Blues!". Monash University. Archived from the original on 19 July 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  16. ^ "We are the VAFA Premier C Men's Champions!". Monash Blues. 29 September 2022. Archived from the original on 17 March 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  17. ^ "VAFA Clubs 1892 - 2009" (PDF). Victorian Amateur Football Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 January 2011. Retrieved 2010-03-20.
  18. ^ a b c d "A BRIEF HISTORY". Monash Whites Football CLUB. Archived from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
  19. ^ "Division 3 Section Grand Finals". Victorian Amateur Football Association. Archived from the original on 2023-11-30. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  20. ^ "Club XVIII Premiers". Victorian Amateur Football Association. Archived from the original on 2 August 2024. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
  21. ^ "MWFC Beyond 2000". Monash Whites Football Club. Archived from the original on 25 October 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
  22. ^ "HONOUR ROLL". Monash Blues. Archived from the original on 2 August 2024. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  23. ^ "The Amateur Footballer Vol 74 No 21 1974". 18 January 2017.
  24. ^ "The Amateur Footballer Week 23 1987" (PDF). Victorian Amateur Football Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 June 2024.
  25. ^ "The Amateur Footballer Vol 5 No 22 2005". 3 February 2016.
  26. ^ "The Amateur Footballer Vol 6 No 22 2006". 3 February 2016.
  27. ^ "The Amateur Footballer Vol 9 No 22 2009" (PDF).
  28. ^ "Australian Football - VAFA Premiership Season (Premier B) - Season 2018".
  29. ^ "2021 Premier C Men's". GameDay.
  30. ^ "2023 Premier B Men's". GameDay.
  31. ^ "Women's Development Division 1". GameDay.