Wantirna South Football Club

The Wantirna South Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Melbourne. It was formed in 1952 and is based at Walker Reserve which is located at Tyner Road in Wantirna South. The club until the completion of the 1997 season were known as the South Wantirna Football Club, but due to the merger with the Wantirna Football Club (which was a junior club) the name was decided upon Wantirna South Football Club.

The Club is nicknamed the 'Devils' and wear a bottle-green jumper with two white stripes.

Club History

The club was formed in 1952 and started in the Croydon-Ferntree Gully Football League and was placed in B Grade where it played against many side's reserve grade sides. Tragedy struck the Walker family in 1953 with the accidental drowning of Jim Walker and his daughter Lorraine at Phillip Island. The community got together and erected the entrance gates and plaque in their memory and from that day the three parcels of land became known as Walker Reserve.

The club had minimal success within the five seasons of this league and in 1957 transferred to the Mountain District Football League and was again placed in B Grade. Success within this competition came almost immediately with the club finishing runners-up in its first season within the competition, and were then able to win its inaugural premiership in 1958 under the guidance of Coach Trevor Wightman defeating Silvan in the Grand Final by 58 points.

1959 saw the club move up to the A Grade part of the competition for the first ever time. The club was competitive within its first year, but struggled for the next few seasons, which included wooden spoons in 1960 and 1961. At the completion of the 1964 it was decided that the club would move to the newly formed Eastern Districts Football League.

The club started in the Eastern Districts Football League in 1965 and was placed in the second of three divisions, but the club only managed to win one game over the course of its first two seasons, and was then placed in the third division from 1967 until its relegation at the completion of the 1985 season. This era was a very dark one for the club, failing to make the finals at any stage and finishing last several times.

The 1986 season saw the league bring in a fourth division for the first time, and it took only until 1988 to see the club play in its first finals series since its premiership in 1958. Unfortunately, the club's finals campaign was unsuccessful losing both its finals to Lilydale and Nunawading respectively.

The club would then have to wait until the 1994 season to play finals again, but yet again the campaign was unsuccessful. The following year saw the club reform an Under 18 side for the first time in many years, and the club had one its most successful years which saw the senior, reserve and under 18 sides all make the Grand Final. The reserves were the only ones successful on the day, with the seniors falling only four points short of Fairpark.

The 1996 season was the club's most successful season, both the senior and reserve sides went through their respective seasons undefeated and the club took home its first ever Premiership in the Eastern Districts Football League, defeating Waverley in the Grand Final by 25 points.

The club went back up to Third Division in 1997 and spent most of its time around the middle of the ladder. The club took the big step in 2002 when it won the Premiership again, this time against Doncaster East by three points. It was also the team's Golden Jubilee year, providing an opportunity to remember those who contributed so much to the club.

This saw the club move up to Second Division for the first time since the 1966 season, and the club made an immediate impact in the division, just failing to make finals in the first year, but taking out the premiership the following year by defeating Montrose in the Grand Final by only 2 points.

This saw the club move into First Division for the first ever time in 2005, the side was competitive for the most of the season, but was unable to get over the line and only managed the two wins for the season and saw itself in last place at the completion of the season.

In season 2006 the Devils spent most of the year around the top of the ladder but were knocked out in straight sets in the finals series.

In 2007 the Devils lost many players due to injury and failed to make the finals finishing in fifth place. However, the 2008 season would result in the Devils vying for the top spot of the table for most of the year with the teams of Mulgrave and Rowville. The Devils finished the year on top of the ladder and won the 2008 Division 2 Premiership by beating Mulgrave 143 to 45 and will move into 1st division for the 2009 season for the second time in club history.

The Devils though have seen some good players enter the AFL including Kieran McGuinness for the Western Bulldogs.

They have also achieved various other goals like picking up Harry Exton as their reserves Chief Waterboy from the Western Bulldogs when he was de-listed from the club in 2007.

The Devils are also looking at one of the AFL's next big things, when Aaron Young enters the National draft in 2009, he is now the captain for the Eastern Ranges, the EFL's TAC Cup side. He is in the under-16's squad but is a high prospect to be looked thoroughly by the new Gold Coast franchise that will enter the AFL draft in the next couple of years.