HISTORY

Our History in words...

Full History from 1882 to 2002 can be found in the book ‘The History of the North Ballarat Football Club – From Gumboots to Glory' by Phil Roberts – Available at the North Ballarat Football Club (A Short History follows with particular reference to the creation of the North Ballarat City Football and Netball Club in 2006).

ACHIEVEMENTS & MILESTONES - North Ballarat Football Club

• 1882 Ballarat North Football Club Formed
• 1912-1937 North City Football Club Formed
• 1946 (BFL ‘B’Grade) North City Football Club reformed
• 1952-1959 Ballarat North City promoted to BFL ‘A’Grade
• 1960 Played as North City – Wendouree
• 1961 Commenced playing as North Ballarat Football Club
• 1996 Entered Victorian Football League
• 1996 North Ballarat Rebels formed in VSFL (Now TAC Cup)
• 1997 (Seniors, Reserves and Under 18’s Left Ballarat Football League – Juniors Remain & entered Reserve side in the VFL
• 2006 North Ballarat City Football & Netball Club reformed in the Bendigo Football League
• 2008 North Ballarat City Football & Netball Club transferred to the Ballarat Football League
• 2008 North Ballarat Football Club wins 1st VFL Premiership
• 2009 North Ballarat Football Club wins 2nd VFL Premiership
• 2010 North Ballarat Football Club wins 3rd VFL Premiership
• 2011 North Ballarat City Reserves win Premiership
• 2013 North Ballarat City Seniors win first premiership since return to BFL
• 2014 North Ballarat City wins back to back premierships

BALLARAT FOOTBALL LEAGUE RECORDS (1952 – 2010)

• 15 Senior Premierships and 22 grand finals
• Longest Senior winning streak – 49 games (1991, 1992, 1993)
• 5 consecutive Senior Premierships – 1982 – 1986
• 8 consecutive Reserve Premierships – 1989 – 1996
• Senior Premiers & Champions – 1986 & 1992
• 70 Junior Premierships
• The only Junior Club to win the annual Champion (aggregate) Junior Club ‘Merv & Mary Howard Memorial Junior Shield” since its inception.

The NBJFC up until our incorporation in June 2000 existed as a sub-committee of the North Ballarat Football Club. The reasons for the separate incorporation were entirely for legal/financial considerations – not a desire to shift from the Club. Like many such junior sections of a Club, we exist to provide well-developed Senior Footballers in a family Club atmosphere.

Up until the end of 1996 – the final year North Ballarat Football Club fielded sides in the Ballarat Football League – the Senior side had won 15 premierships. As of last year the Junior Section of the Club has won 65 premierships. The Juniors since the inception of North, have been one of the major reasons for our success.

In the process everlasting bonds of friendship and a sense of Club were created. This continued over many generations with notable families providing players, administrators and volunteers who enabled our Club to prosper.

Junior players to progress to higher football levels (VFL/AFL) include; Greg Burns, Tristan Cartledge. Eric Clarke, Jeff Dunne, Andrew Ford, Stewart Gull, Allan, Hassel, Paul Hills, Allan Jenkin, Dale Lewis, Tony Lockett, Michael Malthouse, Stephen Owen, Val Perovic, Gordon Polson, Malcom Scott, Grant Polkinghorne, John Polkinghorne, Travis Polkinghorne, Brett Quinlan, Dru Quinlan, Andrew Jones, Damian Lubeek, Adrian King, Jake Bridges, Mark Verbene, Nathan Williams, Matthew Doyle, Ayden George, Ryan Luke, and Ryan Waight.

Other great footballers of the Club to emerge from the Juniors are 200 game players; Allan Abrams, Brian Eddy, Ian Flood, Leigh Hiscock, Steven Howard, Howard Lockett, Greg Mitchell, Gary Olver, John Orr, Travis Polkinghorne, Owen Thomas & Ross Troon. Of the fifteen 200 game players, 12 are from the Juniors. Junior players who went on play 100 Senior games are; Robert Biggs, Geoff Browne, Peter Brugman, Eric Clarke, Ken Clark, Brendan Curran, Peter Curran, Brian Daly, Jarrod Edwards, Michael Flockhart, Andrew Ford, Philip Haire, Norm Howard, Michael Hynes, Robert Irving, Peter James, Allan Jenkin, Paul Kennedy, Fred Lennecke, Robert Linane, Gordon Loader, Damien Lubeek, Trevor Lugg, Ian Lyttle, Shane Macklin, Damian Murrihy, Kieran Murrihy, Stephen O’Brien, John O’Connor, Paul Phelan, Grant Polkinghorne, John Polkinghorne, Kevin Polkinghorne, David Poulton, Brett Quinlan, Bruce Sargent, Max Sargent, Malcom Scott, Noel Sheehan, Warren Stott, Kevin Sullivan, Peter Surman, Peter Thompson, Michael Troon, Steven Troon, Graeme Turley and Graham Wilkie.

As can be seen by reference to the above named people, the Junior section of the Club has consistently delivered quality players, administrators, supporters, volunteers and families to the North Ballarat Football Club.

These people have formed the backbone of the previous successful sides and stuck with the Club through hard times as well as the good.

The NBJFC is a community of interest and we are a community that has been bound and strengthened by the dedication to the Club of our members. This is no different to any other Football/Netball Club. In the process everlasting bonds of friendship and a sense of Club were created, This continued over many generations, with notable families providing players, administrators and volunteers, which enable the Club to gain strength as we grow.

As well as historically fielding Senior and Reserves sides in the Ballarat Football League, North Ballarat Football Club fielded Under 18’s, 16’s and 14’s for the most part of our long history in that competition. In more recent years NBJFC has additionally fielded Under 13’s , Under 12’s and Under 10’s, as well as a large Auskick program. As it stands today, we have some 300 players from Under 16.5 to Auskick playing junior football.

In 1995 North Ballarat Football Club was approached by the VFL and asked whether we were interested in fielding a side in the State based VFL competition. This was to be in addition to the current sides we fielded in the BFL and there was no public suggestion that this would be any different if the Club voted to field a VFL side.  The VFL side would also take control of the existing Ballarat Rebels side.  The proposal was put to the members and ratified by them.

In 1996 North Ballarat Football Club fielded a senior side in the VFL as well as a full complement of teams in the BFL (juniors and seniors).

Towards the end on the 1996 season the Board of Directors of the North Ballarat Football Club were concerned with the logistics of of fielding nine teams weekly and the need to monitor performance of senior VFL players who had returned to BFL Clubs – it was thought that this was putting unrealistic workloads on Club personnel.

At a Special General Meeting of Members on Monday 29 July 1996, North Ballarat Football Club members voted to withdraw the BFL firsts and reserves in favour of fielding a VFL reserves team.

This was to provide a pathway to the VFL Senior team and to reduce the workload on North staff. It was argued by the proponents of this move that North Juniors would still have a pathway to playing senior football – in the VFL side. The opponents stated that this was most unlikely – with the likelihood that the vast majority of juniors would not be good enough to play in the senior side and accordingly would have to go to other BFL Clubs to develop their potential. History has proved the latter to be true. In any event the meeting resolved that the removal of those sides should not affect the fielding of the Under 18 side or the juniors.

As a consequence of the BFL adopting the ‘White Paper’, together with the withdrawal of North’s Senior and Reserves sides from the BFL - the BFL refused to allow the North Under 18 side compete. An agreement was struck with Redan through which exiting North Under 16 players would be encouraged to go and play with the Redan Under 18 side. This proved most beneficial for Redan, winning a number of Under 18 Premierships with predominantly ‘North’ junior players and the 2002, 2003, 2006 and 2007 BFL Premierships, with up to 14 former North Juniors in each of those sides, and many ex North people in roles as coaches and administrators.

At the 1997 Annual General Meeting of North Ballarat Football Club it was proposed that North re-enter a Senior, Reserve and Under 18 side in the BFL competition for the 1998 season and beyond. This resolution was narrowly defeated. In June 2000 the North Ballarat Junior Football Club was separately incorporated for legal and financial reasons.

Notwithstanding the agreement with Redan concerning the Under 18’s, North Ballarat Football Club policy was always to field its own Under 18 side in the BFL. The agreement with Redan had been conceived out of a desire to stem the steady loss of boys to the game of football and offer them the opportunity to play together as a group. Whilst this was somewhat successful, in line with our policy we resolved to bring the Under 18 boys under our own Club umbrella and extend the Club to the Under 18’s.

In 2001 NBJFC fielded an Under 18 side in the BFL, by virtue of an agreement with Daylesford Football Club. Daylesford had no Under 18 side and agreed that we could play in their place – at Daylesford home and away games. As well as some positives, there were a number of drawbacks, most notably the issue of travel. At the end of the 2002 season, NBJFC and Daylesford were granted a two year extension of this agreement.