Sport
6 July, 2023
Maldon ready to celebrate 150th birthday
It’s a special occasion for the Maldon Football Netball Club tomorrow, when they kick off their 150th year celebrations in their game against Talbot. The finest players to have graced the football field and netball court will come together to...
It’s a special occasion for the Maldon Football Netball Club tomorrow, when they kick off their 150th year celebrations in their game against Talbot.
The finest players to have graced the football field and netball court will come together to celebrate the Dons’ achievements over the years — one which has seen them become one of the most successful clubs in Maryborough Castlemaine District Football Netball League (MCDFNL) history since their admission in 1952 to 1965 and re-admission from 1980 onwards, with nine senior football premierships among 21 that have been achieved by the club in its 150-year history.
Notably, the strongest period in the club’s history came in the post-war era, with a hat-trick of flags in the Castlemaine Football League from 1949-51 followed by premiership successes in 1952, 1955, 1956 and 1957 when they made the move to the MCDFNL.
Another strong period came in the 1980s, with premiership successes in 1983, 1985, 1987 and 1988.
While recent years have not seen the same levels of success, the club took its last premiership in 2010 with victory against Avoca, while the club’s netball department has been moderately successful, albeit without a grand final appearance.
Saturday’s celebrations will take in the great moments from the club’s history, with a VIP area for past players and sponsors, as well as entertainment after the game.
Maldon’s Coby Cox says he is excited about the day, recognising the hard work that has been done by the club’s committee.
“The club is excited about it. We’ve invited all past players, supporters and sponsors for the day and the clubrooms are set up with a lot of memorabilia. Premiership flags are on display, so it should be good,” he said.
“Historically, the club has been very successful, and of course, it’s something we’d like to get back to. Recent years haven’t been as successful as we’d like to be, but it’s great to have people who rep-resented the club and been a part of that success to reminisce and catch up.
“We’ve always had good crowds stick around, and you would expect it would be the case again this weekend. People are travelling in for the weekend, coming up on Friday to stay. They’ll also catch up with other people in town, not just at the game on Saturday. It’s great to see people making a weekend of it.
“We still have a lot of connection with many who have been around the club in the past.”
Cox says a range of memorabilia will be at the clubrooms on Saturday, including their premiership cups, with families of past players also donating pieces of memories for the club to cherish and keep.
“There are people who are sadly not around anymore, but families have been happy enough to give items back to the club to go on display. Everyone appreciates it and it’s a good talking point,” he said.
Cox revealed that a book was currently in the works, similar to ones that have been commissioned at Dunolly, who also celebrate their 150th season in 2023, as well as Maryborough, who marked their 150th year celebrations in 2022.
“We’re in the process of getting a book put together with the history of the club over the 150 years. That will have an index of names for football and netball players. There’s a good list that exists,” he said.
Cox said the book will detail the club’s great moments, as well as the moments where it has rebounded from hardship.
“We have had a couple of good discussions about making sure in our book, we talk about the great success, but also some tough decades where the club did consider shutting the doors. Maldon, being a smaller town, hasn’t always had players of all ages for all groups. We’ve made sure that the struggles are in the book as well,” he said.
“We also talked about our stint in the Golden City Football League in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as the early 2000s when the club was in a bit of debt, which was hard to come back from. Winning premierships on the back of those struggles made it all worthwhile.”
For both the football and the netball department, tomorrow’s clash with Talbot is important for differing reasons.
The senior football team are currently sitting just outside the top eight, but could move up to seventh if results go their way with a win over the Hawks, while the netball team are seeking their first victory of the year in a battle between 12th and 14th.
However, with Maldon currently sitting in the top four of the under 14.5 and reserves, top spot and unbeaten in the under 17.5 competition in football, and top of the 17 and under netball competition, the club are currently in a position to grow — a point that is not lost on Cox, who says he would love to see past players understand the level of growth the club has gone through in the recent past.
“The club has worked hard in recent years to build themselves up to have good numbers in all grades, junior football and netball included. It would be good to see people come back and see that strength. They’ll appreciate that the committee are working hard behind the scenes,” he said.
“Of course, we would love to win premierships, but the club is in a good position, there’s good people playing in our football and netball teams that will enjoy the support. Hopefully we come away with some wins so that people are on a high when they come together and catch up.”
