The Alberton Football Netball League (AFNL) was an Australian rules football and netball competition based in the South Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. The post-war competition was re-established in 1946 as the Alberton Football Association, with Carrajung, Devon, Foster, Ramblers, Toora, Welshpool, Woodside and Yarram comprising the competition.
The league's final completed season was held in 2019. Its 2020 season was cancelled because of restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. In August 2020, the Mid Gippsland Football Netball League voted to admit Alberton's six remaining clubs — Fish Creek, Foster, Meeniyan Dumbalk United, Stony Creek, Tarwin and Toora — from the 2021 season. The Alberton Football Netball League was subsequently wound up at the end of 2020.
History Re-establishment and early years
The Alberton Football Association was re-established in 1946 following the Second World War, with eight clubs comprising the competition: Carrajung, Devon, Foster, Ramblers, Toora, Welshpool, Woodside and Yarram. Foster won the first post-war premiership, defeating Woodside in the 1946 grand final.
The association became known as the Alberton Football League in 1948. Woodside dominated the early years of the competition, winning six consecutive senior premierships from 1947 to 1952. Ramblers left the competition following the 1948 season and Won Wron joined in 1949.
Carrajung departed following the 1952 season and Fish Creek joined the league in 1953. Fish Creek reached the grand final in each of its first 15 seasons in the competition, from 1953 to 1967, winning 11 premierships during that period: 1955, 1956, 1958–1961 and 1963–1967. The run of 15 consecutive grand final appearances remains one of the most sustained periods of success in Gippsland football.
Expansion and consolidation
The composition of football in South Gippsland changed significantly in 1969. Following the demise of the South Gippsland Football League, Meeniyan Dumbalk United and Stony Creek joined Alberton. Welshpool won three consecutive senior premierships from 1969 to 1971, including an undefeated premiership season in 1970.
Toora won its sole Alberton senior premiership in 1973, defeating Meeniyan Dumbalk United by one point. Woodside added another premiership in 1974, while Meeniyan Dumbalk United won consecutive flags in 1975 and 1976.
The number of separate clubs in the league began to contract through mergers during the following decades. Won Wron and Woodside amalgamated ahead of the 1982 season to form Won Wron-Woodside. The combined club won the 1994 senior premiership.
Tarwin joined the Alberton league in 1988, returning the competition to ten clubs. Welshpool and Devon, both long-standing members of the league, amalgamated to form Devon-Welshpool ahead of the 1995 season. The newly formed club won the premiership in its first season, defeating Won Wron-Woodside by six points in the 1995 grand final.
League expansion and club mergers
The league underwent major expansion in 1996 following a restructuring of football in the region by the Victorian Country Football League. Five clubs from the former Bass Valley-Wonthaggi Football League—Dalyston, Inverloch-Kongwak, Korumburra, Bena and Wonthaggi Rovers—joined Alberton, increasing the competition to 14 clubs. A final-five system was introduced following the expansion.
Devon-Welshpool and Won Wron-Woodside amalgamated in 1997, initially competing as the East Coast Allies before becoming known as Devon-Welshpool-Won Wron-Woodside (DWWWW). The combined club won senior premierships in 1998, 1999 and 2003. Korumburra and Bena later merged to form Korumburra-Bena in 2001.
The league expanded further in 2005 when Phillip Island and Kilcunda-Bass joined the competition. The same year, Wonthaggi Rovers merged with Wonthaggi Blues to form Wonthaggi Power, which also competed in Alberton.
Wonthaggi Power and the DWWWW split
Wonthaggi Power immediately became one of the competition's strongest clubs, reaching the senior grand final in each of its five seasons in Alberton. The club won premierships in 2005, 2006 and 2008, while its relative size compared with many of the smaller Alberton communities led to concerns about competitive balance within the league.
The Victorian Country Football League ultimately determined that Wonthaggi should move to a stronger competition. Tensions surrounding Wonthaggi's continued participation culminated in Yarram forfeiting all grades of football and netball against the club in May 2008. Wonthaggi nevertheless completed the 2008 senior season undefeated and defeated Yarram in the grand final.
The 2009 season was confirmed as Wonthaggi's final year in Alberton. The club again finished on top of the ladder and advanced to a fifth consecutive grand final, where it faced Stony Creek. Stony Creek defeated Wonthaggi 14.10 (94) to 11.14 (80), securing its first senior premiership since 1983. Wonthaggi transferred to the Gippsland League for the 2010 season.
During the same period, tensions also developed within DWWWW. Following disagreement over the club's future direction and home-ground arrangements, a group associated largely with the former Won Wron-Woodside component established the Woodside & District Football Club. Woodside entered the North Gippsland Football Netball League in 2008, while DWWWW remained in Alberton.
DWWWW struggled for playing numbers and on-field success following the split. The club entered recess for the 2014 season before returning to competition in 2015. It competed for a further three seasons before again entering recess ahead of the 2018 season.
Contraction and regional restructuring
The departure of Wonthaggi was followed by further changes to the league's membership. In 2013, Yarram sought permission to leave Alberton and join the North Gippsland Football League. North Gippsland clubs were initially split over the application, with concerns including the reintroduction of a bye and competition for junior players. Yarram's appeal was subsequently upheld and the club entered North Gippsland for the 2014 season, ending 68 seasons of continuous participation in Alberton.
AFL Gippsland commenced a review of senior football and netball competition structures in 2015, citing issues including competitive balance and club sustainability. The review resulted in the establishment of the West Gippsland Football Netball Competition for the 2017 season. Five Alberton clubs — Dalyston, Inverloch-Kongwak, Kilcunda-Bass, Korumburra-Bena and Phillip Island — left to become inaugural members of the new competition. Their departure reduced Alberton from 12 clubs in 2016 to seven in 2017.
When DWWWW entered recess ahead of 2018, only six active clubs remained: Fish Creek, Foster, Meeniyan Dumbalk United, Stony Creek, Tarwin and Toora.
Final years and dissolution
A further AFL Gippsland review in 2018 recommended that the six remaining Alberton clubs join the Mid Gippsland competition as part of a new 15-club structure. Mid Gippsland successfully appealed against the proposal, leaving the six Alberton clubs to consider other options.
In 2019, all six clubs applied to join the Ellinbank and District Football Netball League for the following season, but their applications were unsuccessful. At the same time, AFL Victoria commissioned further work on the future structure of football and netball in Gippsland. By this stage the long-term viability of a standalone six-club Alberton competition was considered increasingly uncertain.
The final completed Alberton season was held in 2019. Foster and Stony Creek contested the senior grand final at Tarwin Lower on 31 August, with Foster winning by seven points to claim its ninth Alberton senior premiership.
The planned 2020 season was cancelled because of restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. During the recess, AFL Gippsland's Gippsland 2025 Strategy recommended a merger between Alberton and Mid Gippsland. Rather than merge the two competitions, the Mid Gippsland Football Netball League voted on 24 August 2020 to admit all six remaining Alberton clubs from the 2021 season.
The Alberton Football Netball League held its final annual general meeting on 25 November 2020, at which members passed a special resolution to wind up the league. Fish Creek, Foster, Meeniyan Dumbalk United, Stony Creek, Tarwin and Toora subsequently became members of the Mid Gippsland Football Netball League from the 2021 season.
Clubs
Final clubs Club Colours Nickname Home GroundFormer League Est. Years in AFNL AFNL Senior Premierships TotalYears Fish Creek Kangaroos John Terrill Memorial Park, Fish Creek SGFL 1891 1953-2019201955, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1985, 1991, 1992, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2016, 2017, 2018 Foster Tigers Foster Showgrounds, FosterSGFL 1890 1946-201991946, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1989, 1993, 2010, 2019 Meeniyan Dumbalk United Demons Meeniyan Recreation Reserve, Meeniyan SGFL 1964 1969-20195 1975, 1976, 1981, 1988, 1990 Stony Creek Lions Stony Creek Racecourse,Stony Creek SGFL 1894 1969-20192 1983, 2009 Tarwin (1988-?)(?-2019) Sharks Tarwin Lower Recreation Reserve, Tarwin Lower – 1988 1988-20191 2004 Toora & District Magpies Toora Recreation Reserve, Toora SGFL 1891 1946-20191 1973
Former clubs