BANYULE
Current Affiliation: Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) since 1980
Home Ground: R.J. Brockwell Oval, Warringal Parklands, Heidelberg
Formed: 1979 at under nineteens level; 1980 as a senior club
Colours: Maroon, blue and gold
Emblem: Bears
Senior VAFA Premierships: C Section 1986 (1 total); D Section 1983 (1 total); F Section 1981 (1 total)
Senior Competition Best and Fairest Awards: G.T. Moore Medal (B Section) - L.Burns 1993 (1 total); L.S. Pepper Medal (D1 Section) - D.Williams 2001 (1 total)
Banyule Amateur Football Club was established in 1979 with the objective of providing a systematic line of progression for youngsters who had played under-age football with Banyule Junior Football Club. Although the two clubs have retained their separate identities they enjoy a harmonious working relationship which has proven to be advantageous to both parties.
The 1979 season saw Banyule affiliating with the VAFA, but it only fielded an under nineteens team. Seniors and reserves followed in 1980, with both grades achieving premierships in only their second seasons. For the senior side, triumph in the F Section grand final came at the expense of another comparative newcomer to the Association in Therry Corpus Christi Old Boys. There could be no doubting Banyule's overall superiority, but some profligate kicking for goal made the win a little less formulaic than it perhaps ought to have been. Final scores were Banyule 9.23 (77); Therry CCOB 6.6 (42).
The win was a prelude to a decade of steady progress, highlighted by grand final appearances in E Section in 1982 (lost to Therry CCOB), D Section in 1983 (beat Fawkner), and C Section in 1986 (beat Old Trinity Grammarians) and 1989 (lost to Old Haileyburians). In 1991 Banyule contested the finals in B Grade for the first, and so far only, time, ultimately finishing 4th.
Recent years have seen the seniors alternating been D1 and C Sections. There have been no further flags, but the side did contest grand finals in D Grade against Old Camberwell Grammarians (2001) and University Blacks (2004). After failing to qualify for the finals only on percentage in 2007 the Bears won 14 out of 18 home and away matches the following year to book a first semi final berth against Ivanhoe Assumption, but their good form deserted them and they went down somewhat meekly by 38 points.
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