GEMBROOK COCKATOO
Current Affiliation: Yarra Valley Mountain District Football League (YVMDFL) since 1966
Club Address: P.O. Box 41, Gembrook, Victoria 3783
Formed: 1906
Colours: Green and white
Emblem: Brookers
Senior Premierships: Mountain District Football League (MDFL) - 1962, 1965 (2 total); YVMDFL - 1986 (1 total); YVMDFL Division Two - 2000, 2004 (2 total)
Senior Competition Best and Fairest Player Awards: Ramage Medal - R.McDonald 1970; C.Walsh 1989 (2 total); Wandin Medal - C.Clarke 2004 (1 total)
Most Games: 416 by L.Ure
Although football was certainly played in and around Gembrook at least as early as the 1880s, the Gembrook Football Club did not come formally into existence until 1906. Between then and the outbreak of World War One the club competed in the Evelyn Football Association. When organised football resumed after the war in 1919, Gembrook was one of five founder members of the Mountain District Football Association. The club remained in this competition until the end of the 1965 season, at which point the Mountain District Football League, as the MDFA had become known, merged with the Yarra Valley Football Association to form the Yarra Valley Mountain District Football League.
During their final few seasons in the MDFL the Brookers had emerged as competition pace setters, winning senior flags in 1962 and 1965. The 1962 premiership was won thanks to a 16.13 (109) to 12.18 (90) grand final defeat of Upper Ferntree Gully, a result that was a reversal of the 2nd semi final encounter between the two sides.
Gembrook and Upper Ferntree Gully also contested the 1965 grand final, with the Brookers edging home by just 2 points, 12.12 (84) to 11.16 (82). Captain-coach of both the 1962 and 1965 flag-winning combinations was former South Melbourne player Dave Donaldson.
On crossing to the YVMDFL the Brookers immediately found the going tougher. They reached their first grand final in 1978, but it proved to be an eminently forgettable experience for everyone connected with Gembrook, as they went under to Upwey-Tecoma by the mortifying margin of 99 points.
Gembrook finally broke through for a YVMDFL flag in 1986 under the coaching of Paul Jones and the captaincy Peter Bennett. Opposed on grand final day by Woori Yallock, the Brookers won convincingly by 91 points, 21.23 (149) to 8.10 (58).
In 1996 Gembrook's junior teams began playing their home matches at the Mountain Road Reserve in the nearby town of Cockatoo and as a result the junior arm of the club became known as Gembrook Cockatoo. In 1997, the club's senior teams adopted the same name, although they remain based in Gembrook. As Gembrook Cockatoo the club has won 2nd division A Grade grand finals in 2000, at the expense of Yarra Junction, and 2004 against South Belgrave. The 2000 premiership side was coached by Mark Butler and captained by Matt O'Neill, while four years later O'Neill had assumed the coaching mantle, and Craig Clarke was the team's captain.
Victory in the 2nd division grand final brings with it promotion to the YVMDFL's top division, which is where the Brookers competed for the third successive season in 2007.
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