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HIGHETT (Highett Districts)Current Affiliation: Southern Football League (SFL) since 1993 Formed: 1989 as the Highett Districts Football Club, following a merger between Highett and Highett West; renamed Highett in 1997 Website: http://www.highettfc.com.au/ Colours: Blue, red and white Emblem: Bulldogs Senior Grade Premierships: SFL Division Two - 2004 (1 total); Division Three - 1996 (1 total) Formed by means of a merger between Highett, which lacked players but boasted good facilities, and Highett West, where the converse state of affairs existed, Highett Districts commenced life in 1989 in division one of the South East Suburban Football League. The club struggled, and at the end of the 1991 season was relegated to division two. In both 1992 and 1993, under the coaching of Peter Light, the Bulldogs reached the division two senior grade grand final only to lose. In 1993 the club had begun competing in the Southern Football League. A mass exodus of players after the 1993 grand final defeat greatly weakened the team, and in 1994 it finished bottom of division two and was relegated. The club spent two seasons in division three before achieving promotion back to division two as premiers. In 1997 the club was renamed Highett. Over the past decade the Bulldogs have spent time in all three of the SFL’s divisions. Their only senior grade premiership during that time was claimed in 2004, in division two. The original Highett Football Club began life as a member of the Federal Football Association in 1929. The club competed initially in the competition’s second tier, known as B Section, and which in 1935 was renamed the District Section. Its early performances were undistinguished, but by the mid-1930s it was beginning to impose itself on the competition. In 1935 the side reached the preliminary final before embarking on a sequence of four successive grand final appearances. However, only in the last of these, in 1939, did it enjoy success. After world war two the FFA was renamed the Federal Football League, with Highett competing in the competition’s top division. However, it struggled to make its mark, and ended up well down the list in most years. Finally, in 1970 the senior team qualified for the finals, and although it did not manage to procure the premiership the achievement effectively lit the touch paper on what went on to be the most successful decade in the club’s history, with senior grade grand final triumphs in 1973, 1974 and 1979. If the 1970s represented the zenith of the club’s achievements, the ensuing decade effectively constituted the nadir. At times, owing to low playing stocks, the club’s very existence seemed in jeopardy, and the eventual amalgamation with Highett West was, in effect, a survival measure. Highett West Football Club had been formed in 1960. In 1986 the club’s senior grade had claimed its only flag by convincingly defeating North Kew in the SESFL’s division two grand final. Where now? or
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