SHEPPARTON SWANS (Lemnos/Lemnos-Shepparton)
Current Affiliation: Goulburn Valley Football League (GVFL) since 1946
Formed: 1928 as the Lemnos Football Club
Club Address: P.O. Box 854, Shepparton 3632, Victoria
Colours: White and red
Emblem: Swans
Senior GVFL Premierships: 1959, 1960, 1970 (3 total)
The club which is today known as the Shepparton Swans began life as the Lemnos Football Club in 1928. Lemnos is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea which the allied troops in World War One used as a base for the ill-fated Gallipoli operation out of which the nation-shaping ANZAC tradition arose. After the war, many ex-serviceman were settled on the land, portions of which in the Shepparton area had been subdivided under the Closer Settlement Scheme. One such portion of land, originally known as Thomas Estate No. 5, was given the name Lemnos by its residents, many of whom had fought at Gallipoli. The name was a ratification of the bond the former soldiers shared, as well as a reminder of the courage and self-sacrifice displayed by so many fallen comrades. The diggers were nothing if not resilient, however, and they were quick to discern the name's quirkily amusing, near palindromic properties, so that it was not very long before the phrase "lemons for Lemnos!" became something of a catch cry for the district (and, needless to say, a highly appropriate one, given that Shepparton lies at the heart of a major fruit-growing region).
By the time that the football club got underway Lemnos had developed into a modern, thriving community. The team, which wore the black and yellow of VFL club Richmond, played its home matches at the Lemnos Recreation Reserve, adjacent to the local Primary School. Admitted to the Goulburn Valley Second Eighteens Football Association, Lemnos would remain in the competition until 1941, winning premierships in 1937, 1938 and 1940. By this time the club was playing its home games at the Shepparton Recreation Reserve (later re-named Deakin Reserve), while the name of the competition had been changed to the Goulburn Valley Football Association.
After World War Two Lemnos found that both its colours and its place in the GVFA had been usurped by Shepparton East, but it turned the situation to its advantage when it applied for, and was granted, admission to the stronger Goulburn Valley Football League. A couple of concessions were necessary before Lemnos could commence life in their new environment, however. Given that the GVFL was a town-based competition, the club's name had to be altered to Lemnos-Shepparton, although as things turned out this change was only temporary. More permanent were the changes required to the club's colours, in view of the fact that black and yellow was already being used, by Rushworth. Lemnos opted for white with a red vee, as worn by VFL club South Melbourne. Since 1946 the club's uniform has been modified a few times, but the colours have remained unchanged. On joining the GVFL Lemnos relocated to the Shepparton Showgrounds for home matches.
The Swans, as they were perhaps inevitably became known, first had a significant impact on their new competition in 1949 when captain-coach Bill Tyquin won the Morrison Medal. Tyquin, a talented key position defender, would also win the Lemnos best and fairest award on four occasions during the course of his eight season career with the club.
As a team, however, it was not until the late 1950s that Lemnos really began to assert itself in the GVFL, but when it did so it promptly made up for any lost time by winning consecutive flags. In the 1959 grand final the Swans emphatically downed Kyabram by 39 points, and the following year accounted for Nagambie in a dour battle of the backlines by 14 points. Both flags were achieved under the guidance of Doug Palmer, a former Geelong premiership player who arrived at Lemnos in 1957, and served as the club's captain-coach for five seasons. Undoubted star of the team was Robbie Orrman, winner of the 1951, 1954 and 1959 Morrison Medals as well as the club's best and fairest award on a record six occasions.
There were no further premierships during the 1960s, but one noteworthy development was the club's decision to relocate to Princess Park where an ongoing series of improvements was implemented.
The 1968 season saw the club's three grades all competing in their respective grand finals, the first time that this had occurred in league history. Unfortunately, all three teams finished runners-up - as, remarkably, they did again the very next year. Finally, in 1970, both the seniors and the Thirds broke through for premierships, with the seniors comfortably seeing off the challenge of Kyabram in their grand final by 35 points. Captain-coach of the Swans' 1970 premiership side was Roland Crosby, formerly of North Melbourne, who was also at the helm the following year when Lemnos lost a top quality, high scoring grand final to Euroa by 30 points.
The Swans have yet to add to their premiership tally in the GVFL, although they finished runners-up in 1982 to Seymour and 1983 to Tongala. Moreover, the names of Lemnos players have continued to find their way on to the GVFL's honour boards regularly at all levels. As far as the seniors are concerned, there had, as of the end of the 2006 season, been five Morrison Medallists winning a total of seven Medals between them, while Swans players have topped the league's goal kicking ladder eight times, with Ken Murray in 1985, Daryl Taylor in 1995, and Damien Yze in 2003 all 'topping the ton'.
The 1999 season brought a significant change at the club when, in anticipation of the fresh challenges that would inevitably arise in the new century, it adopted the trading name of the Shepparton Swans. So far the club has responded to those challenges well, with the senior side contesting the finals in 2001-2-3 and 2006. In November 2006 it was announced that Peter White, who had coached Kyabram to a premiership in 1996, would be the Swans senior playing coach in 2007. His impact on the Swans was immediate and considerable as the side comfortably qualified for the finals with a 13-5 record. However, reigning premier Seymour proved too strong in both the 2nd semi final and grand final, making it clear that a fair amount of work still needs to be done if the Swans are to take that final elusive step to premiership glory.
Where now?
or