ST MARY'S
Formed: 1932; merged with Salesian Old Collegians at the end of the 2007 season
Colours: Gold, black and white
Senior VAFA Premierships: F Section - 1990 (1 total); F1 Section - 1993 (1 total)
Senior Competition Best and Fairest Awards: O.J. Meehan Medal (D4 Section) - Cam Armstrong* 2007; Adrian Papaluca* 2007 (2 total)
* indicates won jointly
St Mary's Church of England Football Club was established in 1932 and entered B Section of the Eastern Suburban Protestant Churches Football Association (ESPCFA) the same year. In 1936 the side beat Box Hill Adelphians in the grand final to secure promotion to A Section. During a total of fifty-three competition seasons between 1932 and 1989 St Mary's achieved the highly creditable record of six senior premierships from ten grand finals. Four of these premierships came in A Grade, and 2 in B Grade.
Since crossing to the VAFA in 1990 St Mary's, as the club was then renamed, has added two further premierships to its haul, one in F Section in its debut season, and the other in F1 Section three years later. The club's only other senior grand final appearance since crossing to the VAFA came in 2005 in D4 Grade, when it lost by 15 points to Elsternwick. In 2006 it endured a miserable year to finish 9th in D3 Section, consigning it to relegation to D4.
With Michael Learmonth taking on the club presidency after five seasons as senior coach, St Mary's opted for a revolutionary, two-pronged coaching structure in 2007, with the duties shared between Vaughan Ryan and Jeremy Wright, both of whom are former players with the club. This approach bore handsome dividends in the form of finals qualification with a 14-4 record, followed by a resounding 1st semi final victory over Mt Lilydale. However, Eltham in the preliminary final proved a little too strong, and won a hard fought game by 28 points.
Prior to the disappointments of 2006 St Mary's had been manifesting a healthy, vibrant, winning culture, which had seen it qualify for the finals on four consecutive occasions. That culture remained still very much in evidence off the field, with the club in a healthy position both financially and socially.
In November 2007 it was announced that St Mary's would be amalgamating with D2 club Salesian Old Collegians, with the new club, known as St Mary's-Salesian, competing in D2 grade in 2008.
Where now?
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