AustralianFootball.com Celebrating the history of the great Australian game
Official name
Barwon Heads Football and Netball Club Inc.
Known as
Barwon Heads
Former name
Barwon Heads Ocean Grove (1947–1969)
Formed
1922
Colours
Dark and light blue
Emblem
Seagulls
Associated clubs
Barwon Heads WFC; Barwon Heads Reserves WFC
Affiliation (Current)
Bellarine Football Netball League (BFNL) 1971–2024
Affiliations (Historical)
Freshwater Creek District Football Association (FCDFA) 1922–1925; Geelong & District Football Netball League (GDFNL) 1947–1970
Senior Premierships
Bellarine Football League - 1972-3-4, 1993, 2019, 2022 (6 total)
Website
bhfnc.vcfl.com.au/
A Barwon Heads Football Club was in existence as early as the 1920s, when it competed in the Freshwater Creek District Football Association. After the second world war the club amalgamated with Ocean Grove, and did not go it alone again until 1970. The merged club was successful in capturing the 1957 Geelong and District Football League Jarman Cup premiership which it did by means of a 7.15 (57) to 4.6 (30) grand final defeat of Torquay.
The 1971 season saw Barwon Heads join with eight other clubs to form the Bellarine Football League. The Seagulls enjoyed an exceptional early time in their new surroundings, claiming a hat trick of senior flags from 1972 to 1974, but then faded. A fourth and, to date, last flag finally arrived in 1993. Interestingly, all but one of Barwon Heads’ BFL premierships was achieved at the expense of its former merger partner, Ocean Grove.
After several seasons of mediocrity the Seagulls qualified for the finals in 2014 when they finished fifth. A year later they got as far as a losing preliminary final against Torquay before dropping back into the chasing pack in 2016 when they came seventh. The 2017 season saw the Seagulls back in the finals fray when they ultimately finished third before getting as far as the grand final a year later. Opposed by Modewarre, the Seagulls had lost only twice all season and were warmly favoured to win but they underperformed badly and slumped to defeat by 47 points. A year later they got the chance to make swift amends when they again reached the season's ultimate match, and on this occasion they emerged victorious, downing Torquay by 14 points after withstanding a strong finish from the Tigers.
John Devaney - Full Points Publications