Australian Football

Colac

Between the wars, the original Colac football club participated in a number of different competitions without notable success. A successor club was formed in 1948 based on a merger between Colac Rovers and Colac Diggers and after affiliating with the Hampden Football League, where it would remain until the 2000 season, it rapidly emerged as a power. Its first senior grade grand final appearance came in 1949 and its breakthrough premiership was claimed the following year. Back to back flags in 1952 and 1953 then followed.

Throughout their time in the HaFL the Tigers were consistent finalists with the 1960s spawning two further premierships as well as a couple of losing grand finals. The side’s performance level declined somewhat during the 1970s and in 1980 Colac merged with Coragulac, which had been competing in the HaFL since 1961 without winning any senior grade flags. The merged club, known as Colac Coragulac, was a force, enjoying premiership success in 1982, 1983 and 1985. In 1986 the club dropped the word ‘Coragulac’ from its name and became known simply as Colac once more. Under this name it added one last HaFL flag in 1993.

Since 2001 the Colac senior and reserve grade teams have competed in the Geelong Football League while the under age combinations have continued in the HaFL. The seniors reached their first grand final in 2008, losing to St Mary’s by the disconcertingly hefty margin of 99 points. Their next grand final appearance came in 2014 and this time the Tigers made amends with a 19.14 (128) to 11.13 (79) grand final defeat of Leopold. The triumph was all the more meritorious in that Leopold had been minor premiers while Colac had commenced their finals campaign from fifth place. The next five seasons saw the Tigers finish third (2015), seventh (2016), third (2017) and fifth (2018) on the12 team premiership ladder. In 2019 the side improved markedly, topping the ladder ahead of a finals series which culminated in a heart-rending two point loss to St Mary's.