Australian Football

Dromana

Known for many years as the Grasshoppers, Dromana has competed in various competitions on the Mornington Peninsula for over one hundred years. Premierships in the Peninsula and District Football Association (1931), and in the Mornington Peninsula Football League (1940 and 1950) were followed by a long drought through the 1950s and 1960s, which coincided with the time the club had absorbed neighbouring Red Hill Football Club. Several years after the two parted ways, the club gained success once more in 1971 in the Nepean Football League thanks to a 12.12 (84) to 10.11 (71) grand final defeat of Rye.

Dromana, now rather mundanely known as the Tigers have recently mainly competed in the Mornington Peninsula Nepean Football League’s Division Two (formerly Nepean Division) in which they generally performed strongly. After contesting losing grand finals in 2008 and 2012 they broke through for a premiership in 2013 when they thrashed Sorrento in the grand final by 79 points, 20.8 (128) to 7.7 (49). Following that they finished fourth in 2014, ninth in both 2015 and 2016, and sixth in 2017 before breaking through for another flag in 2018. Underdogs going into their grand final clash with Red Hill the Tigers burst out of the blocks in impressive fashion and rattled on 4.1 to no score in the opening term. Thereafter, however, the Hillmen fought back strongly, and by half time they had eked out a 1 goal advantage. The final two quarters were fiercely fought with Dromana gradually getting on top, albeit without quite managing to put their opponents away. When Red Hill scored their ninth goal in the seventeenth minute of the last term it brought them to within  7 points with plenty of time still on the clock, but the Tigers were not to be denied, and the only remaining score of the game, a behind, was theirs. Final scores were Dromana 10.7 (67) to Red Hill 9.5 (59) and the Tigers had procured premiership number six, and their second in the MPNFL. 

The 2019 season found the Tigers competing in Division One and enjoying a dream start, qualifying for the finals in third place before overcoming the setback of a second semi final loss to Sorrento to turn the tables a fortnight later in the 'big one'.