Australian Football

East Brighton

Over the just under seven decades of their existence the Vampires have put together an impressive record which includes a total of ten senior grade premiership triumphs. Between 1949 and 1962 the club competed in the Caulfield Oakleigh District Football League and when that competition merged with the Eastern Suburbs Football League in 1963 East Brighton was a foundation member of the resultant organisation, the South East Suburban Football League. Most of the club’s thirty seasons in the SESFL were spent in Division One, in which it was successful in winning four grand finals. The Vampires also claimed the 1988 Division Two flag.

Since 1993 East Brighton has been affiliated with the Southern Football League, which was formed that year, and once again most of its time has been spent in the top division (known initially as the Premier Division, and later as Division One). In their very first season in the SFL the Vampires triumphed in the Division One grand final, downing Noble Park by 34 points. The following year saw the same two sides contesting the grand final, but this time the result was reversed.

In 2001 East Brighton suffered the indignity of relegation to Division Two, but bounced straight back on the strength of a 17.18 (120) to 8.7 (55) defeat of Murrumbeena in the 2002 grand final. The 2003 season saw the Vampires consolidating in the top division and in 2004 they claimed their second flag at that level by means of a hard fought 10 point grand final win over St Paul’s Bentleigh. A second straight grand final appearance followed in 2005, but on this occasion opponents Balwyn proved too strong. 

In recent seasons the Vampires have re-emerged as a force. They qualified for the 2011 Division One grand final, only to lose by 59 points to St Paul's. A year later they made amends with a hard fought 9.8 (62) to 8.9 (57) grand final defeat of Chelsea Heights. This was followed in 2013 by another grand final loss to St Paul's, this time by a 23 point margin. Once again atonement was swiftly achieved with a resounding 18.10 (118) to 7.7 (49) grand final defeat of Dingley in 2014.

East Brighton again contested the finals in 2015 but the 2016 season was enormously disappointing as the Vampires slumped to the worst result possible, a winless wooden spoon, meaning that the 2017 season saw them lining up in Division Two where they performed modestly, winning eightout of 18 matches to finish seventh. A year later they again came seventh albeit with one win fewer. The 2019 season saw them finish seventh for the third successive time.