Australian Football

Frankston

Formed in 1887, Frankston engaged primarily in social and scratch matches for a couple of decades before becoming a foundation member in 1908 of the Peninsula Football Association. The club enjoyed considerable success in this competition, qualifying for a total of eight premiership deciding matches and winning five of them over the course of some two decades of involvement. During the late 1920s and in 1930 Frankston participated in the Peninsula and District Football Association, winning a premiership in 1929 and finishing runner-up the following year.

In 1934 the PFA and the PDFA merged to form the Mornington Peninsula Football League and Frankston was among the founder members of this competition. Between 1937 and 1939 the club managed to win a hat trick of flags for the only time in its history, accounting for Mornington Somerville by 5 points, Navy by 99 points, and Mornington by 56 points in the grand finals.

Frankston continued as a force after world war two, contesting eight consecutive grand finals between 1946 and 1953, and emerging victorious from those of 1949 against Mornington and 1952 against Seaford. This comparatively poor record in grand finals was compounded by further losses in 1955, 1957 and 1958. The Bombers’ sixth and final MPFL flag arrived in 1961 after a 12.15 (87) to 9.14 (68) grand final triumph over Carrum, and their last grand final appearance came two years later when they went down by the narrowest of margins to Chelsea.

After crossing from the Mornington Peninsula Football League to Division Two of the VFA in 1966, Frankston quickly became competitive, reaching the preliminary final in only their second season. Thereafter, however, reality quickly asserted itself, and it was not until 1976 that the side again qualified for the finals. Indeed, with a record of 16 wins and a draw from 18 home and away matches the Dolphins were quite justifiably accorded premiership favouritism, only for their comparative lack of experience in finals football to prove their undoing. A 27 point defeat by Mordialloc in the second semi final was followed by a soul-destroying preliminary final loss to Williamstown by just 2 points.

Frankston’s first, and so far only, VFA/L premiership came in 1978. A crowd of 12,291 packed into Toorak Park to see a closely fought game which at the final change saw Camberwell on 9.11 (65) leading the Dolphins 9.8 (62). At the onset of time on in the last term scores were deadlocked, but goals from centre half forward Ray Orchard and full forward John Hunter gave Frankston some breathing space and they held on to win a thriller by 14 points. Ruck-rover John Kennedy and rovers Brian Jones and Alan Sampson were high in Frankston’s best as were key forwards Hunter (6 goals) and Orchard. Promoted sides frequently found it difficult to compete at the higher level but Frankston proved an exception and quickly consolidated. A first semi final appearance in 1981 ended in disappointment, but three years later the Dolphins reached their first ever top level grand final only to succumb to Preston by 54 points. Further finals appearances in 1986 (third) and 1987 (fourth) saw Frankston establish themselves as worthy, if not quite pre-eminent, competitors.

With the VFA in a state of near turmoil and clubs disbanding and re-organising continuously Frankston remained stable and competitive, albeit without quite managing to make the ultimate breakthrough. The first year of the VFL in 1996 yielded a minor premiership and this inevitably gave rise to a great amount of optimism among Dolphins supporters but, disappointingly, the side proved unable to overcome Springvale in either the second semi final or the grand final.

Victoria’s main domestic competition has undergone significant change in recent years, with further changes likely in the future. A number of traditional clubs have either fallen by the wayside or felt constrained to alter their fundamental orientation in order to survive. Amidst this uncertainty, Frankston’s future increasingly came under scrutiny. However, for the time being the club at least showed signs of remaining competitive on the field, and while this is no longer the be all and end all of club survival it is arguably still its fulcrum - or, to put it another way, financial viability is easier to maintain in a climate of optimism and on field achievement. Most supporters, however, are concerned less about their club’s financial well being than they are about its on field success; in this context, a single second division premiership in more than thirty years can not be regarded as satisfactory.

The club's fortunes were not helped at all by a fire which ripped through its historic grandstand in February 2008, destroying the building. The Bryan Mace grandstand had been there since the early 1930s and was an icon of the local community. It was originally built for the parade grounds of Australia's first World Scout Jamboree. While damage was estimated at over $1million, the rebuilding was completed in late 2010. In 2013 it was announced that the club would expand its social rooms and function centre, allowing 370 patrons downstairs and a further 220 seated patrons upstairs. Funding was provided by the Victorian State Government, the AFL, AFL Victoria and Frankston City Council. The building officially opened in 2015.

Despite these ostensibly positive developments, in recent years Frankston's financial difficulties have mounted, and in May 2016 it was announced that the club was more than $1million in debt. Three months later the club went into voluntary administration and, soon afterwards, its VFL license was rescinded. After a swift and successful restructuring, however, it was announced in August 2017 that the club would rejoin the VFL for the 2018 season, which needless to say was a very welcome development. Perhaps not surprisingly it proved to be a somewhat tortuous resumption as the Dolphins managed just a couple of wins from 18 matches to finish above only wooden spooners Coburg. A year later they fared even worse, winning just once all season to plunge to last place.