Katandra

Having claimed a total of fifteen senior grade premierships since the war Katandra must rank as one of Victorian country football’s most successful clubs. The Kats’ most noteworthy achievement was probably its run of four successive grand final victories in the Benalla Tungamah Football League between 1955 and 1958. Competition in the BTFL was always extremely intense, and over the course of its entire fifty-plus years of existence no other club came close to equalling Katandra’s achievement, with back to back premierships the best any other team could manage. Moreover, only one club ever achieved the feat of back to back senior premiership victories on more than one occasion. That club was Katandra, which went top in 1973-4 and again in 1983-4. All told, Katandra won a competition record of a dozen senior grade premierships in the BTFL and its successor the Tungamah Football League.

The Kats’ success has continued since they transferred to the Picola and District Football League in 1996. So far, their eleven seasons in this competition have yielded three senior grade flags, which were claimed at the expense of Katunga in 1998, Tungamah in 2003 and Katamatite in 2004.

Apart from a disappointing 2007 season in which they finished mid-table the Kats have remained among the PDFL’s pace-setters since their last premiership triumph. In 2008 they managed 14 wins from 18 home and away matches to qualify for the finals in third place. They then lost their qualifying final clash with Tungamah before recovering to overcome Deniliquin Rovers in a semi final and Waaia in a preliminary final, thereby lining up a re-match with Tungamah in the grand final. However, just as three weeks earlier the Bears proved too strong, and won with something to spare, 21.17 (143) to 12.10 (82). Grand final day proved disappointing all round for the Kats as their reserves also went down to Tungamah.