Australian Football

Murrumbeena

Prior to 1928 there had been both senior and junior grade clubs bearing the name of Murrumbeena. The senior club affiliated with the Metropolitan Amateur Football Association in which it continued to compete until disbanding in 1962. The junior club only fielded players aged under twenty-one and was a member of the Oakleigh District Junior Football Association. In 1928 the junior club, bearing the name Murrumbeena Districts, joined the Sub Districts Football Association, waiving its age restrictions in the process. In 1934 the club transferred to the Caulfield Oakleigh Dandenong Football League, dropped the word ‘Districts’ from its name, and promptly celebrated by capturing its first ever senior grade flag.

Murrumbeena’s heyday came in the 1960s and 1970s when it was a significant force in the South East Suburban Football League, twice claiming premierships in Division One. However, during the early 1980s the club experienced financial difficulties, and in 1984 it was demoted to Division Three. It won the premiership of this division in 1986.

Since commencing in the Southern Football League in 1992 Murrumbeena’s fortunes have slowly but steadily improved. Commencing in Division Three, the Lions enjoyed premiership success at that level in 1993, and after adding a Division Two flag in 2004 they spent time in Division One. More recently they have competed chiefly in Division Two, at which level they reached the grand final in 2017 only to lose by 13 points to Chelsea Heights. A year later they dropped two places on the ladder to fourth.