Australian Football

North Footscray

The North Footscray Imperials Football Club was formed in 1932 and commenced in Division Two of the Footscray District Junior Football League (precursor of today’s Western Region Football League) three years later. With the club  just beginning to flex its muscles, having won a division two premiership in 1939, it was forced to go into recess because of the war. After the war it wasted little time in re-asserting itself, and in 1949 won its second Division Two flag.

North Footscray’s heyday as a club was the late 1970s and early 1980s when it won three Division One premierships. In 1980 it dominated the competition as no club before or since has managed, with its seniors claiming a Division One flag and its second team going top in Division Two.

In 2008 North Footscray qualified for the Division Two grand final but lost heavily to Sunshine Heights. The 2009 season saw the Red Devils qualifying for the Division Two finals in second place having won 12 of their 16 home and away matches. They commenced the finals well, downing Albanvale by 5 points in the qualifying final. However, after that the wheels fell off disastrously as they bowed out of the flag race with successive losses to Parkside by 64 points and at the hands of Deer Park by 16 points. A year later they made amends quite spectacularly by claiming their third Division Two premiership thanks to an 11.13 (79) to 10.14 (74) grand final defeat of Parkside. Promoted to Division One the Devils found the going tough and after finishing second from last in both 2011 and 2012 they slumped to a winless wooden spoon in 2013, which meant relegation back to Division Two, where they have competed since, claiming a premiership (but no promotion) in 2017 courtesy of a 15.14 (104) to 6.10 (46) grand final trouncing of Yarraville Seddon. The following season saw the Devils again qualifying for the finals but on this occasion they proved unable to get past the first semi final challenge of Parkside, who prevailed by 13 points.