Australian Football

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KEY FACTS

Official name
Swanpool Football and Netball Club Inc.

Known as
Swanpool

Formed
c 1920s

Disbanded
2014

Colours
Sky blue and navy blue

Emblem
Swans

Associated clubs
Tatong

Affiliations (Historical)
Benalla & District Football Netball League (BDFNL) 1931–2009; Ovens & King Football Netball League (OKFNL) 2010–2013

Senior Premierships
Tatong and Thoona Football Association (TTFA) - 1933 (1 total); Benalla and District Football League - 1951, 1957, 1997-8 (4 total)

Swanpool

Swanpool was a mainstay of the Benalla and District Football League from 1946 until its dissolution in 2009. Prior to that, the club competed in the Tatong and Thoona Football Association, the competition which gave way to the BDFL, between 1931 and 1940, contesting grand finals in 1931 and 1933, the latter of which was won. During its first couple of decades in the BDFL, Swanpool was consistently on or near the pace, but its record in grand finals – two wins from seven – was disappointing. Worse was to follow in the 1970s and 1980s as the club rarely challenged for the premiership.

The Swans’ finest combinations were fielded during the 1990s, a decade which brought the only back-to-back flags in their history. Following the turn of the century, performances were mixed, with the nadir of a winless wooden spoon being reached in 2007. Two years later, however, the Swans had improved sufficiently to progress as far as the grand final, albeit this was lost heavily at the hands of Bonnie Doon.

In 2010, Swanpool lined up in the Ovens and King Football League after the BDFL was shut down due to having less than six clubs, thereby no longer meeting the Victorian Country Football League’s requirements. The Swans' performances in the OKFL were uniformly poor, and in July 2013 an AFL North East Border review recommended a three-way merger between Swanpool, Tatong and Goorambat. Both Swanpool and Tatong preferred instead to leave the league than lose their identity, and departed the OKFL after the 2013 season.

By March 2014, Swanpool and Tatong had committed to forming a new merged entity together and made a last-ditch entry to join the Picola & District league, but had missed the imposed deadline. Their efforts resulted in a new club, the Samaria Suns, being formed in May 2014 from members of Swanpool and Tatong with the new goal of joining the Picola league in 2015. However, this bid was also unsuccessful, and the Suns exist only as a Masters team in the Benalla over-35s league.

Swanpool filed a civil lawsuit against the Ovens and King Football League in October 2014, with the case finally set down for December 2015. The Swans alleged the league acted in an oppressive manner by removing them, and sought both damages from lost revenue as well as readmittance into the OKFL. The case received early media coverage, but no further information is known about its result after its most recent mention in August 2015.

Source

John Devaney - Full Points Publications

 

Footnotes

* Behinds calculated from the 1965 season on.
+ Score at the end of extra time.