Australian Football

Therry Penola

Glenroy Amateur Football Club was formed in 1974, and commenced the same year in F Section of the VAFA. At the end of the 1977 season it aligned itself with Therry College, and adopted the name of Therry Corpus Christ Old Boys. Still in F Section, its progress under the new name was rapid and dramatic, fuelled by a reinforced sense of club identity, and a self-declared ‘never say die’ ethic.

Therry reached the F Grade finals for the first time in 1978, ultimately finishing third. This was followed by fourth place in 1979, a temporary decline in 1980 when the finals were missed, and a first ever grand final appearance in 1981 against Banyule, another relatively new club which was on a similar upward spiral. Banyule achieved victory on this occasion, but both clubs gained promotion to E Section, where their continued fine form culminated in a second successive grand final encounter. This time it was Therry’s turn to emerge triumphant, which it did with comparative comfort, winning 16.16 (112) to 14.10 (94).

The two clubs’ coincidental ascent came to a halt in 1983 as Banyule won the premiership of D Grade while Therry had to be satisfied with third place. Ultimately it was Therry who enjoy the more prodigious rise, however, commencing in 1984 with a 19.19 (133) to 11.10 (76) D Section grand final trouncing of Thomastown. The following season brought a second consecutive grand final appearance, this time in C Grade against Fawkner, and although it was lost, the inevitable pain associated with defeat was tempered by an awareness that promotion to the vaunted heights of B Section had been achieved.

It took the Therry players a season to find their feet at the new level, but once they did it became clear that they were not going to be satisfied for long with B Grade football. In securing consecutive third place finishes in 1987 and 1988 the side gained numerous admirers, but within the club there was only a sense of frustration over opportunities missed and potential unfulfilled. In 1989, under the determined coaching of Gary Connolly, Therry put things right in emphatic fashion by marching all the way to the B Section grand final against fellow Catholic College Old Boys, De La Salle. One step away from glory, however, Therry faltered, putting in arguably its worst display of the year to go down by the somewhat embarrassing margin of 79 points. Nevertheless, promotion to A Grade had been achieved, something that few followers of the amateur game would have believed possible when the club was scratching its way around the VAFA’s nether sections less than two decades earlier.

Over the years, quite a few clubs have made accelerated passage through the VAFA’s grades, but Therry’s ascent ranks with the very best of them, and affords a shining example of what the VAFA system allows the most dedicated and hard working of its member clubs to achieve.

In 1994 Therry College ceased to exist in its own right, amalgamating with Sancta Sophia and Geoghegan Colleges to form Penola Catholic College. Two years later, in acknowledgement of this development, Therry Corpus Christi College Old Boys altered its name to Therry Penola Old Boys. At the same time, strong links were established with the new college, meaning that the change of name was much more than merely cosmetic.

Since 1996 the club has added two senior grade premierships to its tally. In 2000 they won the grand final of C Section by virtue of a 12.13 (85) to 9.10 (64) grand final defeat of Beaumaris. Then, in 2013, following the return to the club as senior coach of Lions legend Denis Castaldi the team struck gold again, this time in Division Two. Opposed in the grand final by Yarra Valley the Lions started well with a 5 goals to 1 opening term and thereafter maintained their dominance en route to a 13.7 (85) to 6.11 (47) triumph. The following season saw the side emerge from the home and away rounds with a 100% record but they then lost to Williamstown CYMS in both a semi final and the grand final to take something of the gloss of their promotion to Premier C. Not that their involvement in C Premier lasted long as the Lions won just 4 matches in 2015 to slump to relegation back to Division One. The 2016 season saw the team performing solidly and getting as far as the Division One first semi final which they lost to PEGS by 62 points. Then, in 2017, they dropped down the list to sixth, after winning 8 of their 18 home and away matches. The following season brought finals qualification only for first semi final opponents Oakleigh to sour the ointment with a 1 point win - this despite the fact that the Lions managed 9 more scoring shots for the match.