Australian Football

Warragul Industrials

Warragul Industrials commenced in the Ellinbank and District Football League in 1948, which was the year of the club’s formation. It proved to be a memorable debut season as the side went top. Between 1949 and 1954 the Dusties contested the finals every year, but losing grand finals to Ellinbank in 1953 and 1954 was the closest they came to securing another flag.

After missing the finals for three straight seasons the side returned to the September fray to telling effect in 1960 as it ended up overcoming Neerim Neerim South in the grand final to claim that elusive second premiership. A third might easily have followed in any of the next four seasons but the Dusties ended up falling short on grand final day each time. There was another grand final appearance, and another loss, in 1967.

The 1970s proved to be predominantly barren as the side missed the finals every season except one. The exception was 1976, which the Dusties made a season to remember by achieving an improbable, against the odds premiership victory at the expense of Poowong.

Since 1976 the seniors have contested another half a dozen grand finals, winning in 1986 against Bunyip, and ten years later at the expense of Buln Buln. Recent seasons have seen the Dusties flirting with success but finals involvement in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018 proved uniformly unfruitful. The 2017 season saw them get as far as the grand final only to succumb by a solitary point to Catani. A year later their bid for the flag was derailed on preliminary final day by Longwarry.