Australian Football

Yinnar

Along with Boolarra, Yinnar has enjoyed the longest unbroken period of involvement in the Mid Gippsland Football League. Both clubs were founder members of the competition in 1935, with the Magpies reaching their first grand final in 1939. Opposed by Thorpdale, they won a tough, tense, low scoring tussle by 7 points. Yinnar again played Thorpdale in the grand final in 1946, but the result was reversed. The Magpies’ second premiership finally arrived in 1954 when they overcame Hazelwood in the grand final by 8 points, 14.14 (98) to 12.18 (90).

The 1960s proved to be Yinnar’s finest decade up to that point, with the club claiming three premierships from five grand finals. The third of these, gained at the expense of Yallourn North in 1969, was the first of a hat trick of such triumphs, with the Magpies going on to down Yallourn North once more in 1970 and Trafalgar in 1971. Yinnar’s third flag of the 1970s was claimed in 1973 at the expense of Hill End.

For a quarter of a century after their 1973 triumph the Magpies tended to struggle and they did not again contest a grand final until 1998, when they scored a comfortable 29 point victory over Newborough.

Since the turn of the century the Magpies have reinforced their status as one of the MGFL’s leading clubs, with grand final victories coming in 2001 at the expense of Trafalgar, both 2004 and 2008 against Mirboo North, and 2015 versus Yallourn Yallourn North. They also reached the grand final in 2018, but lost by 16 points to Trafalgar.

The Magpies' tally of thirteen senior grade premierships is a competition record.