Australian Football

Unusually if not quite uniquely for a sporting organisation, Inverleigh Football Club recently rose again from the ashes after having seemingly disbanded for good. In 2003 the club resumed in the Geelong and District Football League after having gone into mothballs eight years earlier, when it had gone by the name of Leigh Districts. 

Inverleigh’s resurrection was masterminded by a group of former Leigh Districts players, led by Mick Fiolet who had played at centre half back when the senior grade team overcame Modewarre by 5 points in the 1992 Geelong and District Football League Division Two grand final. The 1992 triumph had given the Hawks only their second senior grade premiership, the first having been claimed thirty-one years earlier in the forerunner to the G&DFL’s Division Two competition, the Woolworth Cup.

Inverleigh had also enjoyed premiership success on a couple of occasions during the 1920s, but there is little doubt that the club’s greatest achievement was its return to the competitive fray after lying dead in the water for eight years, although it took a while for them to find their feet.

In 2008, Inverleigh’s seniors won 10 of their 18 home and away fixtures, good enough for sixth place on the ladder (out of twelve teams). The reserves, however, endured a nightmare campaign which produced just 1 win and, inevitably, the wooden spoon. A year later the seniors finished one place adrift of finals qualification before dropping to eighth in 2010. The 2011 season brought finals qualification for an eventual finishing position of third. Over the next couple of seasons, however, the Hawks struggled, finishing eighth in 2012 and second from last in 2013. In 2014 there was marked improvement with the side qualifying for the finals and ultimately finishing third, a result that was repeated in both 2015 and 2016. Then, in 2017, the Hawks made it through to a grand final clash with Bell Post Hill only to succumb by 39 points. A year later they suffered similar disappointment when they faltered at the final hurdle against Thomson, who won by 5 goals, 10.13 (73) to 5.13 (43).