Australian Football

Darwin Buffaloes

Darwin was one of the three initial members of the NTFL. Originally known as Warriors, the club was unsuccessful in its first season in 1917 and promptly changed its name to Vesteys, after the meat factory where the majority of its players were employed.

Vesteys won their first premiership in 1921/22, defeating Wanderers 5.6 (36) to 3.6 (24). In 1923/24 the club forfeited its semi final against Wanderers, and the chance of another flag, in protest at the league’s choice of central umpire. Further premierships followed in 1924/25 and 1925/26 before the club changed its name again in 1926/27. Under its new name of Buffaloes the side was immediately successful, winning the grand final by 4 points from Magpies.

During the remaining pre-world war two period Buffaloes vied with Waratahs as the pre-eminent force in NTFL football. The club was also in the process of developing a strong family tradition, which endures to this day, with a number of present day players able to look back with pride at fathers, grand fathers, and even great grand fathers who represented the team in days of yore. Names like Cooper, Bonson, Ah Mat and Lew Fatt recur throughout the Buffaloes’ history.

With appearances in the first ten post world war two grand finals Buffaloes remained very much a force to be contended with. On the debit side, however, the team won only four of those ten grand finals, and indeed overall between the 1951/52 and 1962/63 premierships Buffaloes contested no fewer than seven grand finals without success.

The 1962/63 flag coincided with yet another name change, this time to the Darwin Football Club. The Buffalo emblem was retained, however. The 1960s proved a profitable decade for the club with eight grand final appearances for five wins. However, for the next two and a half decades the Buffaloes had to accept almost continual second billing to arch rivals St. Marys who, in 2002/3, finally managed to overhaul Darwin’s then record of twenty-two senior premierships. Even after the Saints’ fortunes went into temporary decline towards the end of the 1990s the Buffaloes still could not break through for a premiership, with their nearest miss coming in the infamous ‘lightning strike’ grand final of 2000/1 when they fell short of Palmerston by just 12 points.

In 2005/6, however, the Buffaloes finally managed to break what by that time had become a hoodoo stretching back almost two decades. Despite only qualifying for the finals in third place, convincing wins over Wanderers and Nightcliff in the first semi final and preliminary final respectively set up a grand final showdown with St. Marys. A close game was expected, with Saints favoured to win, but Darwin, with former AFL star Darryl White in irrepressible form, made a nonsense of the form-book by winning with transcendent ease by 7 goals. Final scores were Darwin 13.14 (92) to St Marys 6.14 (50), a result which handed the Buffaloes their twenty-third senior flag, leaving them just two premierships adrift of the Saints.[1]

By contrast, the 2006/7 season could scarcely have been more deflating, as the side managed just 3 wins from 19 matches to plummet to their first wooden spoon in a decade. Over the ensuing decade or so there was some improvement but no further senior grade premierships. In both 2015/16 and 2016/17 the Buffaloes' season was brought to an end at the elimination final stage while the 2017/18 season saw them suffer the heart break of a 1 point grand final reversal at the hands of Southern Districts. In 2018/19 the Buffaloes finished fifth after another elimination final loss, this time at the hands of Waratah. A year later it was Southern Districts who applied the elimination final coup de grace while in 2020/21 it was Waratah once more.

Besides Darryl White, other noteworthy players to have represented the Buffaloes down the years have included Bill Dempsey, who proved himself a bona fide champion during a 343 game league career with West Perth, John ‘Bubba’ Tye, Don Bonson senior, Walter Lew Fatt, Leo Pon, and Michael Athanasiou.

In 2017 Darwin Football Club celebrated its centenary.