Australian Football

Kilsyth

Between the time of its formation in 1924 and the outbreak of the second world war Kilsyth is only known to have enjoyed premierships success once, in 1938 in the Ringwood District Football League. The 1950s proved to be the most successful decade in the club’s history, spawning a hat trick of Croydon Ferntree Gully Division Two grand final triumphs between 1950 and 1952. The Cougars also reached the Division Two grand final, only to lose, in 1953, 1954 and 1958.

When the CFGFL metamorphosed into the Eastern District Football League in 1962, Kilsyth was among the competition’s founder members. Competing initially in Division One, the Cougars were competitive at that level for several seasons, but never managed to ‘bring home the bacon’. Their first EDFL flag arrived in 1975, in Division Two, when they accounted for the grand final challenge of Mulgrave by a margin of 8 points, 17.16 (118) to 16.14 (110). This remains arguably the crowning achievement of the club’s post-war history.

Over the past three decades the club has added two further senior grade EDFL premierships to its haul, downing Heathmont by 50 points in the 1990 Division Four grand final, and overcoming Templestowe in the 1995 Division Four grand final by 40 points. There were also losing grand final appearances in Division Four in 2009 and 2015. In 2016, 2017 and 2018 they finished fifth, one place adrift of finals qualification.

Between 1982 and 1984 Kilsyth undertook an ambitious but ultimately unsuccessful stint in the Victorian Football Association. Competing in Division Two, the seniors managed just 9 wins from 53 matches, with a highest finishing position of eighth (out of ten) in its first season. The highlight of the club’s time in the VFA was the achievement of captain-coach Russell Hodges in tying for first place in the voting for the 1982 Field Trophy. Hodges, a former Sandringham and Fitzroy player, was originally consigned to the runner-up position on a countback, but later given a retrospective award.