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Members of the VFA for thirty full seasons, Mordialloc’s only flag came in 1977 in Second Division. In the grand final that year Geoff Rosenow captain-coached the Bloods to a 19.19 (133) to 14.11 (95) defeat of Yarraville. The side had lost the previous year’s grand final to Williamstown but never again made the ‘big one’. Its only other grand final appearance had been in 1965 (once again in second division) when Preston had emerged victorious by 38 points.
Mordialloc’s geographical situation twenty-five kilometres from the centre of Melbourne, bounded on the one side by swamp land and the other by sea, was always a major factor in hindering the club’s development.
The Bloodhounds’ greatest goalkicker was Peter Neville who ‘topped the ton’ on three occasions. Other notable players during its involvement in the VFA included Wayne Judson, the aforementioned Geoff Rosenow, All Australian wingman Barry Metcalfe, the long-serving William Lang, and Terry Walsh.
After three matches of the 1988 season the club was forced to secede from the VFA for financial reasons. Since then, it would be fair to suggest that Mordialloc has experienced varied fortune, with the highlights being Division Two Southern Football League premierships in 1999 and 2014. (The South East Suburban Football League had been renamed as the SFL in 1992, retaining this name when it merged with the Eastern Suburban Churches Football Association the following year.)
John Devaney - Full Points Publications