Australian Football

Rupertswood

Established as a senior club as recently as 1999, and admitted to the Victorian Amateur Football Association the following year, Rupertswood Amateur Football Club has already made considerable headway, with the senior team achieving promotion on four occasions during its thirteen season stint in the competition.

The first of these occasions produced the first of the club’s two senior grade premierships to date, thanks to a 13.9 (87) to 8.12 (60) D4 Section grand final defeat of Werribee Amateurs in 2002. The side then spent two seasons in D3 Section, reaching the preliminary final in 2003 before losing the 2004 grand final to Oakleigh. Successive grand final appearances then followed in D2 (lost to Old Geelong) and D1 (lost to Old Carey Grammarians), before the side produced a highly creditable C Grade debut, qualifying for the finals in second place with a 15-3 record, and ultimately being placed third. With expectations high, it was a major disappointment for the club to succumb to relegation to D1 Section in 2008. However, recovery was swift as the club promptly claimed its second senior grade VAFA flag with a 12.18 (90) to 9.11 (65) defeat of Fitzroy Reds in the 2009 D1 Section grand final.

Since 2013 the Sharks have competed in the Riddell District Football League and, to date, they have contested the finals every year without as yet getting as far as the grand final. They finished sixth (of thirteen) on debut, fourth in 2014, fifth in both 2015 and 2016, while in 2017 they got as far as the grand final only to lose by 13 points to Macedon. Finally, in 2018 their premiership bid was halted at the first semi final stage by Macedon meaning that they had to be satisfied with fourth position on the twelve team premiership ladder.