Australian Football

Moyhu

With a total of eighteen senior grade premierships to date, Moyhu has been the Ovens and King Football League’s most successful club. It won a flag in its debut season in the competition in 1904, and later became the first club in OKFL history to capture a hat trick of premierships when it went top in 1909, 1910 and 1911. 

Between the wars Moyhu added four more flags while its triumph of 1947 has to go down as one of the strangest, and arguably most fortunate, in league history. Fifth at the conclusion of the home and away rounds the Hoppers’ season appeared to be over but it was then discovered that minor premier Myrtleford had fielded an unregistered player in 5 matches during the season, all of which it had won. The upshot was that Myrtleford, stripped of the 20 premiership points attained with the unregistered man in their side, dropped to fifth place on the ladder, with Moyhu moving up to fourth. Against all the odds the Hoppers then proceeded to overcome King Valley United in the first semi final by 3 goals, Greta in the preliminary final by a single straight kick, and then a wayward Milawa by 5 points in a tense, sea-sawing grand final. Final scores were Moyhu 14.9 (93) defeated Milawa 11.22 (88).

If the Hoppers’ 1947 triumph had a touch of good fortune about it the same could scarcely be said of the victorious 1962 combination which some observers rank as the finest in OKFL history. Not only did it comfortably overcome Tarrawingee in the grand final it did so as the culmination of an unbeaten season. In 16 of its 18 home and away matches it more than doubled the opposition’s score, as indeed it also did in both the second semi final against Greta and the grand final. The triumph was especially sweet in that the Hoppers had been far and away the best side in the league during the previous season’s minor round only to crumble inexplicably come finals time.

The late 1950s and early 1960s were great times for Moyhu, as were the early years of the present decade, with the Hoppers contesting five straight grand finals between 2002 and 2006 and emerging triumphant from four of them. The exception was the 2004 grand final, which Moyhu lost to Bright by just 4 points.

In 2009 the Hoppers senior grade side performed solidly all year and ultimately got to within one game of the grand final, losing narrowly to eventual premiers Milawa. They again qualified for the finals in 2010, and a year later fought their way right through to a grand final clash with Tarrawangee. It proved to be a riveting match with the Hoppers just having their nose in front at the death. Scores were Moyhu 16.7 (103) defeated Tarrawangee 15.11 (101). The triumph gave Moyhu their eighteenth senior grade OKFL flag, which as noted at the outset is easily a competition record.

Since claiming their 2011 premiership the Hoppers have experienced mixed fortunes, qualifying for the finals in 2012, 2013 and 2017 and otherwise finishing mid-ladder.