Australian Football

The Vikings have a history stretching back to 1951, but most of the highlights, at any rate in terms of premiership success, have occurred comparatively recently. Indeed, with seven senior grade SFL premierships since 1992 Happy Valley has stamped itself as the unequivocal pace setter of the Southern Football League of South Australia competition.

The club’s rise to prominence can be traced back to its successful under age development programme of the 1980s. Many of the youngsters blooded in junior ranks at that time went on to contribute significantly to the A Grade successes of the ensuing decade.

Happy Valley commenced in the SFLSA in 1980. Initially placed in Division Two, the seniors contested the grand final in their first season, and thereafter made the finals every year until 1984, when they gained promotion. At first, life in the top division proved difficult, but thanks to some astute coaching coupled with the steady emergence of top quality players from the club’s junior teams, by the start of the 1990s there were definite signs of muscles being flexed, and sights being raised. In 1991, coached by Brenton Honor, the Vikings reached their first Division One grand final, and although beaten on the day by Noarlunga it would only be a matter of time before the flood gates opened.

Still led by Honor, Happy Valley reached a second straight grand final in 1992, and won convincingly, 14.10 (94) to Christies Beach’s 9.7 (61). In the following year’s flag decider, Marion provided somewhat sterner opposition, but the Vikings had the mental strength to go with their undoubted football skill, and edged home by 10 points.

The remainder of the 1990s must have had those of long standing involvement with the club pinching themselves in disbelief. Happy Valley went top in 1995 and 1996 under Mike Earl, and in 1998 and 1999 under former Box Hill and Sturt star Andrew Johns. As the winning mentality rapidly pervaded all sectors of the club, success at all levels became expected, but that is not the same as saying it was taken for granted.

Since the turn of the century, the Vikings have continued to pillage and plunder, with a seventh senior flag coming their way in 2003, and an eighth in 2012. For much of the 2013 season there were suggestions that a ninth premiership was on the way but, after winning 16 and drawing 1 of their 18 home and away matches to clinch the minor premiership, the Vikings fell in a hole in the finals, bowing out of the flag race at the preliminary final stage with a 17 point loss to Reynella. After another unsuccessful finals campaign in 2014 Happy Valley dropped to ninth place (out of fifteen clubs) in 2015, tenth (of fourteen) in 2016, eighth (of eleven) in 2017 and seventh (of nine) in 2018..