Australian Football

Milawa was one of five inaugural members of the Ovens and King Football Association, which was brought into being by a meeting at the Bull’s Head Hotel, Wangaratta on 13th June 1903. The club’s early on-field performances were generally undistinguished, although it did manage to reach the premiership deciding match in 1907, when it succumbed to Eldorado by 19 points. It would not be until the 1920s, however, that the side would develop into a regular premiership threat.

Milawa’s emergence as a force coincided with a time of turmoil in the OKFA. In 1922, several member clubs applied to join the much stronger Ovens and Murray Football Association, and although only Wangaratta was accepted, the discontent implicit in the situation had the effect of seriously destabilising the OKFA. On 8th April the true scale of the dissatisfaction was shown when delegates from half a dozen member clubs met at the Bull’s Head with the explicit aim of establishing a rival association. Milawa was not among those clubs represented, but did send a letter requesting that it be kept informed - a classic case of ‘sitting on the fence’, perhaps? Within three weeks, however, it had become abundantly clear which way the wind was blowing, and when the Wangaratta Football Association was brought into being Milawa was one of eight founder member clubs. In the meantime, a truncated OKFA bravely decided to carry on, but its eventual demise seemed inevitable.

Milawa wasted little time in laying down its credentials in the new competition. After topping the ladder going into the finals it was able to afford the luxury of a 1 point semi final loss to Glenrowan because its status as minor premier entitled it to challenge the winner of the final for the premiership. The winner of the final turned out to be Wangaratta Rovers, whom Milawa duly put to the sword to the tune of 28 points, 9.10 (64) to 4.12 (36).

In 1923 and 1924 the OKFA was forced to go into mothballs, such was the growing strength of the WFA. Milawa, clearly relishing life under the new banner, went top both years, but when football in the region underwent a process of rationalisation in 1925 which saw the WFA renamed the OKFA, it slipped down the ladder. The 1927 season brought a fleeting restoration of fortunes as Milawa again profited from its status as minor premier to fend off a dogged Whorouly in the challenge final by 11 points, 11.12 (78) to 10.7 (77). After that, however, the club faced a prolonged run of outs which might have lasted even longer than it did but for a touch of good fortune. 

In 1940, Milawa played Moyhu in the first semi final, and with only moments of the match remaining trailed by 5 points. Umpire Lou Twamley was then knocked out cold, and play was abandoned. With no precedents to call upon the OKFL made the difficult, and somewhat controversial decision, to have the match replayed. Milawa won the replay by a point, and then went on to thrash Whorouly in the preliminary final and beat reigning premier Beechworth in a thrilling grand final by 4 points. Wanting to test its ability still further, Milawa then engaged in a challenge match against Ovens and Murray side Wangaratta, but was beaten by 6 goals.

Milawa’s sixth senior grade  flag did not arrive until 1969. After several lean years, the Demons grew in confidence as the season progressed, and ended up losing just twice, to Chiltern and Beechworth. Opposed by Beechworth in the second semi final, they won well, thanks largely to an impressive opening term burst of 8.5 (53) to 3.0 (18). The grand final re-match a fortnight later was much closer, chiefly because of Beechworth’s greater accuracy in front of goal. However, Milawa was still undeniably the better side, and won in the end by 16 points, 14.17 (101) to 13.7 (85).

Arguably the greatest teams in Milawa’s history were those which won consecutive flags in 1984 and 1985. In the former season, the Demons were opposed in both the second semi final and grand final by Chiltern, and ended up compiling exactly the same score, 18.11 (119), each time. Other than that, however, and the fact that Milawa emerged victorious from both encounters, there was no similarity at all between the two matches. The second semi final was tense and closely fought, with Milawa finally getting home by just a single straight kick, but a fortnight later there was only one team in it as the Demons romped to victory by 78 points. A year later they were almost equally dominant in seeing off the grand final challenge of Bright by 68 points, 18.20 (118) to 7.18 (60).

Milawa’s 1991 flag came courtesy of a gutsy 5 point grand final defeat of Greta. The triumph was doubly memorable in that the reserves also went top that year. Since then, the Demons have added two more senior grade premierships, in 2009 and 2013, giving them the impressive total of eleven. Consequently, judged overall, Milawa’s contribution to the OKFL loses very little if anything in comparison with any other club, and indeed if any club can truly be regarded as a mainstay of the competition it is Milawa.

Since claiming their 2013 premiership the Demons have reached consecutive grand finals in 2014 and 2015, losing to Glenrowan on both occasions, while the 2016, 2017 and 2018 seasons also brought finals participation, the last of which involved a grand final clash with Tarrawingee which was lost by 16 points.