Australian Football

Originally based at Sunshine YCW Football Club, and known as Sunshine Spurs, the club struggled somewhat in its debut season of 1993 but thereafter improvement was swift and concerted. In 1996 the Spurs qualified for the finals and went on to finish runners-up to Darebin. Further finals appearances followed in 1997-8-9 after which the club relocated to St. Alban’s, altering its name to St. Alban’s Spurs in the process. Grand final appearances in 2002 and 2003 both resulted in defeats at the hands of Melbourne University and further disappointment looked to be in store in 2004 when the team lost the second semi final to perennial rivals Melbourne Uni. However, they recovered superbly and went on to turn the tables on the Mulgars in the grand final. The Spurs continued as a force in the Victorian Women’s Football League until transferring to the pre-eminent competition in Victoria, the VFL Women’s League, in 2016. In 2011 they had won their second premiership. As of 2015 they became known as VU Western Spurs after relocating to Footscray and forging a relationship with Victoria University. After two solid seasons in the VFL the club entered into an affiliation arrangement with the Western Bulldogs whereby from 2018 they would be re-branded as that club’s women’s VFL representatives, assuming both the famous blue, red and white colours and the Bulldogs emblem in the process. In addition to their first grade VFL team the Spurs fielded senior sides in the Northern Women’s Football League Divisions One, Two and Three. All three of these teams contested the finals without achieving premiership success.