Australian Football

Warners Bay Australian Football Club was the collective brainchild of a group of former students of Warners Bay High School. Some of these ex-students had played in the school’s 1972 and 1974 premiership victories in the local under seventeens competition, and were understandably keen to continue their involvement in the game. With no senior club in the vicinity to play for they opted to create one from scratch.

Known as the Bulldogs, Warners Bay took their bows in 1976 by fielding a team in the Newcastle Australian Football League’s reserves competition. The team performed creditably, and as a result the club was invited to field an A Grade team in 1977. Not surprisingly, the Bulldogs struggled at first, and a tally of just 2 wins and a draw in their debut season consigned them to the wooden spoon. It says much for the character of those associated with the club that, over the course of a twenty-three season stint in the NAFL, this was the one and only time that such an indignity was suffered.

In the late ‘70s and early ‘80s progress was steady, and in 1984, under the expert guidance of former Collingwood player Bill Thripp, the Bulldogs broke through for their first senior flag. It was conclusively won, too, as the side did not experience defeat all season.

After losing the following year’s grand final to Singleton and that of 1986 to West Newcastle, Warners Bay returned to the winners’ list in 1988 by accounting for Nelson Bay in the flag decider. Another losing grand final followed the next year before the side embarked on a memorable run of four successive premiership wins. All four grand finals were won convincingly, by 41 points against Nelson Bay in 1990, over Wallsend in both 1991 and ‘92 by 10 and 14 goals respectively, and against Western Suburbs by 32 points in 1993.

The remainder of the 1990s brought perennial finals participation, including losing grand finals in 1995 and 1996, but no further flags. However, the 1998 season did produce one of the most memorable afternoons in the club’s history to date when the senior side amassed the quite astonishing - and astonishingly accurate - tally of 63.4 (382) in trouncing Lake Macquarie by 356 points.

At the end of the 1999 season the NAFL merged with the Central Coast Australian Football League to form the Black Diamond Australian Football League. As yet, the Bulldogs have not added to their haul of half a dozen senior grade premierships, but they have been regular contributors to the September action. Moreover, in fielding teams in five junior age groups, in addition to seniors and reserves, the club is playing a major part in furthering the game of Australian football in a region where its hold has seldom been better than tenuous.

Recent seasons have seen the Bulldogs finishing sixth of seven (2014), fourth of six (2015), fifth of six (both 2016 and 2017) and fourth of eleven (2018).