Australian Football

Camberwell

Known originally as the Tricolours - because of their blue, white and red playing uniform - Camberwell joined the VFA in 1926 but had to wait until 1979, by which time they were known as the Cobras, to claim their first flag thanks to a 39 point defeat of Oakleigh in the second division grand final. The side only lasted a season in first division and in 1981 contested another division two grand final, downing Waverley 15.16 (106) to 11.8 (74) to secure their second and last senior grade premiership.

The club went into temporary recess in 1991, before entering G section north of the VAFA the following year. Under the name ‘Camberwell Amateurs’ it spent three seasons in this competition before a lack of funds forced it into permanent mothballs in 1995.

Prior to being invited to join the VFA, Camberwell had earned its stripes as a junior club competing in the VFL Sub-District Football League where it had won premierships in 1921-2-3, and finished runner-up to Oakleigh, losing the decisive match of the season by a point, in 1924. The club’s first couple of seasons in the VFA were scarcely memorable, but it gradually improved, and the appointment of former North Hobart and St Kilda rover Horrie Mason as playing coach in 1932 was perhaps the principal catalyst to a decade of being consistently at least thereabouts if not quite there. Mason led the Tricolours in 1932-3 and again from 1934 to 1936, with the highlight of his tenure being a losing grand final against Yarraville in 1935.

Camberwell’s immediate post-war teams, coached by ex-Collingwood great Albert Collier, were similarly strong. In 1946, in particular, the side should really have broken through for a first VFA premiership after topping the ladder and proceeding straight to the grand final thanks to a hard fought, but well earned, 11 point win over Williamstown in the second semi. On grand final day, however, opponents Sandringham proved just that little bit more resilient in winning by 7 points, 14.15 (99) to 13.14 (92).

The 1950s proved to be a distinctly unmemorable decade as Camberwell never managed to reach the finals, and consistently finished near the bottom of the ladder. When the VFA split into two divisions in 1961 the Cobras, having run third from last under the single division format the previous year, found themselves consigned to second division where they would remain until their victory in the 1979 grand final, mentioned above. They contested losing division two grand finals in 1975 against Brunswick and 1978 against Frankston.

Noteworthy players to have worn the Camberwell colours over the years included Laurie Nash, the aforementioned Albert Collier and ‘Horrie’ Mason, Marcus Boyall, Peter Box and Ken Ross.

Over the course of their sixty-two season involvement in the VFA, the Cobras/Tricolours achieved a success rate of 40.9%.