Australian Football

Nathalia’s record of success went from modest to highly commendable in the space of just four years. Between 2005 and 2008 the Purples doubled their senior grade premiership tally. With eight flags to their credit at that point, they stood fourth on the all time list, behind only Deniliquin, Numurkah and Cobram.

Nathalia first fielded a team in the Murray Football League in 1933. Its first grand final appearance came four years later against Numurkah, and had it not squandered so many goal scoring opportunities it might easily have won. As it was, it went down by a single straight kick, 10.7 (67) to 8.13 (61). Two years later the side made amends with a 12.15 (87) to 11.10 (76) defeat of Berrigan in what was the last MuFL grand final before the competition went into recess because of the war. When it resumed in 1946 Nathalia promptly made it through to another flag decider, but Tocumwal won a low scoring encounter by 23 points. The Purples’ second flag finally arrived ten years after the first, with Cobram providing the grand final opposition. Both teams had eighteen scoring shots, but Nathalia was comfortably superior, winning by 20 points, 12.6 (78) to 8.10 (58).

The closest the Purples came to winning a flag in the 1950s was a losing grand final against Numurkah in 1951. The ensuing decade also produced just a solitary grand final appearance, in 1963, but on this occasion Nathalia was successful, downing Deniliquin by 2 goals, 11.10 (76) to 9.10 (64).

The Purples’ next premiership in 1978 - obtained at the expense of Deniliquin once more - proved to be their last for almost three decades. However, the club has certainly made amends in recent years, with its aforementioned feat in capturing four straight premierships between 2005 and 2008 equalling a league record established over the preceding four years by Deniliquin. Nathalia’s grand final victims during its four in a row sequence were Tocumwal (by 53 points), Echuca United (59 points) and Barooga (38 and 43 points).

Over the past decade or so the Purples have continued to perform strongly, qualifying for grand finals in 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 and winning them all.