over 100 years of GRIT & GLORY
The Mansfield Football & Netball Club, known proudly as the Eagles, has been part of the Mansfield community for generations. From its early beginnings in the late 1800s to its place today in the Goulburn Valley Football League, the club has grown alongside the town — shaped by players, volunteers and supporters who’ve worn the colours with pride, season after season.
The June 16, 1877 edition of The Mansfield Guardian described what it called the “first great football match of the season”, played at the MCG between Carlton and Melbourne. The local scribe declared the two teams “crack clubs of the colony”, noting that their meeting attracted some 10,000 spectators to witness “scrimmages and spills most exciting and laughable”.
In closing, the writer suggested that Mansfield’s young men surely had “sufficient energy and stamina to form a football club”, observing that football, when played under proper restrictions, was “calculated to produce strength, health and activity”, as well as being “a very legitimate way of having a few hours of recreation”.
It would take nearly twelve months for that enthusiasm to extend to the young men of Mansfield.
The seed of the Mansfield Football Club was planted on May 18, 1878, when an advertisement appeared in The Mansfield Guardian:
“A meeting of persons favourable to the formation of a football club in Mansfield will be held at the Mansfield Hotel on Wednesday evening next, the 22nd inst. — C. Hollis.”
An accompanying editorial expressed hope that the meeting would be well attended, noting that “none of our outdoor games are more conducive to good health than football”.
Information on football in the district between the late 1870s and early 1880s is scarce, as copies of the Guardian and Courier from that period are no longer available. George Morris, in Devils River Country, suggests that football matches were staged only when Mansfield was challenged — though by whom, when, or where is not recorded.
The Jamieson Chronicle describes a match between Mansfield and Jamieson in July 1883, while reports from the Mansfield Courier in 1886 indicate that Mansfield fielded teams as early as 1881.
Early matches were played against neighbouring towns on a round-robin basis, often for trophies donated by prominent local businessmen. In 1900, these local clubs formed an association, adopted a constitution, and began a formal competition for premiership points, culminating in a finals series.
During this era, Mansfield competed against a wide range of clubs across various leagues and associations, including Jamieson, Bonnie Doon, Merton, Maindample, Delatite, Mt Battery, Swanpool, Tolmie and Yarck. Many smaller districts fielded teams at different times — Howe’s Creek, Merrijig, Degamero, Woods Point, Gaffney’s Creek, A1 and Preston among them.
Club names and identities shifted frequently in the early years, with sides such as Rovers, Trappers, Diggers, Mansfield, Delatite and Mt Battery appearing and reforming.
In 1908, the local association folded following a dispute from the previous season, when Mansfield was unable to travel to Delatite due to weather conditions and points were awarded to Delatite. Mansfield subsequently withdrew from the association.
That same year, the season was contested by three “friendly” organisations — the Druids, Hibernians and Oddfellows.
Matches against rival towns such as Alexandra, Benalla and Yea, along with visiting metropolitan teams, also played a role in shaping local football during this period.
As with all facets of society, both World Wars had a significant impact on the club, with many players enlisting and competition disrupted.
Between the wars, the district struggled to sustain numerous clubs. Smaller teams gradually merged toward Mansfield FC and Mt Battery FC, eventually forming the Mansfield Battery Football Club. The new club adopted a navy-blue guernsey with a white monogram, retiring Mansfield’s red-and-white stripes and Mt Battery’s black-and-white colours.
Mansfield competed continuously in district associations until after World War II, when the club joined the Waranga North East Football League. In 1951, Mansfield successfully enticed Essendon premiership centre half-forward Ted Leehane to the club — a move that helped deliver four premierships in five years.
The club continued to grow, introducing a second XVIII (formerly a member of the Maroondah League) and later a third XVIII.
In 1977, Mansfield transferred to the Tungamah Football League, which later became Goulburn Valley Division 2 and then the Central Goulburn Football League. The club did not miss finals for twenty years, contesting seven grand finals and securing three premierships during this period. A fourth senior side was introduced as the club expanded further.
Netball entered the club when Mansfield joined the Tungamah Football League, which required no fewer than six netball teams. This change brought up to 50 female players into what had previously been a male-dominated club, marking a significant step forward in inclusivity and growth.
As uncertainty grew around the long-term viability of smaller leagues approaching the 21st century, Mansfield looked ahead and applied to join the Goulburn Valley Football League. The club was accepted for Round 1 of the 1998 season.
The move generated considerable debate within the town, with many questioning whether Mansfield could compete with the larger, more established GVFL clubs. Early results did little to ease those concerns, with heavy defeats, declining membership and waning local support during the first five seasons.
Premiership victories in 2004 and 2009 put those doubts to rest. Since then, the club’s on-field performance and off-field professionalism have steadily improved. Today, both the football and netball programs are rich with young talent and strong development pathways, positioning the Mansfield Football & Netball Club for a confident and competitive future — and the next 150 years.
Premiership WINS
1890 - Gardner Cup
1900 - Mansfield FA
1904 - Mansfield FA
1905 - Mansfield FA
1911 - Mansfield District FA
1912 - Mansfield District FA
1913 - Mansfield District FA
1927 - Mansfield Swanpool District FA
1929 - Mansfield Line FA
1951 - Waranga North East FL
1953 - Waranga North East FL
1954 - Waranga North East FL
1955 - Waranga North East FL
1987 - Tungamah FL
1989 - Tungamah FL
1996 - GV Division 2
2004 - Goulburn Valley Football Leage (GVFL)
2009 - Goulburn Valley Football Leage (GVFL)
