About the Club
Fitzroy Junior Football Club Conduct Panel
The Fitzroy Junior Football Club is committed to conducting
its activities - on and off the field - as a model club and we stress
the need for good conduct by everyone involved.
In 2006, a conduct panel was formed to investigate
and mediate in any matters relating to alleged misconduct of parents,
supporters, officials or players.
The FJFC Conduct Panel
will convene in response to any written notification of an issue
or incident, including formal League and umpire reports.
Notification can also be made by FJFC members, but
it must be done in writing and directed to a Committee of Management
member as soon as possible.
The Committee will then notifiy the Conduct Panel
members, who have agreed to be on standby to meet whenever issues
arise.
The Conduct Panel is independent of the FJFC Committee.
Conduct Panel Membership
Membership varies but has included:
Ian Shepherd (former FJFC Vice President)
Graham Burgen (former Hed Coach, Fitzroy Reds)
Michael Arnold (financial industry and CityLink ombudsman)
Grant Hammond (former coach, Fitzroy Reds)
The Conduct Panel investigates incidents and issues
or, where appropriate, conducts mediation or counselling. It will
then make recommendations to the Committee if further action is
required.
The panel ensures that FJFC members abide by the Yarra
Junior Football League and FJFC codes of conduct at all times and
aims to coduct and resolve matters and disputes fairly and quickly.
Prior to making a report, club members can contact
any member of the Committee for clarification or advice.
The FJFC - A Short Club History
 The
Fitzroy Junior Football Club (FJFC) was created in 1993. Before
its formal creation, Fitzroy Football Club had been holding football
clinics at the Edinburgh Gardens back oval for several years.
The Fitzroy Football Club donated a set of jumpers, and the FJFC
joined the Hawthorn District Junior Football Club League (now the
Yarra Junior Football League).
The original 1993 team competed in the Under 11 age group although
only one child was in that age group. Some were under 10 but most
were under 9. In their first season the team kicked just 1 goal
4 behinds - for the whole season!
The FJFC has progressed from those humble beginnings to being a
co-tenant at the Brunswick Street ground with the Fitzroy Reds.
The Reds play in the Victorian Amateur Football Association competition.
In season 2007, the Fitzroy Junior Football Club fielded seventeen
teams between the Under 10 and Under 17 age groups.
(For information on the history of the original Fitzroy Football
Club see the bottom of this page)
The Tough Get Going! The FJFC - the Early Years
Sometimes we the parents
and players of the FJFC think we've got tough jobs. Well, the truth
is our footy is a picnic compared with what the original FJFC pioneers
went through. Sopping grounds, borrowed gear, dogs on the field,
angry residents - and all that before the club's first goal was
kicked!
Click
here to read Graeme Willingham's
hilarious Melbourne Times article about the trials of the club all
the way back in 1992.
David Parkin
at FJFC Team Report Night 2004
Carlton legend Jim Buckley at FJFC Team Report Night
2003
FJFC Community Awards
The Fitzroy Junior Football Club is the proud holder of a number
of important community awards awarded by the State Government. In
2000, the Club won the Community Club of the Year Award, in 2003,
it was awarde the Victorian Community Participation Initiatives
Award and, most recently, the Club website was recognised in the
2007 Sport and Recreation Awards.
The under
11 Golds in uniform on Presentation Day 2004
Where it all began - the Fitzroy Football Club
The Fitzroy Junior Football Club acknowledges its close ties with
the mighty Fitzroy Football Club which is a major sponsor of the
FJFC. Please visit the FFC
web site to read more about the Fitzroy Football Club.
Fitzroy will never die.
Visit the Fitzroy Shop
THE FITZROY
SHOP is at 463 MAIN St MORDIALLOC
(Cnr Nepean Hwy & McDonald St near the Mordi Railway Station.
Melway 87 E12.)
Come and buy a Fitzroy jumper, book cap or Weg Poster
and enjoy the Club memorabilia and honour boards that scan Fitzroy's
120 years of history in VFA, VFL and AFL football.
Please support the Fitzroy Shop. All proceeds
go to the support of the Fitzroy Junior Football Club and the Fitzroy
Reds.
FJFC Premiership Teams
- 2007 - Colts, Section 1
- 2005 - Under 10 Blue
- 2004 - Under 11 Gold, Under 12 Blue
- 2003 - Under 11 Brown, Under 12 Green
Where Can I Play Under 19s and Senior Football?
The Fitzroy Junior Football Club has teams from under
10s to under 17s (Colts). Then, the mighty Fitzroy
Reds Football Club has an under 19s team and several
senior teams. You can proudly wear the Fitzroy jumper from
under 10s through to seniors.
The Fitzroy Reds and the FJFC shared resources
to run a Fitzroy U19 team in 2003 to address extremely poor continued
participation rates at the youth to adult transition stage. Survey
data from phone surveys conducted on the 2001 and 2002 FJFC U17
player graduates suggested that 40 % continued playing football
after leaving the junior ranks. The major reason for losing interest
was the large jump to open age football.
The under 19 team was established after hard work
in the summer of 2003 establishing the off-field support (coach,
assistant coach, team manager, runner, water carriers, trainers
and umpires). By implementing the inaugural U19 team the continued
participation rate of FJFC graduates has increased.
Check out the Reds for more details on under 19s
and senior footy options!
To find out more about the Fitzroy Reds, go to the
[Fitzroy Reds]
FJFC Club Location and General Contacts
The Fitzroy Junior Football Club is located at the W.T. Peterson
Community Oval, Brunswick Street, Nth Fitzroy (Melways ref.
2C C2). Games are also played at the Ramsden Street
Reserve, Clifton Hill (Melways ref. 2D C3) and Citizens
Park, Church Street, Richmond (Melways ref. 2H B5).
Postal Address
PO Box 2447
Fitzroy Vic 3065
e-mail
enquiries@fitzroyjuniorfc.com.au
Telephone
0421 214 334
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FJFC Honour Board
James Doughney Club Champion
of the Year Award
The James Doughney Club
Champion of the Year award recognises outstanding contribution and
talent, taking into consideration on and off field conduct and inter-league
representation. Nominees must have played with the FJFC for at least
four seasons, displayed on-field leadership and a commitment to
fair play, and not been found guilty or suspended in the year of
nomination by the FJFC, YJFL or any development squad.
James Doughney (pronounced
Dorney) has a passionate commitment to the all-round development
of players. When a FJFC coach and administrator, he continually
emphasised the importance of fair play, team play and striving to
do the best you can at all times. A coach for four seasons (U10s,
11s and 13s), Jamie also served at different times as Club Treasurer,
Secretary and Player Advocate.
2007 Chris Polidoras,
Colts Sec 1
2006 Viv Mithchie - U14
Green
2005 Harry Croft - Colts
2
2004 Shannon Young - U
15
2003 Guneyt Ozusen - Colts/U
17
2002 Milos Zika - Colts/U
17
Colts Under 17 Player of the Year Award
Created in 2002, this award recognises 'something
special' contributed to the team by an individual player in their
final year of junior football. It can be awarded to any player,
regardless of their length of time with the FJFC.
2007 Rory Angiolella, Colts Sec 1
2006 Tom Cheshire
2005 Cameron Louis-Gleeson and Ibrahim Merhi
2004 Byron Minnis
2003 Stephen Bombaci
2002 Michael Louis-Gleeson
Alan Moor Champion Team of the Year
Perpetual Shield
The Alan Moor award recognises the most
successful team of the season, according to the team or teamsÕ placement
at the end of the season.
Alan Moore was the ClubÕs first President
(1992-1998) and his involvement with the Fitzroy Football Club was
pivotal to the establishment of the junior club.
2007 Colts 1 - Coach: Michael Pickering,
Team Managers: Ginny Lewis &
Avril McQueen
2006 Colts 4, U14 Green, U14 Brown, U12 Gold
2005 U10 Blue
2004 U 11 Gold/U 12 Blue
2003 U 11 Brown/U 12 Green
2002 Colts U 17
Fitzroy Football Club
(FFC) Champions Jumper
The Fitzroy
Football Club was established in 1883 and competed in the
VFA until 1896. It was a founding member of the VFL and AFL. The
club survives with more members than ever and maintains its role
as the principal sponsor of the FJFC and the Fitzroy Reds, both
teams being based at the Brunswick Street Oval. The winner of this
award doesnÕt have to be the best or most awarded player. The winner
must simply be passionate about playing footy and wish to go on
to senior football as a professional or amateur.
2007 Martyn Beacham, Colts Sec 3
2006 Jesse Dimond - Colts 1
2005 Chris Wills - Colts 2
2004 - Paul Manoli
2003- Michael Gleeson
2002- Chris Meighan
Michael Wright Club
Person of the Year Award
The Michael Wright award
recognises outstanding contribution to the ongoing development of
the FJFC, community-based football and young people. Nomination
requires at least four years of service to the club in either administration
or coaching and a commitment to the club values of participation,
fitness and fun.
Michael Wright was the
ClubÕs first secretary (1992-1998) and second president (1998-2001).
2007 Gabrielle Murphy
2006 Michael Pickering
2005 Lisa Gye
2004 Not Awarded
2003 Avril McQueen - Team Manager - U13 Green
2002 Janiene Hart - Team Manager - Colts/U 17
The Fitzroy Football Club - A Short History
"We
are the boys of old Fitzroy
We wear the colors maroon and blue
We will always fight for victory
We will always see it through
Win or lose we do or die
In defeat we always try
Fitzroy, Fitzroy
The Club we hold so dear
Premiers, we’ll be this year"
These are the words of the
old Fitzroy club song. And in nine short lines they say a lot about
the Fitzroy Football Club. Above all else, it is a club for the
people … the club we hold so dear.
Perhaps Len Smith, coach of the Fitzroy Team of
the Century, put it best when he said: “Fitzroy is not a club
big in numbers, but what we lack in numbers we make up for in goodness,
and you, the players, are the core of that goodness.”
It isn't a club for high-rolling corporates or celebrities. It isn't
a trendy club. It was and is
a club for the grassroots football supporter. The person
with a real passion and loyalty for the team that wore maroon and
blue, and, in latter years, a touch of gold.
Formed on 26 September 1883 at a meeting organised by businessman
George Toms at the old Brunswick Hotel, Fitzroy
Football Club played initially in the old Victorian Football Association
and was a founding member with Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Geelong,
Melbourne, South Melbourne and StKilda in the Victorian Football
League, formed in 1897.
Fitzroy wore blue caps and knickerbockers (shorts), a maroon jersey
and hose (socks), and made their home at Brunswick Street Oval,
in the heart of one of Melbourne’s oldest suburbs, Fitzroy.
Fitzroy won the VFA premiership in 1895 and made the VFL finals
nine times in the first 10 years for four premierships in 1898-99
and 1904-05, and three losing grand finals. After a six-year drought
they were finalists nine times again from 1913-24, winning a further
three flags in 1913-16-22 and losing two more grand finals.
They were the power club of the competition with seven flags –
two more than Carlton and Collingwood.
Thereafter, though, success dried up. In 1936 the club won the wooden-spoon
and it wasn't’t until 1943 that they appeared in the finals
once again. The claimed their eighth flag in 1944. But it was to
be their last. And in the 52 years that followed they only played
in the finals just nine times - 1947, 1952, 1958, 1960, 1979, 1981,
1983, 1984 and 1986.
But Fitzroy played a pivotal history of the game as it unfolded.
They were featured in a number of League ‘firsts’, and
produced some of the great characters of the game. And their premiership
sides included some of the greatest players of their era.
Initially known as the Maroons, Fitzroy changed its name to the
Gorillas in 1939, following the lead of other clubs in adopting
a more fierce mascot. But this only led to public ridicule –
‘you’re playing like a bunch of apes,’ said the
detractors – and so unofficially they went back to Maroons
until they became the Lions in 1957. This was a move encouraged
at the time by treasurer Bill Jacobs and vice-president
Bert Walters. The club adopted the lion because,
like the lion, Fitzroy had a never-say-die spirit.
For 84 years Fitzroy played at Brunswick Street Oval until it moved
to Princes Park as joint tenants with Carlton in 1967. This followed
a breakdown in negotiations with the Fitzroy City Council over the
club’s request for a 40-year lease and a $400,000 loan to
develop the Brunswick Street ground that was still their training
headquarters.
Within two years Fitzroy were negotiating another move to Junction
Oval. The Fitzroy Council interjected, offering to help get the
club back to Brunswick Street, but again negotiations broke down
over ground improvements and in October 1969 the VFL granted permission
for the club to play home games at Junction Oval in 1970. Supreme
Court action from Carlton to overturn the decision failed.
Fitzroy won the 1978 VFL night premiership, beating Tasmania, South
Melbourne and Richmond in the qualifying rounds before upsetting
North Melbourne 13-18-96 to 2-8-20 at Waverley. Walls was best on
ground as the club collected a $50,000 winners’ cheque.
In 1979 on-field success continued as they won an equal club record
nine games in a row and in Round 17, on Saturday, 28 July, posted
what was then the highest VFL/AFL score and the League’s all-time
biggest winning margin in thumping Melbourne 36-22-238 to 6-12-48
at Waverley.
Ironically, while their record 190-point margin stood unchallenged
into the next century, the highest score was bettered by one point
by Geelong (37-17-239) at Carrara in 1992 against the Brisbane Bears,
who would later play a key role in the club’s evolution.
But success came at a cost. They were reportedly $400,000 ‘in
the red’ and supporters were told of the possibility of the
club playing home matches on Sundays in Sydney to gain live television
exposure in Melbourne.
In early 1983 the VFL took over the club in a bid to rescue it from
financial ruin, and president Bibby announced that,
because of the ‘disastrous financial situation’, the
club was considering (a) a move to Sydney, (b) sharing Junction
Oval with another club – possibly South Melbourne, (c) moving
to another ground or VFL Park to share with possibly Collingwood,
North Melbourne or South Melbourne.
In July 1980 president Bibby declared that the club was effectively
bankrupt. Again the Sydney option was raised but a fund-raising
campaign at Camberwell Civic Centre attracted 1200 supporters and
put the issue to rest. Bibby resigned in a major administrative
shake-up.
Keith Wiegard took over as president and announced
that the club would play at Junction Oval in 1981-82. Robert
Walls took over as coach in 1981, Bernie Quinlan
won the Brownlow Medal and the club turned a loss of $350,000
into a profit of $62,000. Optimism was high, and after a temporary
slide in ’82 Fitzroy celebrated their 1983 centenary with
another finals appearance. In fact, they played in the finals in
1983-84-86 and were a force at the time.
In 1985, as the financial situation worsened, they opted to play
home matches at Victoria Park, and in June ’86 president Leon
Wiegard admitted the club had only a 50% chance of survival.
Fitzroy looked set to move to the Gold Coast. Even the players had
endorsed the move, but a ‘white knight’ saved the day
at the 11th hour with a sizeable cash injection and instead they
moved to Princes Park in 1987 as the Brisbane Bears and West Coast
Eagles joined the competition.
But the financial woes continued and a lot of good players moved
on, keen to experience finals football. In 1991 the writing was
on the wall until a ‘Save the Lions’ appeal raised $800,000
to keep the club afloat. In ’92 there was a rare bright spot
– a place in the pre-season cup grand final. They were beaten
by Hawthorn.
In ’94 Fitzroy moved to Whitten Oval as co-tenants with Footscray,
who at one time had been suggested as a merger partner. They battled
on defiantly until the Nauru Insurance Corporation provided a sponsorship
that promised to keep the club afloat.
It didn’t. And in the end it was the final straw that forced
Fitzroy into a merger. The Nauru Insurance Corporation, owed $1.25m
by Fitzroy under terms of the agreement, appointed an administrator
to recoup their debts. It was an emotional time for a club that
had walked a financial tightrope for longer than they cared to remember
Eventually, after initially Fitzroy seemed bound for a merger with
North Melbourne, a ‘marriage’ with the Brisbane Bears
was ratified by the AFL.
Fitzroy, a foundation
member of the VFL/AFL, continues to exist as a
separate entity. Its proud history and tradition live on through
the Fitzroy Junior and the Fitzroy Reds Football Clubs. Today,
hundreds of children and adults are again wearing the Fitzroy colours
and playing Australian Rules Football at the Brunswick Street ground
in the heart of Fitzroy!
The Fitzroy
Football Club Team of the Century
The original Fitzroy Football Club was formed
in 1883. Between 1883 and 1996 the club won nine (9) VFA/VFL/VFA
Premierships:
1895 def. South Melbourne
1898 def. Essendon
1899 def. South Melbourne
1904 def. Carlton
1905 def. Collingwood
1913 def. St Kilda
1916 def. Carlton
1922 def. Collingwood
1944 def. Richmond
The Fitzroy Football Club was also runner-up
on a further five (5) occasions:
1900 won by Melbourne
1903 won by Collingwood
1906 won by Carlton
1917 won by Collingwood
1923 won by Essendon
Fitzroy players also won the Brownlow
Medal for Fairest and Best Player eight (8) times:
1931 Haydn Bunton
1932 Haydn Bunton
1933 W (Chick) Smallhorn
1935 Haydn Bunton
1936 Dennis(Dinny) Ryan
1950 Allan Ruthven
1969 Kevin Murray
1981 Bernie Quinlan
For more Fitzroy Football Club history, or to buy
Fitzroy jumpers in adult sizes, please go to the [Fitzroy
Football Club]
The FJFC Club Song
Tune: "La Marseillaise"
Download can MPG version >>>
We are the boys from old Fitzroy,
We wear the colours maroon and blue.
We will always fight for victory,
And we'll always see it through.
Win or lose, we do or die,
In defeat we'll always try.
Fitzroy.
Fitzroy.
The club we hold so dear,
Premiers we'll be this year.
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