The Avenel Football Club fields two football sides in the Seniors & Reserves divisions of the Kyabram and District Football League. The Club wear a predominantly white jumper with a red "V", like that of the old South Melbourne Football Club in the VFL.
The Kyabram and District Football League is a football league that covers an area similar to that of the Goulburn Valley and Picola & District Football Leagues, the league currently contains thirteen clubs.
History Avenel is located on the Hume Highway in Central Victoria, Australia, not far from Seymour, Victoria and the Avenel Football Club is an Australian rules football club that was established in 1881 with evidence of a match against Seymour and many more games against other local towns up until the late 1890s when it first competed in the North East Football Association in 1898.
Avenel first competed in the Waranga North East Football Association in 1913.
The club is known as the 'Swans'. The Swans have won 16 senior premierships in their history. Between 1956 and 1976 Avenel merged with Longwood and were Avenel-Longwood Football Club.
The club currently competes in the Kyabram District Football League, where it has been one of the more successful clubs winning six premierships over the last thirty years, including back to back premierships in 1978 & 1979 and 1984 & 1985.
Avenel shares a fierce rivalry with neighbours Nagambie. With the two clubs' Under 18 football sides playing for the Tabilk Cup each year. The Cup is donated by the Tabilk Junior Football Club, where the junior footballers under the age of 16 from both Avenel and Nagambie play jointly for the one club.
The Swans also share a rivalry, along with a piece of silverware with Violet Town; the Scott Kanters-Peter Ryan Cup, which the two clubs play for annually. The cup is awarded to the team that wins the game between the two sides each year. If the two clubs play each other twice during the home and away season, then the cup is contested when the team presently holding the cup hosts the other club.
The most notable footballer of recent times to have played for Avenel Football Club is former AFL footballer Barry Hall, who played 289 games with St Kilda, Western Bulldogs and Sydney Swans, having previously played in the club's 1994 Under 18 premiership.
Football Timeline 1881 - 1890: An active club that played against other local teams / towns. 1891 - 1912: North East Football Association 1913 - 1938: Waranga North East Football Association 1939 - Club in recess 1940 - Goulburn Valley Football League 1941 - 1945: Goulburn Valley Football League in recess due to World War Two 1945 - 1946: Euroa District Football Association 1947 - 1955: Waranga North East Football Association. 1956 - 1975: Waranga North East Football Association. Merged with Longwood Football Club & were known as the Avenel / Longwood Football Club. 1976 - 2024: Reformed as a stand alone club in 1976 & joined the Kyabram District Football League.
Football Premierships Senior Premierships North Eastern Football Association 1898 - Avenel: 5.5 - 35 d Euroa: 3.4 - 22 1900 - Avenel: 2.6 - 18 d Seymour: 1.7 - 13 1901 - Avenel: 6.6 - 42 d Seymour: 2.3 - 15 1903 - Avenel: 4.6 - 30 d Seymour: 3.7 - 25 1905 - Avenel: 10.12 - 72 d Tallarook: 5.10 - 40 1906 - Avenel: d ?
Waranga North East Football Association 1921 - Avenel: 6.3 - 39 d Broadford: 3.9 - 27 1932 - Avenel: 14.13 - 97 d Alexandra: 11.6 - 72 1933 - Avenel: 9.13 - 67 d Nagambie: 5.8 - 38
Kyabram District Football League 1978 1979 1984 1985 1989 1994
Reserve Premierships Kyabram District Football League 1978, 1979, 1985, 2002
Under 18 Premierships Kyabram District Football League 1979, 1983, 1984, 1994, 2000, 2005, 2006
Football League Best & Fairest Winners Waranga North East Football Association 1948 - Alan Willis 1953 - Alan Willis. (Same votes as the winner, but finished 2nd under the old count-back system). 1954 - Alan Willis. 1956 - Geoff Baker
Kyabram District Football League 1988 - Rohan Aldous 1991 - Peter Thorpe 2015 - Don Stirling 2016 - Kasey Duncan 2023 - Braydon Avola
KDFL Leading Goal Kickers 1984 - William Hannam (83) 1994 - Darren Brock (77) 2019 - Kasey Duncan (58)
VFL / AFL Players The following footballers played with Avenel, prior to playing senior football in the VFL/AFL, and / or drafted, with the year indicating their VFL/AFL debut. 1906 - Pat O'Connor: St. Kilda 1917 - Frank Martin: Carlton 1926 - Jack Shelton: St. Kilda 1928 - Pat Tebble: South Melbourne 1935 - Pye Lewis: Footscray 1957 - John Henderson: Collingwood 1957 - Alan White: Carlton 1959 - Ian Shelton: Essendon 1960 - Brian Morrison: Richmond 1966 - Peter Corkran: Fitzroy 1984 - Leon Baker: Essendon 1996 - Barry Hall - St. Kilda
Avenel Football Club song "See the Swans fly up, up, to win the premiership flag, Our boys who play this kind of game, Are always striving for glory and fame, To see the Swans fly up, up, up, The other teams they don't fear, They all try their best, But they can't get near, As the Swans fly up!"
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