Alberton Football League
 |
|
| Formerly | Alberton Football Association |
|---|---|
| Sport | Australian rules football |
| Inaugural season | 1946 |
| No. of teams | 12 |
| Country | Australia |
| Most recent champion(s) |
Fish Creek Football Club (18) |
| Most titles | Fish Creek Football Club (18) |
| Official website | Alberton Football League Official Website |
The Alberton Football Netball League is an Australian rules football league covering the South Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia.
The Alberton Football League was reformed in 1946, replacing the former Alberton Football Association, with eight teams comprising the league such as Carrajung, Devon (formed 1883 also known as West Alberton), Foster (formed 1890), Ramblers, Toora (formed 1891), Welshpool, Woodside and Yarram (formed 1887). The name of the league is taken from the small town of Alberton, near Yarram.
The Ramblers Football Club, after a promising inaugural season in the league where it recorded six wins to just miss the finals, decided to disband from the league and Won Wron Football Club were accepted into the league for the 1949 season. Four years later, the Carrajung Football Club followed suit which enabled Fish Creek to join the Alberton League in 1953. Carrajung produced many substandard efforts during their seven years of existence in the Alberton League and many matches would result in percentage gaining contests for opposing teams. The club finished last in 1947, 1948, 1950, 1951 and 1952. The very last game Carrajung played in the Albeton League during the 1952 season resulted in Toora forward, Frank Salmon, kicking a record 34 goals 17 behinds out of the teams 35.18 score. Salmon’s (and his teammates’ efforts) helped him claim the League goalkicking award by overtaking Woodside great Charles Williamson.
Woodside dominated the competition during the early stages as the club won six consecutive premiership from 1947 to 1952. It is the only club to have achieved such a feat in the league's history.
Fish Creek produced the most outstanding era of success in the Alberton League as it claimed 11 premierships from 15 successive Grand Final appearances between 1953 and 1967. The recruitment of former VFL Collingwood player, Maurice 'Mocca' Dunstan helped the club attain a standard of professionalism that was second to none for a sustained period.
Much focus throughout the late 1950s and 1960s centred around the future of football in the region, with many suggesting that the South Gippsland Football League and the Alberton Football League merge to generate a more powerful football league across South Gippsland for better growth in the sport. However, the AFL continued to function through many debates and became progressively stronger by the 1970s.
In 1969, the Meeniyan-Dumbalk United and Stony Creek Football Clubs joined the Alberton League after the SGFL eventually disbanded as Welshpool won a treble of premierships from 1969 to 1971. Welshpool also became the first club in the AFL to produce an undefeated season with its flag in 1970.
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