History

In mid-1987, an important meeting of minds occurred between Peter Dent and the recently re-located football identity Neil Smith. At this meeting, the idea of bringing the people of the small developing community of Thurgoona a local football team of their own to support was born. After a period of canvassing the level of interest from local residents and attending a Tallangatta and District Fooball League delegates meeting in September, a public meeting at Thurgoona Golf Club was held on Wednesday 2nd December 1987. With strong attendance, the Thurgoona Football Club was born. A committee of 13 was formed and despite much outside scepticism they pushed forward with the unenviable challenge of building the Club from scratch. The inaugural Executive Committee was Peter Dent (President), Neil Smith (Vice-President), Kim Ball (Secretary) and Brian Gee (Treasurer).

With things moving quickly, the new committee applied to the TDFL for acceptance and attended the Annual General Meeting on 6th December 1987 Club delegates voted 9 to 1 in favour of accepting the new Club into the league.

Attention then turned to finding the right person to lead the Club into battle with advertisements placed in The Border Mail calling for applications for coaches and players. Dale Mastenbroek was the successful applicant and was appointed as the first Captain-Coach of Thurgoona Football Club.

On Monday 4th of April 1988, Thurgoona Bulldogs played their first game against Barnawartha Tigers at Barnawartha. There was no fairytale result with the Tigers prevailing 28.20.188 to Thurgoona 8.11.59. However, there was not a long wait before the first singing of the Club song with the first win coming on Saturday 23rd of April against Bethanga after a spirited 17.25.127 to 14.13.97 victory. The Senior team would go on to record 3 wins in the first year with Rod Taylor claiming the inaugural Senior Best & Fairest award. 

The Senior team had mixed results over the first few seasons and it wasn't until 1993 when Ray Mack was appointed Coach, who brought with him an experienced group of footballers in Geoff Boyle, John Waldron and Dale Hillary to support promising local youngsters Hayden Miles, Rick French and Steve Hetherton. The group went on to qualify for finals for the first time in 1993 and again in 1994, with both campaigns ending in elimination finals departures.

The period included many other notable achievements including a then record score of 29.21.195 in the 1993 round 9 clash against Dederang-Mt Beauty which included a Club record 12 goals from full forward Chris Gilcrist. His own record would be broken five weeks later with a 17 goal effort in the round 14 match against Barnawartha.

The Junior netball program brought the Club's first Premiership trophies to the Kennel with wins in the Under 15's in 1993 (and again in 1997) and the Under 17's in 1997.

1997 was a great year for our Juniors with the Club's first football Premiership coming when the Under 14's claimed victory under the guidance of Rod Page. This success transferred to the Under 17's with back-to-back Premiership wins in 1998 and 1999.

The A Grade netball side also displayed a period of dominance in the late 90's with a first Premiership win in 1998 followed by a second Premiership in 2000.

The Club experienced a challenging decade leading into the mid 2000's. Large defeats had become the norm, culminating in a winless 2005 season. 100+ point defeats in 14 out of 16 games, including 200+ point losses on 5 occasions, led to low player attraction and retention and dwindling to non-existent community support. Change was needed. Enter: Tony Way. 

Tony reinvigorated a new committee to adopt a long-term strategy with a focus on junior development, facility improvement and community connection. Representation to Albury City Council led to the proposed Thurgoona Oval Master Development Plan which was accepted in 2008. The key feauture of the plan included new netball courts, new social rooms, resizing the football oval, new ground lighting and new player change room facilities. In March 2009, the football surface was repositioned and resized from 131m x 106m to a more spacious 150m x 120m and two all-weather Rebound Ace netball courts were constructed on the western side of the oval in September 2009. In 2010, a group of volunteers removed the existing shelter shed to make way for the construction of new Club rooms. After many delays due to poor weather and tireless work from volunteers, the rooms were finally opened to much fanfare at the Club's Black Tie Ball on 6th August 2011.

The off-field efforts began to translate to on-field success. With a small budget and clever recruiting, the Club returned to finals action in 2007 under Brett Wightman. Danny Hargreaves took over as coach ahead of the 2009 season and lead the Senior team to their highest home & away finishing position with a 4th place effort in 2009 followed by a 3rd placing in 2010 where they finished the season agonisingly close to a maiden grand final birth with a 2.1022 to 2.13.25 loss to Yackandandah in atrocious conditions at Sandy Creek.

By this time, the Club was an emerging force in the Tallangatta League. Harnessing the geographic advantages being close to Albury, improved facilities and a growing family oriented local population, the Club seen player, member and sponsor attraction rise. Perfect ingredients to launch the Club into an exciting chapter.

The efforts and commitment of the loyal Bulldog faithful began to reap due rewards. In 2010, the Club was awarded the Tallangatta League Champion Club which recognises the performance of all grades of football and netball. This would launch a decade of Club dominance, with the Bulldogs being crowned Club Champion for an unprecedented 10 consecutive years between 2010 and 2019. 

With finals appearances now becoming the expected standard, the appointment of Zanelle Gerecke to lead our Senior netball program proved a masterstroke with a flurry of premierships in A Grade netball (2013,2014,2015,2016), B Grade netball (2014,2015,2016,2017) and C Grade netball (2017,2018). The Reserves Football side also entered a period of dominance making 9 straight grand finals between 2011 and 2019 and taking home flags in 6 of those years (2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2018).

After 28 seasons in the TDFL, and a growing list of Grand Final heartbreak, in 2016 the Thurgoona Bulldogs Senior football team's time to hoist the Premiership cup finally arrived. Co-coached by renowned Premiership trophy collectors Peter Copley (dec) and Jamarl O'Sullivan, the Bulldogs recorded a comprehensive 18.20.128 to 10.8.68 win over rivals Mitta United. Aydan Brown (appropriately known as 'Bull') was named best on ground and Club stalwarts Jake Bruce (5 goals) and Todd Miller (4 goals) dominated up forward and were rewarded for their years of donning the Red, White & Blue with Premiership medals.

The group did not have to wait long to taste Premiership success again. O'Sullivan and Jayden Kotzur lead the Senior team to back-to-back premierships with another dominate win in 2017. In the 22.10.142 to 8.9.57 win over Kiewa Sandy Creek, David Price was the stand-out midfielder claiming best on ground honours, with local football legend Matt Fowler kicking 9 majors in a dominant display of power forward and goal-kicking craft. After breaking the Club's Senior games record earlier in the season, Mark Haydon was finally rewarded for his loyalty and commitment to the Club with a well-deserved Premiership medal.

With the team falling short in the 2018 decider to Kiewa Sandy Creek, a resurgent Bulldog team, led by former AFL listed player Brett Doswell, recorded another dominant Premiership win. After an even first half that had the Bulldogs leading by 5 points at the major break, the team blew the Barnawartha Tigers away in the second half with the final result 21.7.133 to 9.8.62. Josh Maher was awarded best on ground for his 7 goal effort.

Embracing inclusivity, the Club expanded into Female Football with a Youth girls team entering the AFL NEB FFL competition in 2017 followed by the Open women's team in 2018. The Open women's team did not have to wait as long as the Senior football team to taste Premiership success, being crowned inaugural Premiers in 2018 with a comprehensive 9.11.65 to 2.1.13 win over Wodonga Raiders. Future AFLW player Alyce Parker was named best on ground for her 3 goal performance. They also achieved back-to-back Premierships in 2019 with a heart-stopping 3.2.20 to 2.6.18 win over Wodonga Raiders in a rematch of the prior year decider.

After a decade of profound success, the global COVID pandemic hit causing the 2020 season to be abandoned and the cancellation of the 2021 season after only 11 games.

While this two year period showed us the importance of family and community, the lack of on-field endeavours did not deter the Bulldog faithful from embodying the values that the Club had established over its 30 year history. This was evident with the Shave-for-Smithy fundraiser in late 2020, an idea by young Bulldog Tom Rake, son of Life Member and dearly beloved larriken Garry, to raise money for his mate Josh Smith, a loyal Bulldog supporter and Chief Water Officer, following a devastating cancer diagnosis. The fundraiser was supported by a T-20 cricket match coached by generous sponsors Leigh McGlynn and Brad Thompson with teams consisting of Club legends and culminated with the main event: shaving Tom's famous dreadlocks. The event was attended by over 300 people and raised over $25,000 for the Smith family.

Football and netball action resumed in 2022 and the Club has accumulated more silverware through B Grade (2023,2024) and C Grade (2022,2024) netball.

The Club enters its next chapter with strong foundations and community connection. With values forged by the legacy of all those who have contributed to the Red, White and Blue since its establishment in 1988 now being represented by 5 male football teams, 8 netball teams and 4 female football teams. The Club's family oriented vision will continue to provide our players and supporters with an inclusive and supportive environment where they can be part of something bigger than themselves. 

We're the Bulldogs from Thurgoona,

Red, White and Blue are we.

We're the Bulldogs from Thurgoona,

And we strive for victory.

Win or lose, do or die,

For the flag we'll always try.

'Coz we're the Bulldogs from Thurgoona,

And the Champions we will be!