IN THE BEGINNING

In 1961 the T-AVFC then merged with Eildon Football Club to become what it is today - The Thornton Eildon District Football Club. The seniors won a Premiership this year under the guidance of indigenous playing coach and former Melbourne player, Eddie Jackson.

 

In 1971 the club was struggling for numbers and went into recess. Yet in 1972 the club was up and running again and in 1977, the club joined the Yarra Valley Mountain District Football League where it stayed until 1985. 

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The club competed in the 1981 Grand Final but lost to Emerald. Back then the club was led by a flamboyant full forward named Ernie Dingo. Then in 1986 the club joined the Benalla and District League where it won its first ever reserves Premiership in 1988 under coach & mentor Geoff Creighton. 

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The Seniors competed in four straight Grand Finals from 1990 - 1992. The Reserves also won in 1992 with Rob Elliot and Brett Halligan guiding the club over this time. 

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In 1992 the club entered the Tungamah league for one season before joining the Goulburn Valley Division 2 which became the Central Goulburn League in 1999. 

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The club had some hard times over those years with many big losses, but this improved in 2001, once again under the guidance of Rob Elliot, where the club went on to make finals again in 2002. 

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The Club's Thirds side had some great success winning premierships in 2000, 2001 and 2003 with Brett Herridge and Wayne Elliott at the helm. The Thirds also produced five league medallists over an eight-year period. 

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The Club moved back into the Yarra Valley Mountain District Football League in 2006 and with a fresh outlook, competed in three straight grand finals, winning in 2007 with Brad Coller as Coach. 

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In 2007, the club celebrated 50 years as the TEDFNC which was commemorated by naming the team of the half century. 

In 2010 the club again went into recess for two years due to a lack of players. The club returned in 2014 with a vengeance, plenty of spirit and with the support of Brad Coller, Wayne Kupke and John 'Scooter' Creighton. 

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As TEDFNC continued to be a positive presence in the community, it was in 2019 that the next major milestone was achieved. the club successfully launched a women's football team. In their first year together they made the preliminary finals with Allan Dunlop as coach and Tash Hay as captain.

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With a year of recess in 2020 due to the Covid19 pandemic, the club came back from a large amount of debt in 2021 under the leadership of their first female president, Heather Mason and a strong committee. The club has gained significant momentum with their partnership with the council, completing their 5 year Strategic Plan and obtaining a $10,000 grant from Vic Health to provide healthy meals on training nights and distributing surplus meals to locals in need.

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Come join the Roos!