The Tallangatta and District Football League (TDFL) is an Australian rules football competition in north-eastern Victoria and the southern border area of the Riverina region of New South Wales. The clubs compete across four competitions, two of which are age restricted (Under 17s and Under 14s). Since 1980 the "Tallangatta & District Netball Association (TDNA)" has run in conjunction with the Tallangatta & District Football League. The clubs compete across six competitions, three of which are age restricted (18 & Under, 15 & Under, and 13 & Under). Today all of the 12 clubs across both the TDFL & TDNA are joint football–netball clubs, with the overall best club across all football and netball competitions for the season awarded the Club Championship.

History

The very first Tallangatta Football Association was formed in 1907, with Granya taking out the premiership then in 1908, Sandy Creek defeated Granya in the grand final by two points. There was a Tallangatta & District Football Association in 1922, with Tallangatta defeating Bethanga in the grand final and in 1923, Kiewa won the premiership by defeating Granya. In 1929, the Tallangatta & District Football Association was reformed with Granya winning premierships in 1929 and 1933 and were runners up to Mitta Mitta in 1930. In 1931, Mitta Mitta gained premiership honours by defeating Tallangatta. In 1932, it appears that there was no T&DFA, with most local teams playing in the Yackandandah & District Football League. The Dederang & District Football Association ran from 1932 to 1939, which included many of the clubs that had previously played in the above football competiitions. In 1934 there was a Tallangatta & District Junior Football Association, which was won by Sandy Creek FC in 1934. The Dederang & District Football Association ran from 1932 to 1939, comprising the following teams - Eskdale, Happy Valley, Kergunyah, Kiewa, Mudgegonga, Tallangatta, Tawonga, Yackandandah. Then in 1940, the Kiewa & Mitta Valleys Football Association was established from the following teams - Bethanga, Granya, Kiewa, Mitta Valley, Sandy Creek and Tallangatta, but the Association then went into recess in 1941, due to World War Two. In 1944, the Mitta Valley Patriotic Football Association was established from the following clubs - Eskdale, Fernvale, Mitta Mitta, Sandy Creek and Tallangatta and the Fernvale Football Club were the 1944 Premiers, defeating Sandy Creek Football Club by 51 points at Eskdale. The Mitta Valley Patriotic Football Association was then superseded by the current Tallangatta & District Football League in 1945. The Tallangatta and District Football League was officially formed in 1945 comprising six teams and kicked off on 21 April 1945. The final ladder positions for the 1945 season were as follows, with the top four clubs playing finals: The 1945 Grand Final took place on Saturday 21 July, and saw the Tallangatta Magpies (4.7.31) defeat Fernvale (2.9.21) at the Sandy Creek Recreation Reserve (Sandy Creek, Victoria) to become the League's first official Premiers. In 1952, Eskdale and Mitta merged to form Mitta United Football Club.

New millennium, new clubs

Following the exodus by two clubs (Culcairn Lions in 1992 and Holbrook Brookers in 1999) to the Hume Football League, the league's number of clubs remained at eight to start the new millennium. At this time of the seven Indigo Shire based clubs only three competed in the Tallangatta & District Football League (Barnawartha, Kiewa-Sandy Creek, and Yackandandah ). While of the four remaining clubs three competed in the Ovens & King Football League (Beechworth, Chiltern , and Rutherglen-Corowa ) and one in the Coreen & District Football League (Wahgunyah). Chiltern joined the league from the 2003 season, they were the first new club to join the league since the Thurgoona Bulldogs since 1988. The Swans had spent the past 49 years with the Ovens & King Football League, during this time they had won a total of 10 senior football premierships (1957, 1958, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1982, 1983, 1994, 1996, 1998). In 2003 both the Beechworth Bombers & Rutherglen Cats applied for an application to join the Tallangatta & District Football League but were refused by their current league's board, Ovens & King Football League. Seeking a new home the clubs took their appeal to the Victoria Country Football League and won the right to join the Tallangatta & District Football League from the 2004 season. While Rutherglen were unable to achieve the ultimate success in the Ovens and King Football League they were allowed to keep the Cats as their moniker along with the "Geelong-Style" Navy & White home jumper. Beechworth claimed the O&K flag on 14 occasions (1912, 1913, 1914, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1950, 1951, 1956, 1961, 1974, 1979, 2000, 2001) but were left with no choice then to find a new moniker and jumper, because the Dederang-Mt. Beauty Football Club already used the Bombers as their moniker along with the "Essendon-Style" Red & Black home jumper. Prior to the start of the 2004 season the club unveiled their new identity, they adopted the Bushrangers as their moniker along with the "Port Melbourne-Style" Blue & Red home jumper. The Wahgunyah Tigers were granted permission to join from the 2008 season after the Coreen & District Football League went into recess at the conclusion of the 2007 season, having won 7 senior football premierships over their 51 years with the league (1948, 1949, 1968, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2004). Because the Barnawartha Football Club already used the Tigers as their moniker along with the "Richmond-Style" Yellow & Black home jumper. Wahgunyah were left with no choice but to find a new moniker and jumper. Prior to the start of the 2008 season the club unveiled their new identity, they adopted the Lions as their moniker along with the "Brisbane Lions-Style" Maroon, Blue & Gold home jumper.

Clubs

Former clubs

Timeline

League honours and records

Grand final results

Currently two of the early Tallangatta & DFL grand finals venues are undocumented and as such unknown. The unknown T&DFNL grand final venues are in the seasons of 1948 and 1955. The grand finals have been played continuously at the Sandy Creek Recreation Reserve since 1971. The best on ground award in the Tallangatta & DFL senior football grand final receives the Wayne Bartel Memorial / AFL Victoria Country Medal.Wayne Bartel passed away in 1988, aged 39.

Best & Fairest / Leading Goalkicker Medalists

In 1945, Mr. James A. Paton from the Fervale FC, initially donated the prize for the Tallangatta & DFL best and fairest award and the Paton family continued this on for many years afterwards. The initial best and fairest award, was a cash prize of £5, then later changed to the J A Paton Trophy. In 1946, Granya's Norm Webb polled a record 40 votes in the T&DFL best and fairest award. Who won the T&DFL medal in 1951? The T&DFNL senior football best and fairest award was later changed to the Barton Medal in 1977, after three times best and fairest winner, George Barton sadly passed away after a short battle with cancer. At the time of Barton's death in 1977, he was also a four time runner up in the Tallangatta & DFL best and fairest award in the mid 1960's, where he polled the same number of votes as the winner, but finished second in the award to the player who polled the most three votes, under the old countback system. In 2016, the Tallangatta & DFNL retrospectively awarded the late George Barton, with an additional four Barton Medals, thus finishing up with an incredible seven senior football best and fairest awards/Barton Medals.

Premiership years: 1945-2024

Current finals system

Since 1974 the TDFL has used the "McIntyre system". The final series is played over four weekends, with the grand final traditionally being played on the second weekend of September.

Grand Final

The TDFL board deems that all finals will be held at the natural venue of the Sandy Creek Recreation Reserve (Sandy Creek, Victoria), with all finals for both football and netball played at the one venue during each final day. The Grand Final since 1971 has also been held at Sandy Creek Recreation Reserve (Sandy Creek, Victoria), commonly referred to by locals as "The MCG of the Bush" for its large playing surface and picturesque surroundings, but unfortunately the football and netball changerooms are not up to modern standards and require significant State and Local Government funding for capital improvements as soon as possible. The last finals match held away from Sandy Creek was the "1989 second semi-final" held at Bunton Park (North Albury, New South Wales), and the last grand final match held away from Sandy Creek was the "1970 Grand Final" held at the Barnawartha Recreation Reserve (Barnawartha, Victoria).

Football Records

Club Championships

Tallangatta District Netball Association - Grand Finals

Tallangatta District Netball Association - Best & Fairest Awards

Netball Grades

Seasons

2000–2009

2005 season

2006 season

2007 season

2008 season

2009 season

2010-2019

2010 season

2011 season

2012 season

2013 season

2014 season

2015 season

2016 season

2017 season

Interleague / community championships

The Tallangatta & District Football League has never won the first division of the Victorian Country Championship / Victorian Community Championship interleague championship. In interleague competition the team wears a blue guernsey, emblazoned with a monogram-style gold "TDFL" initials, with blue and gold trim shorts and blue and gold trim socks.