'A real community' Stawell Warriors to celebrate 150th anniversary

The Warriors will celebrate 150 years of the club during its WFNL round two home match against Minyip Murtoa.

Players, officials, and supporters from the 1950s to 1990 will join the celebrations upstairs, while those from the 1990s to the current era will mingle in the downstairs marquee.

The seniors and reserves will be wearing specially designed guernsey's that will be auctioned off at the formalities after the completion of all matches.

The then Stawell Football Club was established following a meeting on July 27, 1874, and played its first match against Ararat on August 22, 1874, which resulted in a draw.

Over the period, the Warriors have claimed 11 Wimmera League seniors premierships.

Once netball was introduced into the club in 1972, the Warriors won the 1972 and 73' A Grade premierships.

Tony Dark, part of the event organising committee and life member, spoke about how important the club has instilled a sense of community over the years.

"It's a real community. The really important part of it is the people you see along the way and that you're involved with, and having the conversations and social outings," Mr Dark said.

"You are really proud of what you've done in the time that you've been a part of it [the club]. It's not just you; it's about your family because you're generally bringing your family along."

When Stawell first took to the field in 1877, it wore blue and white, similar to the Geelong Football Club, but its colours were changed to red and black in 1883.

The late 1800s also saw some adaptations to the then Central Reserve.

In 1897, a bicycle track was formed around the playing field, and a new grandstand was erected two years later.

Stawell won its first Wimmera District Football Association premiership in 1909 and subsequent Wimmera District Football League flags in 1925, 26', 30', 31', and 33'.

The club also had success at the Stawell Gift in the 1920s, with player Jack Curran and coach Bill Twomey winning the 1923 and 24' events.

There was some movement regarding leagues following the First World War.

In the 1930s, the Ballarat and Wimmera leagues merged before the latter was re-established in 1937.

This began a somewhat fruitful period for the club, which added four premierships in the space of 12 seasons.

The 1950s was also a significant time for the club as it saw the Rathgeber's pull on the red and black.

Shane Rathgeber was in the squad that won the 1978 premiership.

"They've got a lot of history," Mr Dark said.

Geoff Stewart won the club's first Toohey Medal in 1951, and six players have since claimed the league's top individual honour.

Mike Pickering (1969, 71'), Tony Beck (1980, 81', 83', 86' and 87'), Simon Sutterby (1994), Matt Ilsley (2000), Brent Tuckey (2007) and current senior coach Tom Eckel (2023).

Terry Carr and Ian Brilliant are just a few other names that Mr Dark alluded to.

"He's [Brilliant] is a legend of the club. He's been around for a long time, so it's pretty amazing," Mr Dark said of Brilliant.

Stawell adopted the Redlegs nickname in 1966 before the netball portion of the club emerged in 1972.

The club has claimed several lower-grade and junior flags despite not claiming an A Grade premiership since 1973.

"There's been a lot of success, but not at that A Grade level," Mr Dark said.

Tracey Dark has been a large contributor to the netball program.

She played over 400 games for the club and was involved with coaching and administration for several years.

"She has been inducted as a legend of the club. I don't think you see that very often where the girls get that sort of recognition," Mr Dark said.

As the world was about to celebrate a new millennium, the club went through perhaps its most significant moment since its inception 126 years earlier.

The Redlegs and Warriors decided to merge ahead of the 2000 season.

At that time, The Warriors, Swifts and other clubs filtered into Stawell's senior side.

Whilst other clubs had enough numbers to go out on its own, the two decided to come together.

"From all reports, it's been really good; both clubs had similar cultures and backgrounds," Mr Dark said.

The first season resulted in Stawell's most recent premiership.

Stawell defeated Ararat 19.11 (125) - 16.19 (115) at Horsham City Oval.

Central Park has had some significant facilities completed in the lead-up to the event.

The renovated change rooms, amenities, massage rooms, umpires' rooms, and administration offices were officially opened in late March.

A newly installed lift now gives access to the second-story function facilities.

A mural has also been painted on the back wall of the club rooms.