The Murray Football Netball League is an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

and

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a ...

league affiliated with the

Victorian Country Football League AFL Victoria Country is an Australian rules football governing body with jurisdiction over the state of Victoria outside metropolitan Melbourne on behalf of AFL Victoria. As well as administering and promoting the code in the regions, it often ar ...

. The league covers a large area of northern

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

and southern

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

from

Shepparton Shepparton () (Yorta Yorta language, Yortayorta: ''Kanny-goopna'') is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River (Victoria), Goulburn River in northern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, approximately north-northeast of Mel ...

in the south to

Deniliquin Deniliquin () is a town in the western Riverina region of south-western New South Wales, Australia, close to the border with Victoria. It is the largest town in the Edward River Council local government area. Deniliquin is located at the inte ...

in the north. It covers much the same area as the

Picola & District Football League The Picola & District Football Netball League (PDFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball league. The league covers a large area of northern Victoria (state), Victoria and southern New South Wales from Shepparton in the south to Jerild ...

but the teams tend to be the larger communities and towns.

History

The "Murray Football League" (MFL) was established in 1931, when it superseded the old

Goulburn Valley Football Association The Goulburn Valley Football Association (GVFA) is an Australian rules football competition that was first established in 1888 in the Goulburn Valley of Victoria, Australia, with the foundation clubs being Cobram, Muckatah, Nathalia, Numurkah ...

, with the following clubs,

Barooga Barooga is a border town in the Murray region of New South Wales, Australia, located in the Berrigan Shire local government area. It is situated just north of the Murray River which forms the border with Victoria. Barooga's population at the 2 ...

Cobram Cobram is a town in Victoria, Australia. It is on the Murray River which forms the border between Victoria and New South Wales. Cobram along with the nearby towns of Numurkah and Yarrawonga is part of Shire of Moira and is the administrative cen ...

Numurkah Numurkah ( ) is a town in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, located on the Goulburn Valley Highway, north of Shepparton, in the Shire of Moira. At the , Numurkah had a population of 4,768. History The area was occupied by the Yorta ...

Strathmerton Strathmerton is a town in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. It is located in the Shire of Moira Local government in Australia, local government area on the Murray Valley Highway and Goulburn Valley Highway, about west of Cobram. At the ...

and

Tocumwal Tocumwal ( ) is a town in the southern Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, in the Berrigan Shire Local government in Australia, local government area. The town, north of the city of Melbourne, lies on the northern bank of the Murray ...

Nathalia Football Club The Nathalia Football Netball Club, nicknamed the ''Purples'', is an Australian rules football and netball club based in the town of Nathalia, Victoria, Nathalia located in north east Victoria (Australia), Victoria. The club currently compete i ...

's admission into the MFL was initially rejected in 1931 by club delegates and they entered the Western and Moira Ridings Football Association. Berrigan, Finley and Nathalia's application for admission into the MFL in 1932 was rejected and they continued to play in their existing competitions. These three clubs were finally admitted into the MFL in 1933. At a MFL club's delegates meeting in June, 1940, club's decided to abandoned the season and a motion was carried to conclude the season at the completion of the first round of MFL matches (Rd.7), after all teams had played each other once.

were undefeated when the season was officially abandoned in 1940. Between 1941 and 1945 the league went into recess for World War II. During its first 44 years, the league's administration was very stable, with only four presidents and three secretaries, with Mr. M D "Des" O'Dwyer presiding from 1931 to the late 1950s and Mr. Bill Limbrick of Katunga was secretary from 1949 to 1974 and Mr. D McClelland President from 1966 to 1974. The MFL played in the NSW Australian Football Championships in the mid-1970s. Long time secretary, Les Belt held office from 1930 to 1948. The senior football goal kicking award was initially known as the Les Belt Trophy (MFL Secretary & donor) in the 1940s, before changing to the Les Mogg Perpetual Trophy in 1962, with Trevor Sutton – Deniliquin holding the record with 227 goals that he kicked in 1982, plus 22 goals in the finals for a total of 249 goals. Former Jerilderie player,

Bill Brownless Anthony William Brownless (born 28 January 1967) is a former Australian rules footballer and radio and television media personality who represented in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the 1980s and 1990s. Early life Brownless was b ...

kicked 148 goals and was runner up in the 1985 O’Dwyer Medal, before making his debut with

Geelong Football Club The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed the Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club based at Kardinia Park in South Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier comp ...

in 1986. In 1995 Cobram football and netball club won seniors, reserves, fourths, and all netball side grand finals. 9 out of 10 grand finals for the season. Following the disbanding of the Echuca Football League, Echuca United and

Moama Moama ( or ) is a town in the Murray region of southern New South Wales, Australia, in the Murray River Council local government area. The town is directly across the Murray River from the larger town of Echuca in the neighbouring state of Vic ...

joined the league in 1997. In 2006

Tongala Tongala is a town in the Goulburn Valley region of northern Victoria, Australia. The town is in the Shire of Campaspe local government area, between Kyabram and Echuca, north of the state capital, Melbourne. At the , Tongala had a population of ...

and Rumbalara made their debut with the league. Tongala was previously in the

Goulburn Valley Football League The Goulburn Valley League (GVL), also known as the Goulburn Valley Football Netball League (GVFNL), is an Australian rules football and netball competition based in the Goulburn Valley region of Victoria, Australia, Victoria. History The leag ...

and Rumbalara was in the now-defunct

Central Goulburn Football League Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

. The 2008 premiership was won by Nathalia to complete 4 in a row premiership wins. Nathalia repeated this effort in 2018 and went one further in 2019, achieving 5 premierships a row. Nathalia is the only team to complete 5 premierships in a row. Nathalia alongside Deniliquin are the only teams to complete 4 in a row with Nathalia achieving this feat twice. In 2018 Tungamah, Shepparton East and Katandra joined the Murray Football League after leaving the new merging

due to their affiliation dispute with AFL Goulburn Murray. Shepparton East moved onto the

Kyabram & District Football League The Kyabram District Football Netball League (KDL) is a minor Australian rules football league in Victoria (Australia), Victoria made up of 15 teams. The KDL is made up of smaller country town football clubs in the Goulburn Valley. The majori ...

at the beginning of the 2019 season.

Clubs

Locations

Current

Former clubs

Senior Football Premierships

Reserves Football Premierships

;Gibbins Cup *1959: Numurkah *1960: Cobram *1961: Numurkah *1962: Deniliquin *1963: Numurkah *1964: Numurkah *1965: Numurkah *1966: Berrigan *1967: Deniliquin *1968: Cobram *1969: Tocumwal *1970: Tocumwal *1971: Tocumwal *1972: Deniliquin *1973: Deniliquin *1974: Strathmerton *1975: Deniliquin *1976: Cobram *1977: Cobram *1978: Deniliquin *1979: Deniliquin *1980: Finley *1981: Finley *1982: Finley *1983: Finley *1984: Cobram *1985: Deniliquin *1986: Finley *1987: Mulwala *1988: Cobram *1989: Barooga *1990: Finley *1991: Finley *1992: Cobram *1993: Deniliquin *1994: Cobram *1995: Cobram *1996: Deniliquin *1997: Cobram *1998: Moama *1999: Numurkah *2000: Nathalia *2001: Deniliquin *2002: Mulwala *2003: Moama *2004: Mulwala *2005: Mulwala *2006: Barooga *2007: Mulwala *2008: Barooga *2009: Barooga *2010: Mulwala *2011: Moama *2012: Mulwala *2013: Mulwala *2014: Echuca United *2015: Moama *2016: Moama *2017: Numurkah *2018: Mulwala *2019: Tongala *2022: Tongala *2023: Congupna *2024: Mulwala

Murray FNL – Best & Fairest Awards

;Senior Football – O'Dwyer Medal This award is named after long serving MFL President, Mr. M.D. "Des" O'Dwyer (1931 to 1954), who initially donated a gold medal in 1934. *1934: George Burke – Numurkah (7 votes) & Norman Taylor – Finley (7) *1935: George Bourke – Numurkah (7) *1936: George Bush – Berrigan (3 & 1/2) *1937: George Bush – Berrigan (3) *1938: George Bourke – Numurkah (10) *1939: George Bourke – Numurkah (12) *1940: No award. 1940 abandoned after Rd.7 *1941: MFL in recess due to

WW2 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising ...

*1942: MFL in recess due to

*1943: MFL in recess due to

*1944: MFL in recess due to

*1945: MFL in recess due to

*1946: Merv Dudley – Numurkah (?) & Des Martin – Berrigan (?) *1947: Bill Lumsden – Katamatite (20) *1948: Ron Simpson – Cobram (16) *1949: Syd Stewart – Numurkah *1950: Syd Stewart – Numurkah (21) *1951: J. Stein – Tocumwal (15) *1952: Viv T. Davies – Numurkah (22) *1953: Frank Scanlon – Tocumwal (30) *1954: Alan Ednie – Berrigan (16) *1955: R. Thompson – Finley (19) *1956:

Len Carter Leonard Walter Carter (born 21 November 1942) is a former British sprinter. Biography Carter finished third behind Seraphino Antao in the 2220 yards event at the 1962 AAA Championships. Later that year at the 1962 British Empire and Comm ...

– Strathmerton (21) *1957: J. J. Ryan – Strathmerton (21) *1958: J. J. Ryan – Strathmerton (21) *1959: J. J. Ryan – Strathmerton (25) won on count back *1960: L. Sexton – Berrigan (23 votes) *1961: Les Mogg – Cobram (17) *1962: Graham Ellis – Berrigan (25) *1963: J. J. Ryan – Strathmerton (20) *1964: J. J. Ryan – Strathmerton (20) *1965: Jim Cullen – Tocumwal (25) *1966: N. Smith, Strathmerton (28) *1967:

Graham Ion Graham Ion (born 12 October 1940) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Footscray in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Ion made his league debut at just 17 years of age, against Melbourne at Western Oval in 1958. It was h ...

, Deniliquin (29) *1968: Fred Way, Berrigan (20) *1969: Laurie Flanigan Cobram (21) *1970: P. Dealy, Numurkah (23) *1971: Trevor Miller, Jerilderie (32) *1972: Bruce Day, Tocumwal (20) *1973: R. Dunn, Strathmerton (25) *1974: Terry Wells, Jerilderie (20) *1975: Steven Way, Berrigan (12) *1976: P. Pettigrew, Nathalia (15) *1977: Michael Hawkins, Finley (16) *1978: S. Maddox, Cobram (25) *1979: B. Young, Deniliquin (23) *1980: Terry Wells, Cobram (21) *1981: G. Ralph, Numurkah (18) *1982: Trevor Sutton, Deniliquin (26) *1983: Wayne Deledio, Nathalia (28) *1984: C. Bell, Strathmerton (20) *1985: B. Morrison, Nathalia (26) *1986: J. Greiner, Berrigan (20) *1987: Philip Beams, Mulwala (25) *1988: I. Newell, Strathmerton (29) *1989: E. Muench, Jerilderie (27) *1990: P. Stevenson, Barooga (30) *1991: Brian Bourke, Deniliquin (22) *1992: Kelly O’Donnell, Barooga (28) *1993: John Brunner, Barooga (27) *1994: Chris Foran, Barooga (27) *1995: John Fisicaro, Deniliquin (21) *1996: John Fisicaro, Deniliquin (20) *1997: John Brunner, Barooga (37) *1998: Michael Smith, Cobram (26) & Shaun Gordon, Congupna (26) *1999: Robert Lamberti, Mulwala (26) *2000: Brendan Hogan, Moama (24 votes) *2001: Robert Lamberti, Mulwala (30) *2002: John Fisicaro, Deniliquin (25) *2003: G. Spinks, Deniliquin (23) *2004: Ashley Gemmill, Nathalia (25) *2005: Nathan Gemmill, Nathalia (19) & Jason Sanderson, Mulwala (19) *2006: Marty Brooks, Barooga (25) *2007: Matthew Byers, Barooga (30) *2008: Daryl Harrison – Tongala (22) & Lee Warnett – Tocumwal (22) *2009: Lee Warnett – Tocumwal (21) *2010: Ryan Bongetti – Cobram (20) *2011: Ryan Bongetti – Cobram (27) *2012: Rowan Priest – Echuca United (29) *2013: Ashley Morris – Deniliquin (28) *2014: Marcus Smith – Barooga (26) *2015: Rhys Archard – Moama (29) *2016: Ned Morrison – Finley (25) *2017: Rhys Archard – Moama (25) *2018: Brodie A’vard – Barooga (37) *2019: Jackson Gash – Mulwala (30) *2020: MFNL in recess >

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

*2021: Coby McCarthy - Tongala (19) *2022: Nicholas Jamieson - Tongala & *2022: Brodie Ross - Naithalia (25) *2023: Jackson Gash – Mulwala (23) *2024: Sam Beasley - Cobram & *2024: Jack Russell - Moama (22)

2014 Ladder

2015 Ladder

2016 Ladder

2017 Ladder

2018 Ladder

References

External links

* * * {{Netball in New South Wales Australian rules football competitions in New South Wales Australian rules football competitions in Victoria (state) 1931 establishments in Australia Netball leagues in New South Wales Netball leagues in Victoria (state)