FV Gippsland History
Football in South Gippsland has a reach and decorated history, particularly in the township of Wonthaggi, once home to Victoria’s State Coal Mine and a burgeoning football community that at its peak sported four clubs. With that came success, with Wonthaggi Rangers reaching the Dockerty Cup Final in 2012 and Wonthaggi Magpies repeating the feat in 1929. The Magpies went one better in 1931, becoming the first team outside of Melbourne to win the competition with a win over Brunswick, which need two replays to determine a winner.
With the Coal Mine scaling back operations in the 1930’s, so too did football’s presence, and with the shadow of war looming, football in South Gippsland virtually disappeared for almost half-a-century before Drouin Dragons emerged in 1975. By the time clubs from surrounding Newhaven (Phillip Island Breakers in 1994) and Trafalgar (1996) were established, the Gippsland Soccer League had evolved from the Latrobe Valley Soccer League, representing all of Gippsland and the Latrobe Valley until 2016.
At that point, a breakaway of ten clubs departed to reform the Latrobe Valley Soccer League, leaving a handful of clubs from South Gippsland to carry on the GSL banner, where they have thrived and expanded over the past decade.
A new era beckons in 2026 as FV Gippsland transforms a region now sporting nine clubs and teams ranging from Senior Mens and Womens down to MiniRoos.
Life Members
David Wilson (2016), Linda Spiteri (2016), Daniel Brown (2024), Andrea Blair-Dempsey (2024), Darren Dempsey (2024), Patrick Finnigan (2024), Philip Miller (2024), Glenn Odgers (2024).
Note: Football Victoria officially recognised GSL Life Members as Football Victoria Life Members in 2016. This list is by no means exhaustive and any assistance uncovering Life Members from any era is greatly appreciated.
Competition Honour Roll
At present, Football Victoria is researching the history of football in regional Victoria, with particular emphasis on identifying the origins of each competition, with a view to composing an exhaustive list of League and Cup winners, to be shared early in 2026.