The blue and yellow of St Augustine's Junior Football Club will no longer be part of the Goulburn Murray Junior League after 59 years, with the club merging with Kyabram Bombers Junior Football Club.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Fifty-nine years of St Augustine’s junior football history will be embraced under a new set of colours come the start of the 2025 Goulburn Murray Junior League season.
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The Saints will merge with Kyabram Bombers Junior Football Club and wear the black with the red sash into battle against the district’s other junior football clubs next season.
As a united entity they will be known as Kyabram Bombers Junior Football Club and field teams in the Murray and Goulburn Murray age divisions of the under-9, 10, 12, 14 and 16 competitions.
The junior club will exist as a separate entity to the senior football and netball club, but will be closely aligned to the seniors.
New president of Kyabram Bombers Junior Football Club, Brenton Sheppard, said the idea was to get to a point where all junior football in this area flowed from start to end.
“We are really determined to break down the barriers we have seen develop between the schools on a social front and bring together the youth of Kyabram through sport,” he said.
Sheppard was referring to the alignment of the Kyabram P-12 College with Kyabram Redbacks cricket and Kyabram junior football, while St Augustine’s College students often played in St Augustine’s junior football colours and with Kyabram Fire Brigade Cricket Club.
Kyabram's Anthony Depasquale is an example of a former St Augustine’s junior footballer who made his way through the ranks to eventually end up in the black and red colours of the Bombers.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
There will be multiple Kyabram Bombers Junior Football Club teams in the different age divisions of Goulburn Murray Junior League.
“Nothing has been officially decided, but it’s likely that we will field multiple teams in all grades across both the Shepparton and Echuca leagues,” Sheppard said.
The teams will wear the black jumper with a red sash of the Kyabram Bombers, but there will be a tribute to the St Augustine’s club on the back of the jumper — similar to what is shown on guernseys like the Brisbane Lions and Port Adelaide clubs (recognising Fitzroy Football Club and Port Adelaide Magpies).
“Our teams will compete from Friday through until Sunday against teams from throughout the region,” Sheppard said.
“We don’t know exactly how many teams at this stage, but the younger grades (for nine, 10 and 12-year-olds) have lots of numbers, so they will have multiple teams.”
The executive of the St Augustine’s and Kyabram Bombers junior clubs were unanimous in their support of the merger.
“We have a strong committee of around 15 people who will lead the new club, which is representative of both clubs,” Sheppard said.
Last year the clubs had a combined total of 177 registered players and will be strongly represented at league level by Deanne Dodos and Kylie Parsons.
They will be continuing as the new club’s league delegates and work with AFL Goulburn Murray to provide the best opportunities in the sport.
There will be a mix of games at Kyabram Recreation Reserve and Northern Oval, with younger age groups mainly at Northern Oval and older age divisions at the recreation reserve.
Sheppard said it was the club’s intentions to have a new jumper, complete with sponsors, organised by early 2025.
“We hope to have it sorted early in the new year and we are actively looking for sponsors to assist. It is a really exciting time,” Sheppard said.
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