The Wangaratta Magpies Football Club, officially known as the Wangaratta Magpies Football & Netball Club, is an Australian rules football club, which first played in the Ovens and Murray Football League in 1893 and is based in Wangaratta, Victoria at the Wangaratta Showgrounds and play on the Norm Minns Oval.
Club History
On 20 June 1864, the first Wangaratta Football Club in Wangaratta was formed, with Edward Lucas, President, Henry B. K. Leigh as Secretary and Thomas Cusack and seven others as committee. The Wangaratta Football Club was then reformed in Wangaratta, in 1875, when matches were played intermittently against other local towns like – Albury, Beechworth, Benalla, Chiltern, Corowa, Howlong, Rutherglen, Tarrawingee and Wahgunyah.
Wangaratta played a number of matches against other local sides in the 1880's including Benalla, Swanpool.
There were two Wangaratta teams that entered the Ovens & Murray Football League in 1893, Wangaratta Central FC and West End FC (1893 only), with Wangaratta Central (Magpies) remaining in the O&MFA and moving between the Ovens & King Football League on a number of occasions prior to World War Two. These two teams played in the Wangaratta Football Association in 1892, with Wangaratta FC finishing on top of the ladder and winning the premiership.
In July, 1897, the club withdrew from the O&MFA competition after not winning any matches up until that point.
Wangaratta FC then joined the Murray Valley Junior Football Association and won the 1898 premiership, before rejoining the O&MFA for the 1899 season.
In July, 1900, Collingwood, 12.18 - 90 defeated Wangaratta, 2.8 - 20 in Wangaratta.
Wangaratta FC moved into the Ovens and King FL in its first year of competition in 1903.
Wangaratta's first golden era was between 1919 and 1926 when they played in eight consecutive senior football grand finals, with the first three in the Ovens & King Football League and the last five in the Ovens & Murray Football League, winning an O&KFL premiership in 1920 and an O&MFL premiership in 1925, under coach, Percy Rowe.
In late September 1931, Wangaratta (O&KFL premiers) defeated Weir United (O&MFL Premiers) in a challenge match to decide the champion club in the North East of Victoria. Then in 1932, Wangaratta (O&KFL Premiers) defeated Corowa (O&MFL Premiers) to once again be the North Eastern Victoria champion club.
Wangaratta FC entered two sides into the Ovens & King FL in 1941 and they both played off in the grand final, with the "Rainbows" defeating the more fancied Wangaratta team.
In 1945 Wangaratta entered a team in the Murray Valley Football League and they became undefeated premiers.
Wangaratta FC have been in the Ovens & Murray Football League continuously since 1946.
Wangaratta's second golden era was between 1945 and 1957 when they won six premierships, and were runners up in 1955, winning a record four consecutive premierships between 1949 and 1952 under their captain / coach, former Collingwood player, Mac Holten.
The club had a very lean period between 1997 and 2002, collecting six consecutive wooden spoons and losing 32 consecutive games between 1997 and 1999, but by the mid-2000s were playing finals and later played in seven O&MFNL senior football grand finals between 2007 and 2025, winning four. This included the 2022 grand final, but the club was stripped of its premiership flag for salary cap breaches in the 2022 season, a first in country football.
Since 2012, the club has fielded three football teams and four netball teams in the Ovens & Murray Football League.
Football competition timeline Seniors 1892: Wangaratta Football Association 1893–1897: Ovens & Murray Football Association 1898: Murray Valley Junior Football Association 1899–1902: Ovens & Murray Football Association 1903–1914: Ovens & King Football Association 1912: North East (Wednesday) Football Association 1915: Ovens & Murray Football Association 1916–1918: O&MFA & Club in recess due to World War One 1919–1921: Ovens & King Football Association 1922–1930: Ovens & Murray Football League 1931–1932: Ovens & King Football Association 1933–1940: Ovens & Murray Football League 1941: Ovens & King Football Association 1942–1944: Club in recess due to World War Two 1945: Murray Valley Patriotic Football League 1946–2019: Ovens & Murray Football League 2020: - O&MFL in recess due to COVID-19 2021–2024: Ovens & Murray Football League
Reserves 1930: Ovens & King Football League 1949–1952: Benalla Tungamah Football League 1953–2024: Ovens & Murray Football League
Thirds / Under 18's 1973–2024: Ovens & Murray Football League
Football Premierships Seniors League Total flags Premiership year(s) Runner up Wangaratta Football Association 1 1892 Murray Valley Junior Football Association 1 1898 Ovens & King Football Association 6 1905, 1906, 1920, 1931, 1932, 1941 1908, 1909, 1910, 1919, 1921, 1941 Murray Valley Patriotic Football Association 1 1945 Corowa & District Knockout Competition – "VFL Cup" 1 1949 Ovens & Murray Football League 15 1925, 1933, 1936, 1938, 1946, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1957, 1961, 1976, 2007, 2008, 2017. 1922, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1955, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1969, 1977, 2018, 2019, 2025.
Reserves League Total flags Premiership year(s) Runner upBenalla Tungamah Football League 1 1951 Ovens & Murray Football League 5 1959, 1967, 1968, 1985, 2024 1964, 1965, 1966, 1978, 1984, 1993, 2014
Thirds League Total flags Premiership year(s) Runner upOvens & Murray Football League 9 1975, 1976, 1992, 2000, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2022 1974, 1978, 1979, 2000, 2006, 2007, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2024, 2025
Football League Best & Fairest Award Winners Seniors Ovens & Murray Football League Morris Medal: 1933 to present day 1933 - Fred Carey 1953 - Tim Lowe 1955 - Ray Preston 1957 - Lance Oswald 1969 - Jeff Hemphill 1975 - Jack O'Halloran 1976 - Jack O'Halloran 2007 - Jonathon McCormick 2010 - Jamie Allan 2021 - Callum Moore
Reserves Ovens & Murray Football League Ralph Marks Medal: 1953 - 1963 Les Cuddon Medal: 1964 - 1975 Leo Burke Medal: 1976–present day 1963 - Ron Wales 1967 - Alan Benton 1992 - Tony Gleeson 2003 - Colin McClounan 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011 - Carl Norton
Thirds Ovens & Murray Football League 3NE Award: 1973 - 1984 Leo Dean Award: 1985 to present day 1974 - Mick Ketchup 2013 - Louis Vescio 2014 - Hugh Amery 2015 - Hugh Amery
Team of the Century
Below is the Wangaratta FNC Team of the Century, that was announced on Saturday evening, 5 August 2006.
Back line: Graeme Nish, Jack Ferguson, Kevin French Half backline: Fred Carey, Lionel Wallace, Jack McCormack Centre line: Des Steele, Alec Fraser, Lance Oswald Half forward line: Norm Minns, Ernie Ward, Mac Holten Forward line: Phil Nolan, John Leary, Bert Carey Ruck: Bill Comensoli Ruck Rover: Jack O'Halloran Rover: Tim Lowe Interchange: Graham Wood, Jeffrey Hemphill, Jason Lappin, Kevin Mack, Ken Nish Coach: Mac Holten Administration: Norm McGuffie, Jack White
Ovens and Murray Football League - Hall of Fame Inductees
2005 - Norm Minns 2006 - Mac Holten 2010 - Tim Lowe 2013 - Bob Constable 2014 - Kevin Mack 2014 - Phil Nolan 2016 - John Henry 2016 - Jack O'Halloran 2017 - Kevin Allan 2018 - Jack McCormick 2024 - Graham Nish
VFL / AFL Footballers
The following footballers played for Wangaratta FC prior to making their VFL / AFL debut & / or were drafted to an AFL club, with the year indicating their debut or year drafted.
1902 - Bill Hickey - South Melbourne 1906 - Charlie Meadway - Wangaratta 1912 - Gil Ebbott - St. Kilda 1926 - Jack Nolan - North Melbourne 1927 - Dinny Kelleher - Carlton 1927 - Allan Skehan - Carlton 1928 - Ray Usher - Melbourne 1929 - Percy Jones - Geelong 1930 - Arthur Mills - Hawthorn 1930 - Bert Mills - Hawthorn 1931 - Alex Fraser - St. Kilda 1932 - John Connell - St. Kilda 1932 - Leo Nolan - Melbourne 1950 - Mac Hill - Collingwood 1953 - Peter Hughes - Hawthorn 1953 - Lance Oswald - St. Kilda 1960 - Gary Holmes - St. Kilda 1960 - Ian Rowland - St. Kilda 1965 - Ian Montgomery - Collingwood 1966 - Ian Nicoll - Carlton 1984 - Darren Steele - North Melbourne 1988 - Damian Simmonds - Fitzroy 1989 - Danny Craven - St. Kilda 1989 - Daniel Frawley - Geelong 1990 - Chris Naish - Richmond 1991 - Daryl Donald - Geelong 1993 - Matthew Lappin - St. Kilda & Carlton 1993 - Jason Heatley - West Coast Eagles 1995 - Luke Norman - Melbourne 2002 - Steve Johnson - Geelong 2003 - Jonathon McCormick - Carlton 2007 - Daniel Boyle - Port Adelaide 2022 - Joe Richards - Collingwood/Port Adelaide 2024 - Joe Berry - Port Adelaide
Most Football Games Seniors
351 - Daine Porter 264 - Brett Keir 260 - Judd Porter 249 - Ken Nish 249 - Graham Wood 217 - John Leary 214 - Graeme Nish 210 - Kevin Mack 203 - Alec Fraser 200+ - Matt Kelly* 200+ - Chris Crimmins 200+ - Michael Bordignon*
- * still playing
Senior Football Honourboard