Led by Terry Lucas, who was elected President at the 20th of August 1979 AGM, and supported by an enthusiastic committee 1980 proved to be a watershed year for the OYCFC. This was the year that the club would stamp its identity indelibly upon the Oakleigh landscape and take on the mantle of “the” junior football club for all others to envy.

To achieve this aim a number of key initiatives were introduced to the club in 1980. These centered on the adoption or rather “ the birth” of the OYCFC Dragon emblem, which was sourced from a book in the Monash University Library.

1980. Dragon Emblem held by Roger Bonnici, Jim Jenkins, Harry Osborne and Daryl Jones		1980. Dragon patch that was sewn onto jumpers

Glen Hepburn in front of wrought iron OYCFC

The honour boards for best and fairest winners, and for club officials going back to 1965 were made up from highly polished teak with lettering in 23-carat gold leaf.  A metal replica of the Dragon emblem was made and painted in club colours. A flagpole was obtained and installed at the front of the clubrooms to display the newly acquired 6’ by 4’ flag bearing the Dragon emblem. The emblem with the slogan “The O.Y.C.F.C. DYNAMIC DRAGONS” was etched onto a framed 24” by 24” piece of copper and installed in the clubrooms. A wrought iron sign bearing the letters OYCFC was professionally hand made from half-inch wrought iron and finished in club colours. The logo would also appear on a range of stationery items such as letterhead and envelopes that Brian Stow as secretary would use.

For the players a set of 8 goal post pads were purchased, each boy received a manilla folder with a range of detailed club information including the newly commissioned club theme song composed by Jack Malcomson and Brian Stow. The Clayton School Band recorded the song. As well the coaches were given a green and gold tracksuit to keep.

1980. Under 16’s. Team manager Roy Greenwood & Gary Hocking in coaches tracksuit		OYCFC players training

Also for the players 1980 was the year that the club confirmed its commitment to rewarding all players with an end of season trophy. The trophy recognises the efforts of every individual player and the OYCFC has continued this tradition every year since. The cost of doing this alone in 1980 was over $1300 and remains one of the clubs most significant, but most pleasurable, annual financial commitments. A colour team photograph for each team was also produced and given to each player on presentation day.

On the merchandise side of things, button badges were made up with the dragon logo and an iron-on transfer was produced for ironing on to tee shirts and the like. The badges sold for a dollar and the transfer for $1.50 if you were an adult, $1 if you were a child. A total of 180 plastic mugs with club logos were bought for the kids and the dragon logo was sewn onto every jumper. These sewn on badges cost $2.50 if anyone wanted to purchase one.

1980. Dragon Button Badge		1980. Dragon Membership Medallion

The club also had over 1000 metal membership medallions featuring the emblem and finished in enamel in club colours. They were sold for $5.00 each and an initiative was set up to formally record membership. The club was also keen that people across the club communicated well and the first step in doing this is being aware of each other’s names. The committee wanted all involved in the club and especially new parents to feel welcome at club events and games.  To this end parents were encouraged to wear name badges at all functions and were supplied with a card in club colours and a plastic cover with a pin or clip. Officials, coaches and team managers didn’t get off lightly either. They were given a green and gold metal bar identifying their role in the club, which made it easy to identify the right official to complain to!

1980. Dragon Club Name Tags		Treasurers Name Badge

On another front the club embarked on a massive recruitment drive, making up posters and placing them in shop windows all over the area. The concept of a registration day that was a major event was born with a whole range of fun activities and attractions set up for the March 2 registration day at Edwards Street. The committee was also aware of the value of newspaper coverage of the club and its activities and tried to maximize this where possible.

All of this cost an immense amount of money but in short the club had decided to invest significantly both to build on the foundation of the 15 years previous, and also to mark a coming of age for the OYCFC. The combined turnover of the ladies and the general committees for 1980 was over $15,000, a figure that would have frightened many at the start of the season. The Terry Lucas led committee had adopted an attitude of “can do” and approached every barrier as merely something to be got over.

One of the interesting factors to observe as a byproduct of this unprecedented investment in 1980 was that the amount of donations and volunteer commitment seems to rise proportionate to the amount spent. That is the more they spent and the more the vision of the Oakleigh Dragons was articulated, the more was returned to the club via donation. This excluded the bottle of Teachers Scotch whisky won by Jock Hepburn at the first monthly lucky medallion draw which apparently in, what was deemed as “true (Scottish) style”, Jock refused to share.

Fundraising was vitally important in 1980 as well as the immediate years following and a number of fundraising activities took place. These ranged from street stalls in Eaton Mall selling plants and cakes to the pleasant Sunday mornings at Faye and Mick Westaway’s house. Raffles became important and chooks arrived in a uniform fashion each week for the raffle courtesy of Brian Stow.

The two key events in 1980 were the Annual Dinner Dance and the “OYCFC special effort annual raffle”. Guest artist Lorraine Paydon performed with the Dalton Family Band at the dinner dance which for $20 a head included sherries and a nice “meal’ which started with soup being served at 8.30 sharp. The night also featured a lucky medallion draw and none other than Jock Hepburn won the bottle of Scotch.

On the field the club had teams in three different football associations, the Waverley District Junior Football Association (WDJFA), the Junior Sunday Football Association (JSFA) and the NDJFL, presumably the Nunawading and District Junior Football League. Roger Bonnici (coach) and John Perna (Team Manager) steered the under 9’s through the season undefeated. The younger age groups didn’t have ladders or game points awarded. The under 10’s, 11’s and 12’s all made the finals with the under 10’s successfully winning a flag and the 11’s also made the grand final finishing second.

1980. Greg Flynn (coach) and Under 11 team		1980. Roger Bonnici (coach) and the Under 9 team

1980 was also notable for a couple of other events. On the sadder side of things former President Mike Carter passed away on January 12. Mike had been President for seasons 1978 and 1979. On the brighter side former player David Rhys-Jones was reported in the club newsletter as having debuted for South Melbourne firsts on May 4 at the tender age of 17 and kicked 2 goals.

1980 ended with the end of season trip to Creswick, which needed two buses to get the boys there and a chicken and champagne breakfast at the park near the corner of Ferntree Gully and Huntingdale roads. Truly a good year had by all!

The teams that performed well in 1980 continued on in 1981, the under 10’s and 12’s made the finals and another flag was won by the under 11’s coached by Jim Jenkins. This in fact gave them two seasons without a defeat.

1980. Back to Back Jim Jenkins and the Under 10 premiership team		1981. Jim Jenkins and the Under 11 premiership team

League best and fairest counting also saw the club perform well. Glen Hepburn won the under 12’s, C Milverton the under 11’s and A Friend the under 9’s.

Sunny Mt Evelyn was the site for the 1981 end of season trip with the all-inclusive cost for adults of $30. The marketing push, which started in 1980 continued with the sale of football gear bags, emblazoned with the dragon emblem sold for $10 and a digital quartz wristwatch in club colours could be obtained for $15.

1981. Terry Lucas and Snowy Rhys-Jones with the Under 14 team

With free fairy floss, icy poles, lollies and drinks the 1982 season kicked off with a registration day that was billed as a gala family activity.  March was a busy time for the club; Terry Lucas took on the Presidency again when Randy Hill tendered his resignation due to business and family commitments, Snowy Rhys-Jones had his aluminum stepladder “borrowed” from the clubrooms and Ray Chapman turned 51 on March the 1st.

On the coaching front Jack Malcomson was overheard saying that this would be his last year, a statement he had made for the previous five seasons and Jim Browne came across from Oakleigh Juniors.

The season was described as a bit of a “lull’ by Terry Lucas in his President’s report to the August Annual General meeting. Results on the field dropped off but it should be taken into account that most of the OYCFC teams had risen to higher grades in the JSFA and the competition was better. This made the season a bit of a tough one for some of the parents but Terry reminded them that going to a higher grade should be taken as a compliment and essentially a measure of the clubs successful maturity.

The August AGM also considered whether the OYCFC should start its own cricket club so there must have been a lot of positive thoughts going on around the club despite the quieter year. Thoughts were also being given to a merger with the Oakleigh Juniors club who were beginning to struggle in these years.

1983. Warrawee Park. Brian Stow & Daryl Otter cheering the Under 11 team

Roger Bonnicci and Jim Browne both coached two teams in 1983. Finals were also again on the agenda of the OYCFC with the under 11 team competing in a grand final. Success again came the way of Roger Bonnici with a win over Ajax.

Another flag was added to the trophy cabinet in 1984, this time by the under 12 side who beat St Kilda City in a convincing display of football. Some may still argue that playing the final at Edwards Street gave Oakleigh an unfair advantage but given the final score was OYCFC (13.11.89) to St Kilda City (2.3.15) it would be an argument difficult to sustain. Sadly the under 11 team were defeated by Ajax. However it is always a good effort for any team to make an appearance in the last game of the season. The under 10’s and under 15’s also made the semi finals in 1984.

1984. Dinner dance ticket

1985. Ashley Westaway (150 games), Greg Rhys-Jones (100 games) and Dean Van Der Wouw (150 games)

The milestone 20th anniversary year of 1985 produced some of the club’s greatest highs. On the field the club had great success. Most notable was the fielding of teams in every age group for the first time, with three premiership flags being won (11’s, 12’s, and 13’s) as well as a preliminary final appearance by the under 10 team coached by Terry Harvey. Three players broke the 150 game mark, Ashley Westaway, Glenn Hepburn and Dean Van Der Wouw. Ashley Westaway and Scott Hepburn becoming the first players to play right through the age groups from under 9’s to under 17’s. There was also some success at the league level with Adam McDonald (13’s) and Harry Akritidis (14’s) winning the best and fairest trophies.

Off the field the club was humming along. The main social feature of the year was the “20th Anniversary Special Dinner Dance” held at the Clayton Town Hall on Saturday 13 July. Entrance was at a cost of $17.50 per head. It was a BYO function with main entertainment featuring Andrew Dudley as guest artist, billed as recently winner of the Grand Final of Channel 9’s New Faces.

1985. Dinner dance ticket

1985. Gold medallion to celebrate 20 years of the OYCFC

The club also had a gold medallion struck to celebrate the 20 years. 280 medallions were struck with the front having the dragon emblem in the centre surrounded by the words “Oakleigh Youth Club Football Club – The Dynamic Dragons”.  On the reverse the words “1985 20th Year” appear in the centre surrounded by “OYCFC – Through Football Better Citizens”

“Dragons Alive Forever” was the club catch cry in 1986 and was evident with teams all the way through from under 9’s to under 16’s.

Roger Bonnici (coach) and John Perna (team manager) were put in charge of the WJFA under 13 interleague team and Corey Young, later to play for Richmond and the West Coast represented the club in the under 15 VMFL interleague match in May winning the award for best on the ground.

The under 14 team coached by Ken Brentwood and the under 15 boys coached by Roger Bonnici tasted success in grand finals. The under 14 team (15.15.105) had a massive victory over Mt Waverley (6.5.41). Best players on the day were Love, Kelly, Isted and Karagorgiou. Meanwhile Roger’s team, the 15’s (16.13.109), had an impressive win over Melbourne High (3.3.21) with Corey Young, Pat Heverin, David Bonnici, Harry Akritidis and G Stearne playing well. To the naked eye these would appear to officially be deemed “shellackings”.

1986. Kent Brentwood & the Under 14 premiership team		1986. Roger Bonnicci & the Under 15  premiership team

“Let’s work together throughout ’87” was the motto for 1987. This was the year that the club became an incorporated body with the official name being  “Oakleigh Youth Club Football Club Incorporated.”

1987. Dinner dance ticket

The club again fielded over 190 children from under 9’s through to under 16 level which was impressive given the fact that neighbouring club Oakleigh Juniors folded as a club. As well Oakleigh Districts had fewer teams than usual. More options for children to take up other sports and leisure activities such as basketball could possibly be the reason for this drop off in numbers.  It is unlikely that OYCFC benefited much from the demise of the other two Oakleigh junior clubs. The OYCFC President, Lou Lasani made comment in the June/July newsletter that the OYCFC was saddened and alarmed by the folding of Oakleigh juniors and the weakening of Oakleigh Districts.

1987. Flying the flag. Roger Bonnicci and the Under 16's

Towards the end of the season under 15 player, Stuart Maxfield was selected to play for the Victorian Schoolboys State Sports Council (VSSSC) in Perth and the club contributed $60 towards his expenses.

President Hugh McLeod welcomed the new OYCFC 1988 committee at the general meeting on February 10 stressing his wish for full commitment from each person. In the February newsletter Hugh also reminded everyone of the club’s aim to give the boys/girls an education in Australian Rules football, mateship, team spirit and to be proud of performance regardless of result. The club had also adopted the motto of “ Work together and receive the pleasure” for 1988.

The 1988 season was a bit of a struggle on the field generally, starting with plans for under 15’s and 16’s being shelved due to difficulties recruiting enough players. No doubt disappointing to Trevor Powell and Neil Busacca who had been appointed coaches. Hugh McLeod acknowledged in July that although the club hadn’t had quite as good a season as they had hoped, they were still achieving what the had set out to.

The club put 6 teams on the field in 1988 with under 9’s through to under 14’s. Wins and losses for all teams after round eight were leaning more towards the debit side and teams were struggling for numbers. Boys were often playing an extra game in a higher age group just to ensure that the OYCFC were able to field a side. On occasions boys from St Peters filled the interchange bench. The under 9’s had their first win in late July which was celebrated by free Twisties provided by Robert Garth after the match!

The 1988 interleague games were held at Edwards Street on Sunday June 12 against the Diamond Valley football League. Coach of the under 13 team, Dave Crosher was appointed WJFA under 13 coach along with his team manager Chris Jakovincic who Dave claimed he wouldn’t have known what he would have done without.

While the club was doing it fairly tough on the field, socially they were as strong as ever with trivia nights, Sunday night dinners, a Rock and Roll night, and an end of season outing to Luna Park.

The annual dinner dance held at the Clayton Hall on Friday July 29 was the main event .The “Bobby James Syndicate” again fronted up as the main entertainment, which was a BYO affair with $20 per head entry and the catering by Vic Potter. A profit of $192 .85.  was made with expenses coming to $2,587 and revenue being $2,780.

The most serious injury for the 1988 season appeared to be Life Member Jack Malcomson who entered hospital to have a knee operated on. The club sent best wishes messages for a speedy recovery. Perhaps taking the club motto for 1988 a bit too literally, the April club newsletter also sent a congratulatory message to the Brentwood family as Carmel, wife of under 9’s coach Ken Brentwood, had just given birth to Steven.

John Van Der Helm was elected president for the 1989 season and encouraged everyone to go out and enjoy 1989. The social functions, which included a “back to the sixties” dinner dance, were deemed a success and again generated valuable income for the club. The club was in a very strong financial position at the end of 1989.

One of the key questions that the 1988 committee faced was whether or not OYCFC was playing in the right league. The 1989 committee took a decision to move from the WJFL to the Dandenong and District Junior Football League (DDJFL) as they felt it offered “closer competition through divisional structuring” (refer footnote-23). This proved to be a good decision and yielded immediate results with OYCFC under 12’s and 14’s winning best club awards and two players winning DDJFL best and fairest awards.  Damien Foster (10’s) and Ashleigh Crosher (14’s) were successful and Marcus Wood (11’s) came 3rd in his age group for the league. The under 11 team also made a grand final just getting beaten by St Gerards who kicked 4 goals 1 point in the first quarter and finished with 4.2.26. Oakleigh (2.7.19) had more scoring shots so unlike 1965 maybe bad kicking is bad football.

The on field challenges of the 1988 and 1989 seasons and the switch of leagues reveal one of the great issues facing any junior sport which is how to meet the balance between winning and playing for fun. It is very difficult to develop a sense of self-esteem and encourage participation and enjoyment of sport if you are getting thrashed every week.

The eighties really were a golden time for the club, starting with an explosion of energy, enthusiasm and success in 1980 and continuing with premierships, league best and fairest and a vibrant club social life right through the eighties. In hindsight that explosion of energy, centered on the adoption of the dragon emblem, allowed the club to weather the downturn in local football that began towards the mid to late eighties.

The club in 1980 did what few sporting clubs are able to do, which is to develop a longer-term vision of where the club needs to go. To do this clubs have to take risks, be prepared to fail and have a sense of humour. In the early eighties president Terry Lucas, to reassure committee and club members at times, was heard to say jokingly “ we’ve only promised the front half of the house this week!”

		1984. Under 12 Premiers
		1985. Under 11 Premiers
		1983. Under 11 Premiers

Related

footnote-23
Presidents Report  August 29 1989.