After a relatively barren stretch in their formative years, Churchill emerged as one of the LVSL's strongest clubs in the 2000s, winning five league titles between 2007 and 2014 and five Battle of Britain Cups between 2005 and 2013.
In 2013, Churchill United achieved the distinction of becoming the first club to win the complete set of LVSL senior trophies: the Men's and Women's Latrobe Valley Soccer League titles, the Battle of Britain Cup and the Browne-Huizer Cup. The 'LVSL Grand Slam' has since been matched since by Sale United FC in 2022, when they claimed that year's Browne-Huizer Cup trophy.[2]
History
Formation, search for a home and early struggles (1969-1997)
With the Latrobe Valley Soccer League known for being one of the strongest in regional Australia, the club struggled to achieve much success during their first three decades.[3]
Despite being a relatively close distance to Morwell, as a smaller town (but with initial plans to grow to 40,000) - and one that was only built in 1965 - Churchill's early years in the LVSL were marked by the challenge of competing against established Latrobe Valley-based teams with considerable resources, strong fan bases, and star players.[4]
The club began life at Gaskin Park, adjacent to the Churchill Football Netball Club and where the Churchill Bowling Club is now based.[4]
Former LVSL secretary and football journalist Dick Bosma is credited with giving Churchill the nickname of "The Rams" after the Jeeralang Rams which folded in 1982.[4]
It wasn't until Churchill United moved to its present premises in 1972, at Hazelwood South Reserve, that it began to flourish.
The club was runner-up in the 1977 and 1978 Battle of Britain Cups, and in 1980 Churchill almost won its first LVSL Championship, missing out by a point to Sale City and Traralgon City respectively, who were separated by a goal difference. Needing a win on the final day to overhaul Sale City, Churchill had a 2–2 draw with second-last placed Fortuna 60.[4]
Success begins to filter through (1998-2006)
Churchill finally broke through for their first major trophy in 1998, winning the Battle of Britain Cup against Warragul United. With the scores tied at 1-1 after extra time, Churchill won the penalty shootout - ending a 29-year drought for a trophy.
The Rams almost made it two-from-two a year later, with the final again ending in a 1-1 draw against Warragul United - only for the West Gippsland-based club to win the penalty shootout 3-0.
Era of LVSL dominance: Club Completes 'Grand Slam' (2007-2014)
Fortuna 60 60 were shooting for their fifth-straight LVSL title in 2007, a feat that no club had ever achieved before. But it was history of another kind that emerged that year, with Churchill United rising to win their first-ever league title.
So kicked off a remarkable stretch of success, with league titles soon following in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012 and 2014 under the tutelage of young coach Luke Cheney.[5] At one point, the Rams had lost just three times in three seasons.[6]
In 2012, the club pulled off the greatest 'club' season in LVSL history, claiming the "triple treble": winning the men’s, women’s and youth grand finals, plus all league and cup championships, winning nine titles in total.[7][8]
Against all odds, Churchill lost the final three matches of the 2013 LVSL season to finish behind Moe United.[9] However, that disappointment was countered by one of the club's most emphatic displays in club history just weeks later, winning the 2013 Battle of Britain Cup with a 7-0 win over Falcons 2000 - the largest recorded victory in the final of the famous tournament.[10]
In 2014, Churchill achieved the remarkable feat of winning the Latrobe Valley Soccer League undefeated[11] - but fell short in the finals series, losing the semi-final 5-1 to Sale United.[12]
Just as the men's team had begun to conquer the LVSL, Churchill's women's team was equally dominant - if not moreso - particularly from the inception of the women's competition in 2009.
Churchill won their first LVSL Women's title in 2011 and then won the next two to make it three titles in a row. In their utterly dominant 2013 season, the Rams were undefeated and finished the season with a goal difference of +190, conceding just a single goal all season - bringing their goal difference +562 over the 2011, 2012 and 2013 seasons.[13]
Churchill also won the first four editions of the Browne-Huizer Cup from 2010 to 2013. Their 2010 victory meant Churchill were the first club to complete the 'LVSL Grand Slam': (LVSL men's and women's senior divisions, Battle of Britain Cup and Browne-Huizer Cup). As of 2025, Sale United is the only other club to have won all four trophies - but Churchill is the only club to have won each of the four trophies at least three times.
Success becomes harder as old powerhouses re-emerge (2015-present)
Whilst the era of dominance in the LVSL came to an end in 2014, they did achieve a notable victory in 2015, winning 17-0 in a league match over Morwell Pegasus - the second biggest recorded victory in LVSL history, only behind Fortuna's 20-1 win over Drouin Dragons in 2004.[14]
Churchill's glorious stint as the LVSL's dominant club was as short as it was spectacular, with historical power clubs Falcons 2000 (five LVSL titles between 2015-2024) and Moe United (three LVSL titles in that same time) reasserting themselves in the next decade.
The club celebrated its 50-year anniversary in 2019.[4]
Churchill United is also known for being the original club of former Melbourne Victory midfielder Stephanie Tanti, who played with Victory in their inaugural W-League season in 2008-09[15] and again in the 2011-12 W-League season.[16] A talented futsal player, Tanti represented Victoria on multiple occasions was also named in the All-Star team at the 2013 FFA National Futsal Championships.[17]
Club colors and badge
After experimenting with various different colours, the club now plays in red and grey jerseys, modelled after the Liverpool FC away kit of the 1980s.[4][18]
Stadium
Since 1972, the club has played its home matches at Hazlewood South Reserve on Tramway Road, which has a capacity of 500 (with a seating capacity of 100).[19]
Substantial upgrades to the facility - once known as "The Paddock" - have now made the reserve one of the premier facilities of the LVSL.[1]
Temporary bases during the early 1970s included a makeshift pitch on vacant land between Monash Way and Tramway Road, then use of a block behind Switchback Road in an area later occupied by houses in the Maple and Hawthorn Crescent areas, and a clearing on Manning Drive where the current synthetic bowls green is situated.[4]
Churchill's rise from relative obscurity to a leading LVSL team in the 2000s led to a rivalry with a fellow rising force, Fortuna 60.[23]
The two sides were among the league's lesser lights until 2003, when Fortuna commenced a run of four league titles, followed by three in a row for Churchill (2007, 2008 and 2009). Fortuna won the next two, and then Churchill won two of the next three titles, cementing the two as the dominant teams of the era.[20]
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