History
1901 to 1931
It appears that the Coreen & District Football Association superseded the Federal Football Association and was formed after a meeting at Matt O'Brien's Burraja Hotel in April, 1909, from the following teams of – Burrajaa, Coreen, Redlands, Ringwood and Shannonvale. [4] The Urana District Football Association was also formed in 1909 and catered for the Daysdale, Oaklands and Urana football clubs. [5]
Over the years the Coreen and District Football Association appears to have had a number of minor name changes to its title, swapping between "Shire" and "District" depending on the journalist's review of a meeting or what the newspaper editor chose as the association's name at that particular time or the title may have been abbreviated in the newspaper. It is difficult to accurately state what the official title of the association was without viewing the official minutes of meetings. What is of particular importance is the actual club's that competed in the association each year.
In 1915, there was some opposition from locals expressing their opinion that young men playing football, would be better off serving their King and Country in the trenches to fight the enemies of the Empire, but the season was completed before going into recess from 1916 to 1918 due to WW1. [6]
In 1917, former Coreen Settler's FC captain, Ambrose Charles Filliponi [7] was killed in action in France. [8]
The most radical change came in 1931, when the Coreen & DFA folded and three clubs joined the Corowa & District Football Association, then in 1936, the Corowa & DFA officially changed its title to the Coreen & DFA. More details below in the "History:1930 to 2007" section.
Coreen FC played in nine consecutive grand finals between 1924 and 1931, winning three Coreen & DFA premierships in 1926, 1929 and 1930.
There were a number of football associations formed in the early 1900s that local club's played in prior joining the Coreen & District Football Association in 1909. These associations played a vital role in providing football competitions in the Riverina and along the Murray River in local football's formative years prior to the Coreen & DFA being established in 1909.
- Riverina Football Association – 1901 [9] Teams
- Bull Plain, Burryjaa, Clear Hills, Daysdale. Premiers: Burryjaa FC [10]
- Clear Hills Football Association – 1902 – 1903
- 1902 Teams: Burryjaa, Clear Hills, Daysdale and Savernake. [11] Premiers: Savenake FC [12]
- 1903 Teams: Clear Hills, Daysdale and Savernake. Premiers: Daysdale FC. [13]
- 1904 – The re-forming of Clear Hills Football Association fell through as Clear Hills FC refused to play against Daysdale, under their present captain. [14] Savenake then joined the Berrigan Football Association. [15]
- Federal Football Association – 1905 to 1908
There was a Riverina football competition established in 1905 around the Corowa and Mulwala area called the Federal Football Association.
- 1905 Teams: Burryjaa, Daysdale and Savenake, [16] 1905 premiers: Daysdale FC [17]
- 1906 Teams: Clear Hills, Coreen, Daysdale and Savenake, [18] [19] 1906 Premiers: Daysdale defeated Clear Hills in the grand final. [20]
- 1907 Teams: Burryja, Clear Hills, Coreen, Daysdale and Savenake [21] with Clear Hills and Daysdale tying on ladder points for the premiership. [22] 1907 Premiers: Clear Hills defeated Daysdale in the play off to win the 1907 premiership. [23]
- 1908 Teams: Burryja, Balldale, Coreen, Daysdale, Ringwood and Savernake. In 1908 there was very little football information available in the newspapers, but the Federal FA did advertise for Umpires in May, 1908. [24] and in a May, 1908 article it states that Balldale FC joined a Coreen & District Football Association competition ? [25] In the grand final, Balldale defeated Daysdale at Burrajaa to win the 1908 grand final. [26]
- Corowa & District Football Association – 1906 & 1907.
In 1906 the Corowa and District Football Association was formed and the following teams entered this competition – Balldale, Burryjaa, Corowa, Howlong and Wahgunyah. [27] Corowa Football Club went onto win the premiership, finishing on top of the ladder, with seven wins from eight games. [28] In 1907, Burrajaa joined the Federal FA, and the Corowa & DFA premiership was won by the Wahgunyah Football Club. [29] In 1908, Corowa and Wahgunyah joined the Ovens & Murray Football Association, while Howlong FC won the Ovens & Murray Junior Football Association premiership in 1908. [30]
Note: The football club of Burrajaa, Burryjaa, Burryja, was spelt in a variety of ways in various newspapers between 1900 and 1950, with the most recent spelling of the club being settled as – "Buraja".
