History
The Echuca Football league was founded on the 21st of March 1932, [1] with the inaugural 6 clubs being Echuca East, Echuca Imperials, Elmore, Mathoura, Moama and Rochester Rovers. The first premiership was won by Echuca East over Mathoura. [2] The Deniliquin Football Club was formed to join the Echuca FL in 1933, and won 3 premierships in its first 3 years of competition, [3] a feat equalled by Mathoura in the 3 following seasons.
Due to the large amount of travel required between the towns involved in the league, some clubs began to struggle financially during the mid-1930s. Moama were forced into recess for three seasons in 1934 due to financial issues, [4] and were joined by Elmore and Rochester Rovers a year later. [5] This left the league with only 4 clubs for the 1936 season. Deniliquin did not affiliate with the EFL for the 1937 season, citing the lack of a semi-final at their home ground as their reason for doing so. [6] They would return a year later. Cummeragunja joined for the 1939 season, [7] however their stay was short-lived as the EFL entered recess due to World War II a year later. [8]
The EFL re-formed in 1946, with Cummeragunja and Imperials replaces by Bamawm Extension and Echuca. [9] Elmore re-joined a year later, giving the league 7 clubs. Attempts were made to find an eighth team to remove the bye, however these were unsuccessful. [10] Echuca won three straight premierships between 1946 and 1948.
The EFL was forced into recess before the 1949 season after the three strongest clubs - Echuca, Deniliquin and Echuca East departed. [11] The remaining clubs dispersed amongst a number of local leagues.
1952 saw the EFL revived again, with Bamawm and Bunnaloo joining Moama, Mathoura and Bamawm Extension. [12] Rochester East were originally included in the re-formed league but dropped out on the 17th of April. [13] The newly-formed Echuca South club entered in their place a week later. [14] Echuca East re-joined from the Goulburn Valley FL after the 1952 season. [15] Lockington-Tennyson also joined for the 1953 season as Union, however their former league, the Mitiamo & District FL, blocked the transfers of their players, forcing them to forfeit their first two games. [16]
The 8 clubs of the EFL remained constant between 1953 and 1988, aside from Union folding to allow Lockington to re-form in 1959. Bamawm Extension entered recess due to a lack of players after the 1988 season, and with only 7 teams remaining the Echuca FL merged with the Northern District Football League to form the Northern & Echuca FL before the 1990 season. Echuca East, Echuca South, Moama and Lockington Bamawm United (a merger of Lockington and the two Bamawm clubs) joined the new league, while Mathoura moved to the Picola & District Football League and Bunnaloo folded due to a lack of players. [17]
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