Central Highlands Football League Explained

Central Highlands Football Netball League
Current Season:	2024
Formerly:	Bacchus Marsh & Ballarat DFL & Clunes FL
Sport:	Australian rules football, Netball
President:	Heath Boyd
Inaugural:	1979
Teams:	17
Venue:	Grand Final Venue: Eureka Stadium, Ballarat
Sponsor:	Brandt
Founder:	VCFL
Website:	Central Highlands FNL website

The Central Highlands Football Netball League is an Australian Rules Football & Netball League in the Ballarat region. The league coordinates Senior, Reserve, Under 18, Under 15 and Under 12 grades.

History

Central Highlands FNL - 1979 to 2024The CHFNL was formed in 1979 as a merger of the Clunes FL and the Bacchus Marsh Ballarat DFL.

In 2011 the league admitted four new clubs from the defunct Lexton Plains Football League, bringing the total number of clubs to 18.

In 2014 Illabarook changed its name to Smythesdale to reflect the town it plays its home games. Smythesdale later entered recess in 2018.

Clunes Football Association - 1931 to 1978

The Clunes FA was formed in 1931 and was initially made up of the following teams - Campbelltown, Clunes, Newstead and Smeaton.^[1]

Clubs

Current clubs

Club	Nickname	Home Ground	Former League	Est.	Premiership years
Ballan	Blues	Ballan Recreation Reserve, Ballan		1881^[2]	1980, 1981
	Crows	Goldfields Recreation Reserve, Beaufort	BFL	1880^[3]	1995, 1996, 2018
	Demons	Bungaree Recreation Reserve, Bungaree		1897^[4]	1991, 2014
Buninyong	Bombers	Buninyong Recreation Reserve, Buninyong		1874^[5]	2002
	Saints	Carngham Recreation Reserve, Snake Valley	LPFL	1969	–
Clunes	Magpies	Ligar Street Reserve, Clunes		1869	1979, 1993, 1997
	Wickers	Doug Lindsay Reserve, Creswick		1869^[6]	1987
	Bulldogs	Victoria Park, Daylesford	BFL	1877	2007, 2009, 2012
Dunnstown	Towners	Dunnstown Recreation Reserve, Dunnstown		1894	1994, 1998, 1999
Gordon	Eagles	Gordon Recreation Reserve, Gordon		1895^[7]	1988, 2022, 2023
	Burras	Hepburn Recreation Reserve, Hepburn		1919	1985, 1986, 1989, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2017
	Lakies	Learmonth Recreation Reserve, Learmonth		1889	–
Newlyn	Cats	Newlyn Recreation Reserve, Newlyn		1900	1992, 2003
Rokewood Corindhap	Grasshoppers	Rokewood Recreation Reserve, Rokewood	LPFL	1932	–
Skipton	Emus	Skipton Recreation Reserve, Skipton	LPFL	1873	–
	Tigers	Wallace Recreation Reserve, Wallace		1925	1990, 2000, 2001, 2015, 2016
Waubra	Roos	Waubra Recreation Reserve, Waubra		1910	1982, 2006, 2011, 2019

Former clubs

Club	Nickname	Home Ground	Former League	Est.	Years	Premiership years	Fate
Darley	Devils	Darley Park, Darley		1919	1979–1985	1984	Moved to Riddell District Football Netball League following 1985 season, now in Ballarat Football League
Korweinguboora		Korweinguboora Recreation Reserve, Spargo Creek		1920s	1979–1981	–	Folded in 1982
Smythesdale (formerly Illabarook)	Bulldogs	Smythesdale Recreation Reserve, Smythesdale	LPFL	1925	2011–2018	–	Entered recess following 2018 season
Wendouree		C.E. Brown Reserve, Wendouree	BFL	1920s	1979–1994	1983	Merged with Ballarat YCW to form Lake Wendouree in Ballarat Football League following 1994 season

Location of clubs

Football Premierships

Senior Football

1979 Clunes d Ballan^[8]
1980 Ballan d Dunnstown^[9]
1981 Ballan d Springbank^[10]
1982 Waubra d Dunnstown
1983 Wendouree d Dunnstown^[11]
1984 Darley
1985 Hepburn d Bungaree^[12]
1986 Hepburn d Bungaree^[13]
1987 Creswick
1988 Gordon d Bungaree^[14]
1989 Hepburn d Springbank^[15]
1990 Springbank
1991 Bungaree
1992 Newlyn
1993 Clunes
1994 Dunnstown
1995 Beaufort
1996 Beaufort
1997 Clunes
1998 Dunnstown
1999 Dunnstown
2000 Springbank
2001 Springbank
2002 Buninyong
2003 Newlyn
2004 Hepburn
2005 Hepburn
2006 Waubra
2007 Daylesford
2008 Hepburn
2009 Daylesford d Hepburn
2010 Hepburn d Daylesford
2011 Waubra d Daylesford
2012 Daylesford d Buninyong
2013 Hepburn d Buninyong
2014 Bungaree d Springbank
2015 Springbank d Gordon
2016 Springbank d Buninyong
2017 Hepburn d Beaufort
2018 Beaufort d Buninyong
2019 Waubra d Hepburn
2020 League in recess due to COVID-19
2021 No finals > COVID-19 1st: Gordon^[16]
2022 Gordon d Springbank
2023 Gordon d Springbank
2024

Reserves Football

1979 Bungaree d Wendouree
1980 Bungaree d Wendouree
1981 Creswick d Learmont
1982 Learmonth
1983 Wendouree d Gordon
1984 Wendouree
1985 Darley d Hepburn
1986 Creswick
1987 Creswick
1988 Creswick d Gordon
1989 Wendouree d Newlyn
1990 Gordon
1991 Learmonth
1992 Springbank
1993 Springbank
1994 Wendouree
1995 Ballan
1996 Dunnstown
1997 Buninyong
1998 Clunes
1999 Buninyong
2000 Dunnstown
2001 Buninyong
2002 Buninyong
2003 Buninyong
2004 Hepburn
2005 Buninyong
2006 Hepburn
2007 Waubra
2008 Hepburn
2009 Buninyong d Bungaree
2010 Buninyong d Hepburn
2011 Waubra d Springbank
2012 Buninyong d Waubra
2013 Waubra d Bungaree
2014 Hepburn d Waubra
2015 Beaufort d Buninyong
2016 Springbank d Buninyong
2017 Buninyong d Beaufort
2018 Buninyong d Beaufort
2019 Creswick d Springbank
2020 League in recess due to COVID-19
2021 No finals > COVID-19 1st: Newlyn
2022
2023
2024

Under 17's

1979 Creswick
1980 Newlyn
1981 Hepburn d Ballan
1982 Ballan
1983 Darley
1984 Buninyong
1985 Dunnstown d Darley
1986 Dunnstown
1987 Buninyong
1988 Ballan d Hepburn
1989 Bungaree d Ballan
1990 Creswick
1991 Dunnstown
1992 Ballan
1993 Learmonth
1994 Buninyong
1995 Creswick
1996 Ballan
1997 Bungaree
1998 Bungaree
1999 Bungaree
2000 Gordon
2001 Beaufort
2002 Gordon
2003 Dunnstown
2004 Buninyong
2005 Bungaree
2006 Bungaree
2007 Bungaree
2008 Bungaree
Under 18
2009 Daylesford d Ballan
2010 Waubra d Daylesford
2011 Waubra d Learmonth
2012 Springbank d Daylesford
Under 17.5
2013 Daylesford d Buninyong
2014 Hepburn d Bungaree
Under 18
2015 Bungaree d Hepburn
2016 Beaufort d Waubra
2017 Hepburn d Springbank
2018 Springbank d Buninyong
2019 Gordon d Buninyong
2020 League in recess due to COVID-19
2021 No finals > COVID-19 1st: Rokewood Corindhap
2022
2023
2024

Under 14's

1979 Clunes
1980 Hepburn
1981 Buninyong
1982 Buninyong
1983 Buninyong
1984 Dunnstown
1985 Creswick d Ballan
1986 Creswick
1987 Newlyn
1988 Bungaree d Ballan
1989 Gordon
1990 Ballan
1991 Buninyong
1992 Creswick
1993 Creswick
1994 Ballan
1995 Creswick
1996 Learmonth
1997 Gordon
1998 Beaufort
1999 Gordon
2000 Learmonth
2001 Learmonth
2002 Buninyong
2003 Creswick
2004 Hepburn
2005 Bungaree
2006 Hepburn
2007 Dunnstown
2008 Creswick
Under 15
2009 Learmonth d Dunnstown
2010 Daylesford d Clunes
2011 Creswick d Gordon
2012 Beaufort d Dunnstown
Under 14.5
2013 Buninyong d Hepburn
2014 Hepburn d Buninyong
Under 15
2015 Creswick d Hepburn
2016 Buninyong d Hepburn
2017 Springbank d Hepburn
2018 Skipton d Gordon
2019 Gordon d Springbank
2020 League in recess due to COVID-19
2021 No finals > COVID-19 1st: Buninyong
2022
2023
2024

Statistics

CHFNL: Senior Football Records
Highest Score	436 – Gordon 69.22.436 (Smythesdale 1.1.7) – 2015
Most goals in a game	22 – Paul McMahon – Springbank vs Smythesdale round 17 2016
Most goals in a season	149 – Ian McBain – Dunnstown – 1982
Most wins in a row	32 – Dunnstown – 1994–1995
Most losses in a row	83 – Smythesdale (Illabarook) – 2011–2015
2023 CHFL season
Football Premiers Seniors: Gordon Reserves: Under 18s: Under 15s:	Football Minor Premiers Seniors: Reserves: Under 18s: Under 15s:
Football Goalkicking Awards Seniors: Reserves: Under 18s: Under 15s:	Football Best & Fairest Seniors: Sean Tighe Reserves: Under 18s: Under 15s:

League Best & Fairest

Senior Football^[17]

	CHFNL - Best & Fairest
Geoff Taylor Medal
Year	Winner	Club	Votes

1979	Ian Lyttle	Clunes	24
1980	Hans Veerdorm	Buninyong	23
1981	Peter Muller	Creswick	20
1982	Peter Keep	Darley	38
1983	Terry Howard	Newlyn	32
1984	Peter Keep	Darley	27
1985	Tony Howlett	Bungaree	20
1986	David Jenkins	Creswick	26
1987	Peter Gervasoni	Hepburn	24
1988	Mark Milne &	Gordon	24
	Leigh Mitchell	Newlyn	24
1989	Andy Dispirit	Ballan	22
1990	Mark Milne	Gordon	24
1991	Stuart Richardson	Newlyn	22
1992	Chris Parker	Waubra	25
1993	David Wood	Learmonth	22
1994	Peter Doherty	Beaufort	29
1995	Peter Doherty	Beaufort	32
1996	Peter Doherty	Beaufort	23
1997	Matthew Brown	Hepburn	29
1998	Ricky Andrews &	Beaufort	23
	Lynden Henderson	Buninong	23
1999	Peter Doherty	Beaufort	28
2000	James Hall	Springbank	22
2001	Scott Crouch	Bungaree	28
2002	Simon Wilkie	Ballan	22
2003	Barry Fitzpatrick	Beaufort	24
2004	Jason Hill	Clunes	25
2005	Joe Gilbert	Buninyong	23
2006	Luke Adams	Daylesford	29
2007	Luke Adams	Daylesford	29
2008	Louis Frank	Beaufort	24
2009	Jaye Cahir	Dunnstown	24
2010	Chris Eastwell	Newlyn	22
2011	Louis Frank	Beaufort	23
2012	Andy McKay	Hepburn	25
2013	Nick Sullivan	Waubra	27
2014	Luke Fisher	Springbank	29
2015	Shaun Campbell	Ballan	34
2016	David Benson	Bungaree	21
2017	David Benson	Bungaree	28
2018	Joel Maher	Bungaree	28
2019	Rupert Sangster	Beaufort	22
2020	CHFNL in recess >	COVID-19
2021	Mitchell Gilert	Skipton	17
2022	Sam Willan	Skipton	30
2023	Sean Tighe	Hepburn
2024

Leading CHFNL Goalkicker

Seniors^[18]

	CHFNL - Senior Football Leading & Century Goalkickers
Year	Winner	Club	Season Goals	Goals in finals	Total Goals

1979	Ian McBain	Dunnstown	104
1980	Geoff Bourke - Finn	Ballan	98
1981	Ian McBain	Dunnstown	97
1982	Ian McBain	Dunnstown	122
1983	Ian McBain	Dunnstown	73
1984	Michael Hastie	Ballan	96
1985	Tony Howlett	Bungaree	95
1986	Peter Nikolovski	Hepburn	96
1987	Darren Lubeek	Creswick	105
1988	Ian Denny	Gordon	71
1989	John Heagney	Newlyn	59
1990	Justin Conroy	Ballan	69
1991	Malcom Scott	Learmonth	89
1992	Jason Yean	Creswick	91
1993	Ian Denny	Gordon	114
1994	Ian Denny	Gordon	121
1995	Steven Gallop	Ballan	106
1996	Troy Jansenns	Dunnstown	74
1997	Ricky Inness	Buninyong	61
1998	Paul Mahar	Bungaree	76
1999	Dave Thompson	Hepburn	72
2000	Sam Basham	Learmonth	79
2001	Phillip Jeffrey	Bungaree	72
2002	Greg Barass	Hepburn	80
2003	Greg Barass	Hepburn	100
2004	Owen Weatherley	Clunes	102
2005	Owen Weatherley	Clunes	114
2006	Lee Brown	Waubra	104
2007	Bryce Nicholson	Bungaree	95
2008	Lee Brown	Waubra	100
2009	Rodney Watts	Ballan	88	N/A	88
2010	Lee Cox	Hepburn	118	?	?^[19]
2011	Lee Cox	Hepburn	79
2012	Lee Cox	Hepburn	106
2013	Lee Cox	Hepburn	62
2014	Zach Peoples	Ballan	83
2015	Steven Nicholson	Gordon	66
2016	Paul McMahon	Springbank	79	10	89
2017	Tim Boyle	Waubra	53	1	54
2018	Isaac Baker &	Buninyong	41	6	47
	Jack Duke	Beaufort	41	8	49
2019	Marcus Darmody	Newlyn	103		?
	Sam Dunstan	Hepburn	?		108^[20]
2020	CHFNL in recess >
2021	Sam Dunstan	Hepburn	82
2022	Mitchell Banner	Hepburn	73
2023
2024

Bibliography

History of Football in the Ballarat District by John Stoward -

External links

Gameday website
Central Highlands FL on Country Footy Scores

Notes and References

Web site: 1931 - Newstead . The Age . 10 June 2024 . 7 . 15 April 1931.
Web site: 1881 - Ballan . The Ballarat Star (Vic. : 1865 - 1924 . 11 June 2024 . 3 . 16 May 1881.
Web site: 1880 - Beaufort . The Ballarat Star (Vic. : 1865 - 1924) . 11 June 2024 . 4 . 26 May 1880.
Web site: 1897 - Bungaree . The Ballarat Star (Vic. : 1865 - 1924) . 11 June 2024 . 1 . 5 July 1897.
Web site: 1874 - News & Notes . The Ballarat Star (Vic. : 1865 - 1924) . 11 June 2024 . 2 . 27 April 1897.
Web site: 1869 - News and Notes . The Ballarat Star (Vic. : 1865 - 1924) . 11 June 2024 . 2 . 3 August 1869.
Web site: 1895 - Bungaree Chronicles . The Ballarat Star (Vic. : 1865 - 1924) . 11 June 2024 . 4 . 9 May 1895.
Web site: 1979 - Country Football . Google . The Age . 9 June 2024 . 25 . 17 September 1979.
Web site: 1980 - Country Football . Google . The Age . 9 June 2024 . 25 . 15 September 1980.
Web site: 1981 - Country Football . Google . The Age . 9 June 2024 . 31 . 14 September 1981.
Web site: 1983 - Country Football . Google . The Age . 9 June 2024 . 24 . 19 September 1983.
Web site: 1985 - Country Football . Google . The Age . 9 June 2024 . 38 . 16 September 1985.
Web site: 1986 - Country Football . Google . The Age . 9 June 2024 . 36 . 15 September 1986.
Web site: 1988 - Country Football . Google . The Age . 9 June 2024 . 36 . 12 September 1988.
Web site: 1989 - Country Football . Google . The Age . 9 June 2024 . 20 . 17 September 1989.
Web site: 2021 - Senior Football Ladder . Gameday . CHFNL . 9 June 2024.
Web site: Senior Football: Best & Fairest Winners . Gameday . CHFNL . 10 June 2024.
Web site: CHFNL: Senior Football Goalkicking . Gameday . CHFNL . 10 June 2024.
Web site: 2010 - CHFNL Goalkicking . Gameday . CHFNL . 11 June 2024.
Web site: 2021 - CHFNL Senior Football Goal Kicking . Gameday . CHFNL . 10 June 2024.