Maddington Football Club Celebrate a Century

For a small suburban football club, Maddington has always punched way above its weight over its 100-year history.

A century is a long time for any institution to have existed. When it’s been a largely amateur organisation, operated and administered by volunteers, it makes the longevity and achievement of this feisty little football club a much more meaningful milestone.

When the Club’s founding fathers sat down at a meeting in Kelmscott in early May 1923 to form the club, they could only have dreamed of the club being around a century later and still playing under the ‘Maddington umbrella’.

This milestone will be celebrated on the weekend as the club host their Centenary Reunion Day at Harmony Fields, incorporating Sir Doug Nicholls round into the occasion by wearing an Indigenous Jumper designed by Robin Keen.

Through a world war, disbanding and reforming, personnel changes and even a major ground relocation, familiar faces and local families like the Jarvis’s, Reynolds, Richardsons and Biffins, have provided visionary presidents, countless hard-working committee members and support staff to steer the club in the right direction.

It has been this staunch support and never-say-die attitude of generation after generation that has kept the Maddington name out there competing.

There have been some legends who have proudly donned the gold and maroon over that century too. Household names side by side with local heroes to help the club amass a total of 13 League premierships (and countless Reserves triumphs as well) across a range of different competitions.

Local boys like Billy Orr, the Rose Brothers, the Worths, Dave Jennings, Mick O’Halloran, Jim Butler, Ray Biffin and in later years, Lindsay Reynolds, Kim Lambkin, Shane Mallard, Andrew Catalano and home-grown centenarian Steve Jarvis.

When help has been needed to get the Club back on top, football royalty has answered the call and jumped on board to lend a hand. Local legends like Geelong and Claremont’s John O’Connell, former WAFL hard man, Ian Rothnie, three-peat premiership captain and coach turned TV commentator, Dennis Cometti and, more recently, Claremont and Carlton star, Wayne Blackwell.

And along the way the club have nurtured the stellar footballing careers of ground-breaking Indigenous stars like Graham ‘Polly’ Farmer and Ted Kilmurray, both products of Sister Kate’s children’s home, who got their start at Maddington.

There have also been many magnificent milestones that have figured prominently over the past ten decades. Epic grand final wins, heartbreaking draws and even a one hundred-and four-point drubbing in one grand final that led to the formation of a club within a club.

Maddington Football Club is proud of its 100-year history, a feat not many Australian Football clubs can boast, at any level, and the club have recognised this legacy in the form of a high-quality commemorative coffee table book.

The centenary book project has been driven by two Maddington Football Club stalwarts, Nathan Want and Trent Harding, both former players and coaches.

“We wanted to create a lasting memory for the club and the people who have contributed to its success over the past 100 years, both on and off the field.” Nathan Want said.

The club have also released a new home jumper this year which replicates the first known photo of Maddington’s jumper design in 1924.