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ALLANSFORD (West End Allansford)Current Affiliation: Warrnambool and District Football League (WDFL) since 1971 Home Ground: Allansford Recreation Reserve Formed: 1971, as West End Allansford, through the merger of the Allansford and West End Football Clubs; the club was re-named Allansford in 2000 Club Address: P.O. Box 2823, Allansford 3277, Victoria Colours: Navy blue and white Emblem: Cats Senior WDFL Premierships: 1971, 1976, 1978, 1980-1, 1983, 1987 (7 total) Senior WDFL Best and Fairest Player Awards: Norman Thwaites 1971; Glendon Henry 1973; Terry Carr 1980; Don Steel 1987; Gary Rowbottom 1992; Brad Sheen 2002; Matthew Steel 2007 & 2008 (7 Medallists/8 Medals) The club which today bears the name of Allansford came into being early in 1971 through the amalgamation of West End of the Warrnambool and District Football League and the original Allansford Football Club, which had been competing in the Purnim and District Football League since shortly after the war. Both merger partners had enjoyed reasonable amounts of success, with West End having claimed nine senior post-war flags and Allansford three, but the late 1960s had seen them both fall on hard times. The wisdom of the decision to merge was shown immediately as the new club, known initially as West End Allansford, won a premiership at the first time of asking after downing Merrivale by 3 points in the 1971 grand final. During the 1970s and 1980s the Cats as they were known were a consistent force. Between 1976 and 1987 they contested all bar two grand finals for triumphs in 1976, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1983 and 1987. By contrast, the last two decades have produced mediocre results, with a losing grand final against Russells Creek in 2004 the closest the club, known since 2000 simply as Allansford, has come to augmenting its premiership haul. In 2008 the Cats won 8 and drew 1 of their 18 fixtures to finish in seventh place on the twelve team ladder. This represented a slight decline in fortune after a 2007 campaign that produced finals qualification for an ultimate finishing position of fifth. Where now? or
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