Queenscliff Football Netball Club

The Queenscliff Football Netball Club, nicknamed the Coutas, is an Australian rules football and netball club situated in the township of Queenscliff, Victoria, on the Bellarine Peninsula.

Queenscliff
Names
Full name	Queenscliff Football and Netball Club Inc.[1]
Nickname(s)	Coutas, Barracoutas
Former nickname(s)	'Cliff
Club details
Founded	1884; 141 years ago (1884)
Colours
Competition	Bellarine Football Netball League
President	Ali Waight[2]
Coach	Heath Jamieson[3]
Captain(s)	Caleb Whitley[4]
Premierships	BFL (4) 1975 2011 2012 2013 PFL (7) 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1967 1968 GFA (2) 1929 1937 QBFA (7) 1904 1905 1907 1908 1910 1913 1920 QFA (4) 1899 1900 1901 1902
Ground(s)	Queenscliff Recreation Reserve
Uniforms
Home Away Clash
Other information
Official website	qfnc.com.au

Queenscliff's teams currently play in the Bellarine Football Netball League, of which the club is a founding member.^[5] The club's unique nickname is short for barracouta, a type of fish.^[6] The Coutas play their home games at the Queenscliff Recreation Reserve, which is enclosed inside a local caravan park.^[7] The football oval is colloquially referred to as the 'Couta Bowl', lending to its uneven, sloped and bowl-like playing surface.^[8]

History

Evidence of a Queenscliff club playing football dates back to as early as 1882, where the Geelong Advertiser reported that they had lost a 'return match' against Drysdale.^[9] The club lists its official establishment date as 1884.^[10] The Coutas played in an early version of the Bellarine Football League that ran from 1895 to 1914. Reformed after World War I, the club continued to play locally until 1923 when it joined the Geelong Football Association where it enjoyed some success.^{[citation needed]}

Queenscliff played the 1957 season in the Polwarth Football League and continued in this league until the Bellarine & District Football League was formed in 1971. During its years in the Polwarth league, Queenscliff dominated with Kevin Coltish at full-forward, winning seven premierships in eight seasons.

After the formation of the Bellarine league in 1971, Queenscliff remained a power club for some time, winning a premiership in 1975. But after that achievement, a 36-year premiership drought followed. Queenscliff's return to greatness came in 2011 when the club won its second BFL premiership, repeating the feat in 2012 and 2013 to mark a rare three-peat.^[11]

Premierships

• Queenscliff Football Association (4):
  • 1899, 1900, 1901, 1902 ^[12]
• Queenscliff & Bellarine Football Association (7):
  • 1904, 1905, 1907, 1908, 1910, 1913, 1920
• Geelong Football Association (2):
  • 1929, 1937
• Polwarth Football League (7):
  • 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968
• Bellarine Football League (4):
  • 1975, 2011, 2012, 2013

League best and fairests

• 1952: Keith Wayth
• 1954: Keith Wayth
• 1976: Robert Warren
• 1977: Mike Birrell
• 1978: Mike Birrell
• 1988: Dean McNeil
• 1993: Jamie Dalton
• 2003: Matt Primmer
• 2011: Dylan Chaplin-Burch

Notable VFL/AFL players

Queenscliff provided a pathway for many footballers to join the top league in the early decades of the VFL. Notably, one-fifth of Geelong's 1925 premiership team was recruited from the club.

Players to have been recruited from Queenscliff to the VFL/AFL include:

• Peter Stephens with Geelong
• Bill Hudd with Geelong, Essendon and Hawthorn
• Syd Hall with Geelong
• George Todd with Geelong
• Jim Warren with Geelong
• Ron Shapter with South Melbourne, Fitzroy and Essendon
• Ted Hoppen with St Kilda
• Arnie Bench with Fitzroy
• Terry Farman with Geelong
• Darcy Gardiner with Brisbane
• Jhye Clark with Geelong

Bibliography

• Cat Country: History of Football in the Geelong Region by John Stoward – Aussie Footy Books, 2008 – ISBN 9780957751583