Our History

From the middle of the 18th century the Yorta Yorta people played various versions of football. The earliest record of football being played at the Aboriginal mission of Cummeragunja was Marn Gook; an aboriginal word for football and was a large scale game of ‘keepings-off”. It was not until 1899 that men from Cummeragunja formed their first Australian Rules football team, entering a team in the Nathalia and District Football Association. The team successfully won a number of premierships and then ceased to play in mainstream leagues until the 1920s.

When the Cummeragunja men entered the Picola Football League in 1921, they won six premierships in 11 seasons. In a bid to curb their sporting prowess the league introduced a rule that no player over 25 years was permitted to play for the Cummeragunja team. Since most of their players were over this age, Cummeragunja resigned from the league in 1932. In 1946, another Cummeragunja team was formed and admitted to the Central Goulburn Valley League’s Second Division, where they won the premiership. The Club’s success, however, was to be short-lived, with the team being expelled, with no official explanation ever given.

It was to be another 50 years before an Aboriginal team would return to mainstream football competition in the Goulburn Valley. In the mid 1990’s Rumbalara acquired land in Shepparton’s north and began a short-term plan to build an oval, clubrooms and facilities, even though at this stage, they were not accepted into any league. Soon after, the Goulburn Murray League underwent a major shake-up and as a result the Rumbalara Football and Netball Club (RFNC) was invited to join the Goulburn Valley second division, with the club officially launched on 21 March 1997.

The Club is the only Aboriginal football and netball club in Victoria and one of only a few in Australia.  The club has 4 Football Teams and 8 Netball Teams.  All teams have been successful, winning multiple premierships, with the senior football team appearing in 7 grand finals over the last 10 years and winning 3 premierships. It currently competes in the prestigious Murray Valley league .