Emerald Football Club was formed in 1905, one of the first teams in the Mountain District Football Association (renamed the Yarra Valley Mountain District Football League in 1967). The club has changed its official colours three times, playing firstly under blue and white colours, then green and gold before adopting the red and black colours shown in the photograph and still used today. The club has also been known variously as the 'Emites', the 'Redlegs' and the current 'Bombers.' A joint Australian Football League (AFL) and La Trobe University Centre for Sport and Social Impact study discusses the importance of local football teams for fostering community cohesion and relationships and distributing information and health and social issues to local people. Local football and other sporting teams are integral to the economic and social development of an area and are therefore significant far beyond the immediate players or families associated with the club.The photograph is significant for its insights into the history of sports and recreation in the Emerald region in the 1980s. It depicts a key moment between the Emerald Football Club (the 'Bombers') and Powelltown Football Club. Australian Rules Football has a long history in the region and played a fundamental role in community life.Black and white rectangular photograph printed on photographic paper. 1983 Grand Final, in which the Emerald Football Club defeated Powelltown. The photograph depicts six men playing Australian Rules Football at a suburban football oval with approximately fifteen male spectators (including two policemen) visible in the background. Hoardings with advertisements for local businesses line the field, with the carpark visible behind the spectators. Notations on the reverse of the photograph indicate that the match shown is the 1983 Grand Final, in which the Emerald Football Club defeated Powelltown. A player on the front left of the image is named as Peter Rush.Obverse: GENERA, PLANT & TO / FOR THE BUILDER & HO / 64. 6245 % 64. 7130 7.4 / COMPLETE FU SERVICE. RINGWOOD / 8 / ONCASTER T / B Hours (03) 848.4132 % Owen / Reverse: Peter Rush - No. 18 front left / 1983 / Emerald Football Club / playing Powelltown / Grand Final - Emerald won / VEMUP 415 /emerald football club, powelltown football club, australian rules football, premiership, 1980s, 1983, bombers, redlegs, sports