Historical information

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.

Significance

The photograph is significant for its insights into the history of sports and recreation in the Emerald region in the 1990s. It depicts and names individual players for the Emerald Football Club (the 'Bombers') during this time period. Australian Rules Football has a long history in the region and played a fundamental role in community life.

Physical description

Colour rectangular photograph printed on photographic paper with two adhesive paper labels. The photograph depicts twenty-four men standing or sitting in two rows facing the camera. Most of the men appear to be aged in their early twenties, but there is one older man standing at the far right of the group. Six of the men are wearing casual clothing, but the remainder are wearing black and red sports club jerseys and knee socks. Adhesive labels have been attached to the top and bottom of the photograph. The label at the top states that the photograph is the 'Emerald Football Club 1991 Reserve Eighteen' and the label at the bottom gives the names of the people depicted.

Inscriptions & markings

Obverse:
EMERALD FOOTBALL CLUB. /
1991 RESERVE EIGHTEEN. /
BACK ROW. LEFT TO RIGHT: IVAN BATE, CRAIG BLYTHE, GARY SANTINI, PAUL DAVIES. /
RUSSELL MORRISON, GEOFF LADNER, RORY CAHILL, PETER LEIGHTON, CORY DONALDSON. /
COACH BOB RICHARDS, ROD SMITH, GREG KENDALL, RUNNER BYRON PORTER. /
WAYNE KAAYANNIS, TRAINER NORM BANKS, /
SEATED: PETER RUSH, STEVEN HARTNELL, DAVID ARCHER, WAYNE WRIGHT, MARK ANZIN, /
ADAM BARRETT, CRAIG BRYANT, RUSSELL WILTSHIRE, ANDREW MEGARRELL. /