Harrow Balmoral Football Netball Club
| Harrow Balmoral | ||
|---|---|---|
| Names | ||
| Nickname | Southern Roos | |
| Club details | ||
| Founded | 1996 | |
| Colours | Blue White | |
| Competition | Horsham District Football League | |
| Premierships | Football Seniors (8):1999, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2018, 2019, 2023, 2024, 2025 Reserves (2): 2014, 2019 U/17s (2): 2008, 2019 U/16s (1): 2003 U/14s (1):2015 U/13s (1): 2006 Netball A Grade (5): 1997, 1999, 2013, 2014, 2016 B Grade (2): 1999, 2016 C Grade (5): 2006, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 C Reserve (1): 2014 U/17s (6): 1999, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2018 U15s (0) U13s (4): 2004, 2005, 2006, 2016 | |
| Ground | Harrow Recreation Reserve Balmoral Recreation Reserve | |
| Uniforms | ||
| ||
The Harrow Balmoral Football Netball Club is a sports club based in the towns of Harrow and Balmoral in Western Victoria, Australia. The club has netball and Australian Rules Football teams competing in the Horsham District Football League.[1]
The club was formed following a merger of Balmoral Football Club and Douglas-Harrow-Miga Lake Football Club in November 1996. A coin toss by new president Tom Houlihan determined the name to be Harrow Balmoral and not Balmoral Harrow.[2]
The theme song is "We are Blue, We are White", sung to the tune of "Along the Road to Gundagai".
Harrow-Balmoral won its first football seniors premiership in 1999, defeating Kalkee Football Club by 1 point.[3] The A Grade Netball won their first premiership in the club's first year, 1997. They won again in 1999, also beating Kalkee with the exact same score as the football (46 to 45). The senior footballers have won seven further premierships in the Horsham District league, including most recently in 2024.
Harrow Balmoral maintain a rivalry with neighbouring club Edenhope Apsley. They play for the West Wimmera Shield every year, of which the winner is the club with the most wins when the two sides meet.[4]
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) released the investigative podcast series Hometown Boys as part of its Background Briefing program, examining the case of two men from Balmoral who were convicted and sentenced on rape charges.[5][6] Episode six of the series included discussion of local community institutions, including the Harrow Balmoral Football Netball Club, in the context of the program's reporting on the case.[6]
The ABC revealed that the two convicted rapists are still members of the club and play in matches. Despite the convictions, the club has refused to comment or make a public statement about the incident and their subsequent support of the rapists. [7]
Teams and Grades
| Grade | Coach | Captain | Premierships |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seniors Football | Jai Thompson | 1999, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2018, 2019, 2023, 2024 | |
| Reserves Football | Quentin Willmott | Alex Hodgson | 2014, 2019 |
| Under 17s Football | 2008, 2019 | ||
| Under 14s Football | Ed Ferguson | 2015 | |
| A Grade Netball | 1997, 1999, 2013, 2014, 2016 | ||
| B Grade Netball | 1999, 2016 | ||
| C Grade Netball | 2006, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 | ||
| C Reserve Netball | 2014 | ||
| Under 17s Netball | 1999, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2018 | ||
| Under 15s Netball | |||
| Under 13s Netball | 2004, 2005, 2006, 2016 |
References
- ^ "Harrow Balmoral Football Netball Club | PlayHQ". www.playhq.com. Retrieved 2023-08-13.
- ^ Crabtree, Richard (2019-02-11). "The Harrow-Balmoral amalgamation split straight down the line | Merging Histories". The Wimmera Mail-Times. Retrieved 2023-08-13.
- ^ Crabtree, Richard (2019-04-30). "The smallest of margins: Harrow-Balmoral's 1999 premierships". The Wimmera Mail-Times. Retrieved 2023-08-13.
- ^ Macchia, Elijah (2017-06-11). "Guthrie shines on return". The Wimmera Mail-Times. Retrieved 2023-08-13.
- ^ "Two men jailed for rape at Balmoral property". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 10 April 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
- ^ a b "Welcome to Balmoral" (Podcast). Background Briefing. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
- ^ "The town that turned its back on a rape victim". ABC. 2026-02-21. Retrieved 2026-02-21.