Werribee Dingos

The Werribee Football Club, nicknamed "The Dingos", are an Australian rules football club that competed in the Furry Australian Football League (FAFL) from 1975 to 2016 before becoming the Geelong Generals at the end of the 2016 season.

History
The Werribee Football Club started off in 1899 as a small country football team that competed in the local football association. Their swift plays made them a dominant team leading up until the early 1920's as they had been promoted up to a bigger league, competing with teams such as Footscray, Yarraville and Geelong, who dominated the league up until the arrival of the Werribee Football Club.

Their challenging plays continued to dominate the Western Region Furry Football League as they won premierships in 1922, 1923 and 1936. In 1941 a severe storm battered their home ground a day before a match was due to be played, causing destruction around the ground and the collapse of the main grandstand. The club re-located to the nearby Laverton Park for the rest of 1941 until their ground had been re-built in 1942. The destruction of their ground didn't hamper their playing abilities however as they continued to dominate the league, winning another premiership in 1942 before WWII halted play of the following season.

After the war the football club had lost their dominant play as many of their key players left for war and never returned to the club to play, making the bottom of the ladder 6 times in 15 years. The acquisition of key players including the great John Alley led them to another surprise premiership in 1955, before the VFFA contacted the team asking to join the Victorian league, they accepted the offer and began to play for the league in 1956 on the same year Melbourne had hosted the Olympic Games.

Werribee had a rocky start to their VFFA season as they struggled to make the top 8 a number of years, clubs such as Melbourne City and Geelong West who had joined the VFFA a few years before Werribee dominated the league. The surprise passing of John Alley rocked the club as it also hampered their playing skills, going to the bottom of the ladder for a number of years and only winning 10 matches in the space of 4 years.

The poor performance of the Dingos almost had them booted from the league until the uprising of a young player in 1963 by the name of Darren Bolanchi led the club out to the top 8 for a number of years, however still struggling to make it past preliminary finals until 1970 when they once again made the grand final, only to lose to Frankston by 2 points thanks to an after-siren goal by one of their players. Motivation to seek redemption the following year drove the Dingo's to another premiership, beating Brunswick by 28 points in a thriller at Princess Park.

Led by Darren Bolanchi, Werribee continued to once again dominate the league for a number of years before joining the FAFL in 1975, and as a result their ground in Chirnside Park had a major re-development to accompany more grandstands and facilities, with the town's train station even being re-located for easy access to the ground further down the line towards Geelong.

Many other clubs' dominant play surprised the team as they struggled to keep up with their experted playing, however with more famous names such as Joseph Ermond, William Darley and the 218cm tall Earl Grosky aiding the team into a competetive side, they once again began to average the top 4's in the 80's, but failing to reach another grand final until 1991 where they once again lost in a nail-biter to Adelaide by 5 points due to a missed goal opportunity by William Darley. Their motivation to play better and stronger was rewarded in 1995 as they once again made the grand final to win by 48 points against the Orange Miners.

Today the club remains dominant in the league with prized player Phillip Wells and coach William Darley leading them to consecutive premierships in 2007, 2008 and 2010, and making a name for themselves as a widely known, dominant football team in the FAFL.

​Leaving the FAFL
After the 2016 Season, The club announced that it would be going dormant effective immediately. Club Captain, Konaro Comtachi would annouce his retirement from the FAFL on the same day. The FAFL would scramble to find a replacement team to take the spot of the now dormant Dingos.

The winning bid for the now vacent spot would end up becoming known as the Geelong Generals.

The remaining players left on the Werribee teamlist would be signed up by the new club to fill it's Inaugural Squad for the 2017 season.

Nobody knows when or if the Werribee Dingos will return to the FAFL but when or if that day comes, The Western Suburbs of Melbourne will be ready to jump back on board to support the Mighty Dingos.