The YVMDFL Veterans competition was started by Phil Martin, Steve Curry and Michael Gooden in 1995.
Cliff Argus, Michael Gooden, and Wayne Lamb were the catalyst of the beginning of the North Croydon Veterans Football Club.
The league started with 4 teams in 1995, then it grew to 6 teams and then 8 the following year.
Wayne Lamb was the first president and the first treasurer who carried the whole club’s finances in a bum bag for a few years.
In 1998 the senior club folded, and Wayne Lamb took over the presidency, secretary, and treasurer roles. Phillip Howell was the first Vice President. He was the muscle and Wayne Lamb was the brains.
At this point we became a standalone entity and have been until the merger with Mount Lilydale Old Collegians MLOC in 2019.
In 2000 we won our first premiership after making the grand final in 1998, where we were unsuccessful against South Belgrave.
In 2001 the veteran’s competition was split where the league decided to have 2 divsions baed on location which made it easier for sides to travel around. After a few years clubs decided to fold which meant that the league had to revert back to one division again. We played Chirnside Park in the 2003 grand final but were beaten.
In the early 2000’s North Croydon Veterans also financed the Varra Valley Cougars women’s Football Club and they played in the Eastern Women’s Football League and ran for about 3 years.
During the 2000 premiership season, Hughes Park was in such a poor condition that the council would close the ground for training and the players would jog to Chirnside Park car park, train, and then jog back to the clubrooms.
The clubrooms were rebuilt around 2005. With the old clubrooms and change rooms doubled up as the function room by lifting the centre wall. In some cases, there were players still getting changed when this would happen. The costs of the new clubrooms build were funded by money saved up by the vets, the junior club, the cricket club, a council grant, and donations from members.
Veterans Premierships were won in 2000, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012.
We were listed on a Victorian AFL website as the most successful football club for consecutive appearances in a grand final regardless of the results. We won six premierships and lost 6 other grand finals and participated in numerous semi-finals.
Since merging with Mount Lilydale Old Collegians in 2019, it was quickly realised we needed to boost our younger playing group, and the Vets have benefited from these players coming into the club after the merge.
The club is looking forward to a successful 2022 after a couple of COVID-19 affected years.