Mount Pleasant Football Club

The Mount Pleasant Football Club is an Australian Rules Football club that competes in the HDFL.

Mount Pleasant Football Club
Names
Full nameMount Pleasant Football Netball Club
Nickname(s)Mighty Mounts
2019 season
After finalsPreliminary Final - defeated by North Bendigo by 90 points.
Home-and-away season4th
Leading goalkickerBen Weightman
Best and fairestBen Weightman
Club details
Founded1889; 135 years ago (1889)
Colours  Navy Blue   White
CompetitionHDFL
PremiershipsHDFL (senior premierships 19) 1962, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1971, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006 + Campaspe Valley League premierships 1923, 1925, 1926, 1927
Ground(s)Toolleen Recreation Reserve, Toolleen
Other information
Official websiteMPFNC

The club is based in Toolleen, Victoria and has participated in the HDFL since 1935.

The Mighty Mounts have appeared in 28 grand finals, winning nineteen, the most recent in 2006.

Location

Location of Mount Pleasant (Victoria)

History

Local players first played under the name of Mount Pleasant Football Club in 1889. Prior to this, players from around the Runnymede district, including Creek View, played under the name Runnymede and for many years they played in the paddocks of local farming families. It was not until 1952 that the club’s headquarters became the Toolleen Recreation Reserve.

The club’s name comes from the Mount Pleasant Creek, a eminently close to the original farming paddocks played on, and an old map indicates a Mount Pleasant existed at Creek View. MPFC was made up of families who settled in the Runnymede district, mainly from Ireland and England, families who still to this day have a large influence and presence in the club. In their time they have seen many clubs come and go including Runnymede, Avonmore, Muskerry, Fosterville, Goornong, Axedale, Knowsley, Toolleen, and Crosbie, in which MPFC has welcomed players and supporters from each and everyone one of them into their fold.

Success (1962 – 2006)

Mount Pleasant is the oldest and most successful team in the HDFNL and has been for a long time now, winning 19 premierships and crowned runners-up seven times. It has had a massive amount of success in the HDFNL and has always been a consistent team, winning flags back to back on more than one occasion and also being runners-up back to back on more than one occasion as well. However, their success has died down in the recent era, having not won a flag or been runner-up in over ten years which is the biggest drought of success in the club's history. The club has the biggest success story in the HDFL and has a lot of talent coming through the senior team, as well as having a lot of time to find their feet because a lot of teams won't be able to grasp their kind of success. Especially for a town as small as Toolleen.

The Future (2010 – present)

Since 2006 Mount Pleasant haven't played in a Grand Final, and have only featured in the finals three times. Despite this, they have a very talented senior team and are always a tough team to play home or away. They have got a lot of history behind them which not all teams have in the HDFNL.

Rivalries

Because of the relatively small sized league rivalries are few and far between in the Heathcote District Football League. Mount Pleasant's rivals are Heathcote, Colbinabbin, and Elmore. Two of the clubs come from within the same region, Shire of Campaspe.

Honours

HDFL

Premierships & Grand Finals

YearWinnerRunner-upScore
1962Mount PleasantHeathcote Rovers65 – 43
1966Mount PleasantHeathcote North74 – 62
1967Mount PleasantHeathcote94 – 71
1968Mount PleasantRushworth101 – 89
1971Mount PleasantHeathcote122 – 68
1979Mount PleasantColbinabbin112 – 107
1980Mount PleasantElmore115 – 84
1981Mount PleasantColbinabbin108 – 100
1983Mount PleasantStanhope62 – 44
1984Mount PleasantElmore149 - 81
1990Mount PleasantHeathcote108 – 84
1993Mount PleasantHeathcote100 – 80
1994Mount PleasantHeathcote91 – 83
1995Mount PleasantHeathcote82 – 77
1997Mount PleasantElmore86 – 78
2000Mount PleasantColbinabbin118 – 54
2001Mount PleasantBroadford68 – 44
2005Mount PleasantWhite Hills110 – 87
2006Mount PleasantElmore127 – 90

Books

  • History of Football in the Bendigo District – John Stoward – ISBN 978-0-9805929-1-7
  • Mt Pleasant Football & Netball Club History Book 1889 - 2000

References

[1]