As a club, if you stick around long enough, you will rack up plenty of games. Game after game, year after year, history builds and milestones are achieved.
The problem is that locally, the milestone often passes by unnoticed.
On Saturday, 9 July, the local Brisbane football community has the opportunity to recognise and celebrate a significant achievement for a fraternal club as it happens:
Yeronga South Brisbane will play their 1000th Senior game in the modern era. And of equal significance – their opponent for the day is Coorparoo.
After an absence from the Senior leagues of several years, the Devils reformed as a Senior team in 1967. As was common of the time, as junior players became eligible for open-grade competition, they wanted to continue as a team for their own club under their own identity. We may take that for granted these days, but it wasn’t always the case that you would automatically graduate from Juniors to Seniors within the one club. Given that motivation, it is somewhat ironic that the Devils’ first senior game back was under the name “Coorparoo 2” in the QAFL Reserves B Grade.
Over the ensuing 50 years, Yeronga South Brisbane has competed in the Metropolitan, SQAFA, BAFL, and AFLSQ leagues, essentially all the same competition. There have been highs and lows, successes and failures – but overall, the Club has been resolute and enduring. With a win over Robina last Saturday, the current tally stands at:
| Play: | 999 |
| Win: | 585 |
| Draw: | 6 |
| Loss: | 408 |
Add in a further 800+ Senior games prior to 1960, and 1,200+ Reserve grade games since 1971, and it proves to be substantial record.
The Devils’ opponent for the 1000th game is Coorparoo. The journey for the two clubs has been very different – yet their paths have crossed often. Most notably, Coorparoo and Yeronga merged for the 1953 and 1954 seasons. When the merger disbanded, many of the Yeronga senior players stayed on with the Roos, some enjoying the 1960 premiership. The Coorparoo club of today is a highly respected rival in QFA South – the clashes often produce intriguing contests and memorable results. And this game has the potential to have a major impact on the Division’s Minor Premiership.
The Yeronga South Brisbane Club would like to invite everyone to this game. Whether you’re a Devil, a Roo, a King, or simply just interested in seeing the milestone game, come along to Cansdale Street, Yeronga on Saturday, 9 July to see a major moment in local football history.
