BFNL Induct & Elevate at 2025 Hall of Fame Ceremony
View the full photo gallery from the 2025 Hall of Fame Ceremony HERE.
On Saturday 22 November, the Bendigo Football Netball League welcomed 10 new Hall of Fame Members to the Club while also elevating two existing Hall of Fame Members to LEGENDS of the BFNL, an honour that current BFNL Legend, Tony "Bluey" Southcombe said is reserved for individuals whose impact goes beyond premierships and accolades.
Our first Inductee was Maryborough superstar, Matthew Aston who said he felt surprised and humbled by the award.
An MFNC Life Member, Matthew is a three-time winner of the Maryborough Senior Best & Fairest award and was named on the wing in the Club’s team of the century.
An incredibly skilful and highly respected player, Matthew also played 12 Interleague matches for the BFNL and claimed the 2002 Michelsen Medal.
Richard Jones is a name that is all too familiar with those regular Bendigo Advertiser readers having covered the BFNL for almost 50 years across print, tv and radio.
"I've really enjoyed being involved in the Bendigo league for all these years. In my opinion it's the greatest league in regional Victoria and has proven that time and again," Jones said.
Even after retiring, Richard continues to cover one game every week for the Addy and writes weekly history columns for the BFNL Record.
In 2010, the BFNL inducted, BUA legend Ron Threlfall as a Hall of Fame Member. In 2025, Ron is joined by his brother Rod Threlfall who packed an enormous amount into an umpiring career between 1981 and 1993 that included four senior BFNL grand finals and four times being named the Umpire of the Year among a lengthy list of achievements with the whistle.
When speaking on joining his brother in the Hall of Fame, Rod said "To get to umpire with my brother Ron was a privledge and it's now a great honour to be inducted into the Hall of Fame alongside both him and Geoff Millar."
Netball in Bendigo wouldn't be what it is today without the efforts of Rose Gallagher.
A speedy midcourter, Rose had an extremely fruitful six seasons at Sandhurst, claiming two Club Best & Fairest medals (1995 & 1997) and two League Best & Fairest Awards (1995 – Fulton medal and 1997 – Betty Thompson Medal).
Rose also represented the BFNL on five separate seasons from 1995-1999 and won two A-Grade Netball Premierships in 1995 & 1996.
Post playing career, Rose has been a pillar within the Sandhurst FNC community.
After passing away in 2020, South Bendigo Legend, Gary Cowling's Hall of Fame recognition was accepted by his four children who spoke glowingly of Gary as an athlete but more importantly, as a father.
Gary's daughter, Lauren Bowles said "We're really proud; over the past couple of weeks and even after the Michelsen Medal a few years ago we've heard so many wonderful stories about dad and the footballer he was.
Cowling played 115 games for South Bendigo, winning three best and fairest awards, including as a teenager in 1976.
Steve McDougall is one of the most acclaimed footballers in Eaglehawk FNC and BFNL history, playing 145 games and kicking 123 goals while claiming two Club Best & Fairest awards in 1989 & 1990.
But it's Steve’s representative career distinguishes him from others with no less than 18 BFNL Interleague games under his belt including the 1989 Interleague Division One Championship game.
Speaking on the night, Steve said, "Football gave me some of the best times of my life; not just the wins, but the camaraderie and opportunity to experience the joy of kicking the football, which is something I loved doing from the time I could hold a football."
Given the high regard that the duo were held in by all, it was only fitting that Danny & Kylie Ellis were inducted together.
Danny was the lifeblood of the Sandhurst Dragons for 40 years as a player and dedicated administrator. While Kylie has been a tremendous netball advocate for the league having served as a BFNL netball executive member from 2004-2011, spent years as the publicity officer and you will still hear her voice on league medal night calling the votes.
"I was just a girl from Bundoora who met a fella at a Sandhurst function back in 1989 and from then it was a beautiful friendship you could call it," Kylie said.
"It was really quite clear that Danny and I were very much a team with everything we did, but a lot of that is thanks to people who helped us."
A chant of Rolls Royce was echoed around the All Season when Luke Saunders concluded his acceptance speech.
Known for his toughness, Luke is one of the most respected the BFNL has seen in a career for the Gisborne that yielded four premierships in 2002, 2003, 2006 and 2007 - the last two as captain - plus the 2005 Michelsen Medal.
Luke was incredibly emotional throughout his acceptance speech showing how much Gisborne as a club and the BFNL means to him.
"To be recognised by the BFNL on the same night as these special people is very humbling and a little embarrassing when I consider the quality of people I played with and against," said Luke.
A Sandhurst FNC Life Member and Hall of Fame Member, Chris Greene played 203 Senior matches for the Dragons and was a member of the 1991 Premiership winning team.
Chris is a legend of BFNL representative football having represented the League on three occasions in 1988 and 1990 while also being a key part of the 1989 Interleague Division One Championship winning team.
"Inter-league is something that has always been really special to me and not only did we win in 1989, but we were also runners-up in both 1988 and 1990, so we played in three grand finals in a row... we actually had a cavalcade down the mall after winning in 1989."
A Legend of the BFNL should be a person that is at the very pinnacle of those who immediately come to mind as having made a significant contribution to the Bendigo football and netball community.
Golden Square's Peter Moroni epitomizes this motto as the Senior games record holder at Wade Street.
Peter was inducted into the BFNL Hall of Fame in 1986 following a decorated representative career that totalled 17 Interleague matches including being named Vice-Captain of the 1972 Division One Championship winning team. Peter also notched a remarkable four top 5 finishes in the Michelsen medal.
A pacy wingman with elite fitness, Peter is the all-time games record holder for Golden Square with a grand total of 456 matches for the Bulldogs including 368 Senior Games.
Peter would play a total of 11 BFNL Grand Finals only missed playing Finals ONCE in his 26 seasons of Senior football.
As acknowledgment of Peter’s impact on Golden Square, the Peter Moroni Wing was established at Wade Street prior to Peter’s passing.
Brendan Hartney is a name that is synonymous with country Victorian football.
A dual Michelsen Medallist (1987 & 1989), Brendan was an outstanding BFNL interleague player, donning the Blue & Gold over 20 times in an excellent representative career. In one of the Leagues proudest moments, Brendan was the BFNL’s Captain in 1989 when the League scored a famous victory in the Division One Country Championships against the Geelong FL.
"Inter-league was also a big part of my footy and I really enjoyed that. My dad took me to inter-league games when I was young and I thought that was the pinnacle of footy."
"We had 12 blokes play three years in a row (1988-90) and it was just an honour to play. Neville picked players who wanted to play for Bendigo, he gave everyone an opportunity and the results are there."
"In 1989 we travelled over to Goulburn Valley and won, we beat the Ovens and Murray at Lavington and then had Geelong in the grand final on the QEO and beat them pretty easily by 41 points and that was a real pinnacle."
In 1976, a family tradition saw Brendan make his Sandhurst FNC Senior debut at age 17. This match would be the first of a stellar 227-game career for their Dragons that netted a Sandhurst club record seven Senior best & fairest awards including four in a row from 1986-1989.
Brendan claimed two Senior Premierships with the Dragons in 1977 and 1978 while also taking on coaching roles with the club in 1988 (Senior Captain-Coach) & 1992 (Under 18’s).
Brendan also tried his hand at VFL level, playing 32 senior games with Carlton between 1981 & 1985.
