PJFC History

It should come as no surprise that the fingerprints of Prahran Football Club’s most iconic figure, Kevin Sheedy, are found in the early days of the Prahran Junior Football Club.

The history of junior football at Prahran has been stop-start, but the official beginning came in 1975, long after Sheedy had left the club and gone on to forge an illustrious playing career at Richmond before coaching Essendon for 27 years and later Greater Western Sydney.

Although Prahran had fielded senior teams since 1886, junior football in those days was the domain of neighbouring suburbs such as Toorak, Armadale and Hawksburn. Even when the VFA introduced Under 19s in 1951, Prahran still had no junior feeder club.

The birth of Prahran Juniors came through a small group of committed parents, including 1950s club legend Ray Harvey. Until then, the only competition for local boys was social games played at Romanis Oval in 1973 and 1974. That proved to be the catalyst for forming the junior arm of the club.

Inaugural president and senior club committeeman John Marsden recalled taking his son Andrew for a kick at Romanis Oval one day. “Andrew said, ‘Can I play for Prahran?’ At that stage, Prahran had nothing for kids.”

Marsden began speaking with fellow parents and, by 1975, had formed the first junior committee with Brian Crewes, Brian Moroney, Ken Hatt, John Hartnett, John Yock and Ray Harvey.

The Junior Club started with Under 13s, Under 15s and an Under 17s or Colts team in the first year of a new VFA competition, playing mainly on Saturday or Sunday mornings at Toorak Park. The club’s first creed was that players would not pay subs and that the only cost would be bringing their own boots. Fundraising was done the old-fashioned way, through raffles, donated jumpers and bingo nights at the College Lawn Hotel.

In 1977, two years after Prahran Juniors began, Kevin Sheedy became actively involved. At the time, Sheedy was development coach at Richmond and took a keen interest in junior football. With Pam Crewes as secretary, he helped form the Spartan League Under 15 competition, with Prahran, Abbotsford, AJAX, Richmond and Port Melbourne as foundation clubs.

Sheedy also helped with fundraising, supplying quadrella tickets each weekend that became an important source of income for the club.

By the early 1980s, the Juniors had become profitable and were able to pass some funds on to the senior club. Player numbers grew and Prahran eventually fielded six teams. The first Prahran junior to go on to play VFL/AFL was Graeme Yeats, who won the 1982 Under 17s best and fairest before playing 182 games for Melbourne.

John Marsden was made a life member in 1979 for his contribution to the club. Brian Crewes later took over as president, with Annette Coote as secretary. Coote went on to become Juniors president and later made VFA history as the first female senior club president from 1991 to 1993.

Despite early growth, junior numbers declined and the junior arm of the club ceased by 1989, although the club continued to field Under 19s into the early 1990s.

After the senior club itself went into recess at the end of the 1994 season, 1999 proved pivotal in the evolution of the Juniors. With creditors settled, Prahran’s colours returned to the field in a joint venture with Southbank Amateur Football Club. Two junior teams were ready to play, and senior club president Tim Habel became president of the Juniors. Senior players Andre Pitts and Shaun Campbell took coaching roles, with Pitts coaching the Under 10s and Campbell the Under 12s.

That same year, the club launched the Prahran Football Club Community Sports Program. Driven by a strong belief in junior sport and community engagement, the program connected the club with neighbouring primary schools, the Horace Petty Housing Estate and Currajong Special Needs School. It played an important role in rebuilding awareness of the club and supporting the growth of the re-emerging junior section.

From humble beginnings, the reformed Junior Club gradually expanded. One of the club’s great stalwarts was Andy Miller, who began as a team manager in 1999, coached for eight years and later served as president. His favourite description of the club’s growth was: “It began as an acorn, now it’s grown into a tree with many branches.”

Angus Forrest became the first president to serve two terms after the club reformed, before handing over to Chris Garnaut. Under Garnaut, the club established its mantra: Passionate Community Participation. His presidency helped grow the club’s reputation and attract families from neighbouring areas and rival clubs.

Garnaut was succeeded by Liz Jenkins in 2006–07, making her the second female president after Annette Coote.

The modern juniors wear a redesigned Prahran jumper that is also worn by the senior club. When Prahran merged with Southbank in 1999 to form the Prahran Amateur Football Club, the VAFA banned the club from wearing its traditional royal blue with sky blue shorts. Committee member and 1978 premiership coach Mick Erwin, who owned sportswear company Kea, had his designers create the modern Two Blues strip that remains in use today.

Under five-year president Jamie Gray, player numbers grew from about 220 in 2010 to more than 400 in 2014. The club’s financial position also strengthened significantly, helping secure the future of the Juniors and contributing to future capital works for the club.

In 2014, the Juniors fielded 18 teams, including, for the first time, a girls’ team. The newly formed Under 13 Girls team won the premiership under coach Steve Zayler, who was also general manager of the senior club.

In 2025, we welcomed new president Jo Harris, returned to our home at Toorak Park after a world-class refurbishment, and celebrated our largest number of new registrations to date. We look forward to seeing where the future of Prahran Junior Football Club will lead.