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Who is the best dynasty team over the past 25 years of country footy?

Since 2000, country footy has been filled with dominant teams who have been the envy of their local competitions. Vote for who you think is best.

Who are the best dynasties in country footy over the past 25 years.
Who are the best dynasties in country footy over the past 25 years.

They’re the giants of country footy, the clubs who have dominated for extended period and been the envy of their local competitions.

Now we’ve gone through the record books to break down the top-25 dynasties since 2000.

See them ranked below and have your say.

1. Horsham (Wimmera)

The Horsham Demons celebrate their 10th straight premiership win.
The Horsham Demons celebrate their 10th straight premiership win.

Stat line: Won 10 premierships in a row and 11 from 12 from 2003 to 2014. The most dominant team in country footy over the past 25 years. No one else has won 10 premierships in a row and it’s a record unmatched in Australian sport during this time. Led by Stuart Farr, who played in nine and coached seven, the Demons were near unbeatable. In three of the premierships, 2006, 2009 and 2011, Horsham were undefeated. In 2007, 2010 and 2012, they lost just once. From 2005 to 2012, Horsham did not lose a finals game. The club The team had five league best-and-fairests during the run and David Johns kicked 156 goals in a season in 2006, which is still a record. Sydney star Jake Lloyd played in four flags before making the AFL.

2. Kyabram (Goulburn Valley)

Kyabram won the 2019 Goulburn Valley League premiership, it’s third in four years. Picture: Bailey Opie.
Kyabram won the 2019 Goulburn Valley League premiership, it’s third in four years. Picture: Bailey Opie.

Stat line: Won two premierships in a row and three in four years from 2016 to 2019, winning 83 of 84 games. Holds, what is believed to be, the longest streak in Victorian football, winning 62 matches in a row over three seasons. In four seasons the team lost one match, the 2018 grand final, and went unbeaten in three other seasons in premiership success. A simple attitude of being level headed was the key to the success according to coach Paul Newman. Former Tiger Kayne Pettifer was one of the leading players during the era, kicking more than 260 goals from 2016 to 2018.

3. Koroit (Hampden) 

Koroit won the 2019 Hampden Football League premiership, which was its sixth in a row before Covid. Picture: AFL Western District
Koroit won the 2019 Hampden Football League premiership, which was its sixth in a row before Covid. Picture: AFL Western District

Stat line: Won seven in a row from 2014 to 2022. The Saints won from 2014 to 2019 but Covid cancelling the 2020 and 2021 seasons forced them to wait until 2022. South Warrnambool ended the run in 2023. Led by coach Adam Dowie for the first three the record continued under club legend Chris McLaren until the run ended. In three of the grand finals Koroit had to overcome a loss during the finals series.

4. Albury - Ovens and Murray

Albury won its third straight Ovens and Murray premiership 2016. It was a decade of dominance. Picture: Cartwright Productions
Albury won its third straight Ovens and Murray premiership 2016. It was a decade of dominance. Picture: Cartwright Productions

Stat line: Won three straight premierships from 2009 to 2011 before doing it again between 2014 and 2016 before adding another flag in 2018. In 10 years from 2009 to 2018 the Tigers won seven. Only Brendan Fevola and Yarrawonga stopped Albury from winning in 2012 and 2013. In one period, the Tigers won 56 out of 59 games. The team was also littered with AFL players including Setanta O’Hailpin, Daniel Cross, Dean Polo, Will Setterfield, Zach Sproule, Max Lynch and Charlie Spargo.

5. Golden Square (Bendigo)

Golden Square won the 2013 Bendigo League premierships, it’s fifth in a row. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin.
Golden Square won the 2013 Bendigo League premierships, it’s fifth in a row. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin.

Stat line: Won five premierships in a row from 2009 to 2013. In the 145-year history of the Bendigo league only three teams have won five or more premierships in a row. The Bulldogs are the only team this millenium to do it. The Bulldogs won 89 of 101 games during the era and used 45 players with a mix of experience and youth. Ex-AFL player Rick Ladson was part of one triumph with Jack Geary, who made his debut as an 18-year-old in 2009, playing a part in all five, winning two best on grounds in the grand final wins.

6. South Barwon (Geelong)

South Barwon celebrates a premiership win in 2013.
South Barwon celebrates a premiership win in 2013.

Stat line - Won seven premierships between 2005 and 2013, including three in a row from 2005 to 2007. Led by president Richard Holz, the Swans went from almost folding in the 1990s to a resurgence as the dominant team of the 2000s. In fact, the Holz era has been the only time South Barwon has won premierships. From 2005 to 2007, the team won three premierships in a row, led by coach Dale Amos, before winning another four from 2009 to 2013. The last era saw Tom Stewart start his career before he became a Geelong star. Holz, reflecting on the time, said the success came down to one thing, ‘working their arses off’.

7. Maffra (Gippsland)

Maffra celebrate its premiership win in 2009.
Maffra celebrate its premiership win in 2009.

Stat line: Won seven premierships from 2002 to 2010. This included a three-peat from 2002 to 2004, which included a 45-game winning streak. Led by Wayne Butcher the club ended a 54-year drought in 2002. Premierships would follow in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010. His son John, who was drafted to Port, would join him in 2009. Butcher’s philosophy was based around using the club’s junior production line.

8. Echuca (Goulburn Valley)

Echuca celebrates winning the 2023 premiership. Picture: Shane Jones.
Echuca celebrates winning the 2023 premiership. Picture: Shane Jones.

Stat line: The Murray Bombers won three premierships from 2022 to 2024. Is currently unbeaten in 18 matches and have won 59 of 63 in three years. The best dynasty currently in country footy. Led by Simon Maddox and ex-AFL player Andrew Walker, the club has set a new standard in the Goulburn Valley league. The addition of ex-AFL players Sam and Ben Reid have also helped. The Murray Bombers have won 61 out of its past 65 matches since 2022.

9. Leongatha (Gippsland)

Leongatha Parrots won the premiership in the Gippsland League in 2023. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin
Leongatha Parrots won the premiership in the Gippsland League in 2023. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

Stat line - Won four premierships from five years from 2017 to 2023 and played in last year’s grand final. After winning back-to-back premierships in 2017 and 2018 they lost to Maffra in the grand final before Covid ruined the 2020 and 2021 competition. Leongatha then bounced back, winning 2022 and the 2023 premierships, before losing to Traralgon last year. But six grand finals in a row and four premierships is still an incredible achievement.

10. Gisborne (Bendigo)

Gisborne were the dominant team in Bendigo in the early 2000s. Picture: Mark Frecker
Gisborne were the dominant team in Bendigo in the early 2000s. Picture: Mark Frecker

Stat line - Won four premierships in five years in the Bendigo league from 2002 to 2006. Before he took Keilor to premiership success in the Essendon District league in recent years, Mick McGuane was taking Gisborne to the promise land. The former Collingwood and Carlton player guided the Bulldogs to premiership glory in 2002 and 2003 after the side moved to the Bendigo league from the Riddell District league in 2000. In 2002 and 2003 the team lost one game in each season on its way to the premiership. The same happened in 2005 before Gisborne added a fourth flag in 2006.

11. Redan (Ballarat)

Redan won its last premiership in 2011 in the Ballarat league.
Redan won its last premiership in 2011 in the Ballarat league.

Stat line - Won four premierships in six years from 2006 to 2011. The Lions stunned premiership favourite and minor premier East Point in 2006 to win the first before adding a second in 2007. The Lions then continued the run in 2009 and 2011. Hawthorn and Geelong premiership player and Norm Smith Medallist Isaac Smith played in the 2009 flag. The first two premierships were coached by club legend Kieran Murrihy. Club legend Jarrod Edwards also created history becoming the first and only player to win four Henderson Medals.

12. Bairnsdale (East Gippsland)

Bairnsdale won the 2010 premierships in East Gippsland before moving competitions.
Bairnsdale won the 2010 premierships in East Gippsland before moving competitions.

Stat line - Won eight premierships in 11 years from 2000 to 2010 and included an unbeaten season in 2000. A team so good it had to move competitions after their era. Bairnsdale in the 1990s moved from the Gippsland league to East Gippsland due to the competition and the distance it had to travel. It then proceeded to dominate the competition. It started with an unbeaten season in 2000 before adding another two in 2001 and 2002. More premierships followed before a return to the Gippsland league in 2011. The team was led by David Preston, a former AFL listed player, who won the goalkicking award from 2000 to 2003. He also won the title in 2005.

13. Kerang (Central Murray)

The Blues, in 2017, won a sixth straight premiership in the Central Murray league. Picture: Kerang Football Club
The Blues, in 2017, won a sixth straight premiership in the Central Murray league. Picture: Kerang Football Club

Stat line: Won six premierships in a row from 2012 to 2017, along with a 2010 premiership, Led by Troy Coates. The 2012 win was an unbeaten season. In 2011 the team also made the grand final. A team-first mentality with a sprinkling of ex-AFL players helped the Blues become a powerhouse. Lance Picioane, Luke Livingstone and Troy Davis all played for the club.

14. Bridgewater (Loddon Valley)

Bridgewater with the 2015 premiership cup. It was at the time its sixth premiership in a row. Picture Yuri Kouzmin
Bridgewater with the 2015 premiership cup. It was at the time its sixth premiership in a row. Picture Yuri Kouzmin

Stat line: Dominated the Loddon Valley league to win seven premierships in a row from 2010 to 2016. Anything you can do, we can do better, Bridgewater must have said when it won its seventh straight premiership. In the 200os Calivil won six premierships in a row. The team were unstoppable from 2010 to 2016 winning seven straight. The last three were led by ex-AFL players Andrew Collins and Rick Ladson who complimented the playing squad. From 2014 to 2016 the team lost one game, winning 53 of 54 matches.

15. Nathalia (Murray)

Joe Nihill, Jason Limbrick, Tom Nihill, Ned Hihill, Brodie Ross and Harley Cobbledick celebrate the teams 2018 premiership. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin
Joe Nihill, Jason Limbrick, Tom Nihill, Ned Hihill, Brodie Ross and Harley Cobbledick celebrate the teams 2018 premiership. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

Stat line - Won five premierships in a row from 2015 to 2019 only a few years after winning four in a row from 2005 to 2008. The most successful team in the Murray league had two dynasty eras. The first from 2005 to 2008 was then beaten by its last one from 2015 to 2019 when the Purps won five in a row. During the first three years the team didn’t finish on top but made it count in the finals. The last two saw the team finish top and lose just two games.

16. Ocean Grove (Bellarine)

Ocean Grove won four straight premierships in the early 2000s. The team are all smiles after winning the 2001 grand final.
Ocean Grove won four straight premierships in the early 2000s. The team are all smiles after winning the 2001 grand final.

Stat line: Won four premierships in a row from 2000 to 2003. Former Melbourne coach Mark Neeld played an instrumental role in the second four-peat for the club in the space of a decade. Ocean Grove are the only team on this list to win two premierships by beating an unbeaten side in the grand final. The Grubbers defeated the previously unbeaten Drysdale in 2002 before doing it again in 2003 against Geelong Amateur. It was an astonishing four years for the club who have not won a premierships since that day.

17. Bell Post Hill (Geelong and District)

Bell Post Hill celebrates its first ever premiership win in 2010.
Bell Post Hill celebrates its first ever premiership win in 2010.

Stat line - Won seven premierships in eight years from 2010 to 2017 after losing the 2008 and 2009 deciders. Bell Post Hill has only won seven premierships in its history with all of them coming between 2010 and 2017. The side won from 2010 to 2012 before adding another four from 2014 to 2017. The only blemish came in 2013 when the team lost to North Geelong by 20 points in the grand final. In the six years ex-AFL player Brent Grgic coached he had a 114-12 record and this included a more than 100-point win in the first grand final win.

18. Strathfieldsaye (Bendigo)

The Storm created a dynasty not long after it was formed. Picture Yuri Kouzmin
The Storm created a dynasty not long after it was formed. Picture Yuri Kouzmin

Stat line: Won three premierships in four years from 2014 to 2017. Not many teams stopped this forward line when it was firing. Ex-AFL small forward Stephen Milne with leading country forward Lachlan Sharp helped Strathfieldsaye to three premierships in four years from 2014 to 2017, not long after the club formed. After playing senior footy for the first time in 2009 it didn’t take long for the club to have success, making its first finals series in 2012. A year later the Storm made the grand final before winning the premiership in 2014. The Storm then added another two from 2015 to 2017. Milne kicked more than 100 goals in the 2014 premiership win before Sharp, in 2017, kicked more than 130 goals and won the league best-and-fairest.

18. Calivil United (Loddon Valley)

Calivil United won six premierships in a row.
Calivil United won six premierships in a row.

Stat line: Won six straight premierships from 2003 to 2008. The first team to win five or more premierships in a row in the Loddon Valley league and it held the record, at six, before Bridgewater took over. After merging in 1996 from Calivil and Northern United (Bendigo) the team won the premiership in 1998. From 2003 to 2008 it won six premierships in a row. In 2004 and 2005 the team was undefeated, winning by an average margin of 65 points in 2004 and 75 points in 2005. The team had a winning streak of 44 matches at one stage.

20. Wedderburn (North Central)

Wedderburn still holds the record for the most North Central premierships in a row. Picture: Allan Fawcett
Wedderburn still holds the record for the most North Central premierships in a row. Picture: Allan Fawcett

Stat line: Won four straight premierships from 2011 to 2014. Holds the record for the most premiership wins in a row in the North Central league. The Redbacks won four premierships in a row from 2011 to 2014 by a combined margin of 23 points. Two were by one point including its 2014 triumph which was after extra time against Charlton.

21. Kalkee (Horsham District)

Kalkee players celebrate their fifth consecutive Horsham and District league flag.
Kalkee players celebrate their fifth consecutive Horsham and District league flag.

Stat line - Won five straight premierships from 2008 to 2012.

The smallest town on the list, by a long way. With a population of no more than 60 the football team went on to win five straight premierships from 2008 to 2012. Not only does Kalkee hold the record for the most premierships won in a row in the Horsham District league, it also has the most, with 15. The period of dominance was led by Steve Schultz who won three league best-and-fairests from 2008 to 2010. When he left at the end of 2010 the club would add two more flags. At one stage, they won 45 games in a row. The 2012 premiership was the last for the club, losing grand finals in 2015, 2018 and 2022.

22. Deniliquin - Murray

Deniliquin Rams won four premierships in a row from 2001 to 2004.
Deniliquin Rams won four premierships in a row from 2001 to 2004.

Stat line: Won four straight premierships from 2001 to 2004 and made the 1999 and 2000 grand finals. At the time, it was the longest premiership run in the Murray league. The Rams started the run with a win over Moama before beating Mulwala, Tocumwal and Nathalia. The Purps would end the run in 2005, claiming the first of its four straight premierships.

23. Bambill - Millewa

Bambill won the Millewa league premiership last year. Picture: Glenn Milne
Bambill won the Millewa league premiership last year. Picture: Glenn Milne

Stat line: Won four straight premierships from 2019 to 2024. Is currently on the longest premiership streak in country footy, winning four straight titles from 2019 to 2024. It could have been more if Covid did not end the 2020 and 2021 season. The streak started by ending Nangiloc’s unbeaten season. Bambill then went unbeaten in 2022, winning games by an average of more than 100 points, before winning the flag again in 2023 and 2024. Is going for five straight premierships this season but started the season with a 55-point loss to Cardross.

24. Harrow Balmoral - Horsham

Harrow Balmoral won last year's Horsham District league title. Picture: Harrow Balmoral.
Harrow Balmoral won last year's Horsham District league title. Picture: Harrow Balmoral.

Stat line: Won four out of five premierships from 2018 to 2024. Is currently on a 38-game unbeaten run, the longest streak in Victorian local footy. Harrow Balmoral have won four of the past five premierships including the last two in 2023 and 2024. Led by former Brisbane Lion, Michael Close, the club has been setting the benchmark in the competition for the past three years.

25. Nagambie - 2014 to 2019

Nagambie won the 2019 Kyabram District Football League premiership. Picture: Bailey Opie
Nagambie won the 2019 Kyabram District Football League premiership. Picture: Bailey Opie

Stat line: Four premierships in six years from 2014 to 2019.

A team who knew how to peak at the right time under coach Linc Sullivan, who is also a horse trainer. From 2014 to 2019 it was the best team in the Kyabram league, winning four premierships in six years. In 2014 and 2016 the team had to overcome a nine and six goal quarter time deficit. The last of the wins in 2019, a 68-point win over Tallygaroopna, was less chaotic and more one sided.

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Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/localfooty/who-is-the-best-dynasty-team-over-the-past-25-years-of-country-footy/news-story/cf3ef81abd1d7b5fe8b636bd231386e0