What is the Melbourne Football Club?
The Melbourne Football Club, known as the Demons, is one of the oldest football clubs in the world, founded in 1858. It plays in the AFL and its home ground is the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The club was formed by members of the Melbourne Cricket Club, including Tom Wills, who wanted a game to keep cricketers fit during winter. In 1859, club members wrote the first laws of Australian rules football.
Melbourne was one of the founding clubs of the Victorian Football League in 1897. It enjoyed great success in the 1950s and early 1960s under coach Norm Smith, winning six premierships between 1955 and 1964.
Ending the drought
After 1964, Melbourne went 57 years without a premiership, one of the longest droughts in the competition. The club finally won the 2021 Grand Final, defeating the Western Bulldogs at Optus Stadium in Perth, as the match was moved because of COVID-19 restrictions in Melbourne.
Melbourne has won 13 VFL and AFL premierships in total. Its colors are red and navy blue, and its supporters are known for the club song, It's a Grand Old Flag.
The club's nickname, the Demons, is often said to come from the red and blue colors, which some people compared to devils. Melbourne also fields a team in the AFL Women's competition, which won its first premiership in 2022.
Did You Know?
Tom Wills is regarded as one of the founders of Australian rules football.