By Tara Murray
Rockbank will celebrate in style as the club marks it sCentenary Day on July 20.
The club will welcome former players, supporters and committee members as the Rams take on Lancefield in football and netball at Welsh Group Oval.
Rockbank president Mark Smith said it was a special day for the club.
“We’re reaching out to a lot of past players to come,” he said.
“We’re going to recognise past players and will name some new life members.
“We’ll also be reading out the team of the century and having a new life members and honour board.”
The club is producing a book on the history of the club, with former president Brian Kirk and football operations manager Gavin Sporle putting in a lot of work behind the scenes.
The milestone caps off an up-and-down 100 years for the club.
While it had teams before the 1919 season, the club has decided to recognise the 100th anniversary from when it joined the Bacchus Marsh Football League.
Smith said there were a lot of names in the club’s history that members of the local community would recognise.
“The Melton football clubs shared a lot of players, a lot of players with famous names in the town,” he said.
The club’s best period was in the 1960s when it won six premierships, beating the likes of Darley, Melton and Maddingley.
The club disbanded at the end of the 1971 season before reforming in 1992 to play in the Western Region Football League. It later joined the Riddell District Football League, where it remains.
The anniversary function will start at lunch and continue on through the afternoon. The cost of $25 includes a meal. Anyone interested should contact Brian on 0449 756 716, Mark on 0402 277 267 or Gavin on 0450 947 109.
