By JARROD POTTER
HARD work – on and off the field – has always defined Dandenong.
The working week was just a necessary distraction to get through to the weekend again where everyday men and women became icons or watched their stars on the local sporting scene.
It’s one of the only suburban cities in Australia that can claim obsession-status with just about every sport.
Football, soccer, cricket, basketball and the love of watching the greyhounds and racehorses circle our adjoining racetracks dominate the landscape, but there’s always a hidden gem around the corner waiting to be unearthed.
Multiculturalism brought to the town its great passions of soccer – which has surged to such an extent that the city can claim to be one of Victoria’s most popular for the code. Dandenong Thunder has been the most successful and South Springvale had its recent run of national FFA Cup fame, while Dandenong City and Springvale White Eagles are just as lively in the NPL1 East and our state league teams continue to knock on the door for promotion.
Football remains the town’s underlying passion as Dandenong Stingrays, Noble Park and Keysborough carry on the passion for high-calibre football that was once instilled in the city by the mighty, and sadly now defunct, Dandenong Football Club.
Whether it’s the up and downs of the WNBL season, or baking under the harsh sun watching Sub-District, Dandenong District or Men’s and Women’s Victorian Premier Cricket – summer is just as vibrant for sport in town and it’s a distinction that will never change.
But our swimmers, hockey players, runners, high jumpers, lawn bowlers and the ultimate niche classic on Pultney St – Dandenong’s patient croquet contingent – are just as integral to the town’s sporting pulse. Therein lies the joy of covering sport in the region – there is always someone achieving something amazing and their stories pump through the veins of Dandenong.
While demographics have shifted and the town has undergone renewal, it’s safe to say sport is woven into every facet of life in the City of Greater Dandenong and for that, it’s been my great honour to play a humble part in the town’s sporting obsession.
We’ve decided for this anniversary edition to focus just on the past – so herein lies Dandenong’s very select sporting highlights – whether joyous or tragic – that we believe have defined the town for the last century and a half.
