Two great runs. Two great flags

Cottesloe’s Hudson Wheeler speaks to Cameron Palmer

Despite being one of the youngest clubs in the Perth Football League, the Cottesloe Football Club has quickly entrenched itself as a club with a strong on-field history and proud off-field culture. This culture has been based around getting good people involved at their club and resisting the usual hierarchical structure in favour of one that gives ownership to all those involved at the club.

That this culture has been able to be created so quickly is testament to the vision of founding duo, the husband and wife team of Hudson and Bec Wheeler. Speaking to that vision Hudson Wheeler says it was a pretty simple philosophy.

“Cottesloe being my junior footy club but with no senior side, I saw a great opportunity to create a new footy club bringing a country vibe, that really welcoming, family orientated culture to community footy,” Wheeler said.

Perth Football League General Manager, David Armstrong recalls when Hudson and Bec came into his office in 2013 to talk about a establishing a new footy club.

“They were passionate about setting up a real values based club,” remarked Armstrong.

“You hear this stuff all time but they did. They got players who weren’t playing back to the game. Honestly, I am in awe of these two. To start a club from scratch these days, they should be absolutely proud.”

While Cottesloe the suburb is about as far removed from country living as you can imagine, for a few hours every second Saturday, the Cottesloe Football Club looking up from high above has been able to successfully create the feel of being at a typical country or community club. Albeit one with incredible sweeping views of the nearby Indian Ocean.

And from these sweeping Cottesloe views, two of the more improbable Premiership stories have already materialised. Cottesloe’s 2015 C4 Reserves Premiership and 2018 Women’s B Grade Premiership sit within club folklore.

In just their second season competing in the Perth Football League, Cottesloe saw both their C4 League and C4 Reserves sides qualify for finals. While the League side were eliminated in the first semi-final, the Reserves side was able to win the club’s first premiership as part of a stunning late season run.

That late season run saw the Reserves team win 13 games straight to end the year ultimately claiming a famous premiership by just two points in a game decided with the last kick of the day. Incredibly Cottesloe’s final five wins of the season came over the other two teams that sat inside the top three, beating Osborne Park three times and Jandakot twice.

“The group just really bandied together and as they kept winning they got stronger and stronger and more confident,” Wheeler said.

“Huge success for the club and the celebrations were pretty good too.”

Just three years later and having worked tirelessly to ensure that they would be able field a women’s side in the inaugural women’s season in the Perth Football League, that same late season magic would return for Cottesloe.

Filled with a team of girls who were mostly playing football for the first time, Cottesloe battled through the first half of their first women’s season, posting a four win, four loss record after 10 rounds. Yet despite the inexperience and mixed early season results, the chemistry of this group was undeniable.

That chemistry would prove vital, as was the case in 2015, Cottesloe caught fire when it matter most, going on a stunning second half of the season run. The women’s side won their final seven games of the year, winning the first ever Perth Football League Women’s premiership, with victory in the B Grade decider.

“The comradery and culture that they built in their own side was unbelievable, I was lucky enough to be one of the assistant coaches and watch the girls go all the way and win that flag,” Wheeler said.

“The way they went about it, they didn’t just make the women’s side stronger, they made the whole club stronger, so that’s something that is really special to us as a club.”

Testament to a young culture that is already being created and fostered, to have premierships like this to be able to look back upon.

Co-founders Hudson and Bec Wheeler (nee Johnston)