What’s in a name?

Piara Water’s John Dorazio speaks to Cameron Palmer

Not all footy stories have a happy ending but the Piara Waters Senior Football Club got theirs amid a new beginning when they claimed the 2014 C4 Premiership.

Playing as Southern River, the club was planning to change its name to Piara Waters ahead of the 2015 season amid a change of home from Sutherland Park in the City of Gosnells to Piara Waters Oval and Pavilion in the City of Armadale.

That move came about after the club had lobbied for a number of years to have a more permanent residence and better facilities to support what was a growing club at Sutherland Park.

Unable to secure the facility they desired at Sutherland Park, and with a new facility in a growing community less than five kilometres away set to be opened, it was an opportune for the club to secure its future.

When it became obvious in the second half of 2014 that the club would be the last competing as Southern River, it was determined to give a fond ending ahead of a new chapter for the football club. Former Club President and player John Dorazio explained the vibe in 2014.

“Everyone was really desperate to win that year,” Dorazio said.

“I think it started out as a wish and part way through the year it started to gain momentum so I think that helped spurred the boys on to make sure they got over the line .”

Having played finals for three straight years heading into 2014, that little bit of a spur was all Southern River needed to rise to a new level and become the dominant outfit of the 2014 C4 season. They won 15 games and claimed the minor premiership. On an emotional Grand Final day as they said farewell to the Southern River name, the club saluted with a 29 point premiership win.

Looking back, winning that premiership was significant in both honouring the heritage of the club and allowing for optimism about the looming move.

“It was just a great cap off of the name, yep that’s the last year of the name, we are starting something fresh,” Dorazio said.

“Let’s try and do it again next year and have two premierships in two years with two different names.”

Since moving to Piara Waters alongside the change of home and name, the club has seen a change in culture, one that has embraced community and family which is significant given the local area where the club resides. It is that change in club culture that has been instrumental in the recent growth of the club.

As of 2020 the club had three senior mens teams and a womens team competing in the Perth Football League. The growth from a one team club to four teams in just over a decade is testament to a vision that can be traced back to a business plan formulated by Dorazio in the early 2000’s.

“I wanted to have a bit of a goal and I was trying to recruit people for the Board, so I wrote job descriptions for every position on the Board. I had everything templated so it made it as easy as possible for people to come in,” Dorazio said.

After nearly 20 years, Dorazio’s business plan is almost complete and Piara Waters in his eyes is just one colts side away from being the full club he had long envisaged.

“Having a colts side would round out the club nicely,” Dorazio said.

“Having the juniors there at Piara Waters as well, I think we are only a few years away from getting that ticked off as well.”