Wests Juniors AFL Club

Australian Rules Football is a great game for boys and girls to enjoy.  It's origins were in the 1850's as a way of keeping cricketers fit during off-season (winter).  Children develop more individual skills than with most other sports.  Wests Juniors Football Club supports Australian Rules Football skills development in children from ages 5 to 18yo. 

Wests Juniors Football Club is situated at Oakman Park, Union Street, Toowong.  Facilities comprise a main oval with light towers for night football and clubrooms with a canteen.  2003 was  the 75th year of AFL at Oakman Park.  West Juniors is currently in a period of substantial growth in line with the increased popularity of Aussie Rules in Queensland.  In 2004 and 2005 we had in excess of 200 registered players. 

With antecedent clubs going back to 1928, Wests Juniors Football Club was established as the Junior club of the Western Districts Australian Rules Football Club in 1970.  Western Districts was born out of former Taringa State School players. It may come as a surprise to many that AFL was the main football code played in the local state schools in the 1940's and 50's. 

The park was formerly known as the "Union Athletic Club Sports Ground" as long ago as the mid 1880s, although was also known as the Toowong Sports Ground by local residents.  Union Park was renamed Oakman Park in the 1960s (after Harry Oakman to celebrate his achievements as Brisbane's Parks and Gardens Manager from 1946 to 1963), has largely obliterated the old name from general usage, but applies only to half the park area. 

   The club provides teams to suit all age groups:

• AusKick - basic skills for 5 to 7 yo.

• U8s to U11s - assigned into teams and play weekly fixtures against other local clubs using AFL modified rules.

• U12 t oU16s - graded into divisions and play full-rule games against other clubs for competition points and finals.

• U18s (UQ Bulldogs) - graded into a playing division and play for competition points and finals.

In 2004, Wests Juniors Football Club formed a joint venture with the University of Queensland's Red Lions and formed the UQ Bulldog's U18s and providing our juniors with a player pathway to senior football.

All coaches are AFL-accredited and are mindful of their extended roles as not only developers of AFL skills, but also as mentors who complement the role of parents and teachers in the development of future citizens.  Our coaching team includes Keith "Happy" Wallis, winner of the "Queensland Health 2005 Service to Junior Sport" at the 2005 11th Annual Queensland Sport Awards. 

Wests Juniors Football Club prides itself on being a club for all the family and has active social calendar throughout the season.  Families can mix together in a friendly, convivial atmosphere and parents are actively encouraged to become involved in the running of the club. 

Social events include: Trivia Nights, Big Screen Live AFL Telecasts and a Club Dinner. 

In 2005, the Queensland Government's Department of Sport and Recreation provided a grant for ground re-surfacing work and sub-surface irrigation that will benefit all players and add to the attraction of playing with the club. 

20 February 2006

A brochure about the club (for downloading or viewing) is available here. (large file size warning 1.27Mb - pdf)

Wests Juniors ARF Club would likely to gratefully acknowledge the grant assistance of

Visit the JUPITERS CASINO BENEFIT FUND web site here.

Be informed, be very informed, subscribe to         for regular newsletters via email.                 

Top    Email corrections / suggestions to the Webmaster

Updated 30 April 2006