West Preston Lakeside Football Club
(est. 1948)
The West Preston Lakeside Roosters, also known as the Lakies, is the result of a merger between two of Darebin’s football clubs: West Preston and Reservoir Lakeside. The merger took effect in March of 1998 and has been a successful union so far.
West Preston had originally been formed in 1948 and played in several competitions around Melbourne with success. This led the club to apply for membership in the Diamond Valley Football League in 1981. The DVFL is one of, if not the strongest of Melbourne’s suburban competitions and thus the successful application was a great moment for the club. West Preston joined Reservoir Lakeside in the DVFL; the ‘Lakies’ had already been playing in the League for some time and had achieved significant success including three Division 1-A Premierships.
West Preston had a great deal of success in Division 2 of the DVFL, winning several Premierships at both A and B grade. It was not until the merger with Reservoir Lakeside though that the Club was able to finally become a power in Division 1-A which culminated in the merged club winning the Premiership in 2003. The Roosters were runners-up to Northcote Park in 2000.
In addition West Preston Lakeside has a strong commitment to junior football, fielding nine teams under the West Preston Junior banner and five more under the Keon Park banner. The Club also has a strong association with Preston YCW Cricket Club, fields basketball and netball teams and hopes to add a women’s football team in the near future.
The West Preston Lakeside Football Club Story [Online], West Preston Lakeside Football Club, WWW Resource, Accessed 28/7/2006,
http://www.wplfc.homestead.com/files/The_West_Preston_Lakeside_Football_Club_Story.htm