The history of the club can probably be divided up into a number of eras:
1882-1907: For the first 25 years, the club did not appear to play in an organised competition, as we understand football leagues these days. Matches were played against teams that were close geographically, because of the difficulty of transport. A substantial rivalry with Murchison developed during this period.
1908-1940: Rushworth joined the Goulburn Valley Football Association (GVFA), the forerunner of the GVFL, in 1908. Teams and supporters traveled to games on special trains. Rushworth showed gradual improvement before dominating the competition in the 1930s. The Tigers won 5 premierships in the early 1930s, as well as playing in 5 losing grand finals.
1946-1964: After the war, Rushworth continued in the GVFL, but had difficulty competing with the bigger towns. One of the highlights of this era was the fact that four Rushworth players – Gerard Sexton (retrospectively), Bill Cruz, Con O’Toole and Lindsay Turnbull – all won the Morrison Medal awarded for best and fairest in the league. The latter three all played together in Rushworth’s last GVFL finals appearance in 1957.
1965-1997: The Tigers moved to the Heathcote District Football League. They had immediate success, winning the premiership in 1965 and providing some joy for the players who had battled without success for many years in the GVFL. Rushworth also won flags in 1969 and 1977. The reserves won three flags from 1965-1967 and another in 1969. Netball and football became closely linked in this era, with a netball competition running alongside the HDFL football from around 1966.
1998-2009: With community links more in the Goulburn Valley than to the west and south, Rushworth moved to the Kyabram District Football Netball League. Netball became an integral part of the club rather than a separate organisation. The footballers won the 2004 flag after a 27 year drought. However, the A grade netballers have produced the club’s best performed teams of the current era, winning three consecutive flags from 2003-2005 and being runners-up in 2006.
