The story of SFCC

A cricket club in the Subiaco area was first formed in 1896 and played in the Senior Matting Association based at the Shenton Park Lake ground. In 1907-08 the Subiaco Club was admitted to the WACA A Grade competition but after two seasons were relegated to B Grade. During this time the Club moved to the newly developed Mueller Park in Subiaco where at the western end (later Subiaco Oval) they shared the playing fields with the Subiaco Football Club.

In the 1910-11 season, Subiaco combined with fellow B Grade team; Whittaker’s and was re-admitted to A Grade as the Subiaco Cricket Club. The following season Subiaco merged with the neighbouring Leederville club to form the Subiaco-Leederville Cricket Club and played under this name until 1930-31, when they reverted to Subiaco Cricket Club.

By this time Mueller Parker had been renamed Subiaco Oval and from 1929-30 the Club enjoyed sustained success winning six premierships in the 17 seasons until 1946-47. Many Subiaco players from this era represented Western Australia, in the days before WA was admitted into the Sheffield Shield competition. Future Prime Minister, R.J. Hawke, played for the Club in the post-war years.

The Subiaco Club did not enjoy team success during the 1950’s and 1960’s finishing runner-up twice and making the finals one other time. The highlight for the Club from this era was Jack Rutherford being the first Western Australian to be selected for Australia on a major tour and the first to be capped when he was included in the Australian side which visited England, India, and Pakistan in 1956. Rutherford’s single test was against India in Bombay.

In 1965-66 the Subiaco Club left Subiaco Oval and moved to Rosalie Park on the west side of Thomas Street. Jim Hubble became the Club’s second Australian representative, touring South Africa in the summer of 1966-67, playing in nine matches, but not in the Tests. During the 1960’s former England player Tony Lock played for the Club.

The Floreat Park Cricket Club was formed in the post-war years. In the 1959-60 season, Floreat Park was admitted into the WACA completion as a 2^nd Grade club fielding teams in the lower grades only. Talented Floreat Park juniors seeking to play 1^st Grade invariably moved to the neighbouring Subiaco Club. Notable Floreat Park juniors who made the move to Subiaco were Kim Hughes, Terry Alderman and Sam Gannon who all played Test cricket for Australia.

The recruitment of former Australian player Des Hoare as Captain-Coach in the late 1960’s saw the Subiaco Club play in the finals four times in seven years, winning Premierships in 1971-72 and 1973-74. However while the Subiaco Club was competitive at 1^st Grade level, a small district and declining junior player numbers saw the Subiaco Club merge with the 2^nd Grade Floreat Park Club. The Club was named Subiaco-Floreat Cricket Club and commenced playing in the 1977-78 season.

The last match played between the two clubs was the 1976-77 4^th Grade grand final where the Subiaco 4^th’s captained by future President Larry Davies triumphed.

The amalgamation was a true merger with administrators and players from both Clubs sharing the roles. The new Club’s headquarters was Floreat Oval, with Rosalie Park retained as the second ground (until 1981) along with Floreat’s Alderbury Street Reserve. Subiaco’s Lion emblem and gold and maroon colours were combined with the royal blue of Floreat Park, but there was no room for the Floreat Park grey.

WA Parliamentarian Ray Young was the inaugural President and Jim Hubble the inaugural Captain of Subiaco-Floreat and Terry Alderman returned to Floreat Oval, but the first season did not bring instant success. During the following three season the Club were runners-up twice and semi-finalists once, as well as being Club Champions in 1978-79. All-rounder, Graeme Porter played for Australia in the 1979 World Cup.

1^st Grade success was finally achieved in the 1987-88 where a strong squad including Test players Terry Alderman and Tom Hogan alongside present or future First Class players Giles Bush, Todd Breman and Peter Gonnella won the first 1st Grade flag for the amalgamated Club and the ninth overall.

In 1983-84 future cricket broadcaster Glenn Mitchell, captained the Colts undefeated for nine matches to capture the Club’s first Colts Premiership.

The 1980’s decade was overall successful, in addition to the 1st Grade and Colts, the Club also won a 2^nd Grade and a 3^rd Grade flag, while the 4^ths won a hat-trick of flags under the wily leadership of club stalwart Alan Bolton.

The 1990’s were fairly lean for the 1^st Grade with only three final appearances. However this decade saw the debut of Bunbury junior, Murray Goodwin, who would go on to play Test cricket for his native Zimbabwe. In 1990-91 all four senior sides qualified for the finals and the Club was once again Club Champion. The lower grades continued to be successful in this decade, the 2^nds and 4^ths both won two flags each as did the Colts. The 1997-98 Colts were captained by Steven Glew in his first of seven Premierships for the Club.

The 21^st Century began with a bang. Under the inspiring leadership of fast bowler Gavin Swan, the 1^st Grade team won three successive premierships from 2000-01. The 1^sts competed in the finals in eight times in the first decade of the new century. The dominance of the 1^st Grade team in this period saw the Club also claim the Club Championship in successive seasons 2000-01 and 2001-02. The Colts added three more flags to their collection, while the 3^rds with two flags and the 4^ths with one continued the success of the lower grade teams. In the One Day Sunday League competition, the Club finally found a winning formula, winning titles in 2004-05 and 2008-09.

Success continued into the 2010’s. Under David Bolton the 1^st Grade did the “double”, winning both the Pennant competition and the One Day League in 2010-11. The following season, the Club finished runners-up after losing a close grand final. The 1^st grade bowling attack was particularly strong with fast bowlers Nathan Coulter-Nile and Jason Behrendorff operating, both of whom have gone on to represent Australia at One Day and T20 level.

The 3^rd Grade won a flag in 2012-13 and in the following season with Noel Knight returning to the Club as Head Coach the 1st Grade once again won the Sunday League Championship.

2014/15 saw the Club expand when the local WA Female Cricket Council A and B grade teams elected to join Subiaco-Floreat. It was a homecoming of sorts, as back in the 1970’s the Subiaco men’s and women’s cricket clubs shared the facilities at Rosalie Park. The ladies made an immediate impact, winning the T20 final at the WACA ground.

Season 2016-17 saw Chris Hansberry lead the 1st grade team to a premiership, with gritty victories against top teams Fremantle and Claremont in the semi-finals before a memorable victory over Joondalup in the grand final. Cameron Green made a memorable debut for Western Australia as as a seventeen year old.

In 2017-18, the Colts competition was changed from a 50 over format to the modern T20 format. T20 cricket was already being played in the Female competitions, with the Female B Grade winning the premiership in this season.

In 2018-19, former Australian bowler Wayne Clark joined the Club as Head Coach. The Female A Grade team capped off a successful season with a dominant performance in the 50-over grand final, while in the newly established Female Youth League, the Club won the inaugural T20 premiership. The season also saw the Subiaco-Floreat Colts produce one of the most remarkable performances seen at the WACA. After reaching 9/86 off 20 overs, an inspired spell of opening bowling dismissed Scarborough for 66 and saw the boys bring home the premiership.

The Colts followed up in 2019-20 with another T20 Colts Premiership. The end of the season was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic which culled the finals aspirations of the 1st grade, but saw the table topping 3rd grade team crowned as premiers.

In December 2020, Cameron Green made his Test debut for Australia against India at just 21 years of age.

Season 2021-22 was a remarkable season and perhaps the most successful in the Club’s history. Winning the men’s Club Championship for the first time in 20 years and the female Club Championship for the first time ever was a tribute to the entire club and a mark of the consistent, high-quality performances across the grades. It was also a season of multiple premierships, with the First-Grade premiership and one day title, the Third-Grade team finishing runners up and the female A Grade team claiming the premiership after an undefeated season in the 50 over competition. Hamish McKenzie becoming the Club’s fifth Olley Cooley medallist was the icing on the cake. The First-Grade grand final was a stunning game of cricket – sent in to bat in challenging conditions, the boys rallied to be 3-98 before collapsing to be all out for 118. An inspired spell of seam bowling from Michael Hart (7-47) saw South Perth dismissed for 117, which effectively sealed the premiership. Special mention must be made of Nicole Bolton who coached the Female A Grade team and had a profound impact, both on and off field, which culminated in a dominant performance to claim the 50 over title in emphatic fashion.