History of Suburban Lions

Subs very first official game was held against Fremantle way back on Saturday 20th May 1922 at 3pm.

The game was held at the Fremantle Esplanade and players were instructed to catch the 2pm train from Perth.

Suburban was established by Dr Don 'Trigger' Tregonning who was a doctor that lived in the Nedlands area and loved to play hockey. He decided to start a hockey club because lots of men were interested in playing hockey.

In 1922 some men of the Royal Artillery visited Perth for leave. Whilst here they played a hockey match against a local team and then refreshed at the United Services (U.S.) Hotel (St Georges Terrace, near Barrack St intersection). Mine host offered to hav e their shirts laundered and the British accepted.

The Royal Artillery were called away urgently from Perth thus abandoning their shirts. Dr Tregonning (who was in the throes of organising a new team), was having a drink at the U.S. when the publican offered him the set of shirts, which he accepted. The colours - navy with red trim, which remains Subs' colours to this day.

Subs did not have its own hockey field or club rooms in 1922 and until 1955 rented change rooms at the Esplanade Kiosk in Perth where they trained. In 1955 Subs were allocated a ground at Hollywood on the north side of Verdun St, which is the current site of the C block of Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. There were four fields around the lake, and the club rooms first used were an old cowshed which belonged to Mods! The grounds used at Hollywood used to be a dairy farm.

In 1961 Subs took over Highview Park next to the Hollywood Bowling Club on Verdun St which was later named Tregonning Field and re mains our club rooms to this day. The land was previously used as a tennis club. On the 4th of April 1964 there was an official opening of Tregonning Field by Charles Smith, Mayor of Nedlands City Council. There was a non stop program of hockey under lights, culminating with WA vs The Rest at 9:15pm. All clubs were invited to send one uniformed player to bear their club pennant and parade.

There were only 5 teams in the WAHA competition back in 1922, the others being Perth, Fremantle, Claremont, and Navy & Military Club. Subs won the 1st division premiership in their first season and continued to be a dominant force, playing in a remarkable 9 grand finals in a row, winning the premiership in 1923, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 1930 (runners up in 1928 and 1929). This was in addition to winning the Challenge Cup in 1926, 27,28,29 and 1930.

Overall Suburban has won 12 first division WAHA premierships with premierships wins also in 1941, 1982, 83, 84 and 87 (the 82, 83, 84 victories lead by Captain/Coach Peter Freitag and form the basis of the club song) thus making Subs the third most successful club of all time (and most successful of current clubs).

WAHA 1st Division Historical Club Premierships (1908 - 2008) (source WAHA)

Club 1st Div. Premierships

Cricketers 21
Perth 13
Suburban 12
University of WA 10
YMCA Perth/YMCC 9
Curtin Trinity Pirates/Tigers 4
Wesley South Perth 3
CBC (Trinity) 3
Claremont 3
Fremantle 3
Old Aquinians 3
Wilberforce 3
Old Modernians 2
Guildford 2
Victoria Park 2
Cottesloe 1
Westside Wolves 1

Note: Cricketers merged with Old Scotch Collegians, Grads Women's in 1987 to form Westside Wolves.

Subiaco City Mens Hockey Club (the forerunner of Riverside Lions)

In 1954 several hockey players in the area decided to start their own hockey club. A recruiting program over summer resulted in the birth of the Subiaco City Mens Hockey Club ready for their first season of competition in 1955. Their home ground was Rosalie Park in Subiaco, their club rooms were the home of Eric Hodge, who would become a key identity at the club for many years, including Club President and Coach for some 20 years.

In the first few years, the club consisted of 3 teams – 2 senior and a junior team. They were relatively successful, winning several interclub and country carnivals but not the season grand finals. The junior team, for several years consisted of the same players and developed into a potent force on the hockey field.

Member numbers fluctuated over the years, but the club remained small by today’s standards and often with no junior teams. Players remember playing on gravel fields and indoor bitumen tennis courts at times. Fees in 1960 were five pounds and the club was given approval to use the new hockey ground in Herbert Road, Shenton Park with views over the lake. An attempt to install floodlights for the grand sum of $1500 was rejected by council, but the licensee of the Shenton Park Hotel accepted the position of club Patron.

In 1973, the club rejected an offer by the Mosman Park Hockey Club to merge. Resurfacing of the grounds in 1974 saw training move to Rosalie Park. In 1980, the club had 40 players.

When did they become Riverside Lions and when did they move to Melvista?

Meanwhile, Melvista Oval in Nedlands was, for many years, the home of Cricketers Hockey Club; the Club that had been widely regarded as having produced the best hockey players in Western Australia, perhaps Australia. Many of Cricketers top hockey players came from Nedlands and Dalkeith Primary Schools. When the Cricketers Hockey Club amalgamated with others to form Westside Wolves in 1985, junior hockey left Melvista Oval and no junior hockey was played in the Nedlands/Dalkeith area for ten years.

In 1995, a group of parents from Loreto Primary School entered a team of boys and girls from Loreto Primary School in the Under 11 Hockey WA competition and affiliated themselves with the Riverside Lions, who were now based at Melvista Oval. Thus, the Riverside Lions Junior Hockey Club was formed. At that stage, it was run as a separate entity from the Senior Club.

The first team finished top of the U11A boys division in 1997. The Club has continued to expand and has enjoyed very significant success along the way. Our first girls team was started in 2000, with most of the girls from Dalkeith Primary School. By 2008, we fielded 17 junior teams including six girls teams and two teams combined with Newman Knights. Our goal has always been to provide enjoyable hockey at the highest level we could achieve, employing many top coaches from the hockey elite.

Shenton Turf

In 2002, Riverside Lions joined with a number of clubs in the surrounding area, including Subs, to construct and operate an Astroturf facility at Shenton College. Our small club raised over $110,000.00 to participate in the venture, which is now operated by the Shentons Club Pty Ltd, the corporate body of the four participating hockey clubs.

Suburban Lions Hockey Club

In 2011, members of the Riverside Lions Hockey Club and Suburban Nedlands Hockey Club unanimously voted to amalgamate, to form the Suburban Lions Hockey Club with almost 1000 members. Such a move is expected to provide our members with better community facilities, a greater coaching culture and improved opportunities for all players.

Our plan for the future is to secure a sound hockey career path for those who wish to progress to elite levels, as well as to provide for those who just want to have an enjoyable day of hockey each week on a social or semi-social basis. Our vision is to:

have 2 teams comfortably in A grade with a total of six senior men's and six women's teams
have all elite players mentoring or coaching juniors and all social senior players actively participating in the club's umpiring, coaching, social culture, traditions and administration
have all teams playing well and enjoying their hockey and the club
create a coaching ethos and culture that preserves the intellectual property for future players (ie "coach the coaches who coach the players")
have a junior club that participates in all age groups and has sufficient teams to allow all players to play at the level appropriate to their skill and development. This includes community school programs with associated sub juniors, socially focussed teams and focussed programs for elite players
have an engagement with all our community schools; both primary and secondary
have all juniors maturing to play at an appropriate level as senior players and a retention of teenagers to team sport
see a growth and retention of older hockey players (Vets and Club Alumni) and 'social' players into the club's social and playing structure, with increased Veteran teams and grass playing teams
secure a community focussed clubhouse with an Astro Turf and good quality grass fields under lights
provide strong management, administration and governance that encourages and promotes volunteers to nurture and protect the club's culture, traditions, name, identity and the enjoyment of hockey.
has always been to create a group of hockey friends and mates who could play together to take our Club to A grade status and re-create a first class A grade club from the children resident in Nedlands and Dalkeith. Many of our finest juniors have made State teams later in their hockey careers. In the past, many top players have been forced to move to other clubs to pursue their hockey careers at the highest level. In response to this, in recent years Riverside has taken the initiative on a number of occasions to combine with other local clubs to ensure that players are playing at a level that matches their abilities.

Subs Song - http://www.subs.org/uploads/SuburbanHockeyClubSong.pdf