Based at Bennettswood Reserve, right beside Deakin University in Burwood, Wattle Park Amateurs Football Club is a grassroots sporting and social club with more than 300 active members and supporters. 

Wattle Park has a proud history in local suburban football and next year, celebrating having been part of the local area for over 50 years. We’re an amateur club who compete in the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) and work incredibly hard to main a safe and responsible environment where our ‘Animals Family’ culture allows the community to come together and enjoy being involved in sport. 

We began in 1971 as Our Lady’s Wattle Park, but became St Leo’s Wattle Park United Football Club in 1978. In 1992, we joined VAFA and officially were renamed Emmaus St Leo’s Old Collegians Football in 2004 after becoming affiliated with Emmaus College. On field, we have been relatively successful, with senior premierships in 1973, 1978-79, 1983, 1987, 1992, 1995 and 2002, reserves premierships in 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985-86, 1995 and 2019, and under-19s premierships in 2000 and 2005. 

2018 was a historic year both on the field and off it for us at Emmaus St Leo’s, as we not only debuted our first women’s team but also finally opened newly completed clubrooms. Both endeavours were years in the making and signalled the beginning of an impressive new era for the club. 

The addition of the women’s team saw our club grow exponentially off field as they complimented the exemplary ‘Animals Family’ culture we pride ourselves on. In their very first official game, they came together and personified exactly what it means to be an Animal in a victory against the eventual premiers, building a solid foundation for the years to come.

The state-of-the-art modern facilities provide much larger changing rooms to accommodate the ever-growing playing list of our club, as well as a multi-purpose clubroom that can be used for official or social functions and allows us to host a multitude of events, including our annual breast cancer fundraiser which we held for the first time on home soil in 2019, and our mental health fundraisers since 2018.

2019 also saw the men’s reserves team cap off an incredible season with a dream finals run, bringing home the ultimate reward in September after finishing the home and away season in 4th on the ladder. 

Emmaus St Leo’s was gearing up for a huge 2020 both on and off field and was extremely disappointed to have to stop our season. But the club continues to move forward even during these unprecedented times and is both financially stable and viable for years to come due to the work of the committee over previous years.

Season 2021 was sadly cut short due to the covid lockdown, halting our Senior and Reserve Men’s teams charge to the finals, whilst it also denied our Women’s and Men’s Thirds side the ability to get regular football in and help a developing squad. Off field we were able to host a Ladies Luncheon free of restrictions, and were able to raise a respectable amount in the then environment.

Season 2022 was tough for many in the Animals family, but everyone was able to get around and support our Men’s Reserves as they took it to the final minutes of the Grand Final in trying to defend their flag. The two’s replicated their 2019 efforts in finishing fourth after the H&A season, before shocking more fancied opponents in both the Elimination and Preliminary Finals. Sadly they were unable to complete what would have been one of the most famous comebacks in club history in the Grand Final, but more than admirably closed out the Emmaus St. Leo’s OCFC era.

It was decided towards the end of the 2022 season that the Animals would be changing our name due to extenuating circumstances, and landed on Wattle Park Amateurs Football Club. A nod to our past, with the Wattle Park moniker features heavily in the club’s history, and also still apart of the club song. It is a local landmark close to Bennettswood Reserve, our home, and acts as a unique identifier away from those who choose to use their suburb locality as their name.

As we embark on the 2023 season, we again have our sights set firmly on achieving further success both on and off the field, and continuing to grow our club as a great place to be involved with in not just local football, but also the local community for the next 50 years. 

Wattle Park Amateurs Football Club is run by president Glen Davis, vice president Cameron Gardner, and an invested committee who have massive plans for the upcoming season – and we invite anyone to join us, in both on and off field roles.