How to choose which AFL team to follow... by their club songs (part two)
Last week we brought you part one of which footy team to support based on their club songs. Here is part two.
Image: Stevon Alfonsi
Hawthorn Hawks: Despite the threatening image of a hawk for a moniker, Hawthorn prides itself as a “family club”. Indeed, their song depicts this perfectly, using the theme from Yankee Doodle Dandee to illustrate why this club is “awesome”. The Hawks have won 13 flags in their history, and all of them since the start of the 1960s. This song is a reminder of why: they’re “a happy team at Hawthorn” and they believe that “teamwork is the thing that talks”. It does talk - it speaks success, as does this song and indeed the Hawthorn name itself.
Melbourne Demons: One would think an old American patriotic tune couldn’t possibly match well with a sport half a world away. That person clearly has never heard this tune. Though it’s been very lean times for the red and blue, this song reminds us of how powerful the club once was, and how, when it gets to the summit again, it’ll be there to stay. Melbourne is the oldest club in the competition, the oldest football club in Australia, and one of the oldest professional football clubs (of any type of football) in the world. This song is befitting of a club that’s been a staple of Australian sporting life for over a century.
North Melbourne Kangaroos: “So join in the chorus and sing it one and all!” North Melbourne has a reputation for breeding tough players. Indeed, their “shinboner” spirit resonates brightly through players like game-record holder Brent ‘Boomer’ Harvey. The Roos haven’t known much success, with only four flags in almost a century. But they’re seemingly ready to pounce heading into the 2020s and this song will be leading from the front into this new decade.
Port Adelaide Power: This club will be celebrating its 150th year in existence in 2020. The Power have only one AFL flag but 36 SANFL (South Australian National Football League) titles, so are a club familiar with success. Their song uses this culture of success as its basis - “it’s more than a sport, it’s a true Port Adelaide tradition”. Everyone is reminded that no matter how well or poorly their season just gone was, they’re still the most successful footy club with a team currently in the AFL, and one of the most successful sporting franchises in Australia across any sporting code.
Richmond Tigers: I doubt there’s a sound more spine-tingling in sport than the ‘Tiger-Army’ belting out “YELLOW AND BLACK” after a win at the MCG. Watch the end of either the 2017 or 2019 Grand Final victories and you’ll feel the power of over 100,000 supporters shouting these words. Even opposition fans can’t deny this song is a classic. It’s fun to sing along to, easy to remember and it makes one of the more successful clubs of recent times (and one of the most successful of all times, ignoring the 37 year dry spell from 1980 to 2017) an enjoyable team to follow. Come on, everyone! Sing it with me! “Oh we’re from Tigerland...”
St Kilda Saints: By FAR the easiest lyrics to learn and one of the most lovable teams in the league. By the time you’ve heard this song once or twice, you’ll no longer think of classic State-side songs when you hear the opening line of “Oh when the Saints...”. You’ll think of players running out in red, white and black. And when this club adds to its trophy cabinet, you can bet this song will be played down Acland Street for months, if not years to follow.
Sydney Swans: What is more iconically Australian than the Sydney Opera House? Known for hosting great music, that’s what this song provides. The powerful imagery of red and white warriors going into battle - “onwards to victory” - is placed firmly in the minds of those who hear this song. Originally from South Melbourne, the Swans have been in the league since the very beginning back in 1897. And this song is befitting for such a club: a classic song for a classic Australian sporting franchise.
West Coast Eagles: The “kings of the big game”, as their song declares them, have won the second most premierships since the VFL expanded to the AFL in 1990 with four. West Coast almost never fail to make the finals, and when they do, their song makes sure they won’t go down without a fight... or at least without being loud about it.
Western Bulldogs: If you like a club song to be intimidating, this is the one for you. “We come out snarling” declares the Bulldogs’ intention to fight until they win. The message is clear: ‘we aren’t here to mess around. And our bite is far worse than our bark’.