Lifelong Bulldogs supporter Ray Neville has received support from the football club to establish a Ballarat-based group to help make the city the club’s kennel away from home. However the 49-year-old from Delacombe doesn’t expect other club’s supporter groups to let Ballarat go to the Dogs.

“This year is pretty much our first year,” Mr Neville says. “I got the idea late last year when the Bulldogs announced they’d be playing up here at Eureka Stadium. I contacted the club and it has grown from there.

“We haven’t had our first meeting yet but we have 80 members on our Facebook page. It’s a hard road because the other clubs have had groups here for a long time but if we get the Bulldogs to play in the town it will make a big difference and hold us in good stead. I’d say Essendon and Collingwood are still the most popular here unfortunately.” 

While there are a number of smaller, informal supporter groups in Ballarat, and others which have waxed and waned, four of the stayers have been for Essendon, Richmond, St Kilda and (perhaps surprisingly) Melbourne. 

Of those groups, the Ballarat Demons is the oldest and claims (not surprisingly) to be the most active.

“We’ve been in existence since 1987 and it’s been consistent,” Ballarat Demons secretary Dennis Costigan says. “Even during the tough times we’ve kept going.

“At our AGM last year we had 90 financial members but we’ve got 120 on our mailing list.” 

The Demons boast some high-profile advocates. Its patron is Steve Moneghetti and prior to that it was John Northey. 

Meanwhile the Ballarat Tigers are celebrating their silver anniversary this year after it was born from the club’s Save our Skins campaign in 1990.

“We’ve had between 80 and 120 members over the past few years,” secretary Terry Lannen says. “Our main purpose is to run a bus for people to go to home games. We’ve also hosted some very successful family days with Richmond players from the region, but it’s becoming tougher to do that these days.” 

Most groups are excited about the start of a new season, which kicks off with Carlton and Richmond at the MCG on Thursday. 

Few have more reason to crow than the Ballarat Bombers.

Formed in about 1989, the Ballarat Bombers have endured a tough couple of years but are hopeful of putting the past (and other supporters’ jibes) behind them. 

“It’s such a relief (the start of the season and, hopefully, the end of the Essendon supplements scandal),” says the group’s president Gwen Quick, who has barracked for Essendon for 65 years.

“There are a lot of Bomber supporters in Ballarat.”

gavin.mcgrath@fairfaxmedia.com.au