History

History of the Club

The Collendina Junior Football Club (CJFC) was established in 2002, based out of Collendina Reserve on Minerva Close, Ocean Grove. Two U/12 sides were entered into the Eastern Colts Little League (ECLL). The following season, the CJFC conducted a merger with the junior section (U/14 and below) of the Ocean Grove Football Netball Club (OGFNC), which was then ratified in January 2003. The Ocean Grove Collendina Cobras Junior Football Club was born.

This saw the club swell from having two Cobras teams compete in 2002 to eight Cobras teams compete in 2003 (four U/12, four U/14). The first piece of recognition for the club came in 2004, when star junior Jordan Jones won the league best and fairest award in the U/14 Division 1. Jones would later go on to play AFL for the West Coast Eagles.

The trophy cabinet got its first lot of silverware in 2005 when the Cobras won the prestigious U/14 Division 1 premiership, defeating much fancied teams from around the Geelong metropolitan area under the tutelage of coach Dave Farrell.

The U/12s also staked their claim with back-to-back Lightning Premierships in 2005 and 2006. By now the club was fully established, having entered its first U/10 team into the ECLL in 2006. This provided a pathway directly from Auskick – at this stage, still based at Shell Road oval on a Saturday morning – to competitive junior football.

In the decade since, the club has gone from strength to strength, catering for the growing population of Ocean Grove and surrounds. The club has inducted two life members for their contributions: Neale 'Wal' Walter (2011) and Brett Pearson (2014). The Cobras have also produced four AFL draftees, one of whom – Zaine Cordy – became a premiership player for the Western Bulldogs in 2016.

With the recent introduction of U/9s football and AFL Barwon's restructure of junior football age groups, the Cobras now have a huge presence in the local area with 12 teams set to compete in 2018. The continued support of club stalwarts, volunteers, parents and friends has allowed the club to thrive and grow exponentially across its short history.

Ahead of the 2019 season, the club made a historic decision to align further with the senior Ocean Grove FNC by renaming the Ocean Grove Collendina Cobras JFC to the Ocean Grove Cobras JFC and donning a new red, white and navy blue uniform. More than 90 per cent of members voted to change both the logo and the playing strip.

Premierships

2005 U/14 Division 1
OGCC 1
?

2009 U/14 Division 2 Buckley's Cup
OGCC 1: 4.11 (35)
Lara 1: 2.5 (17)
Goals: Z. Cordy 2, P. Dreher, E. Taylor
Best: K. King, A. Lindkvist, B. Warren, N. Holland, Z. Cordy, E. Taylor

2009 U/14 Division 6 Visy Cup
OGCC 2: 8.3 (51)
Newtown & Chilwell Black: 7.3 (45)
*after extra time
Goals: D. McManus 2, C. Balshaw 2, B. Fendyk, R. Procter, S. Dedini, J. Gravener
Best: P. Malone, B. Sanders, C. Balshaw, C. Bowers, B. Fendyk

2010 U/14 Division 3 Geelong Advertiser Cup
OGCC 1: 19.12 (126)
North Geelong: 5.6 (36)
Goals: N. Anastassiou 5, C. West 4, L. Bastiaan 3, J. Kehagias 2, Z. Cordy 2, J. Evans, Z. Dynes, N. Gravener
Best: Z. Cordy, J. Stirling, M. Caldow, N. Holland, C. West, N. Anastassiou

2012 U/14 Division 6 Red Onion Cup
OGCC 2: 6.8 (44)
Bannockburn: 5.7 (37)
Goals: J. Caliguiri 3, T. Smith, R. Symonds, H. Drake
Best: T. Smith, L. Warren, H. Drake, H. Morris, B. Allan

2022 U/14 Division 1Geelong Advertiser Cup
OGC Walter: 8.2 (50)
St Joseph's Black: 5.4 (34)
Goals: B. Hansford 3, J. de Jong 2, C. Eales, T. Teague (vc), J. Thomson (dvc)
Best: B. Hansford, H. Wilde, J. Punchard, N. Badrock, H. Cooper, Z. Casamento

AFL Draftees

Guy O'Keefe
2007 national draft, pick 63
Western Bulldogs 2007–09
No senior games played

Ayce Cordy
2008 national draft, pick 14 (F/S)
Western Bulldogs 2009–2015
27 games, 15 goals

Jordan Jones
2008 national draft, pick 52
West Coast Eagles 2009–2011
2 games, 0 goals

Zaine Cordy
2014 national draft, pick 62 (F/S)
Western Bulldogs 2015–2022
118 games, 12 goals
St Kilda 2023–
AFL premiership player (2016)

League Best & Fairests

2004 U/14 Division 1
Jordan Jones, OGCC 1

2006 U/12 Eastern Colts Little League
Jak Evans, OGCC ?

2008 U/14 Division 6
Sean Dedini, OGCC 2

2012 U/14 Division 2 Buckley's Cup
Byron Taylor, OGCC 1

2013 U/14 Division 2 Buckley's Cup
Michael Smith, OGCC 1

Uniform

The Cobras' initial identity took cues from that of the Carlton Football Club, with the theme song derivative of "We Are The Navy Blues" and the jumper all navy with a CCFC monogram. With the merger occurring in 2003, the decision was made to adopt a new identity. Orange was chosen instead of the red of the Grubbers as many other teams already wore the red, white and blue colour combination, and orange was the closest colour to red. The old navy jumpers were retained for clash purposes if any two Cobras teams were scheduled to play each other in a derby match.

The orange, white and navy tri-panel guernsey featured a distinctive Cobra logo in the middle, the new sublimated technique of manufacturing allowing the Club to have one of the most modern identities in the region. Paired with navy shorts and tri-colour socks, it was one of the most recognisable brands across junior football.

By 2014, the old navy jumpers had been through thousands of spin cycles and were due for a refresh – the sheer number of Cobras teams entered into the competition meant that derbies were becoming quite a regularity. As part of a revitalised partnership with the OGFNC, a new clash guernsey was designed based off the Grubbers' home guernsey of the time, with the Cobra logo in place of the Grubber. The red and white colourway provided greater distinction in local derbies and has reinforced the connection between the Cobras and the OGFNC.

As part of the renaming of the club ahead of the 2019 season, the Cobras adopted a slight variation on the existing clash jumper (with a navy motif rather than white) as the new home jumper for the foreseeable future.

Teams Entered

Note: Red denotes a premiership-winning team

Under 9

Under 10

Under 12

Under 14

2002	N/A	none	Blue, White	none
2003	N/A	none	(four teams)	Div. 1, Div. 3, Div. 4, Div. 5
2004	N/A	none	Blue, Orange, White	Div. 1, Div. 3, Div. 5
2005	N/A	none	Blue, Orange, White	Div. 1, Div. 4, Div. 6
2006	N/A	OGCC (one team)	Blue, Orange, White	Div. 2, Div. 4, Div. 6
2007	N/A	OGCC (one team)	Blue, Orange, White	Div. 1, Div. 3, Div. 6
2008	N/A	OGCC (one team)	Blue, Orange, White	Div. 2, Div. 4
2009	N/A	Blue, Orange	Blue, Orange, White	Div. 2, Div. 6, Div. 7
2010	N/A	Blue, Orange, White	Blue, Orange, White	Div. 3, Div. 4, Div. 7
2011	N/A	Blue, Orange, White	Blue, Orange, White	Div. 2, Div. 5, Div. 7
2012	N/A	Blue, Orange, White	Blue, Orange, White	Div. 2, Div. 6, Div. 7
2013	N/A	Blue, Orange, White	Blue, Orange, White	Div. 2, Div. 6
2014	N/A	Blue, Orange, White	Blue, Orange, White	Div. 2, Div. 4, Div. 7
2015	N/A	Blue, Orange, White, Red	Blue, Orange, White	Div. 2, Div. 4, Div. 7
2016	Blue, Orange, White, Red	Blue, Orange	Blue, Orange, White	Div. 2, Div. 6, Div. 7
2017	Blue, Orange, White, Red	Blue, Orange, White	Blue, Orange, White	Div. 1, Div. 4, Div. 6

AFL Barwon refreshed the junior football age groups ahead of the 2018 season.

Under 9

Under 10

Under 11