Old Brighton Grammarians
Names
Full name	Old Brighton Grammarians Football Club
Nickname	Tonners
Former nickname(s)	Club XVIII:Bloods,Warriors
2025 season
After finals	VAFA: 1st VAFAW: 1st
Home-and-away season	VAFA: 1st VAFAW: 1st
Club details
Founded	1957; 69 years ago (1957)[1]
Colours	Red  Navy blue
Competition	VAFA: Premier VAFAW: Premier B
Coach	VAFA: Marcel Bruin VAFAW: Andrew Grant
Captain(s)	VAFA: Harry Hill VAFAW: Cat O'Brien & India Tait[2]
Premierships	VAFA (6) 1977 1980 1997 2013 2017 2025 VAFAW (2) 2024 2025
Ground	Brighton Beach Oval
Uniforms
Home
Other information
Official website	obgfc.com.au

TheOld Brighton Grammarians Football Club, nicknamed theTonners, is anAustralian rules football club based in theMelbourne suburb ofBrighton.^[3] The club maintains a close relationship withBrighton Grammar School.^[4][5]

Old Brighton has won six seniorpremierships since it was formed in 1957, including its first top division (A Section/Premier Division) grand final in theVictorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) in2025.^[6] It also finished runners-up in2007 and2024.^[7]

As of 2025, Old Brighton's men's team competes in the Premier Division of the VAFA, while the women's team is in Premier B of theVAFA Women's (VAFAW).

TheOld Brightonians Football Club was formed in1921 and entered theMetropolitan Amateur Football Association (MAFA, later VAFA) the same year.^[8] Owing to the difficulty of maintaining a strong team, the club failed to win a single game and withdrew prior to the start of the1922 season.^[9][10]

In1924, the club returned to the MAFA, but only lasted two years and withdrew prior to the start of the1927 season.^[11] Another return came in1932, but the club disbanded in1939 in the early stages ofWorld War II and did not compete in the1940 VAFA season.^[10]

The present-dayOld Brighton Grammarians Football Club was reformed in1957 and entered the VAFA's E Section the same year.^[10] The club waspromoted to D Section after a loss toPreston in the1959 E Section grand final, and eventually won its first premiership with a 62-point victory overAlphington in the1977 D Section grand final.^[12]

In1980, Old Brighton introduced a team (nicknamed the "Warriors") into the VAFA Club XVIII social competition.^[13] The side disbanded at the end of the1987 season, but briefly returned for the1995 season.^[13][14] In1996, the Warriors merged with theBloods Football Club (which was formed in 1987) and competed as theOld Brighton Bloods for several years.^[15][16]

The club entered its first women's team in theinaugural VAFA Women's season in 2017, finishing sixth on the Division 1 ladder.^[17]

Old Brighton's first A Section/Premier Division grand final was in2007, where they lost toOld Xaverians.^[18] A second top division grand final came in2024, but the club lost by 18 points toOld Scotch.^[19]

As of 2019, the club'snumber-one ticket holders were then-Liberal MPTim Wilson and formerBayside mayor Felicity Frederico.^[20][21]

The club song is sung to the tune ofGeorge M. Cohan's 1906 song "You're a Grand Old Flag", and is the same song that theMelbourne Football Club uses.^[22]

It's a grand old flag, it's a high flying flag,

It's the emblem for me and for you,

It's the emblem of the team we love,

The team of the Red and the Blue.

Every heart beats true, for the Red and the Blue,

And we sing this song to you,

Should old acquaintance be forgot,

Keep your eye on the Red and the Blue.

Old Brighton's Club XVIII team, the Warriors, also had an unofficial song in 1987 which was sung to the tune of "Advance Australia Fair".^[13]

Old Brighton's sons let us rejoice, for the footy season's back you see.

With cans in our hands and [censored], a flag's our destiny,

We'll sink more beers and kick more goals, a few may get a shag...

Old Brighton couldn't keep us there, we were too good they found,

So on one dark and stormy night they kicked us off our ground,

We'll kick more goals and drink more beers...

• OBGFC: A Tribute (pages 1−194) (archived 28 September 2024)
• OBGFC: A Tribute (pages 195−297) (archived 28 September 2024)
• OBGFC: A Tribute (pages 298−500) (archived 28 September 2024)

• Victorian Amateur Football Association clubs
• Australian rules football clubs established in 1957
• 1957 establishments in Australia
• Sport in the City of Bayside

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use Australian English from January 2018
• All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English
• Use dmy dates from June 2020