The history of Tuggeranong Valley's four football clubs has been remembered in their inaugural jersey, with the amalgamated outfit ready to establish its presence in the Canberra AFL community.
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Tuggeranong Valley unveiled the design of their first uniform on Friday, which will be worn by all players across every grade when competitions resume this year.
The Tuggeranong Hawks, Lions, Bulldogs and Calwall Swans united under one banner to form the Tuggeranong Valley Australian football club in February, with the colours of all clubs represented in the playing strip.
Red features as the dominate colour as it's been worn by all clubs in the Tuggeranong region and is distinct to other AFL jerseys in Canberra. The combination of red with royal blue, white and gold acknowledges the club's future as an amalgamated unit.
"It's representative of ourselves as a new identity but with a distant and respectful nod to the history of all four clubs," Tuggeranong Valley president Leo Lahey said.
"There's a strong v across the front of the jersey and that's to represent the valley. It shows this club represents everyone in the Tuggeranong Valley as a single community in the AFL competition."
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Tuggeranong Valley has become the biggest AFL club in Canberra since the merger, with more than 600 players registered.
They've entered a women's team into the Rising Stars competition for the first time in three years, strengthening their pathway to the top senior grade.
The addition of the Rising Stars team and a third-grade men's side means Tuggeranong Valley has teams registered in every age group and competition.
"We want to provide an environment for players to both be able to participate and enjoy, but also to develop as well," Lahey said.
"We've had significant growth across girl's and women's football in the Valley across the last couple of years. For me personally, one of the most exciting things is to enter a women's team in the Rising Stars competition for under 18's.
"We brought girls together from junior clubs to create full teams and give them a real opportunity to participate and develop. We've got tremendous, young footballers coming through the Valley."
Lahey is confident the club is well position to begin operations once the government and AFL Canberra give the green light for competitions to resume.
Prior to the coronavirus shutdown, work was being done in the amalgation process to ensure the new club would be financially sustainable.
"Like every other club, the coronavirus pandemic has created its own set of unique challenges," Lahey said.
"We're probably fortunate somewhat in that there was an extraordinary amount of momentum and goodwill in bringing the amalgamation together, that's given rise to a strong resilience.
"We did all the appropriate work to make sure the infrastructure, participation rates and financial stability of the new entity was something we could give assurance to the community, club and competition.
"Will we be better off after the pandemic? Of course not, everyone is going to have to take a step back but we're in a strong position as a community club."
Lucie Bertoldo
Lucie Bertoldo is a sports reporter for the Canberra Times.
Lucie Bertoldo is a sports reporter for the Canberra Times.
