View source for Bendigo Gold Football Club

{{Use Australian English|date=December 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox australian football club
| color1 = #000066
| color2 = gold
| color3 = solid gold
  | clubname  = Bendigo Gold
  | image     = [[File:Bendigo Gold Football Club colours.jpg|130px]]
  | fullname  = {{nowrap|Bendigo Diggers Football Club Ltd}}<ref name="abn">{{Cite web |date=2014-11-01 |title=ABN Lookup |url=https://abr.business.gov.au/ |access-date=2023-06-09 |website=abr.business.gov.au |language=en}}</ref>
  | nicknames = ''Gold''
  | formernicknames = ''Diggers'', ''Bombers''
  | motto     =
  | founded   = 1998
  | dissolved = 2014
  | colours   = {{color box|#000066}} Blue {{color box|Gold}} Gold
  | league    = [[Victorian Football League]]
  | premierships = 
  | ground    = [[Queen Elizabeth Oval]] (18,000) <br/> View Street, Bendigo
  | ground2   = 
  | capacity  = 
  | capacity2 =
  | most recent premiership =
| pattern_b1      = _navystripes 
| pattern_sh1     = 
| pattern_so1     = _hoops_navy
| body1           = FFCC00 
| shorts1         = 000066 
| socks1          = FFCC00
| pattern_name2   = Historical
| pattern_b2      = _redrightsash
| pattern_sh2     = 
| pattern_so2     = _hoops_black
| body2           = 000000
| shorts2         = FFFFFF
| socks2          = FF0000
}}
'''Bendigo Gold''' was an [[Australian rules football]] club based in [[Bendigo]], [[Victoria (state)|Victoria]]. The club debuted in the [[Victorian Football League]] (VFL) in 1998 as the '''Bendigo Diggers Football Club''', which remained its legal name for the duration of the club's existence despite subsequent nickname changes to the '''Bombers''' and then '''Gold''' in proceeding seasons. The club disbanded at the conclusion of the [[2014 VFL season]].<ref name="Brent Diamond">{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|date=25 June 2014|title=VFL club Bendigo Gold to fold|access-date=26 June 2014|url=http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/vfl-club-bendigo-gold-to-fold-20140625-zslv8.html|author=Brent Diamond}}</ref>

==History==
The club entered the VFL in 1998 as the Bendigo Diggers. It struggled for on-field success, winning only seven games in its first three seasons, and enduring successive [[imperfect season|winless seasons]] in 2001 and 2002.<ref name="solongdons">{{cite news|newspaper=Bendigo Advertiser|publication-place=Bendigo, VIC|title=So long Dons|author=Luke West|date=14 September 2012|url=http://www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au/story/335419/so-long-dons/|access-date=21 April 2014}}</ref>

Starting from 2003 the club formed an [[Australian Football League reserves affiliations|affiliation]] with the [[Essendon Football Club]] in the [[Australian Football League]], under which Essendon could field its reserves players in the Bendigo team. The Diggers mascot was changed to the Bendigo Bombers and the guernsey changed to black with a red sash, to match those of the Essendon AFL club. Over the following ten years of the clubs' affiliation, the club played finals five times, with its best finish and sole finals victory coming in [[2005 VFL season|2005]], when the club finished fourth. The club also endured another winless season during the affiliation, in [[2009 VFL season|2009]].<ref name="solongdons" />

After the completion of the 2011 season, Essendon announced that the 2012 season would be the last season of affiliation with Bendigo; Essendon fielded a stand-alone reserves team in the VFL from 2013, and Bendigo returned to fielding a stand-alone senior team. To reflect the impending change, the team changed its name to the Bendigo Gold, starting in 2012 (the final season of the clubs' affiliation).<ref name="gold">{{cite news|url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/afl/bendigo-gold-unveiled-for-final-year-with-bombers-before-dons-go-solo-in-vfl/story-e6frf9io-1226311335907|title=Bendigo Gold unveiled for final year with Bombers before Dons go solo in VFL|first=Sam|last=Landsberger|date=27 March 2012|access-date=27 March 2012|newspaper=Herald Sun}}</ref>

Without access to the professional players or financial support offered by its affiliation with Essendon, Bendigo quickly struggled to remain competitive as a stand-alone club. Bendigo was winless in both 2013 and 2014 – which, when added to the 2001 and 2002 seasons, represented four consecutive winless seasons as a stand-alone club. In June 2014, the club concluded that it was not financially viable in the long term; it consequently disbanded and left the VFL following the 2014 season.<ref name="Brent Diamond"/>

===Honour board===
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="background:#bdb76b;"
! Year !! Finishing position !! Coach !! Captain/s !! Best and Fairest !! Leading Goalkicker
|-

| 1998 || 10th ||  [[Ross G. Smith|Ross Smith]] ||  Ross Smith ||  Dave Lancaster || 
|-
| 1999 || 11th (Last) ||  [[Nathan Bower]] ||  [[Nathan Bower]] ||  David Lancaster || 
|-
| 2000 || 18th (Last) ||  [[Nathan Bower]] ||  [[Darren Walsh (footballer)|Darren Walsh]] ||  [[Nick Carter (footballer)|Nick Carter]] || 
|-
| 2001 || 16th (Last) ||  [[Neville Massina]] ||  [[Darren Walsh (footballer)|Darren Walsh]] ||  [[Damien Lock]] || 
|-
| 2002 || 16th (Last) ||  [[Damian Drum]] ||  [[Nick Carter (footballer)|Nick Carter]] ||  [[Nick Carter (footballer)|Nick Carter]] || 
|-
| 2003 || 10th ||  [[Peter Banfield]] ||  [[Nick Carter (footballer)|Nick Carter]] ||  [[Nick Carter (footballer)|Nick Carter]] || 
|-
| 2004 || 8th ||  [[Peter Banfield]] ||  [[Nick Carter (footballer)|Nick Carter]]  ||  [[Jordan Doering]] || 
|-
| 2005 || 4th ||  [[Matthew Knights]] ||  [[Nick Carter (footballer)|Nick Carter]] ||  [[Jordan Doering]] || 
|-
| 2006 || 12th ||  [[Matthew Knights]] ||  [[Nick Carter (footballer)|Nick Carter]] ||  [[Ben Jolley]] || 
|-
| 2007 || 8th ||  [[Matthew Knights]] ||  [[Simon Rosa]] ||  [[Kepler Bradley]] || 
|-
| 2008 || 10th ||  [[Adrian Hickmott]] ||  [[James Flaherty (Australian rules footballer)|James Flaherty]] ||  [[Hayden Skipworth]] || 
|-
| 2009 || 13th (Last) ||  [[Adrian Hickmott]] ||  James Flaherty  ||  [[Paul Scanlon]] ||  [[Darcy Daniher]] (14) 
|-
| 2010 || 8th ||  [[Shannon Grant]] ||  James Flaherty ||  [[Michael Quinn (footballer)|Michael Quinn]] || 
|-
| 2011 || 7th ||  [[Shannon Grant]] || [[Ben Duscher / Trent Shinners]] ||  [[Ben Duscher]] || 
|-
| 2012 || 8th ||  [[Hayden Skipworth]] || [[Ben Duscher / Trent Shinners]] ||  [[Brendan Lee]] ||  [[Matthew Little]] (52)
|-
| 2013 || 14th (Last) || [[Austinn Jones]] || Steven Stroobants || [[Alik Magin]] || [[Alik Magin]] (17)
|-
| 2014 || 16th (Last)|| [[Austinn Jones]] || Steven Stroobants || Daniel Toman<ref>[http://www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au/story/2508650/toman-wins-gold-best-and-fairest/?cs=81 Toman wins 2014 Gold best and fairest]</ref> || Tyrone Downie (31)
|-
|}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120815014437/http://www.bendigofc.com.au/ Official website] (Archive, 15 Aug 2012)
*{{cite web|url=http://www.fullpointsfooty.net/bendigo_bombers.htm |title=Full Points Footy profile for Bendigo Bombers|url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607123511/http://www.fullpointsfooty.net/bendigo_bombers.htm|archive-date=7 June 2011}}

{{VFL}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Former Victorian Football League clubs]]
[[Category:Sport in Bendigo]]
[[Category:1998 establishments in Australia]]
[[Category:2014 disestablishments in Australia]]
[[Category:Australian rules football clubs established in 1998]]
[[Category:Sports clubs and teams disestablished in 2014]]


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