70 Years of Sherwood AFC
Andrew Thomson
Our 70th Anniversary
Sherwood Magpies AFC recently turned 70.
It's a milestone that seems big in isolation. But when you sit with the history of this club, you realise it's not about the number—it's about what those seven decades represent.
The Beginning
In 1956, a handful of people had a simple idea: boys in the Sherwood, Corinda, and Oxley area deserved the chance to play regular Australian rules football. Maurie McNamee and Wally Hunter were the driving forces. Gordon Hall, a QANFL juniors secretary, helped arrange the first meeting. Eight people showed up. Mrs Michel took the minutes.
They didn't know they were starting something that 70 years later would have over 1000 registered players across multiple age groups and both men's and women's teams.
Maurie McNamee, a giant Collingwood fan, chose the black and white. Collingwood donated the first guernseys. The club's first colours were actually black and gold—a gift from Mayne—but the black and white came, and it stuck. There's something fitting about that: a club built on generosity and community support from the very beginning.
The Climb
For the first 12 years, Sherwood was a junior-only club. Players graduated through to Western Districts, many becoming legends there. Then in 1968, with so many juniors wanting senior football, Sherwood made the leap. They formed a senior side.
The success came quickly. A premiership in 1970. Another in 1973. Then from 1975 to 1982, eight premierships in a row. Eight. In a row. That's not luck. That's a club doing things right—on the field and off it.
Bob Peirce and Ian Selvage worked tirelessly to develop what became Powwewenna Oval—converting it from a swamp and rubbish tip into an AFL-standard ground. Bill Peirce would go on to play more games for Sherwood than anyone else, ever. Around 800 games. His commitment to the club is almost impossible to measure.
The club fought to join the QAFL. Fought for years while others blocked their path. When they finally got in, in 1983, it was tough going. But they kept going.
The Test
In 1991, Sherwood merged with Western District Bulldogs to form West Brisbane Warriors. It wasn't a choice—it was survival. The two fierce rivals had to become one. In 1996, they won the QAFL premiership. Two years later, the Warriors fell apart, and there was no senior football in the western suburbs of Brisbane.
That could have been the end.
Instead, in 1999, club stalwarts Kevin Kluver, Des Lashman, and Simon Mapplebeck reformed a senior club. They called it Western Magpies at first—a name given by the QAFL to encompass all the western suburbs. Eventually, Sherwood reclaimed its own name. The seniors, all those teams, all those juniors—they wanted to be Sherwood again.
Women's Football
For 49 years, Sherwood was a men's-only club. In 2005, that changed. Deidre Jakavicius, Simon Mapplebeck, and Romus Jakavicius spearheaded the establishment of women's football at the club. Holly Lambert was the first captain. It went into recess in 2012, but in 2020, it was re-established. Now the women's program has three senior teams.
Where We Are Now
The club didn't make finals from 2022 to 2025. But the Colts program has been incredibly successful, winning premierships and regularly playing finals. The women's program grows stronger every year. Over 1000 players. A junior program that feeds into colts, reserves, firsts. Multiple teams at every level. The club is genuinely one of the biggest in Australia.
To mark the 70th anniversary, Sherwood released a commemorative guernsey carrying the names of every Senior player to play at least one match for the club in Firsts, Reserves, and Thirds/Woodsmen—men's and women's—from 1968 until two weeks before the milestone.
Every name represents someone who pulled on black and white. Every name is part of this story.
70 Years of What?
If you ask what the last 70 years have been about, it's not hard to answer: community. People showing up. People building something bigger than themselves. Maurie McNamee visiting schools to recruit players. Bob Peirce fighting to get Powwewenna Oval right. Bill Peirce playing 800 games. Kevin Kluver helping reform the club when it could have died. The families who've had three generations at Sherwood. The juniors who've come through and stayed. The women who showed up and made the program something worth being proud of.
That's what 70 years look like.
There will be tough years ahead. There always are. But this club has shown what it takes to survive them: loyalty, community, and people who refuse to let it go.
Happy 70th, Sherwood. Here's to the next chapter.
