The West Preston Lakeside Roosters, also known as the
Lakies, is the result of a merger between two of Darebin’s
football clubs: West Preston and Reservoir Lakeside. The merger took effect in
March of 1998 and has been a successful union so far.
West Preston had originally been formed in 1948 and played
in several competitions around Melbourne with success. This led the club to
apply for membership in the Diamond Valley Football League in 1981. The DVFL is
one of, if not the strongest of Melbourne’s suburban competitions and thus the
successful application was a great moment for the club. West Preston joined
Reservoir Lakeside in the DVFL; the ‘Lakies’ had already been playing in the
League for some time and had achieved significant success including three
Division 1-A Premierships.
West Preston had a great deal of success in Division 2 of
the DVFL, winning several Premierships at both A and B grade. It was not until
the merger with Reservoir Lakeside though that the Club was able to finally
become a power in Division 1-A which culminated in the merged club winning the
Premiership in 2003. The Roosters were runners-up to Northcote
Park in 2000.
In addition West Preston Lakeside has a strong commitment to junior football, fielding nine teams under the West Preston Junior banner and five more under the Keon Park banner. The Club also has a strong association with Preston YCW Cricket Club, fields basketball and netball teams and hopes to add a women’s football team in the near future.