About Bayside Ravens Gridiron Club

The Ravens are a Bayside based club formed in June 2000, competing in the Gridiron Queensland competition for the first time in 2001. 

In 2011, the Ravens will field teams in Senior (18+) and Junior (14-17) divisions.

Ravens History

The Bayside Ravens formed in June 2000, with a vision to competing in the 2001 Gridiron Queensland competition. A mixture of experienced players and enthusiastic rookies combined to form the club and set about preparing the club for its entry into Gridiron Queensland.

The Bayside Ravens became incorporated in November 2000. A four man executive committee was established to see the Ravens to fruition, and in February 2001 Bayside Ravens Football Club inc. was invited to affiliate to Gridiron Queensland.

The Bayside Ravens were based at Boundary Street Sports Club, Tingalpa in 2001 and took the field for their inaugural match on Sunday 22 July, 2001. The Ravens took a 20-13 victory over the Northern Rhinos to begin the Bayside Ravens on-field history. The Ravens fielded a junior team – the Bayside Falcons in 2001, with a host of future Ravens being bred. The Senior team wore a motley assortment of colours early in the season prior to the black and gold strip arrived.

The completion of the 2001 season saw the club with fewer victories than hoped for, but with a strong team unity and spirit developed. With the year of experience and learning under the club’s belt, the committee set about preparing for 2002. A revamped 4-man coaching staff was formed to run the clubs on-field activities in 2002, and a committed executive committee established to oversee the clubs off-field activities.

As part of a commitment to providing a higher level of coaching and administrative expertise, the Bayside Ravens have achieved an excellent level of accreditation. Currently the club has four Level 2 Coaches, and a further three Level one coaches involved as well as a Level 1 Sports Administration accredited official.

The Bayside Ravens moved in 2002 to a new home - Judy Holt Park, Birkdale, with a greatly improved season. The senior season came ahead in leaps and bounds, whilst the junior team had an amazing season to finish runner-up. The Ravens abandoned the gold uniform for seniors and incorporated red- the traditional Redlands colour into the uniform, with the juniors making use of the attractive gold and black combination.

2003 saw the Ravens field two junior teams - Ravens Red and Ravens White, with Ravens White finishing the season undefeated champions, the Red team, besieged by injury, finished 3rd in the regular season. The senior team showed flashes of potential but were unable to climb the ladder. Both clubs took the field in black and red for 2003.

The 2004 season saw a change in coaching staff and an injection of youth to the senior team. As the early part of a building phase the Ravens youth showed plenty of skill and determination but again maintained a finish outside the top four. It was all good news for the Ravens juniors, who debuted the Green jerseys in 2004 to take an undefeated Sunbowl title.

The Junior program, the flagship of the club finished another superb season as runners-up in the Junior Sunbowl, with the seniors, although earning the wooden spoon, saw an influx of new talent and an increase in offensive production to show signs of a strong future.

The 2006 season was an up and down season for the Ravens. Some positive forward gains were made at times by the Senior program, but again inexperience and inconsistency limited the progress shown on the ladder. In the juniors, another playoff appearance was achieved, but a disappointing end to an era for many of the clubs graduating players.

2007 saw some exciting changes to the team’s on field presentation, with the new predominantly green custom designed uniform unveiled. The season saw new ground broken for the Ravens with both senior and junior teams qualifying for the playoffs. The junior program came within inches of taking out the Sunbowl, going down in overtime.

With the building blocks of 2007, 2008 saw the introduction of a new training apparel pack, allowing the Ravens to be the most professionally presented team in the competition in all areas. It was a return to the playoffs for both junior and senior teams, the senior lineup breaking numerous club records on their way to the most successful year ever. The junior Ravens had a record number of players registered, continuing the growth of the club throughout the Eastern Suburbs and Redlands areas.

2009 was a watershed year for the club with almost a 50% increase in player numbers. This was facilitated by not only an additional junior team, but a staggering intake of new senior players. The expansion of the club into the Eastern Suburbs allowed for some fertile recruiting grounds as well. Along with this great growth came great success, all three Ravens teams making the playoffs. Eastside Ravens and Bayside Ravens made a fantastic two-pronged attack on the junior competition, with the Eastside team crowned Sunbowl champions. The senior Ravens came within a point in their playoff loss to the Bears, but finished the year resolved to make it a Ravens double in 2010.

2010 was the 10th Anniversary of Ravens Football and it was another huge year for Ravens football.  A new strip was adopted for the season and the fresh approach helped both teams into the post season. The Seniors made history with their first ever Sunbowl appearance against the Wildcats, albeit finishing as runners-up. The season only served to increase motivation at both levels and see high goals and expectations set for 2011.