The Kenmore Australian Football Club, also known as the Kenmore Bears is an Australian rules football club formed as an offshoot of an older junior club which is notable as having produced Australian Football League players Mal Michael and Courtenay Dempsey. Other Australian rules football players Max Hudghton, Jackson Allen, Peter Yagmoor and Rex Liddy spent a significant amount of their junior careers at Kenmore's junior club.
History
Formation
The Kenmore Bears was formed in the 1997 season. The Club was originally formed to give players from the Kenmore Juniors AFC an opportunity to play senior football close to home. At that stage, the closest senior club, West Brisbane Australian Football Club, had folded after winning the 1996 Queensland Australia Football League (QAFL) Premiership.
In its first season, Kenmore fielded one side in the Division 3 competition in what was then the Brisbane Australian Football League (BAFL). They originally played out of the home of the Kenmore Juniors, at Akuna Oval in Kenmore. In their first season, Kenmore tasted success, winning the Premiership. This was followed quickly by another Premiership in 1998.
Promotion
In 1999, Kenmore were promoted to the 2nd Division of the BAFL. Playing in this Division required the formation of two sides. It was Kenmore's hardest season since their formation, with both sides winning only a handful of games and finishing towards the bottom of the table.
Division 3
In 2000, the BAFL merged with its Gold Coast equivalent to form the Australian Football League South Queensland (AFLSQ). Kenmore played in two losing Division 3 Grand Finals of the new competition in 2000 and 2001, before winning the premiership again in 2002. In 2001, the club changed home grounds to that of the Jindalee Jags which is in Wongaburra Street, Jindalee. After captaining Kenmore to consecutive losing Grand Finals, Jeff Williams handed over his captaincy to Anthony Randell. Williams remained with a club as a playing Assistant Coach in 2002, returning to coach the Seniors in 2005.
In 2002, the Club's administration looked for a bigger home ground, with the Jindalee base considered too small for Senior football. At this point the decision was made to move to a new home ground in Queenscroft Street, Chelmer. Incidentally, these clubrooms were the West Brisbane clubrooms when they folded.
Promoted Again
In 2003, Kenmore were promoted into the Division 2 competition. This was a tough year for the club, but also an important year for its development. The Seniors finished the year without a win and on the bottom of the table. However, future premiership captain Peter Stowasser played his first year for the club this season. In a stark contrast, the Reserves side, captained by Brett "Billy" Stevens, won the Premiership. The side included many players still playing junior football, such as Tim Plummer, Greg Stirling and Brendan Stirling. Bolstered by ageing yet quality inclusions such as Cameron Bulley (who captained the 1996 West Brisbane Premiership), Brad Lennon and Peter Halverson, the side overcame Wynnum in the Grand Final.
The following season in 2004 Kenmore registered its first win in the Seniors, defeating Glasshouse by 55 points at home. Captained now by Peter Stowasser, the side quickly followed its win with another over Griffith University by 6 points. However, wins were still uncommon, both sides registering 6 wins each for the season. Importantly for the Seniors though, they registered their first win over a finals side, defeating eventual runners-up Ipswich away in Round 9. As a sign of the club's growth, 6 future Premiership players made their Seniors debut that season: Simeon Bell, Ian Maughan, James May, Will Nase, Nick Routledge and Cameron Stirling (who was then only 15). Ashley Bone, Scott Matthews, Peter Stowasser and the other three Stirling brothers, Andrew, Greg and Brendan, were the other the 6 players to play Seniors that year and later in the 2006 Premiership.