The Rams were founded in 1878.

To put that into context, it was one year after the first ever test match between Australia and England was played. It was also one year after the first tournament at Wimbledon. And it was 19 years before the AFL was first established. 

Its long, rich history has entrenched the club into the culture of Yass as a town, and it is fitting that a momentous anniversary comes amid the team’s resurgence (they currently sit at third on the ladder, behind only Taralga and Crookwell). 

The 140^th celebration was held at St Clements Hall on Saturday night, and event organiser Ashleigh Brewer, said that part of what maintains the Rams is the openness of the club to new faces. 

“I’ve been involved with the club since I was about two years old,” Brewer said. 

“It’s a sense of belonging, that pretty much anyone new to town can come and join us and we’ll welcome you with open arms.

“No matter who you are, if you come to town and you know no-one but you don’t want to play football, come and see us, we’ll find you a job!

“It’s all about the sense of community and knowing that you do have somewhere to go if you need someone.” 

The celebration itself was a raucous affair, and Brewer said that the attendance was beyond what she and the club had hoped for. 

“It was awesome,” Brewer said. 

“We had 133 people. We had guest speakers, which were old coaches and management staff, past players and then current players.

“We did a question and answer, we had Stu Williams interviewing them just about their experiences within the club and whatnot.” 

All in all, Brewer said, the night was a rousing success and all attendees she has spoken to had a great night. 

“Everyone had a really good time, the feedback’s been really really good,” she said. 

“It was a big job, but we had an awesome support network behind it.

“Our events committee who helped organise it, we couldn’t have done it without them.”