The few match results that appeared during 1886 invariably called the club Preston, and the oldest surviving report of an annual meeting in April of 1887 also was headed "Preston Football Club", but the Gowerville name was briefly revived soon after, and perhaps with a political motive in mind.

After spending their 1886 season playing on the unknown paddock, the club again tried to gain access to Preston Park and the April meeting of the Shire Council received a letter minuted as from the "Gowerville and Preston Football Club" asking permission to use the Park for football.

Gowerville had always had a strong ally on Council in William Paterson (a business partner of the earliest known secretary of the football club in William Watson).    Paterson in August of the previous year had been elected Shire President, in fact his fourth term in that position having led the old Shire of Jika for three years.

The previous mayor, Cr. Alex Short moved a motion that the Parks Committee meet the football club to inspect the Park and report on its suitability for football.   Paterson seconded the motion before Cr. William Bayliss, who coincidentally had played in the Coburg side against the first known Preston team in 1880, suggested that the matter could be settled more quickly by "a personal inspection to see whether the game could be played there without damage to the trees and shrubs".

Paterson, however, (perhaps through the hard lessons of many years spent on the Council) was adamant that it had to be done by the book, warning, "granting permission was right enough so long as no damage was done but the moment damage was caused the ratepayers would come down upon the Council".

The matter was left in the hands of the Parks Committee, but Bayliss's crusade for a "personal inspection" was to prove crucial.

A fortnight after the meeting, the Preston Football Club held their meeting at the new Bradford Hall in High Street.     The hall, which became the regular meeting place for many groups around the area, was constructed by James Bradford and opened in November of the previous year.

President of the club was J. G. Powell, noted the previous season as secretary, but an earlier report suggested William Watson held this position and Powell may have in fact been the incumbent President.

Secretary for 1887 was John D. Marshall, a well-known local builder and storekeeper in South Preston and treasurer was the local political activist, Frank Donovan.

From the meeting we know that the newly combined team played 12 games during 1886, winning five, losing five and drawing two.     Total receipts were put at £12-1-6 and expenditure £10-11-6.

Our first "best and fairest" award by the way of a dinner service was won by T. Horan, the prize then going to the "best all round player".   Medals were also presented to R. Lee, J. Hopkins and W. Watson and Horan was elected captain.

There is no evidence one way or the other to suggest whether Preston played in a division of the Victorian Junior Football Association, or just arranged games.      The number of matches played suggests an organised competition, and this is supported by comments made at the meeting that Preston's playing list was "material for a First-Rate Junior club".

At the Shire's meeting in May, plans were submitted by the Parks Committee showing the portion required for football and "such alterations as would be necessary".     A letter from the club explained what measures they planned to protect the trees and shrubs from harm, and the Committee's thoughts "were favourable for the purpose sought under a two month trial".

A few weeks before, there had been an somewhat unhappy cricket match between the Preston Union club and a team with a somewhat unsavoury reputation called Industry, based in Brunswick.   The Collingwood Mercury had deplored the constant use of "objectionable" language by the visiting team, perhaps prompting Cr. Short (a publican of some 30 years standing as well as a prominent Justice of the Peace) to ask whether the football club had a regulation to "prevent the use of improper language by its members or players".

This seems to have been the opening that Cr. Bayliss had been waiting for.

He had had his "personal inspection" and let the Council into a few home truths :

" … the trees in the Park are already very much damaged, the buildings were in a very much a bad state, the seats and sills have been cut and carved with knives and the walls covered with disgraceful writing"

(Current councillors who think it would be clever to remove the fencing and return the grounds to open parklands may like to take heed of his findings). Bayliss put much of the blame on