The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL, is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport.
Russell Frank Ebert was an Australian rules footballer and coach. He is considered one of the greatest players in the history of Australian rules football in South Australia. Ebert is the only player to have won four Magarey Medals, which are awarded to the best and fairest player in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). He is one of four Australian rules footballers to have a statue at Adelaide Oval, the others being Ken Farmer, Malcolm Blight and Barrie Robran. Football historian John Devaney described Ebert as coming "as close as any player in history to exhibiting complete mastery over all the essential skills of the game," and he is widely regarded as the Port Adelaide Football Club's greatest-ever player. Aside from his 392 games at Port Adelaide, Ebert played 25 games for North Melbourne in the 1979 VFL season and collected over 500 possessions as a midfielder for the club, which reached the preliminary final. Ebert was an inaugural inductee into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 1996, and he was posthumously elevated to Legend status in June 2022, the highest honour that can be bestowed onto an Australian footballer.
The Glenelg Football Club, nicknamed the Tigers or the Bays, is an Australian rules football team which plays in the South Australian National Football League. Their home ground is Stratarama Stadium, located in the southern coastal suburb of Glenelg East, South Australia.
The North Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed the Roosters, is an Australian rules football club affiliated with the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) and SANFL Women's League (SANFLW). The club plays its home games at Prospect Oval, located in Prospect, a northern suburb of Adelaide. The club joined the SAFA in 1888 as the Medindie Football Club, changing its name to North Adelaide in 1893. It is the fourth oldest club still in operation in the SANFL after South Adelaide (1877), Port Adelaide (1877) and Norwood (1878). As the Port Adelaide SANFL team merged with the Port Adelaide AFL team in 2013 and now plays in the SANFL as an AFL Reserves team, some will argue that North Adelaide is now the third oldest SANFl club still in operation in the SANFL. North Adelaide's first premiership was won in 1900, and the club has won a total of fourteen senior men's premierships in the SANFL, most recently in 2018.
Central District Football Club is an Australian rules football club that plays in the South Australian National Football League. Based at Elizabeth in the City of Playford about 25 km north of Adelaide, South Australia, the club's development zones include the outer Adelaide northern suburbs of Salisbury, Elizabeth, Golden Grove, Greenwith, Township of Gawler, One Tree Hill and Barossa Valley Districts.
West Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Nicknamed the Bloods and commonly known as the Westies, the club's home base is Richmond Oval. The Oval is located in Richmond, an inner-western suburb of Adelaide.
Norwood Football Club, nicknamed the Redlegs, is an Australian rules football club competing in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) in the state of South Australia. Its home ground is Coopers Stadium, which is often referred to as "The Parade". It is one of the two traditional powerhouse clubs of the SANFL, the other being Port Adelaide, who together have won half of all SANFL premierships. The club has won 31 SANFL premierships and 1 SANFLW premiership.
Woodville-West Torrens Football Club is an Australian rules football club playing in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). The club was formed in 1990 from a merger of the neighbouring Woodville and West Torrens football clubs and played its inaugural game in 1991. Since 1993, the Eagles have played most of their home games at Woodville's home ground of Woodville Oval, having previously used Football Park.
The Sturt Football Club, nicknamed The Double Blues, is a semi-professional Australian rules football club based in the suburb of Unley, South Australia, which plays in the South Australian National Football League.
The Showdown is the Australian rules football derby played by the two Australian Football League (AFL) teams from South Australia, the Adelaide and Port Adelaide football clubs. The first AFL premiership fixture between the two clubs took place on 20 April 1997.
Stephen Scott Kernahan is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) and for the Glenelg Football Club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). He also played 16 State of Origin games for South Australia and gained selection as an All-Australian five times. He later served for six years as president of the Carlton Football Club.
In South Australia, Australian rules football is traditionally a popular participation and spectator sport. It is governed by the South Australian Football Commission which runs the South Australia National Football League in the capital Adelaide, the highest profile competition among the 24 spread across the state. Participation has fallen substantially in recent years to a current rate of 4.1% and 63,969 adults and 28,692 children less than a quarter of which are female. Prior to 2019 it was the most participated team sport in the state, however it dropped to third after both basketball and soccer there surpassed it in 2024.
Mark James Mickan is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Brisbane Bears and Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Mickan began his senior career with South Australian National Football League (SANFL) club West Adelaide in 1981 and finished back at West Adelaide in 1994. All-Australian team selection in 1988 marked the pinnacle of his playing career. He has a sister, Patricia Mickan, who was a basketballer.
Peter Gareth Carey is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Glenelg Football Club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) from 1971 to 1988.
The 1990 SANFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Port Adelaide Football Club and the Glenelg Football Club, held at Football Park on Sunday 7 October 1990. It was the 89th annual Grand Final of the South Australian National Football League, staged to determine the premiers of the 1990 SANFL season. The match, attended by 50,589 spectators, was won by Port Adelaide by a margin of 15 points, marking that club's thirtieth premiership victory.
The 1992 South Australian National Football League (SANFL) Grand Final saw the Port Adelaide Magpies defeat the Glenelg Tigers by 56 points. The match was played on Saturday 3 October 1992 at Football Park in wet weather in front of a crowd of 42,242.
The 1982 SANFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Norwood Football Club and Glenelg Football Club at Football Park on 2 October 1982. It was the 84th grand final of the South Australian National Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1982 SANFL season. The match, attended by 47,336 spectators, was won by Norwood by a margin of 62 points, marking the club's 25th SANFL premiership, having previously won the premiership in 1978. Norwood's Danny Jenkins won the Jack Oatey Medal as the player judged best on ground.
The 1987 SANFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the North Adelaide Football Club and the Glenelg Football Club, held at Football Park on 3 October 1987. It was the 70th annual grand final of the South Australian National Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1987 SANFL season. The match, attended by 50,617 spectators, was won by North Adelaide by a margin of 82 points, marking that club's 12th premiership victory.
The 2018 South Australian National Football League (SANFL) grand final was played at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday, 23 September to determine the premiers for the 2018 SANFL season.
The 2019 South Australian National Football League (SANFL) grand final was a match at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday, 22 September to determine the premiers for the 2019 SANFL season.
