Barossa District | ||
---|---|---|
Names | ||
Full name | Barossa District Football & Netball Club | |
Former name(s) | Williamstown Saints Lyndoch | |
Nickname(s) | Bull(dogs) | |
Motto | Be a Better Bulldog | |
Club details | ||
Founded | 1979 (merger) | |
Colours | Red White Blue | |
Competition | Barossa Light & Gawler Football Association | |
President | Simon Crapenter | |
Coach | Ash (Red) Barnett | |
Premierships | 10 (1982, 1987, 1988, 1990, 2006, 2007, 2012, 2013, 2016 and 2017) | |
Ground(s) | Williamstown Oval (1952-2024) | |
Lyndoch Recreational Ground (Barossa Park) (1947-? 2025-) (capacity: 5000~ (AFL)) | ||
Former ground(s) | Williamstown Oval (1952-2024) | |
Uniforms | ||
| ||
Other information | ||
Official website | barossadistrictfc.org.au |
The Barossa District Football & Netball Club is an Australian sports club based in the Barossa Valley region of South Australia. The club is nicknamed the Bulldogs, and represents the towns of Lyndoch and Williamstown. The sports that Barossa District participate in are, Australian Rules Football in the Barossa Light & Gawler Football Association and Netball in the Barossa light and Gawler netball association.
The Barossa District Football and Netball Club was formed in 1979 following the merger of the Lyndoch Football Club and The Williamstown Rovers football club. Williamstown used to play on the Hills Football League (HFL) from 1967-1973, then moving to the Gawler and Districts Football League.
The Lyndoch Football Club was reformed in 1947 after the end of World War II and competed in the Lower North Football Association along with clubs in Greenock, Kangaroo Flat, Roseworthy, Sandy Creek, Smithfield and Truro. Lyndoch had won three premierships before the Lower North league folded in 1954, which resulted in the club going into recess. Lyndoch Football Club were based at Lyndoch Oval where they shared the venue with the Lyndoch Cricket Club.
Lyndoch reformed again in 1960 and began competition in the Gawler & District Football Association. They won the 1965 premiership beating Gawler 8.7.55 to 7.9.51 at Gawler Oval. However, that would be their last ever flag, despite grand final appearances in 1966, 1972, 1974 and 1978. The club merged with Williamstown Rovers the following year after the 1979 season. [1]
The Lyndoch FC 1965 premiership reunion was held in 2015 at the Lyndoch pavilion to celebrate 50 years since the club's last premiership. [2]
The Williamstown FC was based at Queen Victoria Jubilee Park in Williamstown which is Barossa District's current home ground and previously had the same colours of blue and gold as Lyndoch, as they had previously competed in the Torrens Valley Football Association until 1962, but changed to the Saints colours when they left the Hills Football League in 1973, as Lyndoch already donned the same colours. The competing clubs in the Gawler & District Football Association were Gawler Central, Willaston, Roseworthy and Lyndoch. Williamstown won the 1961 premiership after going through the entire season undefeated. However the club went into recess in 1963 due to a lack of player numbers.
Williamstown Rovers FC was founded in 1967 as a predecessor of the former club that went into recess and competed in the Hills Football League zone 2. Other competing teams in the competition were Pleasant Valley, Gumeracha, Woodside Army, Lenswood Ranges, Birdwood, Sedan Cambrai and Mount Torrens. Throughout the club's history a premiership never arrived despite some reasonably good on field performance where the club would only just fall short of making a Grand Final. Williamstown Rovers would merge with Lyndoch after the 1979 season. [3]
Both former clubs Lyndoch and Williamstown Rovers had a long-lasting rivalry in both the Torrens Valley and Gawler & District leagues, with the meeting being held on November 7, 1979 where the decision was made to merge the two clubs. The club was named Barossa District after the local council area and the club wanted 'neutral colours', donning the red, white and blue, and the same of the Central District Football Club. The guernsey consisted of a blue design with a red and white V with the Bulldogs logo.
The first year of competition for the new club was slow but earned a Finals spot after winning the last 8 games of the home and away season, despite being eliminated early. Games were spread at both Lyndoch and Williamstown in Barossa District's early years. The 1981 season saw Barossa District lacking the quality players needed to be competitive enough to reach Finals, but that changed the following year when the maiden day came in 1982 when they won their first premiership. However, injuries of key players prevented the Bulldogs from making Finals in 1983, and the club's lack of Finals competition continued until 1987 when the move was made to the Hills Football League zone 2 following the amalgamation between the Gawler and Barossa & Light leagues. During the club's four-year stint competing with clubs in and around the Adelaide Hills three more premierships were won in 1987, 1988 and 1990 beating Mount Torrens, Kersbrook and Nairne Bremer.
There was increasing pressure for the club to move to the Barossa Light & Gawler Football Association following the 1990 premiership. Senior and junior football and netball were playing at many different venues at once and many involved with the club wished for a move to the Barossa league which provided a more family friendly environment. With enough support, Barossa District entered the BL&GFA for the 1991 season. However, this would not only see a premiership drought but also a lack of on field success for the club also, with their only Finals appearances in 1995. The late 1990s would see the Bulldogs plummet even further, winning only one game in 1998 and 1999.
The early 2000s saw the continued lack of on field success despite efforts by members of the club to promote development of the club through junior development, fundraising and facility extension. The umpire changerooms, facilities for trainers, a handicapped toilet and a committee room were added in 2002 but the poor on field success and small number of games won continued which resulted in the loss of funds that were raised within the club. Things started looking better in 2005 when the club received funds from a loaned vineyard, hosted the Grand Final at Nuriootpa and recruited coach Steve O'Connor who turned things around even more for the Bulldogs to win their first BL&GFA flag the following season in 2006. The Bulldogs made five straight Grand Finals from 2006 to 2010, winning both 2006 and 2007 over Freeling but losing to Tanunda in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
2011 saw Barossa District finish 3rd and make Finals despite being defeated by Willaston after the opposition called a player count at the beginning of the 3rd quarter, believing Barossa District had a 19th man on the field when the quarter hadn't officially started and the player was just metres away from leaving the field of play. The following 2012 season saw Barossa District beat South Gawler and Kapunda to reach the Grand Final, after finishing 4th during the season, to oppose a strong Tanunda outfit who were going for their 5th consecutive premiership. Barossa District overcame the opposition and soundly beat the Magpies by 26 points. [4]
A thrilling encounter ensued in the following 2013 decider between Gawler Central and Barossa District, the Bulldogs again emerging victorious, this time by 5 points. Both 2014 and 2015 saw the Bulldogs miss the Finals but premiership success returned for the following two seasons in 2016 and 2017, beating a previously undefeated Gawler Central by 11 points and edging out Kapunda as underdogs in the 2017 Grand Final by 13 points. [5]
The most recent season of 2019 saw Barossa District finish 4th and make Finals, beating Freeling in an elimination final before falling to Nuriootpa the following week.
In tune to 'Click Go The Shears'
"Out on the field is the team of the year,
Look how we're scoring the crowd gives a cheer,
Goal after goal now you won't see us stop,
Fiercely determined 'till we reach the top,
We are the Bulldogs can't you see,
Red, white and blue for victory,
Strong and courageous we'll get the ball,
Watch Barossa District we're the best of them all,
Woof! Woof!"
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.
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.
Barossa Valley Way is the main road linking most of the major towns of the Barossa Valley in South Australia, designated as route B19 for its entire length. It is 35 km long, roughly following the North Para River.
Light Regional Council is a local government area north of Adelaide in South Australia. It is based in the town of Kapunda, and includes the towns of Freeling, Greenock, Hansborough, Hewett, Roseworthy and Wasleys.
The Williamstown Football Club, nicknamed the Seagulls, is an Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Williamstown. The club currently competes in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and VFL Women's (VFLW) competitions.
Schubert is a single-member electoral district for the South Australian House of Assembly covering an area of 2,017.8 km2. It is named after Max Schubert, the winemaker of Penfolds Grange Hermitage. The Barossa Valley area was first represented by the seat of Barossa. The seat of Custance was abolished and recreated as Schubert in the 1994 redistribution and first contested at the 1997 election. Schubert incorporates all of the Barossa Council, and is made up of portions of the Adelaide Hills Council, City of Playford, City of Tea Tree Gully, Light Regional Council, and Mid Murray Council. Areas covered include Eden Valley, Kersbrook, Nuriootpa, Lyndoch, Springton, Tanunda, and Williamstown.
The Myrtleford Alpine Saints Football Netball Club, is an Australian rules football and netball club based in the town of Myrtleford, in north east Victoria on the Ovens River. The football and netball squads play in the Ovens & Murray Football League (OMFL).
The Barossa Light & Gawler Football Association, more commonly referred to as the BL&GFA, is an Australian rules football competition based in the Barossa Valley, Gawler Region and Light Region of South Australia, Australia. Just 42 kilometres north of the state capital of Adelaide, the BL&GFA is an affiliated member of the South Australian National Football League. In 2024, the Willaston Donnybrooks secured their twenty-fifth premiership overall and their third in the BLGFA. The current president of the League is Mick Brien and the major sponsor of the league is the Grant Burge Winery.
The South Gawler Football Club is a country Australian rules football club, founded by James Fitzgerald in the Gawler South area of the town of Gawler, South Australia, in 1889. The Lions, who wear royal blue and white stripes, currently compete in the Barossa Light & Gawler Football Association. Their club and oval today situated at Eldred Riggs Reserve, Evanston, in Gawler.
Rugby Union South Australia (RUSA) is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in the state of South Australia. It is a member of Rugby Australia and runs an amateur club competition in Adelaide consisting of men's teams in Premier grade, Premier reserves, Division 2 and Division 2 reserves; and junior teams grouped by age from under 7 to under 18. As of 2013, a women's competition has been included. The RUSA also selects representative teams each year to compete against other Australian states and territories.
Kapunda Football Club, nicknamed The Lachbombers, is an Australian rules football club, based in Kapunda, South Australia, that competes in the Barossa Light & Gawler Football Association.
The Upper Murray Football Netball League(UMFNL) is an Australian Rules Football and Netball competition based in the rural town of Corryong, Victoria, Australia. The league contains four clubs from around the townships & farming districts of the greater Upper Murray area, including the three founding clubs from 1893.
The Gawler Football Club was an Australian rules football club that was founded in June 1868 based at Gawler in the Township of Gawler about 39 km to the north-north east of Adelaide, South Australia.
The 1933 Barossa state by-election was a by-election held on 8 July 1933 for the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Barossa. The by-election was caused by the death on 4 June 1933 of independent MP Dr Herbert Basedow, who had regained the seat at the 1933 election less than two months prior. He had previously held the seat from 1927 to 1930.
The Hundred of Barossa is a cadastral unit of hundred in South Australia in the northern Adelaide Hills. It lies west of the Barossa Range at the south end of the Barossa Valley and is bounded on the north and south by the North Para and South Para rivers, respectively. It is the most northern of the eleven hundreds of the County of Adelaide and was named in 1846 by Governor Frederick Robe after the Barossa Range.
The Hundred of Nuriootpa is a cadastral unit of hundred in the County of Light, South Australia split between in the eastern Adelaide Plains and western Barossa Valley. Named in 1847 for an indigenous term officially thought to mean "bartering place" and traditionally used as neutral ground for trading between various indigenous tribes, it is bounded on the south and east by the North Para River.
A by-election was held on 22 November 1924 for one of the seats of the three-member electoral district of Barossa, South Australia. The cause for the by-election was the death of William Hague on 9 October 1924. Despite a field of seven candidates from three parties for three seats at the general election in March, only two candidates stood for the by-election in November. The result was that Henry Crosby for the Liberal Federation with 3732 votes defeated Michael Joseph Murphy for the Labor Party with 3063 votes.
The Onkaparinga Valley Football Club, nicknamed the Bulldogs, is an Australian rules football club that serves the South Australian towns of Balhannah, Woodside and Oakbank. The Bulldogs currently compete in Division 1 of the Hills Football League and play their home games in Balhannah.
The Angaston Football Club, nicknamed the Panthers, is an Australian rules football club located in Angaston, a town on the eastern side of the Barossa Valley in South Australia.
The Tanunda Football Club, nicknamed the Magpies, is an Australian rules football club based in the Barossa Valley town of Tanunda, South Australia, and competes in the Barossa Light & Gawler Football Association.