Essendon District Football League

Essendon District Football League

Sport	Australian rules football
Founded	1930;94 years ago (1930)
First season	1930
CEO	Andrew Johnston
President	Bernie Shinners
Country	Australia
Most recent champion(s)	Keilor (2023)
Most titles	Essendon Doutta Stars (20)
Sponsor(s)	Strathmore Community Bank
Official website	essendondfl.com.au

The Essendon District Football League (EDFL) is a semi-professional Australian rules football league competition based in Essendon, Victoria, consisting of teams based in the north-west suburbs of Melbourne. Founded in 1930, the men's competition consists of three leagues: Premier Division, Division 1 and Division 2, with 10 clubs in the Premier Division, 11 clubs in Division 1 and 9 clubs in Division 2. Ahead of the 2025 competition, two teams will be relegated from Division 1 to Division 2 to ensure that there are 10 teams across each of the top three divisions.

Promotion and relegation between these divisions occurs, with the lowest-placed clubs in the Premier Division and Division 1 being relegated at the end of each season replaced in their respective divisions by the winners of Division 1 and Division 2 premierships respectively ^[1] Each men's team also fields a reserves side and an under-18 side that play fixtures mirroring that of the senior side.

Since 2017, the League has also run a competition for women's Australian rules football. In its inaugural year, this was a joint competition featuring teams from the EDFL as well as the Western Region Football League (WRFL). ^[2] In 2018, 13 teams competed in a single division season, expanding to 19 teams and two divisions in 2019.

The league consists of clubs spanning as far north as Sunbury (East Sunbury Football Club), as far south as Deer Park (Deer Park Football Club), as far east as Fawkner (Northern Saints Football Club) and as far west as Hillside (Hillside Football Club). The furthest distance between two clubs is Moonee Valley Football Club and Sunbury Kangaroos totalling a travel distance of 35.2 km.

A number of junior players from the EDFL play for Calder Cannons in the Coates Talent League due to the geography of being based at Highgate Recreation Reserve, Craigieburn and consequently receiving the majority of players from teams in the Northern and North-West Suburbs. A smaller number of players represent Western Jets, being based at Burbank Oval, Williamstown which receive a number of players from clubs based in the western suburbs of Melbourne.

Clubs

Premier Division

Club	Colours	Moniker	Home venue	Est.	Seasons		Premierships		Former league(s)
					First	Total	Total	Most recent
Aberfeldie		Blues	Clifton Park, Aberfeldie	1948	1948	75	8	2018	—
Airport West		Eagles	Hansen Reserve, Airport West	1961	1962	62	7	2022	—
Avondale Heights		Heights	Canning Street Reserve, Avondale Heights	1965	1967	56	5	2004^	—
Deer Park		Lions	John McLeod Reserve, Deer Park	1925	2023	2	1	2023^	WRFL
East Keilor		Cougars	Overland Reserve, East Keilor	1967	1971	53	7	2021^	—
Essendon Doutta Stars		Stars	Nipper Jordan Oval, Essendon	1946	1946	78	20	2015^	VFL
Greenvale		Jets	Greenvale Reserve, Greenvale	1990	1996	28	5	2013	—
Keilor		Blues	Keilor Recreation Reserve, Keilor	1877	1932	88	12	2023	KBFL
Pascoe Vale		Panthers	Raeburn Reserve, Pascoe Vale	1918	1952	72	3	2011^	VFL SD
Strathmore		Mores	Lebanon Reserve, Strathmore	1954	1957	67	9	2022	—

Division 1

Club	Colours	Moniker	Home venue	Est.	Seasons		Premierships		Former league(s)
					First	Total	Total	Most recent
Craigieburn		Eagles	D.S. Aitken Reserve, Craigieburn	1970	2001	23	3	2019^	RDFNL
Hillside		Sharks	Hillside Reserve, Hillside	1999	2005	19	1	2013+	—
Keilor Park		Devils	Keilor Park Recreational Reserve, Keilor Park	1974	1986	372	3	2022^	—
Maribyrnong Park		Lions	Maribyrnong Park, Moonee Ponds	1980	1980	45	4	2010	—
Moonee Valley		Valley	Ormond Park, Moonee Ponds	1933	1933	87	7	2021+	—
Oak Park		Kangaroos	J.P. Fawkner Reserve, Oak Park	1957	1960	64	5	2023+	—
Roxburgh Park		Magpies	Lakeside Reserve, Roxburgh Park	2002	2005	19	1	2018+	—
Rupertswood		Sharks	Salesian College, Sunbury	1999	2021	4	0	—	VAFA, RDFNL
St Albans		Saints	Kings Park Reserve, Kings Park	1947	2023	2	0	__	WRFL
Tullamarine		Demons	Leo Dineen Reserve, Tullamarine	1974	1974	50	8	2003	—
West Coburg		Burgers	Shore Reserve, Pascoe Vale South	1927	1954	70	15	2014	VFA SD

Division 2

Club	Colours	Moniker	Home venue	Est.	Seasons		Premierships		Former league(s)
					First	Total	Total	Most recent
Burnside Heights		Bears	Burnside Heights Recreation Reserve, Burnside Heights	2012	2014	12	0	—	—
Coburg Districts		Lions	Cole Reserve, Pascoe Vale	1951	1981	201	0	—	NMFL, WRFL
East Sunbury		Thunder	John McMahon Reserve, Sunbury	1999	2013	113	0	—	RDFNL
Glenroy		Wallabies	Sewell Reserve, Glenroy	1946	1946	7	14	2017^	—
Hadfield		Hawks	Martin Reserve, Hadfield	1961	1971	53	4	2015	—
Northern Saints		Saints	Charles Mutton Reserve, Fawkner	2007	2008	16	1	2013^	—
Sunbury Kangaroos		Kangaroos	Eric Boardman Reserve, Sunbury	1987	2019	5	1	2019+	RDFNL
Taylors Lakes		Lions	Lionheart Reserve, Taylors Lakes	1989	1993	31	1	2010	—
Westmeadows		Tigers	Willowbrook Reserve, Westmeadows	1970	1977	47	1	1984	—

Notes

^{^} denotes that the club's most recent senior premiership was in Division 1 or the B Grade.

⁺ denotes that the club's most recent senior premiership was in Division 2 or the C Grade.

¹ Coburg Districts first entered the competition in 1981, before departing after the conclusion of the 1987 EDFL season. The club re-entered the competition from the 2013 EDFL season onwards.

² Keilor Park did not field a side in the 2018 EDFL season.

³ East Sunbury did not field a side in the 2022 EDFL season.

Active AFL/AFLW Players

Active AFL Players

Player	AFL Club/Clubs	EDFL Club/Clubs	Year Drafted	Draft Pick no.	AFL Games1
Rory Atkins	Adelaide Football Club and Gold Coast Suns	Maribyrnong Park	2012	81	133
Noah Balta	Richmond Football Club	Essendon Doutta Stars	2017	25	85
Mark Blicavs	Geelong Football Club	Taylors Lakes	2012	54 (R)	246
Jack Bytel	St Kilda Football Club	Maribyrnong Park and Aberfeldie	2018	41	22
Jordan Croft	Western Bulldogs	Maribyrnong Park	2023	15 (F-S)	0
Joe Daniher	Essendon Football Club and Brisbane Lions	Aberfeldie	2012	10 (F-S)	172
Jayden Davey	Essendon Football Club	Moonee Valley	2022	54 (F-S)	0
Brandon Ellis	Richmond Football Club and Gold Coast Suns	West Coburg	2011	15	241
Hugo Garcia	St Kilda Football Club	Taylors Lakes and Greenvale	2023	50	0
Jayden Laverde	Essendon Football Club	Keilor	2014	20	110
Matthew McLeod-Allison	St Kilda Football Club	Strathmore	2020	26	0
Jake Melksham	Essendon Football Club and Melbourne Football Club	Oak Park	2009	10	221
Brody Mihocek	Collingwood Football Club	Maribyrnong Park	2018	22 (R)	126
Touk Miller	Gold Coast Suns	Maribyrnong Park	2014	29	173
Reilly O'Brien	Adelaide Football Club	Moonee Valley	2014	9 (R)	100
Dion Prestia	Gold Coast Suns and Richmond Football Club	Greenvale	2010	9	212
Cameron Rayner	Brisbane Lions	Hillside and Essendon Doutta Stars	2017	1	111
Brandon Ryan	Hawthorn Football Club and Brisbane Lions	Maribyrnong Park and Aberfeldie	2012	12 (M-S) (R)	3
Luke Ryan	Fremantle Football Club	Moonee Valley and Maribyrnong Park	2016	66	132
Adam Saad	Gold Coast Suns, Essendon Football Club and Carlton Football Club	West Coburg	2015	25 (R)	177
James Sicily	Hawthorn Football Club	Keilor	2013	56	134
Joel Smith	Melbourne Football Club	Maribyrnong Park	2014	41 (R)	42
Curtis Taylor	North Melbourne Football Club	Keilor	2018	46	57
Zac Taylor	Adelaide Football Club	Oak Park	2021	44	0
Rhylee West	Western Bulldogs	Strathmore	2018	26 (F-S)	25
Peter Wright	Gold Coast Suns and Essendon Football Club	Moonee Valley	2014	8

Active AFLW Players

Player	AFLW Club/Clubs	EDFL Club/Clubs	Year Drafted	Draft Pick no.	AFLW Games1
Alana Barba	Gold Coast Suns and Essendon Football Club	Roxburgh Park and Pascoe Vale	2022	-	12
Charlotte Baskaran	Hawthorn Football Club	Aberfeldie	2022	9	10
Lauren Caruso	Richmond Football Club	Keilor	2022	-	1
Monique Conti	Western Bulldogs and Richmond Football Club	Essendon Doutta Stars, Melbourne Uni and Aberfeldie	2017	4	61
Sarah Dargan	Collingwood Football Club, Richmond Football Club and Sydney Football Club	Strathmore and Pascoe Vale	2017	20	34
Zali Friswell	Geelong Football Club	Aberfeldie	2021	7	30
Elisabeth Georgostathis	Western Bulldogs	VU Western Spurs	2019	9	34
Tahlia Gillard	Melbourne Football Club	Moonee Valley and Essendon Doutta Stars	2021	42	28
Montana Ham	Sydney Football Club	Hillside and Keilor	2022	1
Isabel Huntington	Western Bulldogs and Greater Western Sydney Giants	Melbourne Uni	2017	1	20
Madeline Keryk	Carlton Football Club, Geelong Football Club and Port Adelaide Football Club	Aberfeldie and VU Western Spurs	2016	115	47
Abbey McDonald	Geelong Football Club	Aberfeldie, Sunbury Kangaroos and Sunbury Lions	2022	55	4
Georgia Patrikios	St Kilda Football Club	West Coburg and Pascoe Vale	2019	5	35
Krstel Petrevski	Melbourne Football Club and West Coast Eagles	Pascoe Vale	2019	78	10
Georgie Prespakis	Geelong Football Club	Sunbury Lions	2021	2	19
Madison Prespakis	Carlton Football Club and Essendon Football Club	Sunbury Lions	2018	3	55
Amelia Radford	Essendon Football Club	Moonee Valley	2022	-	7
Tahlia Read	Fremantle Football Club and Carlton Football Club	Maribyrnong Park	2022	85	0
Nicola Stevens	Collingwood Football Club, Carlton Football Club and St Kilda Football Club	Pascoe Vale	2016	6	59
Emelia Yassir	Richmond Football Club	Pascoe Vale	2021	16	19

Notes

(R) denotes that the player was selected in the rookie draft.

(F-S) denotes that the player was selected as a father-son pick.

(M-S) denotes that the player was selected in the mid-season draft.

¹ Playing statistics correct as of the end of the 2023 season.

Former Clubs

Club	Colours	Moniker	Est.	Former league	EDFL senior seasons			Fate
					First	Last	Total
Aberfeldie Park					1983	1985	3	Unknown
All Nations Youth Club					1953	1955	3	Unknown
Ascot Imperials					1946	1946	1	Unknown
Ascot Presbyterians					1964	1964	1	Unknown
Ascot Rovers					1954	1956	3	Unknown
Ascot United	[3]				1946	1949	4	Played as Maribyrnong-Ascot United for 1950 Season
Ascot Vale		Devils	1930	—	1930	1987	54†	Transferred to FDFL at conclusion of 1987 season. Folded in 1997.
Ascot Vale Methodists					1946	1949	2	Unknown - Played the 1946 and 1949 Seasons
Ascot Vale Wanderers					1937	1940	4	Unknown
Ascot Youth Centre					1950			Unknown
Australian National Airways					1941	1949	2	Unknown - Played two seasons either side of WW2, in 1941 and 1949.
Ascot Vale Presbyterians			?	—		1973		Merged with Essendon Baptist-St John's at conclusion of 1973 season to form Essendon-Tullamarine.
Broadmeadows					1946	1947	2	Unknown
Brunswick City		Eagles	1948		1948	1986	37	Folded at the end of 1986 season
Brunswick Colts					1950			Unknown
Brunswick Presbyterians					1974	1974	1	Unknown
Brunswick Sons of Soldiers					1936	1947	2	Unknown
Brunswick United					1947	1947	1	Unknown
Coburg Amateurs					1941	1941	1	Unknown
Coburg Rovers			1896		1940	1941	2	Unknown
Coburg Sons of Soldiers					1937	1940	4	Unknown
Coburg South					1941	1941	1	Unknown
Coburg Stars					1950	1954	5	Unknown
Don Rovers					1936	1939	4	Unknown
East Brunswick	[4]	Magpies	1922	Metropolitan	1975	1982	8	Transferred to YCW Football League, played at Fleming Park
Essendon All Blacks					1950			Unknown
Essendon Baptist					1949	1950	2	Merged with St John's
Essendon Baptist-St John's	Navy with White EBSJ [5]		1951	—	1951	1973	23	Merged with Ascot Vale Presbyterians at conclusion of 1973 season to form Essendon-Tullamarine.
Essendon Bombers					1950	1955	6	Unknown
Essendon Church of Christ					1940	1940	1	Unknown
Essendon High School Old Boys					1949	1956	8	Unknown
Essendon Imperials					1937	1940	4	Unknown
Essendon Returned Soldiers					1946	1946	1	Unknown
Essendon Sons of Soldiers					1936	1936	1	Unknown
Essendon Stars					1940	1940	1	Unknown
Essendon Swimmers					1950	1951	2	Unknown
Essendon United					1936	1940	5	Unknown
Essendon Youth Centre					1975	1982	8	Unknown
Fairbairn Rovers					1950	1950	1	Unknown
Fairbairn Socials					1938	1938	1	Unknown
Fawkner Districts					1937	1952	10	Club played until EDFL suspended competition due to WW2 in 1942. They reformed when the EDFL resumed in 1946, changing their name from Fawkner Districts to Fawkner.
Flemington/Kensington					1930	1938	9	Unknown
Footscray Technical College					1963	1963	1	Unknown
Gisborne (Women's team only)		Bulldogs	2017	AFL Goldfields	2021	2023	3	In recess
Gladstone Park					1978	1997	20	Transferred to WRFL, folded in 2007
Glenbervie					1952	1955	4	Unknown
Jacana		Jaguars	1961	RDFNL	2001	2022	22	Went into recess prior to 2023 season following poor performances throughout the 2022 Division 2 season
Kensington Methodists					1930	1930	1	Unknown
Knox Presbyterians					1949	1949	1	Unknown
La Mascotte					1938	1941	4	Club played until EDFL suspended competition due to WW2 in 1942. They did not reform when the EDFL resumed in 1946.
Lincoln Rovers					1949	1949	1	Unknown
Lincoln Stars					1950			Unknown
Lincoln Tigers					1950	1951	2	Unknown
Maribyrnong-Ascot United					1950	1950	1	Unknown
Marrows					1950	1957	8	Unknown
Meadow Heights	Light Green with Yellow Kangaroo							Folded early 2000s
Monash Rovers					1950	1951	2	Unknown
Moonee Imperials		Imperials	1946	—	1946	1979	34	Merged with Riverside Stars at conclusion of 1979 season to form Maribyrnong Park.
Moonee Ponds					1981	1981	1	Unknown
North Coburg1		Saints	1947	—	1978	2007	30	Began as St Olivers JFC in 1947 with a Senior club forming in 1978. Renamed North Coburg in 1990. Merged with Fawkner Park at conclusion of 2007 season to form Northern Saints.
North Essendon Methodists					1949			Unknown
Northern Juniors					1930	1930	1	Unknown
Northern Rovers					1941	1941	1	Unknown
Old Coburgians					1940	1940	1	Unknown
Old Essendon Grammarians		Bombers	1968	—	1968	1969	1	Transferred to FDFL at conclusion of 1982 season. Currently competes in VAFA.
				VAFA	1972	1982	11
Raeburn			1952	VFL Sub District	1952	1953	2	Pascoe Vale changed their name to Raeburn to enter the EDFL and played under that name for two seasons. They reverted to Pascoe Vale from 1954 onward.
Regal Sports					1934	1934	1	Unknown
Riverside Stars		Stars	1946	—	1946	1979	34	Merged with Moonee Imperials at conclusion of 1979 season to form Maribyrnong Park.
Royal Park					1979	1980	2	Unknown
South Kensington					1931	1931	1	Unknown
St Andrews					1980	1980	1	Unknown
St Christophers					1974	1976	3	Unknown
St Davids					1952			Unknown
St Johns					1930	1930	1	Unknown
St Monicas CYMS					1937	1938	2	Unknown
St Patricks					1938	1938	1	Unknown
St Pauls					1947	1947	1	Unknown
Strathmore Stars					1954	1954	1	Unknown
Vespa	Purple and Gold				1959	1961	3	Unknown
West Brunswick					1949	1958	10	Transferred to VAFA
West Coburg Amateurs					1959	1959	1	Unknown
West Moreland					1937	1940	4	Unknown
Woodlands	[6]				1930	1934	4	Unknown. They 'played at the Holmes Road reserve, which was located in the parkland at the end of Holmes Road in Moonee Ponds' [7]

Notes

North Coburg competed as St Olivers between 1978 and 1989.

^† denotes that the club did not participate between 1942 and 1945 due to World War II.

Aside from the clubs mentioned in the table above, the EDFL 75th Anniversary History Book ^[8] also listed the following clubs as having been affiliated with the EDFL between 1930 to 2005

• 6th Melbourne Scouts
• Ascot Rovers/Maribyrnong
• Ascot Vale West
• Batman (changed name in 1981 and now known as Coburg Districts)
• Catholic Boys Club
• Corpus Christi
• East Coburg
• East Essendon
• Essendon Tullamarine (now known as Tullamarine)
• Ford Company
• Keilor Regal Sports
• Maribyrnong
• Maribyrnong Regal Sport
• Maribyrnong Youth Club
• Moonee Ponds YCW
• Moonee Valley Juniors
• Northcote Excelsior
• Parkville
• St. Bernards
• St. Bernards Juniors
• St. Francis
• Tullamarine-Airport West
• Tullamarine Ascot Presbyterians (now known as Tullamarine)
• West Brunswick Laurels
• West Essendon
• West Essendon Youth Centre
• West Coburg Juniors (listed as different club to West Coburg)
• West Coburg Seniors (listed as different club to West Coburg)

Premiers

	Seniors			Reserves
Year	Premier Division (A Grade)	Division 1 (B Grade)	Division 2 (C Grade)	Premier Division (A Grade)	Division 1 (B Grade)	Division 2 (C Grade)
2023	Keilor	Deer Park	Oak Park	Strathmore	Hillside	Northern Saints
2022	Strathmore	Airport West	Keilor Park	Keilor	Airport West	Keilor Park
2021	Strathmore	East Keilor	Moonee Valley	Keilor	East Keilor	Moonee Valley
2020	Competition not held due to COVID-19
2019	Keilor	Craigieburn	Sunbury Kangaroos	Aberfeldie	Hillside	Sunbury Kangaroos
2018	Aberfeldie	Airport West	Roxburgh Park	Greenvale	Airport West	Moonee Valley
2017	Aberfeldie	Glenroy	Jacana	Greenvale	Taylors Lakes	Roxburgh Park
2016	Keilor	Craigieburn	East Keilor	Keilor	Taylors Lakes	Roxburgh Park
2015	Aberfeldie	Essendon Doutta Stars	Hadfield	Keilor	Taylors Lakes	Coburg Districts
2014	Strathmore	West Coburg	East Keilor	Greenvale	Taylors Lakes	Moonee Valley
2013	Greenvale	Northern Saints	Hillside	Greenvale	West Coburg	Hillside
2012	Greenvale	Airport West	East Keilor	Greenvale	Airport West	Hillside
2011	Strathmore	Pascoe Vale	Competition in recess	Oak Park	Airport West	Competition in recess
2010	Maribyrnong Park	Taylors Lakes		Greenvale	Pascoe Vale
2009	Maribyrnong Park	Oak Park		Aberfeldie	Airport West
2008	Keilor	Glenroy		Keilor	Taylors Lakes
2007	Greenvale	Maribyrnong Park		Greenvale	Maribyrnong Park
2006	Strathmore	West Coburg		Essendon Doutta Stars	Maribyrnong Park
2005	Strathmore	Craigieburn		Keilor	Craigieburn
2004	Greenvale	Avondale Heights		Oak Park	West Coburg
2003	Oak Park	Tullamarine		Oak Park	Westmeadows
2002	Oak Park	Greenvale		Oak Park	Craigieburn
2001	Keilor	Keilor Park		Keilor	Pascoe Vale
2000	Keilor	West Coburg		Keilor	Pascoe Vale
1999	Doutta Stars	Moonee Valley		Keilor	Moonee Valley
1998	Strathmore	Doutta Stars		Strathmore	Essendon Doutta Stars
1997	Keilor	Glenroy		Strathmore	Hadfield
1996	Keilor	West Coburg		Strathmore	Pascoe Vale
1995	Keilor	Aberfeldie		Keilor	Pascoe Vale
1994	East Keilor	Moonee Valley		Oak Park	Essendon Doutta Stars
1993	Airport West	Tullamarine		Airport West	North Coburg Saints
1992	Airport West	East Keilor		Oak Park	Tullamarine
1991	Essendon Doutta Stars	West Coburg		Essendon Doutta Stars	Tullamarine
1990	Essendon Doutta Stars	Keilor Park		Keilor	Keilor Park
1989	Strathmore	Hadfield		Keilor	Tullamarine
1988	Keilor	Pascoe Vale		Essendon Doutta Stars	Hadfield
1987	Avondale Heights	West Coburg		Keilor	West Coburg
1986	Glenroy	Moonee Valley		Strathmore	Tullamarine
1985	Keilor	Airport West		Strathmore	Moonee Valley
1984	Strathmore	Westmeadows		Strathmore	Ascot Vale
1983	Glenroy	Oak Park		Strathmore	Oak Park
1982	Glenroy	Aberfeldie	Gladstone Park	Glenroy	Oak Park	Essendon High School Ex-Students
1981	Strathmore	Tullamarine	Essendon Youth Centre	West Coburg	Aberfeldie	Gladstone Park
1980	Essendon Doutta Stars	Glenroy	Brunswick City7	West Coburg	Glenroy	St Andrews
1979	Essendon Tullamarine	Hadfield	Moonee Ponds	Essendon Doutta Stars	Oak Park	Competition not yet formed
1978	Essendon Tullamarine	East Keilor	Brunswick City7	Pascoe Vale	Oak Park
1977	Essendon Tullamarine	Ascot Vale	West Coburg	Aberfeldie	Ascot Vale
1976	Essendon Tullamarine	Avondale Heights	Old Essendon Gramarians6	Airport West	Ascot Vale
1975	Essendon Tullamarine	Moonee Valley	Essendon Youth Centre	Aberfeldie	Oak Park
1974	Aberfeldie	Glenroy	Brunswick Presbyterians	Strathmore	Glenroy
1973	Keilor	Strathmore	Tullamarine Ascot Presbyterians1	Essendon Doutta Stars	Brunswick City7
1972	Essendon Doutta Stars	Ascot Vale1	Riverside Stars4	Essendon Doutta Stars	Competition not yet formed
1971	West Coburg	Strathmore	Hadfield	Essendon Baptist St John's 1
1970	West Coburg	Broadmeadows	Moonee Valley	Pascoe Vale
1969	Essendon Doutta Stars	Ascot Vale1	St. Davids	Pascoe Vale
1968	West Coburg	Keilor	Batman5	West Coburg
1967	West Coburg	Strathmore	Riverside Stars4	Pascoe Vale
1966	Glenroy	West Coburg	Ascot Youth Centre	Competition not yet formed
1965	West Coburg	Essendon High School Ex-Students	Essendon Baptist St John's1
1964	Essendon Doutta Stars	Ascot Vale Presbyterians	Pascoe Vale
1963	Essendon Doutta Stars	West Coburg	Glenroy
1962	Essendon Doutta Stars	Broadmeadows	Moonee Imperials4
1961	Essendon Doutta Stars	North Essendon Methodists	Doutta Stars
1960	Moonee Imperials	Essendon High School Ex-Students	Competition not yet formed
1959	Essendon Doutta Stars	Aberfeldie
1958	Essendon Baptist St John's1	West Coburg
1957	Essendon Doutta Stars	North Essendon Methodists
1956	Brunswick City7	Essendon Baptist St John's1
1955	Moonee Imperials4	Lincoln Stars
1954	Essendon Doutta Stars	Brunswick7
1953	Essendon Doutta Stars	Aberfeldie
1952	Moonee Valley	St Davids
1951	Essendon Doutta Stars	Glenroy
1950	Essendon Doutta Stars	Lincoln Tigers
1949	Essendon Doutta Stars	Glenroy
1948	Essendon Doutta Stars	Competition not yet formed
1947	Ascot Vale United1
1946	Ascot Vale United1
1945	Competition not held due to World War II
1944
1943
1942
1941	La Mascotte3
1940	Ascot Vale1
1939	La Mascotte3
1938	Ascot Vale1
1937	Ascot Vale1
1936	Ascot Vale1
1935	Ascot Vale1
1934	Woodland2
1933	Ascot Vale1
1932	Woodland2
1931	Woodland2
1930	Essendon Baptist St John's1

Notes

¹ Merger occurred between Essedon Baptist St Johns and Ascot Vale Presbyterians in 1973 to form Tullamarine Ascot Presbyterians, then later Essendon Tullamarine and finally shortened to Tullamarine Football Club in 1981.

² Woodland Football Club folded at the end of the 1934 Season.

³ La Mascotte played until the EDFL suspended competition due to WW2 in 1942 and didn't reform when the EDFL resumed in 1946.

⁴ Moonee Imperials merged with Riverside Stars at conclusion of 1979 season to form Maribyrnong Park.

⁵ Later renamed to Coburg Districts Football Club in 1981 to greater recognise the local community.

⁶ Old Essendon Gramarians joined the EDFL in 1968 for just two seasons until joining the VAFA (Victorian Amateur Football Association) for the 1970 and 1971 seasons before returning to the EDFL between 1972 and 1983, then departing to play in the Footscray District Football League, now the Western Region Football League in 1983.

⁷ Renamed from Brunswick to Brunswick City in 1955, Folded at the end of the 1986 season

⁸ Left the EDFL to join the Footscray District Football League, now the Western Region Football League at the conclusion of the 1987 season, folded in 1997. Later reformed in 2017, only participating in under-age football.

History

The EDFL was first formed in 1930 at the instigation of the Essendon Football Club to increase the pool of local talent available for recruitment. Consequently, the league has consistently had positive ties with Essendon Football Club which can also be seen with the use of former Essendon home ground Essendon Football Ground, now known as Windy Hill as the headquarters of the EDFL since 1958 and hosting training for umpires of the league and occasional use of the ground for home and away season matches as well as being a commonly featuring ground for men's grand finals.

The first season in 1930 consisted of eight clubs, Ascot Vale, Flemington and Kensington, St John's, Kensington Methodist, Essendon High School Old Boys, Northern Juniors, West Essendon and Woodlands. None of the original foundation clubs exist in their current state as a result of participating in mergers or folding since. The completion of the season saw Les Rennie recruited by Essendon, the first successful recruitment of a player from the EDFL, he went on to play for Essendon throughout the 1931 VFL season. Later, in 1933 the great Dick Reynolds, one of just four players to have won three Brownlow Medals was recruited from Woodlands in the EDFL and began his successful 320 game career with Essendon.

In 1936, the first juniors competition was launched which contained a solitary under 16s division, once more at the instigation of the Essendon Football Club however this was abandoned and resumed at a later date in 1948 with the introduction of under-17s. By 1949, 32 teams took part in 3 grades of junior age football. 1962 saw the induction of under-15s to the EDFL and the competition was won by Essendon Doutta Stars, however as a result of fielding an overage player forfeited all their points for the season. In 1967, the inaugural A grade under-13s competition was launched which was a resounding success and resulted in demand for a B grade competition after just one year in 1968.

As a result of World War II the competition went into recess in 1941 with many players fighting in the war, once the war had ended two clubs (La Mascotte and Fawkner District) chose not to resume participation in the competition, despite this, After four years of recess a successful resumption of the leagues activities in this year. A 10 team competition on resumption resumed the success of the pre War Competition.

1949 saw the first split of the teams into two divisions (A grade and B grade) with Essendon Doutta Stars taking out the first ever undefeated season and Glenroy winning the inaugural B grade competition. Later in 1961, C grade was introduced to help facilitate the introduction of more clubs into the EDFL and was won by Doutta Stars, believed to be a reserve team for Essendon Doutta Stars. However, this competition did not last for long before going into recess after the 1982 season and only returning after the 30-year hiatus in 2012.

In 1961, The Umpires Association (EDFLUA) was inaugurated to help with the recruitment of umpires to officiate games. Despite this the league was consistently short of umpires. Notably in 1990, the season commenced with a desperate shortage of umpires. The problem was solved in the short term by former umpires who came out of retirement to assist the league.

in 1989, then prime minister of Australia Bob Hawke attended the A-grade seniors grand final.

EDFL Women's

History

EDFL Women's

Upcoming season or competition: 2023
Sport	Women's Australian rules football
Founded	2016;8 years ago (2016)
First season	2018
No. of teams	22
Most titles	Aberfeldie, Keilor, Pascoe Vale (1)

In partnership with the Western Region Football League (WRFL), in 2016 the two leagues established the Western Region & Essendon District Women's Football League, an eleven-team open-age competition for women. Five EDFL clubs fielded teams in the competition – Craigieburn, Glenroy, Keilor, Pascoe Vale and Roxburgh Park – with Keilor prevailing against WRFL side Manor Lakes in the grand final. ^[9]

In 2018, the EDFL established its own Women's competition, consisting of 13 teams. Of those 13 teams, two came from outside of the League – the Ballarat Football League-side Sunbury Lions; and Sunbury Kangaroos, at the time competing in the Riddell District Football League. Glenroy, despite competing in the 2017 joint competition, did not field a side, while Avondale Heights and Taylors Lakes fielded a joint team under the Avondale Heights–Taylors Lakes moniker.

In 2019, the competition expanded to 19 teams and was split into two divisions – a 10-club Premier Division and a nine-club Division 1. Aberfeldie became the first team to field two sides, one in each division.

Clubs

Club	Colours	Moniker	Home venue	Est.	Former league	EDFL senior seasons		EDFL senior premierships
						First	Total	Total	Most recent
Premier Division
Aberfeldie		Abers	Clifton Park, Aberfeldie	2018	—	2018	5	1	2019
Essendon Doutta Stars		Stars	Nipper Jordan Oval, Essendon	2019	—	2019	1	2	2023
Hillside		Sharks	Hillside Reserve, Hillside	2018	—	2018	5	0	—
Keilor		Blues	Keilor Recreation Reserve, Keilor	2017	WREDWFL	2018	5	1	2022
Moonee Valley		Valley	Ormond Park, Moonee Ponds	2021	—	2021	2	0	—
Maribyrnong Park		Lions	Maribyrnong Park, Moonee Ponds	2019	—	2019	4	0	—
Oak Park		Kangaroos	J.P. Fawkner Reserve, Oak Park	2022	—	2022	1	1	2023
Westmeadows		Tigers	Willowbrook Reserve, Westmeadows	2018	—	2018	5	0	—
Division 1
Airport West		Eagles	Hansen Reserve, Airport West	2021	__	2021	2	1	2023
Burnside Heights		Bears	Burnside Heights Recreation Reserve, Burnside Heights	2018	—	2018	5	0	—
Greenvale		Jets	Greenvale Reserve, Greenvale	2019	—	2019	4	0	—
Keilor Park		Devils	Keilor Park Recreational Reserve, Keilor Park	2018	—	2018	3	—	—
Strathmore		Mores	Lebanon Reserve, Strathmore	2018	—	2018	5	1	2022
Tullamarine		Demons	Leo Dineen Reserve, Tullamarine	2019	—	2019	4	1	2022
Division 2
Coburg Districts		Lions	Cole Reserve, Pascoe Vale	2019	—	2019	4	0	—
East Sunbury		Thunder	John McMahon Reserve, Sunbury	2024	—	2024	1	—	—
Glenroy		Wallabies	Sewell Reserve, Glenroy	2023	—	2024	1	—	—
Pascoe Vale		Panthers	Raeburn Reserve, Pascoe Vale	2017	WREDWFL	2018	5	1	2018
Roxburgh Park		Magpies	Lakeside Reserve, Roxburgh Park	2017	WREDWFL	2018	3	—	—
Sunbury Lions		Lions	Clarke Oval, Sunbury	2017	WREDWFL	2018	5	0	—
Sunbury Kangaroos		Kangaroos	Eric Boardman Reserve, Sunbury	2022	—	2022	1	0	—
Taylors Lakes		Lions	Lionheart Reserve, Taylors Lakes	2024	—	2024	1	—	—
denotes that the club's most recent senior premiership was in Division 1. Notes:1 Avondale Heights competed as Avondale Heights-Taylors Lakes in 2018.

Juniors matches

The juniors consist of: Under 8s, Under 10s, Under 14s, Under 16s and Under 18.5s. There are also youth girls teams in the junior divisions. There are eight junior divisions at this level and each team listed in the senior section has at least one junior team in divisions 1, 2 or 3 for each age group, however many clubs have more in divisions 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8.

Junior Only Clubs

Club	Colours	Moniker	Home venue	Est.	Former league	EDFL senior seasons
						First	Total
Ascot Vale		Panthers	Walter Street Reserve, Ascot Vale	2017	—	2017	8
Coburg		Lions	Jackson Reserve, Coburg North	-	__	2022	3
Dallas			Jacana Reserve, Jacana	2024	__	2024	1
Hume		Bombers	Kalkallo Reserve, Kalkallo	2018	__	2017	7
Merrifield		Panthers	Merrifield Recreation Reserve, Mickleham	2024	__	2024	1
St Francis		Saints	Oak Park Reserve, Oak Park	2015	__	2017	10

References

1. "Statement of By-Laws" (PDF). Essendon District Football League Incorporated. pp. 6–7. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
2. Murphy, Tara (14 March 2016). "EDFL plays its part as women's footy takes off". Brimbank & North West Star Weekly. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
3. Ascot United's playing colours mentioned in 1946 Grand Final Poster on Doutta Stars History Page https://www.essendondouttastars.com.au/the-club/club-history/
4. "Photograph of East Brunswick FC, 1952".
5. EDFL 75th Anniversary History Book https://silo.tips/download/75th-anniversary-founded-1930
6. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/22310/1/Daniel%20Eddy.pdf Page 55
7. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/22310/1/Daniel%20Eddy.pdf Page 48
8. "[PDF] 75th. Anniversary. Founded 1930 - Free Download PDF".
9. "Keilor WFC vs Manor Lakes WFC". Australian Football. 20 August 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2019.

External links

• Official website
• EDFL Records and History at Full Points Footy