Geelong & District Football Netball League

Geelong & District
Football Netball League

Formerly	Multiple names Geelong & District Football Association (1879–1918; 1939–1944) Geelong Junior Football Association (1922–1932) Geelong & District Football League (1919–1921; 1933–1938; 1945–2016)
Sport	Australian rules football Netball
Founded	1879;145 years ago (1879)
President	Neville Whitley
No. of teams	12
Country	Australia
Headquarters	Breakwater, Victoria, Australia
Confederation	AFL Barwon
Most recent champion(s)	Thomson Football Club (2024)
Most titles	Geelong West (26 premierships)
Sponsor(s)	Morris
Related competitions	Geelong FNL Bellarine FNL
Official website	gdfnl.com.au

The Geelong & District Football Netball League (GDFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball league in Victoria, being the oldest surviving competition in the region. It is one of three leagues in the Geelong area, the others being the Geelong FNL and the Bellarine FNL.

There are 12 teams competing in the GDFL, which has also produced over 600 VFL/AFL players. ^[1]

History

The league was formed in 1879 as the Geelong and District Football Association (GDFA). In 1919 it changed name to the GDFL, before changing to the Geelong Junior Football Association in 1922. It reverted to the GDFL name in 1933, then back to the GDFA in 1939, and back to the GDFL in 1945. ^[1] From 1922 until 1927, the league operated and administrated the Geelong Association Football Club, which competed in the Victorian Football Association. ^[2]

From 1946 onwards, the GDFL maintained a divisional system, with clubs in the First Division competing for the Evelyn Hurst Trophy, the Second Division for the Woolworth Cup, and the Third Division for the Jarman Cup.

In 1973 the GDFL had a restructure that insisted in having the senior club also provide a reserve grade side. This meant that senior clubs had to align with a junior club to survive. The Evelyn Hurst Trophy, the Woolworth Cup and the Jarman Cup titles were dropped for the more standard 1st and 2nd divisions. 1st division would have twelve clubs while 2nd division started with 8 and eventually grew to 11 clubs.

The league took the form it is today when 12 clubs broke away in 1979 to form the Geelong Football League. The city and country clubs of the old GDFL were divided into the major league competition of the GFL and the minor league GDFL. Many of the teams in the lower league wanted a system of promotion and relegation, which saw the movement of a couple of clubs.

The GDFL were left with 11 clubs but over the next couple of years it grew to fourteen. It was enough for the league add another division of competition. From 1984 until 1995 the league had two divisions that operated on a promotion/demotion system. From 1996 onwards, the league has reverted to a single division competition. ^[3]

Today the GDFL is opposed to the promotion-relegation system, with the Geelong Football League, Geelong & District Football League and Bellarine Football League forming a three-league, three-division football structure in the Geelong area. From 2002, the GDFL included netball teams, introducing A Grade, B Grade & C Grade senior teams, as well as U/17's, U/15's & U/13's netball. ^[4]

In 2009, the GDFL introduced a fourth senior netball section, D Grade, in which East Geelong and Werribee Centrals have each won three of the last six premierships.^{[ when? ]}

Clubs

Current clubs

Club	Colours	Moniker	Home venue	Former league	Est.	Years in GDFNL	GDFNL premierships
							Total	Most recent
Anakie		Roos	Anakie Reserve, Anakie	EC	c. 1897	1949-	4	1994
Bannockburn		Tigers	Victoria Park, Bannockburn	EC	1878	1953-1958, 1970-	6	2022
Bell Post Hill		Panthers	Myers Reserve, Bell Post Hill	—	1976	1977-	7	2017
Belmont Lions		Lions	Winter Reserve, Belmont	—	1965	1965-	1	2007
Corio		Devils	Shell Reserve, Corio	—	1974	1974-	1	1995
East Geelong		Eagles	Richmond Oval, East Geelong	—	1879	1879-1978, 1981-	24	2009
Geelong West		Giants	West Oval, Geelong West	—	2017	2017-	0	—
Inverleigh		Hawks	Inverleigh Recreation Reserve, Inverleigh	—	1970	1954-1995, 2003	2	2023
North Geelong		Magpies	Osborne Park, North Geelong	—	1876	1890-1978, 1983-	21	2013
Thomson		Tigers	Thomson Recreation Reserve, Thomson	—	1953	1957-1978, 1982-1983, 1985-	11	2024
Werribee Centrals		Centurions	Galvin Park Reserve, Werribee	WSFL	1969	1984-	7	2004
Winchelsea		Blues	Eastern Reserve, Winchelsea	BFL	1876	1921-1922, 2002-	0	—

Former clubs

Club	Colours	Moniker	Home venue	Former League	Est.	Years in competition	GDFNL premierships		Fate
							Total	Most recent
Anglesea		Roos	Ellimatta Reserve, Anglesea	–	1963	1963-1972	0	-	Moved to Bellarine FNL after 1972 season
Bacchus Marsh		Tigers	Maddingley Park, Maddingley	BFL	1881	1931-1932	0	-	Moved to Bacchus Marsh & Melton FA in 1933
Barrabool				–		1919	0	-	Moved to Leigh District FA in 1920
Barwon		Bulldogs	Highton Recreation Reserve, Highton	–	c. 1900	1913-1978	3	1967	Moved to Geelong FNL following 1978 season
Barwon Heads		Seagulls	Howard Harmer Reserve, Barwon Heads	FCDFA	1922	1947-1970	0	-	Moved to Bellarine FNL after 1970 season
Barwon Rowing Club				GASFL		1923-1925	0	-	Folded
Bell Park		Dragons	Hamlyn Park, Bell Park	–	1958	1959-1978	2	1970	Moved to Geelong FNL following 1978 season
Belmont		Two Blues	McDonald Reserve, Belmont	GFA	1874	1928-1929, 1945-1989	0	-	Merged with Barwon in 1990 to form South Barwon
Belmont Amateurs				GFA		1939	0	-	Folded partway through 1939 season
Chilwell				–	1874	1879-1933	0	-	Merged with Newtown in 1934 to form Newtown & Chilwell
Colac Rovers				CFL		1936-1938	0	-	Moved to Colac & District FL in 1939
CYMS				–		1946-1950	0	-	Merged with YCW to form CYMS-YCW in 1951
CYMS-YCW				–	1951	1951	0	-	De-merged into CYMS and YCW in 1952
Drysdale		Hawks	Drysdale Recreational Reserve, Drysdale	GSDFL	1879	1940-1970	4	1970	Moved to Bellarine FNL after 1970 season
Ford					1926	1926, 1936-1938	0	-	Folded
Freshwater Creek				GFA		1939-1940, 1947-1961	2	1951	Folded
Geelong Amateur		Ammos, Pegasus	Queens Park, Highton	VAFA	1926	1983-1994	2	1983	Moved to Bellarine FNL after 1994 season
Geelong Guild Scouts						1933-1934	0	-	Moved to Geelong FA in 1935
Geelong High School Ex-Students				GFA		1939	0	-	Folded due to WWII
Geelong West		Roosters	West Oval, Geelong West	–	1878	1879-1945	25	1945	Moved to Ballarat FL following 1945 season
Geelong West SC		Cheetahs	West Oval, Geelong West	GFNL	1926	1939-1978, 1986-2016	5	1987	Merged with Geelong West-St Peter's in 2017 to form Geelong West
Geelong West YCW				–		1955-1958	0	-	Folded
Grovedale		Tigers	Burdoo Reserve, Grovedale	–	1947	1946-1978	2	1977	Moved to Geelong FNL following 1978 season
Herne Hill				–		1947-1951	0	-	Folded
International Harvester Club				–		1945	0	-	Folded
Lara		Cats	Lara Recreation Reserve, Lara	WDFL	1880	1907-1914, 1947-1988	4	1988	Moved to Geelong FNL following 1988 season
Leopold		Lions	Leopold Memorial Park, Leopold	–	1955	1955-1964	0	-	Moved to Polwarth FL after 1964 season
Lethbridge			Lethbridge Recreation Reserve, Lethbridge	EC	c.1890s	1953-1962	0	-	Folded
Little River			Little River Recreation Reserve, Little River	W&DFA		1953-1966	0	-	Folded
Marnock Vale				GFA		1939	0	-	Folded due to WWII
Meredith			Meredith Cricket & Recreation Reserve, Meredith	BBMFL	c.1890s	1976-1980	0	-	Folded
Military				Q&BDFA		1923-1924, 1926-1927	0	-	Returned to Queenscliff & Bellarine District FL in 1925, folded at an unknown date
Modewarre		Warriors	Mt Moriac Recreation Reserve, Mount Moriac	EC	1879	1951-1995	8	1994	Moved to Bellarine FNL after 1995 season
Newtown			Elderslie Reserve, Newtown	–	1875	1879-1933	0	-	Merged with Chilwell in 1934 to form Newtown & Chilwell
Newtown & Chilwell		Eagles	Elderslie Reserve, Newtown	–	1933	1934-1978	6	1978	Moved to Geelong FNL following 1978 season
Norlane				–		1957-1963	0	-	Folded
North Shore		Seagulls	Windsor Park, North Shore	GSDFL	1927	1940-1978	3	1977	Moved to Geelong FNL following 1978 season
Ocean Grove		Grubbers	Shell Road Reserve, Ocean Grove	–	1964	1964-1968	0	-	Moved to Polwarth FL after 1968 season
Portarlington		Demons	Portarlington Recreation Reserve, Portarlington	GFA	1874	1945-1963	4	1959	Moved to Polwarth FL after 1963 season
Queenscliff		Barracoutas	Queenscliff Recreation Reserve, Queenscliff	GSDFL	1884	1945-1956	0	-	Moved to Polwarth FL after 1956 season
Sea Scouts				GFA		1946-1947	1	1946	Folded
St Albans		Supersaints	St Albans Reserve, Thomson	–	1880	1897-1978	6	1972	Moved to Geelong FNL following 1978 season
St. Augustines				GFA	c.1920s	1939-1940	0	-	Folded
St Joseph's		Joeys	Herne Hill Reserve, Herne Hill	–	1973	1973-1984	2	1984	Moved to Geelong FNL following 1978 season
St Leonards		Saints	St Leonards Lake Reserve, St Leonards	BFNL	1985	1991-1995	0	-	Folded
St Mary's		Saints	Kardinia Park West, South Geelong	–	1953	1953-1978	8	1975	Moved to Geelong FNL following 1978 season
St Peter's		Saints	Walker Oval, Herne Hill	–	c. 1950	1959-1978, 1980-1981	2	1981	Moved to Geelong FNL following 1981 season
Stonehaven			Stonehaven Recreation Reserve, Fyansford	EC		1953–1969	0	-	Merged with Inverleigh in 1970 to form Leigh Districts
Torquay		Tigers	Spring Creek Reserve, Torquay	–	1952	1952-1963	3	1962	Moved to Polwarth FL after 1963 season
Werribee				WBMDFA		1930, 1932-1936 [5]	0	-	Moved to Werribee District FA after WWII
Wyndhamvale		Falcons	Wyndham Vale South Reserve, Wyndham Vale	–	1979	1987-1988	0	-	Moved to Western Region FL following 1988 season
YCW				–		1946-1950	1	1948	Merged with CYMS to form CYMS-YCW in 1951. Merged with St Mary's in 1952 when CYMS split from previous merger.

Recent premierships

1879 1880 1881 Geelong West 1882 Geelong West 1883 1884 Geelong West 1885 Geelong West 1886 1887 Geelong West 1888 1889 Geelong West 1890 Geelong West 1891 1892 Geelong West 1893 East Geelong 1894 Geelong West 1895 1896 Geelong West 1897 Newtown 1898 Newtown 1899 Newtown 1900 Newtown 1901 1902 East Geelong 1903 Chilwell 1904 East Geelong 1905 East Geelong 1906 1907 East Geelong 1908 East Geelong 1909 Geelong West 1910 Newtown 1911 East Geelong 1912 East Geelong 1913 East Geelong 1914 Geelong West 1915 Chilwell 1916 1917 1918 Geelong West 1919 East Geelong 1920 East Geelong 1921 Barwon 1922 Chilwell 1923 Chilwell 1924 Barwon 1925 North Geelong 1926 Barwon 1927 Geelong West 1928 Barwon 1929 Queenscliff 1930 North Geelong 1931 Geelong West 1932 Geelong West 1933 Geelong West 1934 Geelong West 1935 Geelong West 1936 Geelong West 1937 Newtown & Chilwell 1938 Geelong West 1939 East Geelong 1940 East Geelong 1941 Geelong West 1942 No competition 1943 No competition 1944 Geelong West 1945 Geelong West Evelyn Hurst Trophy 1946 East Geelong 1947 East Geelong 1948 East Geelong 1949 North Geelong 1950 North Geelong 1951 North Geelong 1952 North Geelong 1953 North Geelong 1954 North Geelong 1955 North Geelong 1956 St Marys 1957 Barwon 1958 North Geelong 1959 St Marys 1960 St Marys 1961 Barwon 1962 Newtown & Chilwell 1963 Newtown & Chilwell 1964 Newtown & Chilwell 1965 Newtown & Chilwell 1966 Geelong West C&FC 1967 St Marys 1968 North Geelong 1969 North Geelong 1970 East Geelong 1971 Geelong West C&FC 1972 St Marys 1st Division 1973 East Geelong 1974 North Shore 1975 St Marys 1976 North Shore 1977 North Shore 1978 Newtown & Chilwell 1979 Modewarre 1980 St Peters 1981 St Peters 1982 St Josephs

1983 Thomson 1984 St Josephs 1985 Geelong Amateurs 1986 Lara 1987 Werribee Central 1988 Lara 1989 Werribee Central 1990 North Geelong 1991 Anakie 1992 North Geelong 1993 North Geelong 1994 Anakie 1995 Corio 1996 Thomson 1997 Bannockburn 1998 Bannockburn 1999 Werribee Central 2000 Werribee Central 2001 Werribee Central 2002 North Geelong 2003 Bannockburn 2004 Werribee Central 2005 Thomson 2006 Thomson 2007 Belmont Lions 2008 Thomson 2009 East Geelong 2010 Bell Post Hill 2011 Bell Post Hill 2012 Bell Post Hill 2013 North Geelong 2014 Bell Post Hill 2015 Bell Post Hill 2016 Bell Post Hill 2017 Bell Post Hill 2018 Thomson 2019 Bannockburn 2020 League in recess due to COVID-19 pandemic 2021 League in recess due to COVID-19 pandemic 2022 Bannockburn 2023 Inverleigh 2024 Thomson

Woolworths Cup 1946 Sea Scouts 1947 Portarlington 1948 North Shore 1949 St Albans 1950 Freshwater Ck 1951 Freshwater Ck 1952 Lara 1953 Geelong Amateurs 1954 St Albans 1955 North Geelong 1956 North Geelong 1957 North Geelong 1958 North Geelong 1959 North Geelong 1960 Modewarre 1961 Inverleigh 1962 Torquay 1963 Drysdale 1964 Thomson 1965 Lara 1966 Drysdale 1967 Anakie 1968 St Albans 1969 Drysdale 1970 Drysdale 1971 St Albans 1972 St Albans 2nd Division 1973 Modewarre 1974 Modewarre 1975 Grovedale 1976 Modewarre 1977 Grovedale 1978 Geelong West C&FC

1979–1983 single division 1984 Werribee Central 1985 Anakie 1986 Thomson 1987 Geelong West C&FC 1988 North Geelong 1989 Modewarre 1990 Bannockburn 1991 Thomson 1992 Leigh Districts 1993 Eastern Suburbs 1994 Modewarre 1995 Thomson Jarman Cup 1948 YCW 1949 North Geelong 2nds 1950-51 No competition 1952 Modewarre 1953 Portarlington 1954 Modewarre 1955 Drysdale 1956 Geelong West C&FC 1957 Barwon Heads Ocean Grove 1958 Portarlington 1959 Portarlington 1960 Torquay 1961 Torquay 1962 Drysdale 1963 Marshall-Grovedale 1964 St Albans 1965 Newtown & Chilwell 1966 East Geelong 1967 Barwon 1968 St Marys 1969 Bell Park 1970 Bell Park 1971 Newtown & Chilwell 1972 St Marys

References

1. Fanning, Noel (9 April 2008). "Geelong and District Football League boasts a long list of superstars". Geelong Advertiser . www.geelongadvertiser.com.au. Retrieved 10 November 2008.
2. J.W. (3 December 1921). "Football – turning the tables". The Australasian. Vol. CXI, no. 2905. Melbourne, VIC.
3. Geelong & District Football League at Footypedia
4. McLure, Daryl (24 May 2008). "Kick to kick". Geelong Advertiser . Archived from the original on 26 February 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
5. "1929 - Football". Werribee Shire Banner (Vic. : 1911 - 1952). 31 January 1929. p. 5. Retrieved 6 June 2024.

External links

• Official Twitter
• SportsTG website
• GDFL on AFL Barwon
• GDFL Netball