Swan Districts finished seventh on the WANFL ladder winning seven out of 21 games in their debut season in 1934.[1] The presence of established WANFL players like inaugural captain-coach "Judda" Bee from East Fremantle and Fred Sweetapple from West Perth was critical to the fledgling club's competitiveness. In 1935, Swans finished sixth on the WANFL Ladder with six wins and twelve losses and George Krepp won the Sandover Medal. The 1936 season saw the Swans pick up nine wins and eleven losses but still finish seventh on the League Ladder.
The 1937 season saw Swan Districts, under new coach Jim Ditchburn, finish in third place on the League Ladder with 14 wins and 7 losses, and play in their first finals series. Ted Holdsworth kicked 109 goals in the first 14 games before injury ended his season[2] and East Perth beat them in the first semi-final 13.9 (87) to 11.7 (73). Swan Districts had another good season in 1938, finishing third with 11 wins and nine losses but were again beaten in the first semi-final by East Perth 8.18 (66) – 9.11 (65).[3]
In 1939, with the loss of champion spearhead Holdsworth to Kalgoorlie, Swans slid to sixth on the ladder with seven wins from twenty games. In the following two seasons, despite Holdsworth's return, the club slid still further to finish last with only two wins in 1940 and three in 1941. Due to the Second World War the WANFL suspended its senior competition and implemented an under age competition to replace it. In 1942 Swans were unable to raise a side to play and did not compete at all.[3] By 1943 Swan Districts assembled a side to compete in the under-age competition and performed exceedingly well, finishing fourth on the ladder with nine wins and eight losses, then winning the first semi-final against West Perth and the preliminary Final against Subiaco. Swans thus played in their first Grand Final only to be defeated by East Fremantle, the final score being East Fremantle 17.15 (117) to Swan Districts 11.11 (77).[4] Jim Davies became the second Swan Districts player to win a Sandover Medal in 1944 with 33 votes in what was otherwise a forgettable season with Swans finishing sixth on the ladder, but in the restored open-age competition of 1945 their fortunes improved as they finished fourth on the league ladder only to be defeated in the first semi-final by South Fremantle.
Jim Davies in 1951
However, Swan Districts fell off dramatically for the next fifteen seasons. During this period they never finished higher than sixth of eight teams, and overall won only sixty-one and drew one of their 301 matches, suffering from the fact that much of the area around Bassendean was "un-allotted" so that players such as Keith and Roy Harper, and Frank Coulson moved to more successful clubs. They were nonetheless instrumental in having the WANFL introduce its "Provident Fund" to allow league revenue to be shared amongst the clubs. In 1957 Swan Districts won their first Colts Premiership, repeating the dose in 1958,[5] and these teams provided the nucleus of their successes in the early to middle 1960s.
Swan Districts Football Club from Guildford Road
After finishing last in 1960, Swan Districts appointed Haydn Bunton junior as senior captain-coach in early 1961, and improvement was immediate. Swan Districts won twelve and drew two of their twenty-one regular season matches to be a clear second and an ingenious tactic by Bunton against champion East Perth ruckman "Polly" Farmer[6] won them a huge upset in the Grand Final, and two more premierships followed in 1962 and 1963. Swans' fall afterwards was however just as rapid as their rise from 1960 to 1961. In 1964 Swans won seven of their first nine matches, but then state representative calls and form lapses affected the team so badly that they won only two of their final twelve encounters. After achieving their most successful home-and-away season under new captain coach Fred Castledine before being overwhelmed by a mediocre East Fremantle team in the 1965 Grand Final,[a] they fell off completely in the following eight seasons. Swans in this era were hindered by the lack of a full-time coach or secretary that made it harder for them to recruit than other WANFL clubs.[7]In 1968, Swan Districts came nearer to a winless season than any team in senior WA(N)FL competition between 1918 and 1998: winning only one game after the siren by a point against East Fremantle, and scored their all-time lowest score against East Perth. Swan Districts were also last in 1970 and 1971, and not until 1974 did they again make the finals, under the coaching of Jack Ensor, who most unusually never played senior League Football.[8][9] Again, however, they declined abruptly, falling to wooden spooners in 1977 and 1978.
John Todd, who took the coaching reins at Bassendean in 1977 and began with a big clean-out of players, brought with him a new winning culture, one which would emulate that of the Haydn Bunton era. By the 1980s, Swans became the dominant side in the WAFL, winning three straight flags in 1982, 1983 and 1984. Swan Districts fell drastically to be last in 1986 and 1988, but rose equally rapidly and after a stint coaching the West Coast Eaglesin 1988and 1989, Todd returned to the club and after being fifth with ten wins in 1989 they won a seventh premiership, beating Claremont 16.7 (103) to 10.17 (77) in 1990. However, after several unsuccessful finals campaigns between 1991 and 1994 Todd returned to South Fremantle, where he began his football career, and Swan Districts fell rapidly downhill on and off the field under coaches Graham Melrose (1995 and 1996), Phil Cronan (1997 and 1998), Peter Wilson (1999) and Todd again from 2000 to 2002.[10] Between 1995 and 2002 they did not play in the finals and overall won only 51 of 158 games.
Blue Steel Oval grandstands, 2009
At the end of 2002, a season where Swans ran last in all three grades and were as lucky as in 1968 to escape a winless season in the seniors, the club's desperate financial trouble[11] came to the public's attention and a concerted financial drive saw them rise to ten wins and a draw under new coach Steve Turner, and back into the finals in 2004 and 2005. They could not challenge Subiaco or South Fremantle for the flag, and in 2006 fell to only seven wins before Turner gave way to former Eagles star Chris Lewis early in 2007. Brian Dawson took over as coach of the seniors in 2008 and the club rebounded from disappointing results in the previous two years to play in the 2008 Grand Final which they lost to Subiaco. Dawson then steered the team to a preliminary final in 2009. Dawson announced his retirement at the end of the 2010 season.[12] then took the team to the Grand Final which they won over Claremont by a single point. Andrew Krakouer won the Simpson Medal on top of winning the Sandover Medal for 2010, he accumulated 42 possessions during the grand final and kicked the last goal of the game ensuring Swan won the flag.[13] Josh Roberts will be remembered as the premiership skipper in his first year as captain.
Greg Harding was appointed as senior coach for the 2011 season.[14] The club had a poor season finishing the season with only six wins from twenty games and finishing second from bottom of the league ladder, but rebounded in 2012 to finish second to a powerful Claremont combination only to lose both finals.
In 2013 Swans finished 3rd on the ladder with Tim Geappen kicking 49 goals for the season and Tony Notte being awarded the fairest and best.
Swan Districts were a foundation member of the WAFL Women's competition in 2019.
Club song
The Swan Districts club song is to the tune of the 1926 song Baby Face written by Harry Akst and Benny Davis. The club song lyrics were written by John Watts and performed to the 1975 version of Baby Face.
The Swan Districts Football Club Hall of Fame was established in 2016 to "recognise and enshrine players, coaches, administrators, volunteers and iconic moments that have made a most significant contribution to the Swan Districts Football Club ... since its inception in 1934."[15] In the initial terms of reference document, there were to be four main categories for entries into the Hall of Fame:
Hall of Fame inductees (open to all players, coaches, administrators and volunteers);
Champion inductees (open to those SDFC players who have been recruited from SDFC into the AFL);
Legends – open to all Hall of Fame members; and
Iconic Moments, which were defined as "events which have been game changers for the Club. These could include football games, football events, infrastructure changes and innovations".[15]
However, subsequent coverage of the club's Hall of Fame barely references these categories, and the reference to the Legends category was modified to "Immortals". The inaugural in take of the Swan Districts Hall of Fame included 26 individuals and one iconic moment.[16] There were further induction ceremonies held in 2019[17] and 2021.[18]
Upgraded to Immortal status in 2019, Walker is the only WAFL player to have won the Sandover Medal four times. Possessing unparalleled ball sense and excellent disposal skills, he kicked five goals in Swans' breakthrough premiership in 1961, and formed a famous roving combination with Haydn Bunton Jr. His five Swan Medals are matched only by Travis Edmonds. Continued serving the club in various administration roles after his playing days.
Upgraded to Immortal status in 2020,[19] Cooper first arrived at Bassendean Oval from Manjimup in 1951 and gave great service mainly in defence over eight seasons. After returning to Swans following a spell of work in Boulder, he began an administrative career at Swans and the WAFL that has lasted over four decades.
Tall and strongly-built with an excellent high mark and a long driving kick, Anderson was an intelligent player who read the play superbly and was ideally suited to the key centre half-back position. After losing all four fingers from his left hand in a sawmill accident in 1947 he managed to modify his playing style and become the first Swans player to reach 200 games.
Recruited from Upper Great Southern Football League club Williams as an 18-year-old, Beecroft became a football hero in three different states over a 16-year senior League career that included over 300 games and 600 goals. Played mainly as a ruckman with Swans, winning the Swan Medal and All-Australian selection in 1972. In 1976 he went to Fitzroy in the VFL and became a key forward, kicking a then club record of 87 goals in 1979, before finishing his career with Woodville in the SANFL.
Originally from Ballarat (Victoria), Bryant served in Gallipoli during World War I before moving to Western Australia. He was a founding member of Swans in 1934 and served the club in a variety of roles including head trainer, organising secretary of the juniors, timekeeper, social club treasurer, assistant secretary and property steward. Recognised for his service in 1970 with the National Football League Certificate of Merit.
The son of a legend, Bunton Jr. carved out his own legacy, overcoming a serious childhood disease and knee injury suffered in a car accident in 1959 to win the 1962 Sandover Medal and captain-coach Swans to their first three premierships. In his four seasons with the Black Ducks, he won three Swan Medals and represented Western Australia 11 times. One of the most influential on-field figures in the club's history with his innovative coaching and determined attitude.
When Cornelius returned to senior level football for Swans after being dropped to the reserves following his first two senior games in 1995, he would go on to set a new League record for consecutive games played (219 games), eventually finishing with 221 games during a somewhat success-starved period in Swans history. A competitive player who was used mainly in defence and midfield, Cornelius served as club captain from 2002 to 2005.
In a war-interrupted career, Murray established a reputation as one of the hardest and toughest players of his era, earning the nickname "Granite". Although he played mainly as a defender, he was also a handy ruckman. He represented Western Australia in interstate football nine times, and is best remembered for his physical clashes with Richmond/Victorian icon Jack Dyer.
A rugged, no-nonsense player who possessed a somewhat awkward kicking style, Nowotny played much of his career on the half-back flank before making a successful transition to the ruck-rover role and then finishing as a key forward. Nowotny served as a much-respected club captain from 1977 to 1981, and fittingly finished his career as a dual premiership player.
Of the six Sidebottoms to have represented Swans over the years, Dave played the most games. His finest hour came in the 1963 grand final, starring on a wing in the 22-point premiership win against East Fremantle. Later served the club as Colts and Reserves coach, then as a Board Director and Chairman of Selectors.
A star at South Fremantle who won the Sandover at 17 before a serious knee injury brought his playing career to a premature end, Todd became the longest-serving and most successful coach at Swans; across three separate stints starting in 1977 and ending in 2002, he coached 417 games and won four premierships. Known for his uncompromising, fire-and-brimstone approach, Todd's riskiest gamble was to drop Stan Nowotny for the 1983 Preliminary final.
Strong at the ball and physical around the contest, Turnbull could be called on to play in almost position on the field, and have an impact. He is one of a handful of players to be part of all three of the Swans' premiership teams from 1961 to 1963. He also represented Western Australia ten times in interstate football.
After finishing wooden spooners in 1960, the Swans committee surprised the football world by securing the services of Haydn Bunton Jr. as captain-coach and recruit the then 19-year-old Bill Walker, who had been a target of interest from all WANFL clubs. Under Bunton's leadership, the Swans would become the first team in the WAFL to go from wooden spooners to League champions the following season, eventually going on to win their first hat-trick of premierships.
List of Swan Districts footballers who have played in the VFL/AFL
For many years, Swan Districts has provided many footballers who have excelled at VFL/AFL level, with a notable number who are of Indigenous Australian heritage. This list only counts footballers who played at least game at senior VFL/AFL level and who were recruited / drafted from Swan Districts.
Swan Districts footballers at VFL/AFL clubs except West Coast & Fremantle
Ted Holdsworth was the first Swan Districts player to kick more than 100 goals. The most goals ever kicked in a season by a Swan Districts player was by Simon Beasleyin 1981 when he kicked 119 goals,[27] although Warren Ralph kicked 120 goals for Claremont and won the Bernie Naylor Medal.
The West Australian Football League is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The league currently consists of ten teams, which play each other in a 20-round season usually lasting from April to September, with the top five teams playing off in a finals series, culminating in a Grand Final. The league also runs reserves, colts (under-19) and women's competitions.
Haydn Austin Bunton is a former Australian rules footballer and coach. The son of the legendary Haydn Bunton Sr., Bunton Jr. played for North Adelaide and Norwood in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), as well as ‹See Tfd›Swan Districts and ‹See Tfd›Subiaco in the Western Australian National Football League (WANFL).
The Claremont Football Club, nicknamed Tigers, is an Australian rules football club based in Claremont, Western Australia, that currently plays in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and WAFL Women's (WAFLW). Its official colours are navy blue and gold. Formed as the "Cottesloe Beach Football Club" in 1906, the club entering the WAFL in 1925 as the "Claremont-Cottesloe Football Club"', changing its name to the present in 1935. Claremont have won 12 senior men's premierships since entering the competition, including most recently the 2011 and 2012 premierships.
The East Perth Football Club, nicknamed the Royals, is an Australian rules football club based in Leederville, Western Australia, current playing in the West Australian Football League (WAFL). Formed in 1902 as the Union Football Club, the club entered the WAFL in 1906, changing its name to East Perth. It won its first premiership in 1919, part of a streak of five consecutive premierships. Overall, the club has won 17 premierships, most recently in 2002. The club is currently based at Leederville Oval, which it shares with the Subiaco Football Club, having previously played home games at Wellington Square and Perth Oval from 1910 to 1999.
The Perth Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is an Australian rules football club based in Lathlain, Western Australia, currently playing in the West Australian Football League (WAFL).
The Subiaco Football Club, nicknamed the Lions and known before 1973 as the Maroons, is an Australian rules football club in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and WAFL Women's (WAFLW). It was founded in 1896, and admitted to the WAFL in 1901, along with North Fremantle. The club is currently based at Leederville Oval, having previously played at Subiaco Oval.
John Herbert Todd was an Australian rules footballer who played for the South Fremantle Football Club in the West Australian National Football League (WANFL). He also coached with success at East Fremantle, South Fremantle, Swan Districts, West Coast, and Western Australia. The only coach that comes close to John Todd in games coached is Jock McHale, who coached Collingwood. Mick Malthouse later broke McHale’s coaching record for games coached, but McHale still has won the most VFL/AFL premierships (8). Malthouse won 3 Premierships. A State Memorial service was held on 21 August 2024 for John Todd.
Gerard Joseph Neesham is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Sydney Swans in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and for the East Fremantle Football Club, Swan Districts Football Club and Claremont Football Club in the West Australian Football League (WAFL).
Graham Thomas Melrose is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the North Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) as well as for the East Fremantle Football Club and the Swan Districts Football Club in the Western Australian Football League (WAFL).
Robert John Wiley is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Perth Football Club in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and for the Richmond Football Club and West Coast Eagles in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
Wayne Anthony Blackwell is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Claremont in the Western Australian National Football League (WANFL) and Carlton in the Victorian Football League (VFL) from 1978 to 1990.
Percy John Johnson was an Australian rules footballer and coach, who played 13 state matches for Western Australia and 228 games in the Western Australian National Football League (WANFL). He is a member of the West Australian Football Hall of Fame.
The 1934 WANFL season was the 50th season of the various incarnations of the Western Australian National Football League. Following upon numerous unsuccessful attempts to revive Midland Junction during the 1920s, Bassendean-based ‹See Tfd›Swan Districts were admitted to the competition. The black and whites were more competitive than previous new clubs owing to the presence of a number of players with previous WANFL experience, including Fred Sweetapple from West Perth, captain-coach "Judda" Bee from East Fremantle and Nigel Gorn from South Fremantle, but after five promising campaigns were to endure nineteen open-age seasons without once winning as many matches as they lost.
The 1937 WANFL season was the 53rd season of the Western Australian National Football League. The season saw numerous notable highlights, including:
Five players[a] kicked 100 goals, a number equalled in the major leagues of VFL/AFL, VFA/VFL, or SANFL, only in the 1939 VFA season.[b]
Frank "Scranno" Jenkins won the Sandover Medal in his debut season of senior football with a record high under the 3-2-1 voting system of 34 votes.
In the second round, East Fremantle broke their own 21-year-old record for the highest score in league history.
East Perth drew three games in one season, a feat equalled in major Australian Rules Leagues only by VFA club Moorabbin in 1958 and West Perth in 1960. The Royals could easily have drawn a fourth game but for crowd acclamation preventing umpires from hearing the bell against Subiaco on Foundation Day. No senior Australian Rules team at any level is known to have tied four matches in a season, but Geelong’s Under-19s did so in 1971.
Swan Districts, with Ted Holdsworth kicking at least six goals in each of the first ten games, reached their first finals series in only their fourth WANFL season. Holdsworth was to reach his 100 goals in two fewer games than George Doig took in his 152-goal 1934 season, but concussion and a broken hand eliminated the prospect of a new record.
The 1973 WANFL season was the 89th season of the Western Australian National Football League. It is most famous for Subiaco breaking the longest premiership drought in the history of the competition, winning for the first time since 1924 after having been a chopping block for most of the middle third of the century. Under the coaching of former St Kilda champion Ross Smith, the Lions, as they became christened in July, bounced back from two disappointing seasons to lose only two of their final sixteen home-and-away games for their first minor premiership since 1935, then in a low-scoring Grand Final comfortably defeated a much more hardened West Perth team.
The 1938 WANFL season was the 54th season of the Western Australian National Football League, and saw Claremont, under champion coach Johnny Leonard who had transferred from West Perth, win its first premiership after losing two Grand Finals and drawing the first one this season. The blue and golds were to win the following two premierships before a long period near the foot of the ladder after Claremont Oval was gutted by a fire in 1944.
The 1939 WANFL season was the 55th season of the various incarnations of the Western Australian National Football League. It is best known for West Perth's record losing streak of twenty-seven matches up to the fifteenth round, an ignominy equalled by Peel Thunder in their formative years but never actually beaten. The Cardinals finished with the worst record since Midland Junction lost all twelve games in 1917, and were the first WANFL team with only one victory for twelve seasons. In their only win, champion forward Ted Tyson became the first West Australian to kick over one thousand goals and he just failed to replicate his 1938 feat of leading the goalkicking for a bottom club. Subiaco, despite a second Sandover win from Haydn Bunton won only three matches, and Swan Districts, affected by the loss of star goalkicker Ted Holdsworth to Kalgoorlie, began a long period as a cellar-dweller with a fall to sixth.
The 2014 WAFL season was the 130th season of the various incarnations of the West Australian Football League (WAFL). The season began on 22 March 2014 and concluded on 21 September 2014 with the 2014 WAFL Grand Final. West Perth entered the season as reigning premiers after defeating East Perth by 49 points in the 2013 WAFL Grand Final at Patersons Stadium.
The 1947 WANFL season was the 63rd season of senior football in Perth, Western Australia. With the background of war completely removed, 1947 saw the WANFL begin a golden age of growth dominated by the two Fremantle clubs, West Perth and Perth, who made the league for the following nine seasons a de facto hierarchy led by South Fremantle and West Perth, who respectively won 128 and 121 of their 159 home-and-away matches between 1947 and 1954. Zones with vastly different populations and large unzoned areas allowed these more successful and financially secure clubs to monopolise the leading player talent.
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