Central District Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the South Australian National Football League. Based at Elizabeth in the City of Playford about 25 km to the 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.
Origins and background
Football clubs had been first established in the outer northern areas beyond metropolitan Adelaide at Salisbury (1880), Kapunda (1866) and Gawler (1868) who fielded a team for 4 seasons (1887–1890) in the early years of the South Australian Football Association(1877–1906) what would eventually become South Australian National Football League.
Gawler finished bottom of ladder for the 1890 SAFA season with 2 draws from its 14 games and was withdrew at the end of the season and formed its own local competition, the predecessor of the current Barossa Light & Gawler Football Association. In 1899, with the introduction of compulsory Electorate Football Districts, Gawler which was assigned the Electoral district of Barossa wrote to the SAFA informing them that there interested in joining.
During the mid to late 1950s a team from the newly created and developing satellite City of Elizabeth to the outer north of Adelaide between the older townships of Salisbury and Gawler, was noticeable by its absence from SANFL ranks. Fred Rogers, Secretary of the Gawler Football League and heavily involved with the local junior competition, made an unofficial approach to SANFL President Thomas Seymour Hill regarding an admission of a League club from the growing Northern suburbs of Adelaide.
Birth of a new SANFL Club
A new team the Central District Football Club was formed in 1959, and served a five-year apprenticeship in the SANFL reserves competition (1959–1963), before entering the senior ranks together with Woodville Football Club for the 1964 SANFL season. For the inaugural season John Delo a former West Torrens ruckman was appointed the club's first captain.
The name Central District was synonymous with a Queen's Birthday Holiday Football Carnival contested by the Gawler, Barossa, Adelaide Plains and Mid-North Football Leagues. The club's name was derived to represent a district, bringing together people from the fast-growing urban northern Adelaide areas of Salisbury, Elizabeth together with Gawler, Adelaide Plains, Barossa Valley and the Mid-North. The new football Club gave an entire area a team to follow in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) competition.
Club Colours and Supporters
Uniquely for an Australian Rules Football Club, Centrals have a very strong British migrant identity and supporter base as Elizabeth was a centre of UK migrant settlements in Adelaide, South Australia. The colours and emblem of the club also reflect this rich British background. The colours were adopted from a UK soccer side depicted on a souvenir card however the exact identity of which club inspired the colours has not been revealed. To this day, many Central supporters carry Union Jack flags at matches and sport UK soccer paraphernalia. The colours were also influenced by Footscray in the VFL, the new club's inaugural patron, and the same Bulldog emblem was adopted for its working-class connotations.
With this British background, Centrals also have a reputation for their fans singing and chanting in the manner of UK Association Football supporters. The chants 'Ceeeeentrals' and 'You Dogs' are their most well known chants/songs.
During the Premiership years from 2000 – 2010, Centrals enjoyed healthy home crowds, with a highest being 7,329 against Sturt in 2006.
Early Years(1964–1970)
West Adelaide 1961 Premiership Player and 1962 Margarey Medallist Ken Eustice was appointed as Central's Captain and Coach for the 1964 Season. Whilst waiting for his clearance from West Adelaide Gary Window was the acting Captain. Centrals first season in the league ranks the 1964 SANFL season ended without a single league victory, and therefore finished bottom of the table with an average losing margin of 64 points (Centrals have won only one wooden spoon since, being in the 1977 season). The first league victory came against Woodville by 17 points in the 2nd round of the 1965 season. From its first season of league football in 1964, Centrals struggled for success during its early years. For the period 1964 to 1970 (first 7 seasons) the Bulldogs failed to qualify for the Finals. They played 140 matches – won 32 (22.86%) and lost 108 (including every match against Port Adelaide and Sturt).