Geelong & District Football Netball League

The Geelong & District Football 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.

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)
SportAustralian rules football
Netball
Founded1879 (1879)
PresidentNeville Whitley
No. of teams12
CountryAustralia
HeadquartersBreakwater, Victoria, Australia
ConfederationAFL Barwon
Most recent
champion(s)		Bannockburn
(6th premiership)
Most titlesGeelong West
(26 premierships)
Sponsor(s)Morris
Related
competitions		Geelong FNL
Bellarine FNL
Official websitegdfnl.com.au

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.

Clubs

Current clubs
Club Colours Moniker Location Home venue Est. Former

league

 GDFNL seasons GDFNL premierships
First Total Total Most recent
Anakie
Roos Anakie Anakie Reserve c. 1897 EC 1949 73 4 1994
Bannockburn
Tigers Bannockburn Victoria Park 1878 EC 1953 58 6 2022
Bell Post Hill
Panthers Bell Post Hill Myers Reserve 1976 — 1977 45 7 2017
Belmont Lions Lions Belmont Winter Reserve / Elite Training Centre Oval 1965 — 1965 57 1 2007
Corio
Devils Corio Shell Reserve 1974 — 1974 48 1 1995
East Geelong
Eagles East Geelong Richmond Oval 1879 — 1879+ 134 24 2009
Geelong West Giants
Giants Geelong West West Oval 2017 — 2017 5 — —
Inverleigh
Hawks Inverleigh Inverleigh Recreation Reserve 1970 — 1970 45 2 2023
North Geelong
Magpies North Geelong Osborne Park 1876 — 1879+ 137 21 2013
Thomson
Tigers Thomson Thomson Recreation Reserve 1953 — 1957 61 10 2018
Werribee Centrals
Centurions Werribee Galvin Park Reserve 1969 WSFL 1984 38 7 2004
Winchelsea
Blues Winchelsea Eastern Reserve 1876 WBFA 1921 22 — —
+ denotes that the club was a founding member of the GDFA
^ denotes that the club's most recent senior premiership was in the second division


Recent premierships

References
  1. Fanning, Noel (9 April 2008). "Geelong and District Football League boasts a long list of superstars". The 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.
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