South Gawler Football Club
The South Gawler Football Club is a country Australian rules football club, founded by James Fitzgerald in the Gawler South area of the Barossa Valley town of Gawler, South Australia, in 1889. The Lions, who wear royal blue and white hoops, currently compete in the Barossa Light & Gawler Football Association. Their club and oval today situated at Eldred Riggs Reserve, Evanston, in Gawler.[1]
| South Gawler Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Names | ||
| Full name | South Gawler Football Club Inc. | |
| 2021 season | ||
| Leading goalkicker | Dean Cutting | |
| Best and fairest | Steve Burton | |
| Club details | ||
| Founded | 1889 | |
| Colours | ||
| Competition | Barossa Light & Gawler Football Association | |
| President | Daniel Kiryk | |
| Coach | Gavin Chaplin | |
| Captain(s) | Josh Wittwer / Jackson Dare / Daniel Goulding / Jackson Press | |
| Ground(s) | Eldred Riggs Reserve, Evanston | |
| Uniforms | ||
| ||
| Other information | ||
| Official website | southgawlerfc.com | |
The Lions have produced some champion footballers, many who have played senior football in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) and the Australian Football League (AFL) as well as representing South Australia. Sam Butler became South Gawler's first fully professional footballer with the AFL's West Coast Eagles in 2004 and a member of the Eagles' 2006 Premiership team. Defender Yves Sibenaler has played in seven SANFL Premierships (2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010) for the Central District Football Club, while Alan Obst (a 2007 Premiership player also with Centrals) was listed with AFL clubs Adelaide and North Melbourne.
According to a number of forums covering country Australian Rules football, South Gawler is possibly one of the most successful football clubs in Australia. Following the 2021 BLGFA title, with 38 first-grade premierships recorded and verified,[2] discussion since 2008 suggests that the Lions have accumulated the third-most premierships in South Australia[3] and are the equal-sixth winningest Australian Rules club in Australia.[4]
In 2021 the Lions finally broke their longest senior premiership drought (since 1993) in the club's 132-year history. After 28 years (an interim during which they finished runners up in 1996; 2014 – under former Adelaide Crows and Central District champion Scott Lee; and 2020 – former Central District champion Gavin Chaplin's maiden year as the current senior coach), South came back from a 57 point deficit halfway through the second quarter to overturn arch-rivals Willaston by one goal in the 2021 Grand Final at Elliott Goodger Park. It is one of the greatest comeback victories in SA country football Grand Final history, and quite likely the greatest turnaround in any BLGFA final ever.
2021 was further punctuated by the club winning the first ever inaugural BLGFA Under 13s premiership for a new junior grade, while the Reserves were gallant runners-up.
While success at senior level had eluded them for some time, South Gawler remained buoyant with their junior development programs continuing to consistently produce success. The club's Junior Colts won the flag in 2012 and 2015, while the Senior Colts' completed a hat-trick of premierships from 2009 to 2011, again in 2013 and most recently were crowned back-to-back premiers again in 2019 and 2020.
But after being the best team all year in the A Grade, in 2021 the Lions finally would claim their fourth BLGFA title and 38th senior premiership.[5]
Premierships
Gawler Football Association
1891,
1893,
1894,
1899,
1901,
1902,
1906,
1907,
1909,
1910,
1911,
1920,
1921,
1922,
1923,
1924,
1925,
1927,
1929,
1931,
1932,
1934,
1952
Gawler and District Football League
1954,
1955,
1960
Adelaide Plains Football League
1961
Gawler and District Football League
1963,
1967,
1969,
1970,
1974,
1979,
1986
Barossa, Light and Gawler Football Association
1990,
1992,
1993,
2021
Life Members
1891 - J. Fitzgerald, T.H. Willett
1934 - A. Sweeney, C.A. Rau, E. Higgins
1947 - E. Mahoney, H. Freeman, G. Mahoney, R. Byrne
1953 - P. Giles, F. Hutchins
1954 - W.T. Causby
1958 - A.C. Nottle, G.E. Nottle
1960 - S.N. Edmonds, H.J. Smith
1961 - H.C. Adams, R.B. Gordon, R.F. Martin
1965 - R.J. Argent, G.S. Shannon, B. Nottle, G. Newberry, R.J. Shannon, J.A. Gleeson
1966 - R. Symes, J.W. Nottle
1968 - M.V. Heinrich, K.M. Jones, C. Freak Jnr, D.H. Freak
1969 - D.A. Clark, T. Stockton, T.E. Gleeson, R.J. Riggs, R.J. Charnstrom, B.P. O'Donoghue
1970 - B. Long
1971 - D.S. Rolton, Mrs D.R. McDonald, Mrs C.J. Clark
1972 - Mrs M. Mahoney, B. Deuter, I. McDonald, J.L.P. O'Reilly
1973 - E. Officer
1975 - P.J.W. Gevers, W.W. Isgar
1978 - R.E. Officer, G. Hurst
1979 - E.P. Alwood
1980 - A.H. Russell, J.T. Symes
1982 - Mrs D.J. Symes
1985 - A.P. Jenkins, G.P. Short
1986 - L.G. Clark
1989 - M.K. O'Reilly, K.P. O'Reilly
1992 - X. Sibenaler
1993 - R.J. Hutchins
1998 - C. Bloffwitch, Z. Okunieff
2003 - Mrs L. Officer, P. Montgomerie, Ms M. Wohlstadt
2004 - R.J. O'Donoghue
2005 - J.F. Daly, D.C. Ellis
2009 - R. Ahrens
2010 - P. Bain
2012 - K. Bevis
2014 - K. Barker, G. Barker
2015 - Mrs. J. Hewett
2016 - G. Davies
2018 - D. Barker, C. Hurst
2019 - G. Schultz, D. Cash
State of Origin Footballers
Peter Swift - South Adelaide, South Australia
Cecil Adcock - South Adelaide, South Australia
E.H. Cockram - South Adelaide, South Australia
Laurie Rusby - South Adelaide, South Australia
Charlie Waters - South Adelaide, South Australia
"Winky" Price - West Adelaide, South Australia
Robin Mulholland - Central District, South Australia
VFL / AFL League Footballers
Steven Officer - South Melbourne
Sam Butler - Central District, West Coast Eagles
Alan Obst - Central District, Adelaide Crows, North Melbourne
SANFL League Footballers
Jimmy Fitzgerald - Gawler
Fred May - South Adelaide
Toby Arthur - South Adelaide
Sid Coles - North Adelaide
Doug Thomson - Sturt
Tom Doherty - South Adelaide
Tom Woods - North Adelaide
Fred Rusby - North Adelaide
Eddie Henwood - South Adelaide
G.A. Titus - Norwood
Wally Ayling - North Adelaide
Perce Crump - South Adelaide, Norwood
Howard Abbott - Port Adelaide
Ron May - North Adelaide
Arthur Lamb - North Adelaide
Jim Wainwright - North Adelaide
Bruce Causby - Sturt
John Nottle - Sturt
Bob Edmonds - Central District
Yves Sibenaler - Central District
Anton Noack - Central District
Kym Harrison - Woodville
Chris Hurst - Central District
Aaron Bevis - Central District
Kane Officer - Central District
Ryan Officer - Central District
Yves M. Sibenaler - Central District
Brodie Hudson - Central District
Heath Lawry - Central District
Paul Marschall - Central District
Alan Obst - Central District
Marcus Barreau - Central District
Jordan Tippins - Central District
Expatriate SANFL League Footballers
Dick Shirley - West Torrens
Barry Walker - West Torrens
Kevin Webber - Central District
Alf Skuse - South Adelaide
Mick Daly - Central District
Lyndon Fairclough - Central District
Ken Russell - Central District
Bing Munn - West Adelaide
Clayton Pethick - North Adelaide
Darryl Moss - Glenelg
James Fuller - South Adelaide / Woodville
Graham Schultz - South Adelaide / Central District
Peter Beythien - Central District
Steven Riley - Central District
Brendan Little - North Adelaide / Central District
David Bubner - Central District
Peter Hart - North Adelaide
Malcolm McGrath - Central District
Tano Barilla - Central District
Joe Trimboli - Central District
Garth Newton - Woodville
Ian Dettman - Woodville
Lindsay Nicholls - North Adelaide / Norwood
Steven Hann - North Adelaide / Port Adelaide
Gavin Chaplin - West Perth / Central District
Scott Norton - Central District
Robert Fraser - Central District
Nick Prokopec – Central District / West Adelaide
Aaron Bayliss – West Adelaide
Matt Lutze – West Adelaide
Heath Lawry - Central District
Chris Musolino - Central District
Chad O'Sullivan - Central District / North Adelaide
Jackson Press - Woodville-West Torrens
Dean Cutting - Central District
Jack Osborn - Adelaide Crows / Sturt
Domenic Costanzo - Adelaide Crows
Josh Wittwer - Adelaide Crows
South Australia State Country Footballers
1986 - Brett Riggs
1994 - Eddie Schwerdt
1995 - Eddie Schwerdt
South Australia State Under-age Footballers
1951 - Brenton Nottle
1985 - Brett Riggs
1989 - Darren Joyce
2005 - Alan Obst
Association Best and Fairest
Gawler Football Association
1912 Mail Medal - Winky Price
1923 P.J. Broderick Medal - H. Bentley / A.R. May
1927 P.J. Broderick Medal - P. Baldwin
1936 Mail Medal - Eddie Mahoney
1937 Mail Medal - Eddie Mahoney
1938 Mail Medal - Eddie Mahoney
1941 W. Wiles Trophy - M. Williams
1947 Page Trophy - Bob Gordon
1948 Page Trophy - Bob Gordon
Gawler and District Football League
1954 Mail Trophy - Stan Edmonds
1957 Mail Trophy - John Nottle
1963 Mail Trophy - Dean Clark
1970 Mail Trophy - Xavier Sibenaler
1975 Mail Trophy - Mick Daly
1976 Mail Trophy - Kym Stoddard
1983 Bunyip Medal - Graham Schultz
Barossa, Light and Gawler Football Association
1989 Linke and Mail Medals - Eddie Schwerdt
1992 Linke and Mail Medals - Eddie Schwerdt
1995 Linke and Mail Medals - Eddie Schwerdt
2002 Linke and Mail Medals - Ben Halliday
References
Heinrich, David and Hurst, Garry. The history of the South Gawler Football Club 1889–1989, [Gawler, S. Aust. : The South Gawler Football Club], c1990
Laidlaw, Robert. The History of the Gawler and District Football League. Bunyip Press. 2008
Lines, Peter. Encyclopedia of South Australian Country Football Clubs. 2008
Laidlaw, Robert. The Central District Football Club 30 Year Almanac
- The history of the South Gawler Football Club 1889-1989
- Local historian Robert Laidlaw listed this in an article of the Gawler-based The Bunyip newspaper on the history of the Gawler and District Football league - The Bunyip, 2008.
- Peter Lines – South Australian Country Football Digest, 2021
- Information gleaned from a forum thread "Most Footy Flags" at https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/records-bests-most-premierships-ex-fp-discussion.1126192/#post-43385415 - republished, updated 2016
- The Bunyip newspaper, 2012
