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.
The Lions have produced some champion footballers, many who have played senior football in the South Australian National Football League and the Australian Football League 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 for the Central District Football Club, while Alan Obst 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. With 37 first-grade premierships recorded and verified, discussion in 2008 suggested that the Lions had accumulated the second-most premierships in South Australia and were the equal fourth winningest Australian Rules club in Australia.
The Lions have not won an A Grade premiership since 1993 but their junior development programs continue to 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 premiers in 2019.
After he was appointed coach in 2012, former Adelaide Crows and Central District champion Scott Lee took the A Grade to the Grand Final in 2014 to be runners up, while the Reserves emphatically captured the 2012 flag – but the longest drought in the club's history continues. Former Central District champion Gavin Chaplin is the club's current coach.

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

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

Paul Marschall - Central District

Alan Obst - 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 - 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

Jack Osborn - Adelaide Crows / Sturt

Domenic Costanzo - Adelaide Crows

South Australia State Country Footballers

1986 - Brett Riggs

1994 - Eddie Schwerdt

1995 - Eddie Schwerdt

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