Adelaide Plains
Lower North zone, 1909 to today
Formation
Following a meeting at Dublin in May 1909, the Adelaide Plains Football Association was formed. The founding members at that meeting were Mallala, Virginia, Two Wells, Windsor, Lower Light and Dublin.
Mr Ron Murrell of Two Wells presented the Murrell Medal to the best and fairest footballer in Adelaide Plains football. This medal was the forerunner to the presenting of a Mail Medal. Jack Wallace of Long Plains was a dominant player in the early 1920s, winning two Murrell Medals and being runner up for a further two. Mallala provided the winner in 1921 with Walter Dunstan.
When the program of matches was drawn up for the 1935 season it was decided to begin on May 25th to allow farmers the chance to finish their seeding. It was also planned to take a week off when the South Australia Vs Victoria state match was set down to be played at Adelaide Oval.
During the 1947 season, Balaklava and Long Plains played each other on four occasions. Their first meeting was early in the minor round at Balaklava, the scores were Balaklava 4-9 drawing with Long Plains 5-3. Their return match in late June resulted in a narrow six point win to Balaklava 8-3 to 5-15. The next encounter was in the first semi final with the scores tied again Balaklava 5-2 Long Plains 4-8 and then the replayed semi final resulted in another draw 7-7 each. Long Plains possessed more powerful staying qualities and eventually won the first semi final 10-11 to 4-5. Long Plains made it to the grand final but obviously ran out of steam losing to Wasleys by 8 points.
From the early 1960s, a Central Districts football carnival was held and sponsored by Caltex Oil. The leagues taking part were Adelaide Plains, North Eastern, North Western and Gawler & Districts. Mid North replaced North Western when that association closed after the 1963 season. The carnival was renamed the Mid North carnival in 1975, Adelaide Plains dropped out of the format in 1998.
Adelaide Plains introduced a new import rule in 1998 where a boundary was placed around the competition with only those living within the limits able to play as locals. Depending on the size of their population base and where they finished the previous season, each club was assigned a designated allowance of ‘outside’ players.
Club Timeline
Clubs (29)
- Angle Vale
- Avon
- Balaklava
- Dublin
- Hamley Bridge
- Grace Plains
- Hummocks United
- Hummocks Watchman
- Hummocks Watchman Eagles
- Korunye
- Long Plains
- Lower Light
- Mallala
- Mundoora Wokurna
- Owen
- Port Owen Hawks
- Port Wakefield
- Roseworthy College
- South Gawler
- Two Wells
- Two Wells Virginia
- United (AP)
- Virginia
- Wasleys
- Watchman
- Watchman Auburn
- Wild Horse Plains
- Windsor
- United (AP2)
Mileage
| Town A | Town B | Town C | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Town A | * | 25 | 40 |
| Town B | 25 | * | 18 |
| Town C | 40 | 18 | * |
Records
| Player | Club | Value | Year / Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| J. Smith | Example FC | 312 | 1985-2005 |
| R. Jones | Another FC | 298 | 1990-2010 |
Grand Finals
Medallists
| Year | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | B. Thompson | Example FC |
| 1961 | K. Williams | Another FC |
Leading Goalkickers
| Year | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | D. Hill | Example FC | 87 |
| 1991 | M. Johnson | Another FC | 72 |
Photos
