Southern Districts Football Club

For the Tasmanian team of the same name, see Southern Cats.

Australian rules football club

Southern Districts

Names
Full name| Southern Districts Football Club
2022–23 season
After finals| 2nd
Home-and-away season| 1st
Club details
Founded| 1981; 44 years ago (1981)
Colours|
Competition| Northern Territory Football League
President| Joanne Burgess
Coach| Matt Cannard
Captain(s)| Sam Smith
Premierships| NTFL (3):  1997/98, 2006/07, 2017/18
Ground(s)| Norbuilt Oval
Uniforms

Home

Other information
Official website| sdfccrocs.com.au

The Southern Districts Football Club, nicknamed the Crocs, is an Australian rules football club established in 1981. The club plays in the Northern Territory Football League at semi-professional level and represent the rural area of Litchfield.

Premier League ('A' Grade)

The club won their first ever 'A' Grade Premiership under Coach Mark Motlop in the 1997/98 season defeating St Mary's.

Michael "Magic" McLean coached for a number of seasons commencing with the 2006/07 Premiership season.

Shannon Rusca became Senior Coach in the 2012/13 season. Shannon who played as the youngest Premier League premiership player as a 17-year-old in the club's first 'A' grade Premiership in the 1997/98 season was Captain in the 2006/07 season Premiership winning team playing as a Player / Assistant Coach under "Magic". Then in the 2017/18 season coached the team to the club's third Premier League premiership.

## Club achievements

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Club achievements

Competition | Level | Num. | Year won
Northern Territory Football League | Premiers | 3 | 1997/98, 2006/07, 2017/18
Runners Up  | 3  | 1995/96, 2018/19, 2022/23
Minor Premiers  | 6  | 1997/98, 2006/07, 2007/08, 2015/16, 2017/18, 2022/23
Wooden Spoons  | 4  | 1991/92, 2002/03, 2003/04, 2005/06

## History

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The club was formed in the early 1980s. In 1981 it entered the NTFL with one junior grade and a 'C' grade men's side. The club gradually entered more grades until it entered a side into the 'A' Grade in the 1987/88 season.

The club has produced many quality players at AFL level, including Collingwood Football Club great Nathan Buckley. Other players from the club include Gilbert McAdam, Adrian McAdam, Michael O'Loughlin, Aaron Shattock, Fabian Francis, Shannon Rusca, Steven Koops, and Shawn Lewfatt. Other Crocs juniors players Roger Smith and Bradley Copeland were also drafted to AFL clubs in the early seasons of the Crocs but didn't manage to play an AFL game.

More recently it has produced (Brisbane Lions/Collingwood Football Club) Anthony Corrie, (Richmond Football Club/Adelaide Football Club) Richard Tambling, (Brisbane Lions/Gold Coast Football Club) Jared Brennan, (Western Bulldogs) Malcolm Lynch, (Richmond Football Club) Troy Taylor, (Gold Coast Football Club) Steven May, (Geelong Football Club) Nakia Cockatoo, with Zac Bailey being the most recently drafted player to the Brisbane Lions in the 2017 Australian Football League draft

Other players who have for the club over the years that played for the Crocs before playing AFL or after playing AFL include Allen Jakovich who kicked 104 goals in his first season at the Crocs in the 1988/89 NTFL season, Brisbane Lions Premiership players Chris Johnson, Des Headland and Darryl White (who played in the SDFC 2006/07 NTFL Premiership side). Damian Cupido (Brisbane Lions) and (Essendon Football Club) played for the Crocs in the 2012/13 and 2013/14 NTFL seasons kicking 140 goals in his first season at the club. James Kelly (Geelong Football Club), Simon Buckley (Collingwood Football Club/Melbourne Football Club), Robert Copeland (Brisbane Lions Football Club), Laurence Angwin (Carlton Football Club). Mark Jamar played for the Crocs after being delisted by Melbourne Football Club but then he was picked up by the Essendon Football Club as a top up player so had another season of AFL before returning to the Crocs and playing in the 2017/18 Premier League Premiership winning Crocs team. Ed Barlow (Sydney Swans/Western Bulldogs) also played in the same Premiership team after three seasons with the Crocs.

## Club song

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> Sung to the tune: "Notre Dame Victory March"

>  Cheer, cheer the red, black and white,
>  Honour the Crocs by day and by night,
>  Lift that noble banner high,
>  Shake down the thunder from the sky
>  Weather the odds be great or small,
>  We'll come out and win overall
>  While our players keep on fighting
>  Onward to victory!

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Southern Districts Football Club.

* Official Southern Districts Football Club website
* AFL Northern Territory
* Northern Territory Football League
* [1]
* [2]

* v
* t
* e

Northern Territory Football League

Clubs|

* Darwin
* Nightcliff
* Palmerston
* PINT
* Southern Districts
* St Mary's
* Tiwi Bombers
* Wanderers
* Waratah

Seasons|

* 1916–17
* 1917–18
* 1918
* 1919
* 1920
* 1921
* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1925
* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
* 1929
* 1930
* 1931
* 1932
* 1933
* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
* 1937
* 1938
* 1939
* 1940
* 1941
* 1942−1945
* 1946–47
* 1947–48
* 1948–49
* 1949–50
* 1950–51
* 1951–52
* 1952–53
* 1953–54
* 1954–55
* 1955–56
* 1956–57
* 1957–58
* 1958–59
* 1959–60
* 1960–61
* 1961–62
* 1962–63
* 1963–64
* 1964–65
* 1965–66
* 1966–67
* 1967–68
* 1968–69
* 1969–70
* 1970–71
* 1971–72
* 1972–73
* 1973–74
* 1974–75
* 1975–76
* 1976–77
* 1977–78
* 1978–79
* 1979–80
* 1980–81
* 1981–82
* 1982–83
* 1983–84
* 1984–85
* 1985–86
* 1986–87
* 1987–88
* 1988–89
* 1989–90
* 1990–91
* 1991–92
* 1992–93
* 1993–94
* 1994–95
* 1995–96
* 1996–97
* 1997–98
* 1998–99
* 1999–00
* 2000–01
* 2001–02
* 2002–03
* 2003–04
* 2004–05
* 2005–06
* 2006–07
* 2007–08
* 2008–09
* 2009–10
* 2010–11
* 2011–12
* 2012–13
* 2013–14
* 2014–15
* 2015–16
* 2016–17
* 2017–18
* 2018–19
* 2019–20
* 2020–21
* 2021–22
* 2022–23
* 2023–24
* 2024–25

Awards|

* Nichols Medal
* Chaney Medal

* v
* t
* e

Australian rules football in the Northern Territory

Governing body|

* AFL Northern Territory

Representative team|

* Northern Territory Football Club

Darwin league|

* Northern Territory Football League

Regional leagues|

* Barkly
* Big Rivers
* Central Australian
* Gove
* Tiwi Islands

Women's league|

* Northern Territory Women's Aussie Rules Football Association

Defunct Leagues|

* Top End Australian Football Association

NTFL teams|

* Darwin
* Nightcliff
* Palmerston
* PINT
* Southern Districts
* St Mary's
* Tiwi Bombers
* Wanderers
* Waratah

Principal venues|

Marrara Oval
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