Central District Football Club

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About Central District

The Central District Football Club, part of the South Australian National Football League, is South Australia's largest community football club. The Bulldogs proudly represent Adelaide's northern community including Salisbury, Elizabeth, Gawler and the Barossa Valley - 250,000+ residents. Central's home base at Playford Alive Oval is a stones throw from the industrial heartland surrounding Holdens (Central's major sponsor since 1989) and the Edinburgh Defence precinct.

Centrals (as it commonly refered to) was formed in 1959 at the same time the satellite town of Elizabeth was being established. It competed for five years in the SANFL reserves before it was promoted to league competition in 1964. It's colours are red, white and blue and its moniker is the Bulldogs. Its motto "Cede Nullis" means "Yield to none".

The other eight SANFL clubs are Glenelg, North Adelaide, Norwood, Port Adelaide Magpies, Sturt, South Adelaide, West Adelaide and Woodville-West Torrens.    

For many years Centrals did not enjoy premiership success despite having a strong supporter base. That was until the year 2000 when Centrals won its very first premiership. It has played in 12 consecutive grand finals which is a remarkable achievement. SANFL grand finals are played at AAMI Stadium in West Lakes - home of the Adelaide Crows, Port Adelaide Power and the SANFL. 35,000 football fans watched Centrals and Norwood play in last year's grand final. So far Centrals has won nine SANFL grand finals (2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010) and has lost five (1995, 1996, 2002, 2006 and 2011). For a more detailed history of Centrals click here.

Central District is an incorporated sporting association with a membership base and an elected Board. It's current President is Les Stevens and CEO is Kris Grant. Roy Laird is League Coach and Paul Thomas is Captain. Each week Centrals fields a team in the League, Reserves and Under 18 football competitions of the SANFL. Junior football grades and junior development is also a priority at the Bulldogs with league footballers employed to teach football skills to boys and girls throughout the Northern suburbs. To read more about the people involved at Centrals click here.

Central supporters are unique. Chants of "You Dogs!" and "Ceeeentrals" (since the early 1970's) provide an atmosphere unrivalled elsewhere. Elizabeth has a strong English migrant population and likewise the Bulldogs enjoy a similar supporter base.

Grand Central is the Club's licenced facility. It's a popular venue for football supporters and members of the public alike. It features a front bar with full TAB facilities, a bistro that seats 200, a gaming area and two function rooms that are in high demand for club events and private and corporate functions. For more information on Grand Central click here.