Essendon District Football League

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Essendon District Football League" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The Essendon District Football League (EDFL) is a semi-professional Australian rules football league competition based in Essendon, Victoria, consisting of teams based in the north-west suburbs of Melbourne. Founded in 1930, the men's competition consists of three leagues: Premier Division, Division 1 and Division 2, with 10 clubs in the Premier Division, 11 clubs in Division 1 and 9 clubs in Division 2. Ahead of the 2025 competition, two teams will be relegated from Division 1 to Division 2 to ensure that there are 10 teams across each of the top three divisions.

Promotion and relegation between these divisions occurs, with the lowest-placed clubs in the Premier Division and Division 1 being relegated at the end of each season replaced in their respective divisions by the winners of Division 1 and Division 2 premierships respectively^[1] Each men's team also fields a reserves side and an under-18 side that play fixtures mirroring that of the senior side.

Since 2017, the League has also run a competition for women's Australian rules football. In its inaugural year, this was a joint competition featuring teams from the EDFL as well as the Western Region Football League (WRFL).^[2] In 2018, 13 teams competed in a single division season, expanding to 19 teams and two divisions in 2019.

The league consists of clubs spanning as far north as Sunbury (East Sunbury Football Club), as far south-east as Moonee Ponds (Moonee Valley), and as far west as Hillside (Hillside Football Club). The furthest distance between two clubs is Moonee Valley Football Club and Sunbury Kangaroos totalling a travel distance of 35.2 km.

A number of junior players from the EDFL play for Calder Cannons in the Coates Talent League due to the geography of being based at Highgate Recreation Reserve, Craigieburn and consequently receiving the majority of players from teams in the Northern and North-West Suburbs. A smaller number of players represent Western Jets, being based at Burbank Oval, Williamstown which receive a number of players from clubs based in the western suburbs of Melbourne.

Location of 2024 EDFL Clubs

5km
3miles

Ascot Vale

Coburg

Dallas

Hume

Merrifield

St Francis

Taylors Lakes

Sunbury

Westmeadows

East Sunbury

Hadfield

Burnside Heights

Glenroy

Coburg Districts

Northern Saints

Craigieburn

St Albans

Maribyrnong Park

Roxburgh Park

Tullamarine

Moonee Valley

Keilor Park

Rupertswood

Oak Park

West Coburg

Hillside

Avondale Heights

Deer Park

Greenvale

Airport West

East Keilor

Essendon Doutta Stars

Pascoe Vale

Strathmore

Aberfeldie

Keilor

  

A blue label denotes the club is in the Premier Division, a red label denotes the club is in Division One, a yellow label denotes the club is in Division Two, and a black label denotes the club competes in junior competitions only.

The league consists of clubs spanning as far north as Sunbury (Rupertswood), as far south as Ascot Vale (Ascot Vale) or Moonee Ponds (Moonee Valley) at a senior level, as far east as Coburg (Coburg) or Fawkner (Northern Saints), and as far west as Hillside (Hillside Football Club). The furthest distance between two clubs is Moonee Valley Football Club and Sunbury Kangaroos totalling a travel distance of 35.2 km.

The league borders the RDFNL to the north and north-west, WFNL to the south and west, and the NFNL to the east and north-east. A number of clubs have transferred to and from these various leagues throughout their respective existences.

The league recruits a number of current players listed on VFL lists from the Northern and Western Suburbs of Melbourne, such as Coburg, Essendon, Werribee, and Williamstown

Club	Colours	Moniker	Home venue	Former league(s)	Est.	Years in EDFL	Premierships
							Total	Most recent
Aberfeldie		Abers, Gorillas	Clifton Park, Aberfeldie	—	1948	1948-	8	2018
Airport West		Eagles	Hansen Reserve, Airport West	—	1961	1962-	7	2022
Deer Park		Lions	John McLeod Reserve, Deer Park	WRFL	1925	2023-	1	2023^
East Keilor		Cougars	Overland Reserve, East Keilor	—	1967	1971-	7	2021^
Essendon Doutta Stars		Stars	Nipper Jordan Oval, Essendon	VFL	1946	1946-	20	2015^
Greenvale		Jets	Greenvale Recreation Reserve, Greenvale	—	1990	1996-	5	2013
Keilor		Blues	Keilor Recreation Reserve, Keilor	KBFL	1877	1932-	13	2024
Maribyrnong Park		Lions	Maribyrnong Park, Moonee Ponds	—	1980	1980-	5	2024
Pascoe Vale		Panthers	Raeburn Reserve, Pascoe Vale	VFL SD	1918	1952-	3	2011^
Strathmore		Mores	Lebanon Reserve, Strathmore	—	1954	1957-	9	2022

Club	Colours	Moniker	Home venue	Former League(s)	Est.	Years in EDFL	Premierships
							Total	Most recent
Avondale Heights		Heights	Canning Reserve, Avondale Heights	—	1965	1967-	5	2004^
Craigieburn		Eagles	D.S. Aitken Reserve, Craigieburn	RDFNL	1970	2001-	3	2019^
Hillside		Sharks	Hillside Reserve, Hillside	—	1999	2005-	1	2013+
Moonee Valley		Valley	Ormond Park, Moonee Ponds	—	1933	1933-	7	2021+
Oak Park		Kangaroos	J.P. Fawkner Reserve, Oak Park	—	1957	1960-	5	2023+
Roxburgh Park		Magpies	Lakeside Reserve, Roxburgh Park	—	2002	2005-	1	2018+
St Albans		Saints	Kings Park Reserve, Kings Park	WRFL	1947	2023-	0	__
Taylors Lakes		Lions	Lionheart Reserve, Taylors Lakes	—	1989	1993-	2	2024
Tullamarine		Demons	Leo Dineen Reserve, Tullamarine	—	1974	1974-	8	2003
West Coburg		Burgers	Shore Reserve, Pascoe Vale South	VFA SD	1927	1974-	15	2014

Club	Colours	Moniker	Home venue	Former League(s)	Est.	Years in EDFL	Premierships
							Total	Most recent
Burnside Heights		Bears	Burnside Heights Recreation Reserve, Burnside Heights	—	2012	2014-	0	—
Coburg Districts		Lions	Cole Reserve, Pascoe Vale	NMFL, WRFL	1951	1951-1987, 2013-	1	1968
East Sunbury		Thunder	John McMahon Reserve, Sunbury	RDFNL	1999	2013-2021, 2023-	0	—
Glenroy		Wallabies	Sewell Reserve, Glenroy	—	1946	1946-	14	2017^
Hadfield		Hawks	Martin Reserve, Hadfield	—	1961	1971-	4	2015
Keilor Park		Devils	Keilor Park Recreational Reserve, Keilor Park	—	1974	1986-2017, 2019-	3	2022^
Northern Saints		Saints	Charles Mutton Reserve, Fawkner	—	2007	2008-	1	2013^
Rupertswood		Sharks	Salesian College, Sunbury	VAFA, RDFNL	1999	2021-	0	—
Sunbury Kangaroos		Kangaroos	Eric Boardman Reserve, Sunbury	RDFNL	1987	2019-	1	2019+
Westmeadows		Tigers	Willowbrook Reserve, Westmeadows	—	1970	1977-	1	1984

Notes

^{^} denotes that the club's most recent senior premiership was in Division 1 or the B Grade.

⁺ denotes that the club's most recent senior premiership was in Division 2 or the C Grade.

Notes

(R) denotes that the player was selected in the rookie draft.

(F-S) denotes that the player was selected as a father-son pick.

(M-S) denotes that the player was selected in the mid-season draft.

¹ Playing statistics correct as of the end of the 2023 season.

Club	Colours	Nickname	Home Ground	Former League	Est.	EDFL Seasons	EDFL Senior Premierships		Fate
							Total	Most recent
Aberfeldie Park				–	1983	1983-1985	0	-	Reverted to Moonee Ponds name in 1986 after complaints from Aberfeldie
All Nations Youth Club						1953-1955	0	-	Unknown
Ascot Imperials						1946	0	-	Unknown
Ascot Rovers						1954-1956	0	-	Unknown
Ascot Vale		Devils	Walter Reserve, Ascot Vale	–	1930	1930-1987	11	1977	Moved to Footscray Districts FL after 1987 season.
Ascot Vale Methodists						1946, 1949	0	-	Unknown
Ascot Vale Presbyterians			Fairbairn Park, Ascot Vale	–		1964-1973	1	1964	Merged with Essendon Baptist-St John's at conclusion of 1973 season to form Essendon-Tullamarine.
Ascot Vale Wanderers						1937-1940	0	-	Unknown
Ascot Youth Centre						1950	0	-	Unknown
Australian National Airways			Penola Catholic College, William Street Glenroy now occupies the site of the former ANA ground.			1941, 1949	0	-	Unknown
Broadmeadows						1946-1947	0	-	Unknown
Brunswick City		Eagles	Gillon Oval, Brunswick	–	1948	1948-1986	3	1980	Folded at the end of 1986 season
Brunswick Colts						1950	0	-	Unknown
Brunswick Presbyterians						1974	0	-	Unknown
Brunswick Sons of Soldiers						1936, 1947	0	-	Unknown
Brunswick United						1947	0	-	Unknown
Coburg Amateurs		Swans	De Chene Reserve, Coburg	VAFA	1920s	1941	0	-	Returned to VAFA in 1942
Coburg Rovers					1896	1940-1941	0	-	Unknown
Coburg Sons of Soldiers						1937-1940	0	-	Unknown
Coburg South						1941	0	-	Unknown
Coburg Stars						1950-1954	0	-	Unknown
Corpus Christi							0	-	Unknown. Active during 1980s as a junior club.
Don Rovers						1936-1939	0	-	Unknown
East Brunswick	[3]	Magpies	Fleming Park, Brunswick East	MFL	1922	1975-1982	0	-	Transferred to YCW Football League in 1983
East Coburg			McDonald Reserve, Coburg				0	-	Unknown. Played as a junior club.
Essendon All Blacks						1950	0	-	Unknown
Essendon Baptist			Fairbairn Park, Ascot Vale			1949-1950	0	-	Merged with St John's to form Essendon Baptist-St John's in 1951
Essendon Baptist-St John's	[4]			–	1951	1951-1973	4	1965	Merged with Ascot Vale Presbyterians at conclusion of 1973 season to form Essendon-Tullamarine.
Essendon Bombers						1950-1955	0	-	Unknown
Essendon Church of Christ						1940	0	-	Unknown
Essendon High School Ex Students		Panthers	Aberfeldie Park, Aberfeldie	–	1940s	1949-1982	2	1965	Moved to Footscray Districts FL in 1983
Essendon Imperials						1937-1940	0	-	Unknown
Essendon Returned Soldiers						1946	0	-	Unknown
Essendon Sons of Soldiers						1936	0	-	Unknown
Essendon Stars						1940	0	-	Unknown
Essendon Swimmers						1950-1951	0	-	Unknown
Essendon United						1936-1940	0	-	Unknown
Essendon Youth Centre						1975-1982	2	1981	Merged with Moonee Ponds to become Aberfeldie Park in 1983
Fairbairn Rovers						1950	0	-	Unknown
Fairbairn Socials						1938	0	-	Unknown
Fawkner						1937-1941, 1946-1952	0	-	Folded in 1952
Flemington/Kensington						1930-1938	0	-	Unknown
Footscray Technical College						1963	0	-	Unknown
Gisborne (Women's team only)		Bulldogs	Gardiner Reserve, Gisborne	AFL Goldfields	2017	2021-2023	0	-	In recess
Gladstone Park		Burras	Tullamarine Reserve, Tullamarine			1978-1997	1	1982	Transferred to Western Region FL in 1998
Glenbervie						1952-1955	0	-	Unknown
Jacana		Jaguars	Jacana Reserve, Jacana	RDFNL	1961	2001-2022	1	2017	Entered recess prior to 2023
Kensington Methodists						1930	0	-	Unknown
Knox Presbyterians						1949	0	-	Unknown
La Mascotte						1938-1941	2	1941	Played until EDFL suspended competition due to WW2 in 1942. They did not reform when the EDFL resumed in 1946.
Lincoln Rovers						1949	0	-	Unknown
Lincoln Stars		Stars				1950-?	1	1955	Unknown
Lincoln Tigers		Tigers				1950-1951	1	1950	Unknown
Maribyrnong-Ascot United (formerly Ascot United)	[5]					1946-1950	0	-	Unknown
Marrows						1950-1957	0	-	Unknown
Meadow Heights		Kangaroos		–	1997	1997-2003	0	-	Folded in the early 2000s
Monash Rovers						1950-1951	0	-	Unknown
Moonee Imperials		Imperials	Maribyrnong Park, Moonee Ponds	–	1946	1946-1979	3	1962	Merged with Riverside Stars at conclusion of 1979 season to form Maribyrnong Park.
Moonee Ponds						1978-1982, 1986-1989	1	1979	Merged with Essendon Youth Centre to form Aberfeldie Park in 1983
North Coburg		Saints	Hosken Reserve, Coburg North	–	1947	1978-1987	0	-	Merged with Fawkner Park after 2007 season to form Northern Saints
North Essendon Methodists						1949-?	2	1961	Unknown
Northern Juniors						1930	0	-	Unknown
Northern Rovers						1941	0	-	Unknown
Old Coburgians						1940	0	-	Unknown
Old Essendon Grammarians		Bombers		–	1968	1968-1969, 1972-1982	1	1976	Transferred to Footscray Districts FL after 1982 season
Regal Sports						1934	0	-	Unknown
Riverside Stars		Stars	Maribyrnong Park, Moonee Ponds	–	1946	1946-1979	2	1972	Merged with Moonee Imperials at conclusion of 1979 season to form Maribyrnong Park.
Royal Park						1979-1980	0	-	Unknown
South Kensington						1931	0	-	Unknown
St Andrews		Saints	Brearley Reserve, Pascoe Vale South			1980-1985	0	-	Moved to VAFA following 1985 season
St Christophers	Maroon and Blue		St Christopher's Primary School, Airport West			1974-1976	0	-	Unknown
St Davids						1952	1	1952	Unknown
St Francis			Oak Park Reserve, Oak Park				0	-	Senior club folded, junior club still active
St Johns						1930	0	-	Unknown
St Monicas CYMS						1937-1938	0	-	Unknown
St Patricks						1938	0	-	Unknown
St Pauls						1947	0	-	Unknown
Strathmore Stars						1954	0	-	Unknown
Vespa	Purple and Gold					1959-1961	0	-	Unknown
West Brunswick		Magpies	McAlister Oval, Parkville	VAFA	1930	1949-1958	0	-	Moved to VAFA in 1959
West Coburg Amateurs						1959	0	-	Unknown
West Moreland						1937-1940	0	-	Unknown
Woodlands	[6]		Holmes Road Reserve, Moonee Ponds[7]			1930-1934	3	1934	Folded after 1934

Notes

North Coburg competed as St Olivers between 1978 and 1989.

^† denotes that the club did not participate between 1942 and 1945 due to World War II.

Aside from the clubs mentioned in the table above, the EDFL 75th Anniversary History Book ^[8] also listed the following clubs as having been affiliated with the EDFL between 1930 and 2005

• 6th Melbourne Scouts
• Ascot Rovers/Maribyrnong
• Ascot Vale West
• Catholic Boys Club
• East Essendon
• Essendon Tullamarine (now known as Tullamarine)
• Ford Company
• Keilor Regal Sports
• Maribyrnong
• Maribyrnong Regal Sport
• Maribyrnong Youth Club
• Moonee Ponds YCW
• Moonee Valley Juniors
• Northcote Excelsior
• Parkville
• St. Bernards
• St. Bernards Juniors
• Tullamarine-Airport West
• Tullamarine Ascot Presbyterians (now known as Tullamarine)
• West Brunswick Laurels
• West Essendon
• West Essendon Youth Centre
• West Coburg Juniors (listed as different club to West Coburg)
• West Coburg Seniors (listed as different club to West Coburg)

Notes

¹ Merger occurred between Essedon Baptist St Johns and Ascot Vale Presbyterians in 1973 to form Tullamarine Ascot Presbyterians, then later Essendon Tullamarine and finally shortened to Tullamarine Football Club in 1981.

² Woodland Football Club folded at the end of the 1934 Season.

³ La Mascotte played until the EDFL suspended competition due to WW2 in 1942 and didn't reform when the EDFL resumed in 1946.

⁴ Moonee Imperials merged with Riverside Stars at conclusion of 1979 season to form Maribyrnong Park.

⁵ Later renamed to Coburg Districts Football Club in 1981 to greater recognise the local community.

⁶ Old Essendon Gramarians joined the EDFL in 1968 for just two seasons until joining the VAFA (Victorian Amateur Football Association) for the 1970 and 1971 seasons before returning to the EDFL between 1972 and 1983, then departing to play in the Footscray District Football League, now the Western Region Football League in 1983.

⁷ Renamed from Brunswick to Brunswick City in 1955, Folded at the end of the 1986 season

⁸ Left the EDFL to join the Footscray District Football League, now the Western Region Football League at the conclusion of the 1987 season, folded in 1997. Later reformed in 2017, only participating in under-age football.

The EDFL was first formed in 1930 at the instigation of the Essendon Football Club to increase the pool of local talent available for recruitment. Consequently, the league has consistently had positive ties with Essendon Football Club which can also be seen with the use of former Essendon home ground Essendon Football Ground, now known as Windy Hill as the headquarters of the EDFL since 1958 and hosting training for umpires of the league and occasional use of the ground for home and away season matches as well as being a commonly featuring ground for men's grand finals.

The first season in 1930 consisted of eight clubs, Ascot Vale, Flemington and Kensington, St John's, Kensington Methodist, Essendon High School Old Boys, Northern Juniors, West Essendon and Woodlands. None of the original foundation clubs exist in their current state as a result of participating in mergers or folding since. The completion of the season saw Les Rennie recruited by Essendon, the first successful recruitment of a player from the EDFL, he went on to play for Essendon throughout the 1931 VFL season. Later, in 1933 the great Dick Reynolds, one of just four players to have won three Brownlow Medals was recruited from Woodlands in the EDFL and began his successful 320 game career with Essendon.

In 1936, the first juniors competition was launched which contained a solitary under 16s division, once more at the instigation of the Essendon Football Club however this was abandoned and resumed at a later date in 1948 with the introduction of under-17s. By 1949, 32 teams took part in 3 grades of junior age football. 1962 saw the induction of under-15s to the EDFL and the competition was won by Essendon Doutta Stars, however as a result of fielding an overage player forfeited all their points for the season. In 1967, the inaugural A grade under-13s competition was launched which was a resounding success and resulted in demand for a B grade competition after just one year in 1968.

As a result of World War II the competition went into recess in 1941 with many players fighting in the war, once the war had ended two clubs (La Mascotte and Fawkner District) chose not to resume participation in the competition, despite this, After four years of recess a successful resumption of the leagues activities in this year. A 10 team competition on resumption resumed the success of the pre War Competition.

1949 saw the first split of the teams into two divisions (A grade and B grade) with Essendon Doutta Stars taking out the first ever undefeated season and Glenroy winning the inaugural B grade competition. Later in 1961, C grade was introduced to help facilitate the introduction of more clubs into the EDFL and was won by Doutta Stars, believed to be a reserve team for Essendon Doutta Stars. However, this competition did not last for long before going into recess after the 1982 season and only returning after the 30-year hiatus in 2012.

In 1961, The Umpires Association (EDFLUA) was inaugurated to help with the recruitment of umpires to officiate games. Despite this the league was consistently short of umpires. Notably in 1990, the season commenced with a desperate shortage of umpires. The problem was solved in the short term by former umpires who came out of retirement to assist the league.

in 1989, then prime minister of Australia Bob Hawke attended the A-grade seniors grand final.

EDFL Women's

Upcoming season or competition: 2023
Sport	Women's Australian rules football
Founded	2016; 8 years ago (2016)
First season	2018
No. of teams	22
Most titles	Aberfeldie, Keilor, Pascoe Vale (1)

In partnership with the Western Region Football League (WRFL), in 2016 the two leagues established the Western Region & Essendon District Women's Football League, an eleven-team open-age competition for women. Five EDFL clubs fielded teams in the competition – Craigieburn, Glenroy, Keilor, Pascoe Vale and Roxburgh Park – with Keilor prevailing against WRFL side Manor Lakes in the grand final.^[9]

In 2018, the EDFL established its own Women's competition, consisting of 13 teams. Of those 13 teams, two came from outside of the League – the Ballarat Football League-side Sunbury Lions; and Sunbury Kangaroos, at the time competing in the Riddell District Football League. Glenroy, despite competing in the 2017 joint competition, did not field a side, while Avondale Heights and Taylors Lakes fielded a joint team under the Avondale Heights–Taylors Lakes moniker.

In 2019, the competition expanded to 19 teams and was split into two divisions – a 10-club Premier Division and a nine-club Division 1. Aberfeldie became the first team to field two sides, one in each division.

Club	Colours	Moniker	Home venue	Est.	Former League	Years in EDFL	EDFL senior premierships
							Total	Most recent
Premier Division
Aberfeldie		Abers	Clifton Park, Aberfeldie	2018	—	2018-	1	2019
Essendon Doutta Stars		Stars	Nipper Jordan Oval, Essendon	2019	—	2019-	2	2023
Hillside		Sharks	Hillside Reserve, Hillside	2018	—	2018-	0	—
Keilor		Blues	Keilor Recreation Reserve, Keilor	2017	WREDWFL	2018-	1	2022
Moonee Valley		Valley	Ormond Park, Moonee Ponds	2021	—	2021-	0	—
Maribyrnong Park		Lions	Maribyrnong Park, Moonee Ponds	2019	—	2019-	0	—
Oak Park		Kangaroos	J.P. Fawkner Reserve, Oak Park	2022	—	2021-	2	2024
Westmeadows		Tigers	Willowbrook Reserve, Westmeadows	2018	—	2018-	0	—
Division 1
Airport West		Eagles	Hansen Reserve, Airport West	2021	__	2021-	1	2023
Burnside Heights		Bears	Burnside Heights Recreation Reserve, Burnside Heights	2018	—	2018-	0	—
Greenvale		Jets	Greenvale Reserve, Greenvale	2019	—	2019-	1	2024
Keilor Park		Devils	Keilor Park Recreational Reserve, Keilor Park	2018	—	2018-2019,	0	—
Strathmore/Pascoe Vale		Mores	Boeing Reserve, Strathmore Heights	2018	—	2018-	1	2022
Tullamarine		Demons	Leo Dineen Reserve, Tullamarine	2019	—	2019-	1	2022
Division 2
Coburg Districts		Lions	Cole Reserve, Pascoe Vale	2019	—	2019-	1	2023
East Sunbury		Thunder	John McMahon Reserve, Sunbury	2024	—	2024-	0	—
Glenroy		Wallabies	Sewell Reserve, Glenroy	2023	—	2024-	0	—
Roxburgh Park		Magpies	Lakeside Reserve, Roxburgh Park	2017	WREDWFL	2018-2019, 2024-	0	—
Sunbury Lions		Lions	Clarke Oval, Sunbury	2017	WREDWFL	2018-	0	—
Sunbury Kangaroos		Kangaroos	Eric Boardman Reserve, Sunbury	2022	—	2018	0	—
Taylors Lakes		Lions	Lionheart Reserve, Taylors Lakes	2024	—	2024-	0	—
denotes that the club's most recent senior premiership was in Division 1. Notes: 1 Avondale Heights competed as Avondale Heights-Taylors Lakes in 2018.

The juniors consist of: Under 8s, Under 10s, Under 14s, Under 16s and Under 18.5s. There are also youth girls teams in the junior divisions. There are eight junior divisions at this level and each team listed in the senior section has at least one junior team in divisions 1, 2 or 3 for each age group, however many clubs have more in divisions 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8.

Club	Colours	Moniker	Home venue	Est.	Former league	Years in EDFL
							Ascot Vale		Panthers	Walter Street Reserve, Ascot Vale	2017	-	2017-
Coburg		Lions	Jackson Reserve, Coburg North	1891	-	2022-
Dallas			Jacana Reserve, Jacana	2024	-	2024-
Hume		Bombers	Kalkallo Reserve, Kalkallo	2018	-	2017-
Merrifield		Panthers	Merrifield Recreation Reserve, Mickleham	2024	-	2024-
St Francis		Saints	Oak Park Reserve, Oak Park	2015	-	2017-

• Official website
• EDFL Records and History at Full Points Footy