South Melbourne Districts Football Club

Founded in 1912, South Melbourne District Sports Club has always been closely associated with the AFL side Sydney Swans (formerly South Melbourne Swans). Many Districts’ players went on to play for the Swans at Lakeside Oval, and in the late 1920s, South Districts donated 40 Guineas to South Melbourne FC to stop them from folding. Players at the time often had to survive on very low incomes and, again, the ‘Districts often provided assistance payments where they were needed.

In 2000 the senior football club made the decision to transfer to the VAFA and have since won three premierships in 2000 (Div 4), 2006 (Div 3) and 2007 (Div 2).

There are many famous ex-players such as Keith Forbes (Essendon Team of the Century), Danny Jacobs, Alan Miller (coach of South Melbourne) , Jack “Basher” Williams, and the best known of all – Roy Cazaly.

More recently, the Swans have struggled to find consistent form and suffered relegation to Division 3 in 2015 before again being relegated to Division 4 at the end of 2017. On a far more positive note, the Swans entered a team into Development Division 4 of the inaugural VAFA Women’s competition and finished third in their first year.

Premierships

Competition Best and Fairest Winners – Senior

Division 1 / D Section – LS Pepper Medal – 1