The Southern Districts Football Club, nicknamed the Crocs, is an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

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 Shannon Rusca is a former professional Australian rules football player. Early life Rusca began playing senior Australian Football with Southern Districts in the Northern Territory Football League. AFL career He was listed on the rookie list ...

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

History

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

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great Nathan Buckley. Other players from the club include Gilbert McAdam,

Adrian McAdam Adrian McAdam (born 12 March 1971) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with North Melbourne in the Australian Football League (AFL) and North Adelaide in the SANFL during the early 1990s. An Indigenous Australian, McAdam played ...

Michael O'Loughlin Michael Kevin O'Loughlin (born 20 February 1977) is a former professional Australian rules footballer, who played his entire Australian Football League career with the Sydney Swans. O'Loughlin was named a member of the Indigenous Team of the ...

Aaron Shattock Aaron Shattock (born 2 May 1980) is a premiership-winning Australian rules footballer who played with the Brisbane Lions and Port Adelaide in the Australian Football League (AFL). AFL career Brisbane Lions (2000–2004) A midfielder, Shatto ...

, Fabian Francis,

Steven Koops Steven John Koops (born 24 July 1978) is a former professional Australian rules footballer, who played for the Fremantle Football Club and Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL). Early life Originally from the Darwin based S ...

, and

Shawn Lewfatt Shawn Lewfatt (born 11 March 1977) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington * Essendon, Victoria **Essendo ...

. 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/

) Anthony Corrie, (

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) Richard Tambling, ( Brisbane Lions/ Gold Coast Football Club) Jared Brennan, ( Western Bulldogs) Malcolm Lynch, (

) Troy Taylor, ( Gold Coast Football Club)

Steven May Steven May (born 10 January 1992) be an Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He served as the co-captain of Gold Coast in the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Early life Steven Ma ...

, (

Geelong Football Club The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed the Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition, and are the 2022 ...

)

Nakia Cockatoo Nakia Cockatoo ( ; born 23 October 1996) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Brisbane Lions and Geelong in the Australian Football League (AFL). Early life Cockatoo was born in the Northern Territory into a ...

, with

Zac Bailey Zachary Bailey (born 23 September 1999) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted by Brisbane with their second selection and fifteenth overall in the ...

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 Damian Cupido (born 11 March 1982) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the and Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). AFL career Beginning his career at the in 2000, Cupido was an u ...

( Brisbane Lions) and (

Essendon Football Club The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers, is a professional Australian rules football club. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the game's premier competition. The club was formed by the McCracken family in their A ...

) 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 (

), Simon Buckley (

Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. It is based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, ...

), Robert Copeland (

Brisbane Lions Football Club The Brisbane Lions is a professional Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that plays in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club was formed in late 1996 via a merger of the Melbourne-based 1883 foundation VFL c ...

Laurence Angwin Laurence Angwin (born 7 October 1982) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is infamous for being sacked by Carlton after turning up to training having use ...

( Carlton Football Club). Mark Jamar played for the Crocs after being delisted by

but then he was picked up by the

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 Ed Barlow (born 27 January 1987) is an Australian rules footballer who formerly played for the Western Bulldogs and the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional com ...

(

Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a reser ...

/ Western Bulldogs) also played in the same Premiership team after three seasons with the Crocs.

Club song

External links

Official Southern Districts Football Club websiteAFL Northern TerritoryNorthern Territory Football League
{{Aussie Rules in the Northern Territory Australian rules football clubs in the Northern Territory Sport in Darwin, Northern Territory 1981 establishments in Australia Australian rules football clubs established in 1981