The Adelaide Plains Football League (APFL) 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 ...

competition based in the

Adelaide Plains The Adelaide Plains (Kaurna name Tarndanya) is a plain in South Australia lying between the coast (Gulf St Vincent) on the west and the Mount Lofty Ranges on the east. The southernmost tip of the plain is in the southern seaside suburbs of Ade ...

region immediately north of

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. It is an affiliated member of the

South Australian National Football League The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as the ...

History

Grace Plains was possibly the first club formed in the District in 1904. Football was certainly played in the other towns of Mallala,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

and

Two Wells Two Wells is a town approximately north of the Adelaide city centre in South Australia adjacent to Port Wakefield Road and passed by the Adelaide-Port Augusta railway line. The first settlers in the area used two aboriginal wells in the area a ...

at that time with those clubs all officially forming in 1908. When

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

was formed in 1909, moves were being made to form an association from a group of clubs that had played an unofficial competition in 1908. A meeting held in Dublin on 4 May 1909, resulted in the formation of the Adelaide Plains Football Association. Delegates were present from Mallala, Virginia, Two Wells, Windsor, Lower Light and Dublin. Officers elected were, patron Mr Coombe, president Mr George Cheney and secretary Mr Andrew Driscoll. At a second meeting the colours were chosen as double blue. Dublin had a comfortable victory over Two Wells in the first match of the new association 9.14 (68) to 0.2 (2). Dublin had gone to a lot of trouble to ensure their facilities were adequate for their opening match of the season. In the preceding months they had built dressing rooms, a pavilion and had even erected new goal posts. Wasleys Football Club created a record in 1927 when they became the first Adelaide Plains club to complete a season without losing a match. Hamley Bridge applied to join the association in 1930 but their application was rejected because of the poor condition of the roads over which visiting teams would have to travel to arrive at Hamley Bridge. During a history of just over 100 years, the Adelaide Plains association has stood tall, outlasting many nearby associations. The Wooroora, Wakefield, North Western, Lower North and Gilbert associations have all fallen by the wayside with their member clubs or their incarnations filtering through to become the Adelaide Plains of today. (From ''South Australian Country Football Digest'' - Peter Lines)

Grounds

* Ralli Park Showgrounds * Balaklava * Hamley Bridge Sporting Oval,

Hamley Bridge Hamley Bridge is a community in South Australia located at the junction of the Gilbert River (South Australia), Gilbert and Light River (South Australia), Light rivers, as well as the site of a former railway junction. Named by the government of ...

* Hummocks-Watchman Eagles Football Club,

Port Wakefield Port Wakefield may refer to. Australia *Port Wakefield, South Australia, a town and locality * Port Wakefield railway line, part of the now-closed Balaklava-Moonta railway line in South Australia * Port Wakefield Circuit, a former motor racing cir ...

* Lochiel Oval, Lochiel * Mallala Football Club, Mallala * Two Wells Football Club,

* United Football Club, Long Plains * Virginia Recreation Park,

* Angle Vale Community Sports Centre,

Angle Vale Angle Vale is a semi-rural town on the Adelaide Plains between Gawler and Virginia in South Australia. It is steadily being surrounded by Adelaide's suburban sprawl. It is close to many vineyards and farms. The town includes Trinity College's Gaw ...

2020 statistics

* A Grade Premiers ** Mallala 17.7 (109) defeated Virginia 10.9 (69) *Reserves Premiers ** Two Wells 18.9 (117) defeated Virginia 5.8 (38) * Senior Colts Premiers (U17) ** Mallala 6.13 (49) defeated Bute 3.7 (25) *Junior Colts Premiers (U14) ** Two Wells 6.5 (41) defeated Bute 4.6 (30) *Plains Producer Medallist ** Luke Barnett (Two Wells) *Reserves Medallist ** James Rundle (United) *Senior Colts Medallist ** Bailey Arthur (Mallala) * Junior Colts Medallist **Luke Barnett (Two Wells) *A Grade Leading Goalkicker ** Brendon Niklaus, Virginia (50) *Reserves Leading Goalkicker **Justin Platt, Two Wells (28) *Senior Colts Leading Goalkicker ** Riley Evans, Mallala (25) * Junior Colts Leading Goalkicker ** Alex Daly, Two Wells (23)

Current Clubs

;Notes

Premierships

* Reserves was formed in 1958 * Senior Colts was formed in 1966. It was then called colts and under 15. In 1976 the name changed to Under 16s. Today it is Under 17s * Junior Colts was formed in 1970. It was then called minis. In 1976 the name changed to under 13s. Today it is Under 14s. No football was played between 1916 and 1918 due to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

No Football was played between 1941 and 1944 due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Mail Medals

54 Mail Medals were awarded in Adelaide Plains from 1933 to 1940 and 1949 to 1988. There were tied results in 1953, 1963, 1973, 1977 and 1987. The Mail Medal was augmented in 1987 with the Plains Producer Medal, which has been donated by the Balaklava Weekly Newspaper. The Plains Producer Medal has adapted the same voting system. Both medals were given in 1987/88. Two Wells midfielder Cecil Rowe won the first Medal from Dublin’s Alan Webb. This Medal was one of only 16 given throughout the state.

2009 Ladder

2010 Ladder

2011 Ladder

2012 Ladder

2013 Ladder

2014 Ladder

Bibliography

* ''Encyclopedia of South Australian country football clubs'' compiled by Peter Lines. * ''South Australian country football digest'' by Peter Lines

References

External links

* {{Aussie Rules in South Australia Australian rules football competitions in South Australia South Australian National Football League