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.

Clubs

Premier Division

Club	Colours	Moniker	Home venue	Est.	Seasons		Premierships		Former league(s)
					First	Total	Total	Most recent
Aberfeldie		Blues	Clifton Park, Aberfeldie	1948	1948	75	8	2018	—
Airport West		Eagles	Hansen Reserve, Airport West	1961	1962	62	7	2022	—
Avondale Heights		Heights	Canning Street Reserve, Avondale Heights	1965	1967	56	5	2004^	—
Deer Park		Lions	John McLeod Reserve, Deer Park	1925	2023	2	1	2023^	WRFL
East Keilor		Cougars	Overland Reserve, East Keilor	1967	1971	53	7	2021^	—
Essendon Doutta Stars		Stars	Nipper Jordan Oval, Essendon	1946	1946	78	20	2015^	VFL
Greenvale		Jets	Greenvale Reserve, Greenvale	1990	1996	28	5	2013	—
Keilor		Blues	Keilor Recreation Reserve, Keilor	1877	1932	88	12	2023	KBFL
Pascoe Vale		Panthers	Raeburn Reserve, Pascoe Vale	1918	1952	72	3	2011^	VFL SD
Strathmore		Mores	Lebanon Reserve, Strathmore	1954	1957	67	9	2022	—

Division 1

Club	Colours	Moniker	Home venue	Est.	Seasons		Premierships		Former league(s)
					First	Total	Total	Most recent
Craigieburn		Eagles	D.S. Aitken Reserve, Craigieburn	1970	2001	23	3	2019^	RDFNL
Hillside		Sharks	Hillside Reserve, Hillside	1999	2005	19	1	2013+	—
Keilor Park		Devils	Keilor Park Recreational Reserve, Keilor Park	1974	1986	372	3	2022^	—
Maribyrnong Park		Lions	Maribyrnong Park, Moonee Ponds	1980	1980	45	4	2010	—
Moonee Valley		Valley	Ormond Park, Moonee Ponds	1933	1933	87	7	2021+	—
Oak Park		Kangaroos	J.P. Fawkner Reserve, Oak Park	1957	1960	64	5	2023+	—
Roxburgh Park		Magpies	Lakeside Reserve, Roxburgh Park	2002	2005	19	1	2018+	—
Rupertswood		Sharks	Salesian College, Sunbury	1999	2021	4	0	—	VAFA, RDFNL
St Albans		Saints	Kings Park Reserve, Kings Park	1947	2023	2	0	__	WRFL
Tullamarine		Demons	Leo Dineen Reserve, Tullamarine	1974	1974	50	8	2003	—
West Coburg		Burgers	Shore Reserve, Pascoe Vale South	1927	1954	70	15	2014	VFA SD

Division 2

Club	Colours	Moniker	Home venue	Est.	Seasons		Premierships		Former league(s)
					First	Total	Total	Most recent
Burnside Heights		Bears	Burnside Heights Recreation Reserve, Burnside Heights	2012	2014	11	0	—	—
Coburg Districts		Lions	Cole Reserve, Pascoe Vale	1951	1981	191	0	—	NMFL, WRFL
East Sunbury		Thunder	John McMahon Reserve, Sunbury	1999	2013	103	0	—	RDFNL
Glenroy		Wallabies	Sewell Reserve, Glenroy	1946	1946	78	14	2017^	—
Hadfield		Hawks	Martin Reserve, Hadfield	1961	1971	53	4	2015	—
Northern Saints		Saints	Charles Mutton Reserve, Fawkner	2007	2008	16	1	2013^	—
Sunbury Kangaroos		Kangaroos	Eric Boardman Reserve, Sunbury	1987	2019	5	1	2019+	RDFNL
Taylors Lakes		Lions	Lionheart Reserve, Taylors Lakes	1989	1993	31	1	2010	—
Westmeadows		Tigers	Willowbrook Reserve, Westmeadows	1970	1977	47	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.

¹ Coburg Districts first entered the competition in 1981, before departing after the conclusion of the 1987 EDFL season. The club re-entered the competition from the 2013 EDFL season onwards.

² Keilor Park did not field a side in the 2018 EDFL season.

³ East Sunbury did not field a side in the 2022 EDFL season.

Active AFL/AFLW Players

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.

Former Clubs

Club	Colours	Moniker	Est.	Former league	EDFL senior seasons			Fate
					First	Last	Total
All Nations Youth Club					1953	1955	3	Unknown
Ascot Imperials					1946	1946	1	Unknown
Ascot United	Maroon with Gold Vee [3]				1946	1949	4	Unknown
Ascot Vale		Devils	1930	—	1930	1987	54†	Transferred to FDFL at conclusion of 1987 season. Folded in 1997.
Ascot Vale Methodists					1946	1949	2	Unknown - Played the 1946 and 1949 Seasons
Ascot Youth Centre					1950			Unknown
Australian National Airways					1941	1949	2	Unknown - Played two seasons either side of WW2, in 1941 and 1949.
Ascot Vale Presbyterians			?	—		1973		Merged with Essendon Baptist-St John's at conclusion of 1973 season to form Essendon-Tullamarine.
Broadmeadows					1946	1947	2	Unknown
Brunswick City		Eagles	1948		1948	1986	37	Folded at the end of 1986 season
Brunswick Colts					1950			Unknown
Brunswick United					1947	1947	1	Unknown
Coburg Amateurs					1941	1941	1	Unknown
Coburg Rovers			1896		1940	1941	2	Unknown
Coburg South					1941	1941	1	Unknown
Coburg Stars					1950	1954	5	Unknown
Essendon All Blacks					1950			Unknown
Essendon Baptist					1949	1950	2	Merged with St John's
Essendon Baptist-St John's	Navy with White EBSJ [4]		1951	—	1951	1973	23	Merged with Ascot Vale Presbyterians at conclusion of 1973 season to form Essendon-Tullamarine.
Essendon Bombers					1950	1955	6	Unknown
Essendon Returned Soldiers					1946	1946	1	Unknown
Essendon Swimmers					1950	1951	2	Unknown
Fairbairn Rovers					1950	1950	1	Unknown
Fawkner Districts					1937	1952	10	Club played until EDFL suspended competition due to WW2 in 1942. They reformed when the EDFL resumed in 1946, changing their name from Fawkner Districts to Fawkner.
Glenbervie					1952	1955	4	Unknown
Jacana		Jaguars	1961	RDFNL	2001	2022	22	Went into recess prior to 2023 season following poor performances throughout the 2022 Division 2 season
Knox Presbyterians					1949	1949	1	Unknown
La Mascotte					1938	1941	4	Club played until EDFL suspended competition due to WW2 in 1942. They did not reform when the EDFL resumed in 1946.
Lincoln Rovers					1949	1949	1	Unknown
Licoln Stars					1950			Unknown
Lincoln Tigers					1950	1951	2	Unknown
Maribyrnong-Ascot United					1950	1950	1	Unknown
Marrows					1950			Unknown
Monash Rovers					1950	1951	2	Unknown
Moonee Imperials		Imperials	1946	—	1946	1979	34	Merged with Riverside Stars at conclusion of 1979 season to form Maribyrnong Park.
North Coburg1		Saints	1947	—	1978	2007	28	Merged with Fawkner Park at conclusion of 2007 season to form Northern Saints.
North Essendon Methodists					1949			Unknown
Northern Rovers					1941	1941	1	Unknown
Old Essendon Grammarians		Bombers	1968	—	1968	1969	1	Transferred to FDFL at conclusion of 1982 season. Currently competes in VAFA.
				VAFA	1972	1982	11
Raeburn					1952	1953	2	Unknown
Riverside Stars		Stars	1946	—	1946	1979	34	Merged with Moonee Imperials at conclusion of 1979 season to form Maribyrnong Park.
St Davids					1952			Unknown
St Pauls					1947	1947	1	Unknown
Strathmore Stars					1954	1954	1	Unknown
Vespa	Purple and Gold				1959	1959	1	Unknown
West Brunswick					1949
Woodlands	Black and White Stripes[5]				1930	1934	4	Unknown. They 'played at the Holmes Road reserve, which was located in the parkland at the end of Holmes Road in Moonee Ponds'[6]

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 ^[7] also listed the following clubs as having been affiliated with the EDFL between 1930 to 2005

• 6th Melbourne Scouts
• Aberfeldie Park
• Ascot Presbyterians
• Ascot Rovers
• Ascot Rovers/Maribyrnong
• Ascot Vale Wanderers
• Ascot Vale West
• Batman (now known as Coburg Districts)
• Brunswick Presbyterians
• Brunswick Sons of Soldiers
• Catholic Boys Club
• Coburg Sons of Soldiers
• Corpus Christi
• Don Rovers
• East Brunswick
• East Coburg
• East Essendon
• Essendon Sons of Soldiers
• Essendon High School Old Boys
• Essendon Youth Centre
• Essendon Church of Christ
• Essendon Imperials
• Essendon Stars
• Essendon Tullamarine (now known as Tullamarine)
• Essendon United
• Fairbairn Socials
• Flemington/Kensington
• Footscray Technical College
• Ford Company
• Gladstone Park
• Keilor Regal Sports
• Kensington Methodists
• Maribyrnong
• Maribyrnong Regal Sport
• Maribyrnong Youth Club
• Meadow Heights
• Moonee Ponds
• Moonee Ponds YCW
• Moonee Valley Juniors
• Northcote Excelsior
• Northern Juniors
• Coburgians
• Parkville
• Regal Sports
• Royal Park
• South Kensington
• St. Andrews
• St. Bernards
• St. Bernards Juniors
• St. Christophers
• St. Francis
• St. Johns
• St. Monicas CYMS
• St. Olivers (now known as Northern Saints)
• St. Patricks
• Tullamarine-Airport West
• Tullamarine Ascot Presbyterians (now known as Tullamarine)
• West Brunswick Laurels
• West Coburg Amateurs
• 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)
• West Moreland

Premiers

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.

History

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 mens 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

History

EDFL Women's

Upcoming season or competition: 2023
Sport	Women's Australian rules football
Founded	2016 (2016)
Inaugural 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.^[8]

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.

Clubs

Club	Colours	Moniker	Home venue	Est.	Former league	EDFL senior seasons		EDFL senior premierships
						First	Total	Total	Most recent
Premier Division
Aberfeldie		Abers	Clifton Park, Aberfeldie	2018	—	2018	5	1	2019
Hillside		Sharks	Hillside Reserve, Hillside	2018	—	2018	5	0	—
Keilor		Blues	Keilor Recreation Reserve, Keilor	2017	WREDWFL	2018	5	1	2022
Moonee Valley		Valley	Ormond Park, Moonee Ponds	2021	—	2021	2	0	—
Maribyrnong Park		Lions	Maribyrnong Park, Moonee Ponds	2019	—	2019	4	0	—
Oak Park		Kangaroos	J.P. Fawkner Reserve, Oak Park	2022	—	2022	1	1	2023
Strathmore		Mores	Lebanon Reserve, Strathmore	2018	—	2018	5	1	2022
Westmeadows		Tigers	Willowbrook Reserve, Westmeadows	2018	—	2018	5	0	—
Division 1
Burnside Heights		Bears	Burnside Heights Recreation Reserve, Burnside Heights	2018	—	2018	5	0	—
Essendon Doutta Stars		Stars	Nipper Jordan Oval, Essendon	2019	—	2019	1	2	2023
Gisborne		Bulldogs	Gardiner Reserve, Gisborne	2017	AFL Goldfields	2021	2	0	—
Greenvale		Jets	Greenvale Reserve, Greenvale	2019	—	2019	4	0	—
Sunbury Lions		Lions	Clarke Oval, Sunbury	2017	WREDWFL	2018	5	0	—
Tullamarine		Demons	Leo Dineen Reserve, Tullamarine	2019	—	2019	4	1	2022
Division 2
Aberfeldie Reserves		Abers	Clifton Park, Aberfeldie	2018	—	2018	5	1	2019
Airport West		Eagles	Hansen Reserve, Airport West	2021	__	2021	2	1	2023
Coburg Districts		Lions	Cole Reserve, Pascoe Vale	2019	—	2019	4	0	—
Maribyrnong Park Reserves		Lions	Maribyrnong Park, Moonee Ponds	2021	__	2021	2	0	—
Moonee Valley Reserves		Valley	Ormond Park, Moonee Ponds	2021	—	2021	2	0	—
Pascoe Vale		Panthers	Raeburn Reserve, Pascoe Vale	2017	WREDWFL	2018	5	1	2018
Sunbury Kangaroos		Kangaroos	Eric Boardman Reserve, Sunbury	2022	—	2022	1	0	—
Westmeadows Reserves		Tigers	Willowbrook Reserve, Westmeadows	2021	—	2021	2	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.

Juniors matches

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.

Junior Only Clubs

Club	Colours	Moniker	Home venue	Est.	Former league	EDFL senior seasons
						First	Total
Ascot Vale		Panthers	Walter Street Reserve, Ascot Vale	2017	—	2017	7
Coburg		Lions	Jackson Reserve, Coburg North	-	__	2022	2
Hume		Bombers	Kalkallo Reserve, Kalkallo	2018	__	2017	6
St Francis		Saints	Oak Park Reserve, Oak Park	2015	__	2017	9

Notes

References

External links

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