Barossa District FC

BAROSSA DISTRICT FOOTBALL CLUB HISTORY

The Barossa District Football Club (BDFC) was formed on the 7th November 1979 following the amalgamation of the Williamstown Rovers Football Club and the Lyndoch Football Club playing in the Gawler and District League. Williamstown Rovers were based at the Queen Victoria Jubilee Park at Williamstown operating out of a primitive pavilion. Lyndoch was based at Lyndoch Oval, sharing the ground with the Lyndoch Cricket Club and operating out of the aging cricket clubrooms. The Williamstown strip was red, black and white [Saints] and Lyndoch was blue and gold. Williamstown was previously blue and gold but changed to the Saints strip when the Club moved from the Hills League to the Gawler League after the 1973 season. The Barossa District Football Club was named after the Local Council Area wearing a new Guernsey with colours of blue with a red and white V and the Barossa Bulldogs logo. The following life members were transferred to BDFC : from the Lyndoch Football Club R Filsell, Mrs V Filsell, H Noll, D Noll, J Fewster, Mrs V Fewster, H Mates, Mrs V Mates, C Minge, B Schwartz, A Turvey, A Mahlo, J Evans, B Koch, R Hodgson, B Harris, L Heidrich, F Edmonds and from the Williamstown Rovers Football Club R Smith, C Smith, I Venning, A Lange, D Wilkin, J Parmenter.

PERPETUAL TROPHIES

“Reg Smith Memorial Trophy”

A Grade Best and Fairest Player

Reg Smith was born in Williamstown in April 1916 and he played in his first A Grade game for the Williamstown Rovers when he was 16 years old. He continued playing until he was 43 years old however he did play another game when the team was short playing Cambrai. He played this game with his son Ivan when Reg was 56 years old.

The Reg Smith Trophy for A Grades Best and Fairest player was first presented in 1980 following the amalgamation of the Lyndoch Football Club and the Williamstown Rovers Football Club to form the Barossa District Football Club. As a life member of the Williamstown Rovers, Reg was one of the main instigators of the amalgamation when both clubs were performing poorly (being thrashed) in the Gawler League. He pushed the issue and with some assistance from a few other personnel the amalgamation went ahead. He was also a key player in developing the new clubrooms at Williamstown Oval in 1984. The building of the clubrooms was achieved by the supply of labour by the government and the materials paid for by the club and park committee. Reg spent many hours liaising, ordering, supervising, supplying machinery and delivery of goods and materials at no charge. Reg was very proud of the new club and was very honoured to have the A Grade Best and Fairest Trophy in his name.

Reg continued as a stalwart of the club until he passed away in 2002 at 86 years of age.

Steven Polkinhorne Memorial Trophy

A Grade Most Dedicated Player

Steven Polkinhorne was born in 1967, the youngest child and only son of Barry and Una Polkinghorne. Steven started playing for Barossa District in 1981 at 15 years of age. He played a couple of Reserves games before playing A Grade for a number of years, including being part of the A Grade Premiership Team in 1988. Shortly after he contracted Degos disease, an extremely rare disease that causes blockages of veins and arteries. He passed away in 1989 at 22 years of age. Steven lived for the Club, had many mates there and was proud to be a player and a member of Barossa District

1980 to 1986

The first season for the new club in 1980 the inaugural President was Mr Richard Filsell, Patron was Ian Ross and Frank Leonard the Club's first A Grade Coach. The A Grade, which consisted mainly of local players, had a slow start but won it's last 8 games straight to take part in the finals series in its first year. Frank Leonard won the A Grade Mail Medal. Not a bad start for a new club, but unfortunately we were eliminated in the first semi final. During the early years half the games were played at Williamstown and half at Lyndoch. In 1981, J Marshall took over as President and Frank again Coached the A Grade. While we had good numbers we lacked sufficient quality players to be competitive enough to make the finals. The U17s had success winning their grand final. In 1982 the club changed policy and paid players. Mike Burns took over as a playing coach and a good squad of local players were supplemented by recruited players, Chris Kellet, Kym Liernet, Roy Burns, Kerry Burns, Kerry Puddy and Neville O'Brien. The club successfully one its first A Grade premiership, C Grade premiership and A Bugg won the B Grade Mail Medal. In 1983 the club continued with most of the premiership players from the previous year but unfortunately was plagued by injuries and didn't make the A grade finals, however Rob Della-Mina coached the C Grade to their second Grand Final win. 1984 was an exciting year off the field with a heavy commitment to upgrade the old pavilion to include Clubrooms, change rooms and a new kitchen. J Emms who took over as President and Reg Smith were the driving forces in the building work.. Unfortunately funds were tight, most of the paid players left and we had an ordinary year. The C Grade created a record with a hatrick premiership. In 1985 Peter Roberts took over as President and Theo Moskos took over as coach but again success on the field elluded us, C Pyman won the U17 Mail Medal. Wayne Hughes coached 1986 but again without too much success.

1987 to 1990

In 1987 the Gawler Association amalgamated with the Barossa and Light football association to make a 10 team competition forcing the Barossa District Football Club to move to the Hills Zone 2 league. While being very disruptive it was a successful year on the field with Wayne coaching the team to our second Premiership. Despite losing a significant number of local players to paid positions at other Clubs. Wayne Hughes coached the team in 1988 to our third premiership . 1989 was not as successful for Wayne and the team and the club missed out on the finals. The U17s had another good year winning their second Grand Final. In 1990 Shane Wilkin became President and local player Mark Green stepped up to be playing coach winning our fourth premiership and third in the Hills League.

1991 to 1999

In 1991, despite a premiership the previous year, there was increasing unrest and growing pressure to move back to the Barossa Light & Gawler Association. The Senior and Junior Football and Netball all played at different venues in the Hills League and many within the club wished to move back to the Barossa, Light and Gawler association which provided a more family orientated environment.. Club stalwarts Shane Wilkin, John Groverman, Barb Fromm, Deb Stephens and Lyn Downy put a lot of work into amalgamating the local football and netball clubs into one club under the BDFC banner. The Club gained support to move to the recently formed Barossa, Light and Gawler Association, which supported collocated football and netball competitions. Frank Leonard coached a young side of local players and managed to win a couple of games. In 1992 Frank and his young side worked hard but struggled against clubs who were importing quality players. In 1993 Barry Pilgrim took over as coach with a couple of paid import players and started to rebuild but didn't have too much success. 1994 saw Rene Van Dommelle step up to be playing coach and with a few more recruited imports on the A grade just missed out on the finals by percentage. D Wagner won the B Grade Mail Medal. In 1995 John Grovermann took over as President and with a more realistic football budget we had a very successful minor round but unfortunately went out in straight sets in two finals appearances. The U17s played in the Grand Final this year. In 1996 G Fleet became President and because of the success in the previous year we lost two import positions and struggled to retain quality imports. New playing coach Grant Coffee managed to coach the lads to 5 wins. M Turner won the U15 Mail Medal. In 1997 we had yet another coach in Jason Blair who also managed to win 5 games but with the lack of success twenty seven players left at the end of that season. In 1998 Brian Harris became President and Reserve Coach Dave Williams stepped in as coach but with no imports and a depleted local squad we only won one game. 1999 was a year of upheaval with Matt Harris taking over from Dave Williams as playing coach during the season but again we only won one game. Paul Stelzer won the U17 Mail Medal.

2000 to 2004

In 2000 Trevor Fromm became President and Steve Lubcke was recruited under a three year plan to provide some stability and to promote club development through fund raising and Junior development. We had a good mix of imported and local players and the A Grade won 5 games. In 2001 the fund raising proceeded well and while the players gelled into a cohesive squad under Steve we still only won five games. Matt Laurie won the U17 Mail Medal. In 2002 we again extended our facilities by improving the umpires change rooms, trainers facilities, committee room and adding a handicapped toilet. Unfortunately real success on the field elluded us with no improvement in the number of games won which was compounded by the loss of funds raised within the club. In 2003 Gene Madgen stepped up to be President and Jack Daniels reluctantly took up the coaching role but the A grade again struggled due to a lack of funds and the exodus of players due to the lack of on field success. Bob Ellis assumed the coaching role in 2004 with an emphasis on junior development but again we had no on field success .

2005 to 2008

2005 saw the Club turn around with an injection of funds from a loaned vineyard, hosting the Grand Final at Nuriootpa and the recruitment of Steve O'Connor an A Grade coach with a good track record. Steve brought with him a winning ethos, a capacity to recruit well and contacts for additional sponsorship. It was a good turn around year, missing out on the finals by ½ a game. In 2006 along with the professionalism of Steve, a successful recruiting campaign which included the return of a number of locals, the maturing of a number of our local lads and a successful sponsorship effort culminated in our fifth premiership and our first in the B,L&G. In 2007 the successful formula continued and we won back to back premierships. In 2008 Chris Gill became President and Rian Nelson stepped up from assistant coach to A Grade Coach. The "A" Grade made it to another Grand Final but unfortunately were beaten to the Premiership Flag by Tanunda. The "B" Grade made it to the Preliminary Final and the Under 15 side made it to the First Semi-Final.

2009

Chris Gill continued as President, Simon Taylor as Secretary and Fleur Moran was appointed as Treasurer, unfortunately the position of Vice President was not filled. Rian Nelson commenced the year as Senior Coach but resigned with four games to go after the club announced that it had appointed Roger James as Coach for the following 3 years. Phil Thwaites was appointed as caretaker Coach to finish the season. The "A" grade finished in sixth position and the Reserves finished bottom. The Under 15's played off in the Grand Final against Nuriootpa but were defeated and the Under 17's just missed out on the final 4. Sponsorship income was down considerably due to the Global Financial Crisis and other resaons but despite this the club finished the season on a sound financial footing. Darren Sharp won the Reg Smith Medal for the clubs Best & Fairest and Adam Spencer was runner up.

2010

Simon Taylor was appointed as President, Mark Slade Secretary and Fleur Moran continued as Treasurer. There was a great deal of excitement around the club with the appointment of ex AFL player Roger James as Coach and several players came back to the club to play and support staff was the best it has been for a couple of years. Adam Grovermann was Assistant Coach, Phil Thwaites Reserves Coach with Steve Page his Assistant. The club commenced the process of formulating a 10 year strategic plan and started to put in place several Job Statements etc. Under the management of Simon Carpenter Sponsorship was was up on last year and left the club in a comfortable financial position.The club also introduced a new Guernsey. The "A" Grade finished 2nd and were beaten by Tanunda in the Grand Final. The Under 17's finished second and were beaten by South Gawler in the Grand Final. The Reserves finished in 5th place. Adam Spencer won the Reg Smith Best & Fairest and Matt Stelzer was Runner Up.

2011

Simon Taylor was re-appointed as President, Mark Slade Secretary and Sandra Zachopoulos as Treasurer and Fleur Moran continued as Finance Manager. Roger James continued as Senior Coach with Adam Grovermann as Assistant Coach, Jeff Woods was appointed Reserves Coach and Richard O'Driscoll as Reserves Assistant Coach. Bronte Emes was re-appointed as Senior Colts Coach and Bill Byrum re-appointed as Junior Colts Coach.The club continued the process of developing a 10 year strategic plan which was adopted later in the year by Management. Under the management of Simon Carpenter Sponsorship was very good again and left the club in a comfortable financial position. The "A" Grade finished 3rd and were beaten by Willaston in the 1st Semi Final after a player count was called by Willaston at the start of the 3/4 quarter. Barossa District were deemed to have had 19 players on the field even though the game had not technical started when the count was called and the extra player was only a few metres from leaving the field of play. It caused a great deal of controversy in the League but the club and players were highly commended on the way they presented themselves during the final quarter and after the game. The Reserves finished a commendable 4th but were beaten by Nuriootpa by 1point in the last minutes of the game. Under 17's finished 5th. Matt Stelzer won the Reg Smith Best & Fairest and Heath Commane was Runner Up. Heath Commane won the Leagues Goal Kicking and Will Roberts was the Senior Colts League leading Goal Kicker.

2012

Simon Taylor was re-appointed as President, Pam Rowe as Secretary and Sandra Zachoplolous as Treasurer. Roger James continued as Senior Coach and Adam Grovermann as Assistant Senior Coach, Jeff Woods was also re-appointed as Reserves Coach. Bronte Emes continued as Senior Colts Coach and Phil Olner was appointed as Junior Colts Coach. Under the management of Sponsorship Manager Simon Carpenter this area of the club continued very strongly underpinning the financial stability of the club. The club was pleased to welcome Jesse Aish as a player to the club. The U15's finished 2nd and only lost the GF by 1 point. The U17's finished 6th. The Reserves finished 3rd but were put out in the 1st Semi Final by Angaston. The "A" Grade finished 4th and went on to defeat South Gawler in the 1st Semi Final, then decisively defeated Kapunda in the Preliminary Final. The Grand Final was against Tanunda who were going for their 5th Premiership in a row. We defeated them soundly with a very strong effort taking out the 2012 Premiership. Heath Commane again won the Leagues leading Goal Kicker Award. Michael Taylor won the Barraker coaches award and Matt Stelzer won Reg Smith Club Best & Fairest and Heath Commane was runner up.

2013 (Double Premiership Year)

Simon Taylor was reappointed as President, Pamela Rowe was appointed as Secretary, Gervase Mallen as Treasurer. Roger James appointed as Senior Coach, Adam Grovermann as Assistant. Drew Koch was appointed as Reserves Coach with Richard O'Driscoll as assistant. Simon Wills as Senior Colts Coach and Peter Hunt as Junior Colts Coach. The club welcomed players, Dean Cutting and Brad Coles to its player list. The club commenced discussions about its future location. The "A" Grade finished in top position, the Reserves finished in 3rd place, Senior Colts in 6th place and Junior Colts finished in top position. The "A" grade lost the 2nd Semi against Gawler Central, won the Preliminary Final against South Gawler and the went onto defeat Gawler Central in the Grand Final 16.14 to 17.3. Dean Cutting won the Hearn Best Player Award. The Reserves won the 1st Semi against Freeling in a close result, defeated South Gawler in the Preliminary Final. At the final siren of the Grand Final, against Gawler Central, the game was drawn. Extra time was played with the Reserves winning 11.8 to 8.12, Gawler Central were undefeated before this game. The Junior Colts were defeated by Angaston in the 2nd Semi, defeated Willaston in the Preliminary Final and were defeated by Angaston in the Grand Final. Ross Christie won the Peter Vivian Coaches Award.

Since the formation of BDFC the following members have become:

LIFE MEMBERS

I Smith, L Jones, S Webb, J Marshall, N Evans, N Down, D Noll, K Spehr, N Webb, D Rehn, A Smith, P Roberts, J Appelby, R Della-Mina, L Venning, T Fromm, S Wilkin, B Fromm (2006), B Harris, C Gill (2006), M Harris (2006), B Venning (2008),B Foreman, S Taylor (2009), J Woods, Jean Rispin (2010), Jenny Slade (2011), Gene Madgen, Theresa Grovermann, Darren Sharp, Naomi Pringle (2012). Simon Carpenter, John Wills, Di Robinson, Matt Harris, Julie Thompson (2013)

100 GAME PLAYERS

D Werner (104), N Evans (103), P Verco (153), A Johnson (108), K Shrubsole (104), M Brand (112), M Hill (154), M McNeil (144), A Bugg (144), D Allen (117), K Gaskin (167), N Vanstone (165), G Jones (101), G Magee (149), T Helbers (133), D Lane (100), G Wilkin (105), P Thwaites (103), A Sibbick (130), J Pain (176), M Harris (188), M Murray (113), C Harding (173), D Jones (110), C Hodgson (116), M Poole (100), S Harris (144), D Wilson (184), D Smith (148), D Emmes (107), R Nelson (107),G Werner (106),D Della-mina (105),G Justice (105) R Wilkin (104), C Roberts (110), T Wigzell (116-2009) S Wills (109-2009), C Bahnisch (115,) Darren Sharp (151-2009), J Woods (157-2009), Matt Stelzer 2010, Ryan Fromm 2010, Ashley Amber 2010, Alex Stone 2011, Craig McAlpine, Michael Baraglia, Adam Spencer 2013,