Swan Districts Football Club
| Swan Districts | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Names | ||
| Full name | Swan Districts Football Club | |
| Former name(s) | Swan Districts National Football Club (1932–80) | |
| Nickname(s) | Swans, Swannies, Black Ducks, Black and Whites | |
| 2013 season | ||
| After finals | 4th | |
| Home-and-away season | 3rd | |
| Leading goalkicker | Tim Geappen (49 goals) | |
| Best and fairest | Tony Notte | |
| Club details | ||
| Founded | 1932 | |
| Colours | Black White | |
| Competition | West Australian Football League | |
| Chairman | Peter Harvey | |
| Coach | Greg Harding | |
| Captain(s) | Tallan Ames | |
| Premierships | 8 (1961, 1962, 1963, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1990, 2010) | |
| Ground(s) | Bassendean Oval (capacity: 22,000) | |
| Uniforms | ||
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| Other information | ||
| Official website | swandistrictsfc.com.au | |
The Swan Districts Football Club, nicknamed the Swans, is an Australian rules football club playing in the West Australian Football League (WAFL). The club is based at Bassendean Oval, in Bassendean, an eastern suburb of Perth, Western Australia. The club was formed in 1932, and joined the then-Western Australian National Football League (WANFL) in 1934, acting as a successor to the Midland Junction Football Club, which had disbanded during World War I, in the Perth Hills region.
Swan Districts finished seventh on the WANFL ladder winning seven out of 21 games in their debut season in 1934. The presence of established WANFL players like inaugural captain-coach “Judda” Bee from East Fremantle and Fred Sweetapple from West Perth was critical to the fledgling club’s competitiveness. In 1935, Swans finished sixth on the WANFL Ladder with six wins and twelve losses and George Krepp won the Sandover Medal. The 1936 season saw the Swans pick up nine wins and eleven losses but still finish seventh on the League Ladder.
The 1937 season saw Swan Districts, under new coach Jim Ditchburn, finish in third place on the League Ladder with 14 wins and 7 losses, and play in their first finals series. Ted Holdsworth kicked 109 goals in the first 14 games before injury ended his season and East Perth beat them in the first semi-final 13.9 (87) to 11.7 (73). Swan Districts had another good season in 1938, finishing third with 11 wins and nine losses but were again beaten in the first semi-final by East Perth 8.18 (66) – 9.11 (65).
In 1939, with the loss of champion spearhead Holdsworth to Kalgoorlie, Swans slid to sixth on the ladder with seven wins from twenty games. In the following two seasons, despite Holdsworth’s return, the club slid still further to finish last with only two wins in 1940 and three in 1941. Due to the Second World War the WANFL suspended its senior competition and implemented an under age competition to replace it. In 1942 Swans were unable to raise a side to play and did not compete at all. By 1943 Swan Districts assembled a side to compete in the under-age competition and performed exceedingly well, finishing fourth on the ladder with nine wins and eight losses, then winning the first semi-final against West Perth and the preliminary Final against Subiaco. Swans thus played in their first Grand Final only to be defeated by East Fremantle, the final score being East Fremantle 17.15 (117) to Swan Districts 11.11 (77). Jim Davies became the second Swan Districts player to win a Sandover Medal in 1944 with 33 votes in what was otherwise a forgettable season with Swans finishing sixth on the ladder, but in the restored open-age competition of 1945 their fortunes improved as they finished fourth on the league ladder only to be defeated in the first semi-final by South Fremantle.
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