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RED, WHITE & BLUE
They were formed in 1958 in the Northern suburbs, and were based at Elizabeth where there was a large English migrant contingent following the end of the second World War. So, appropriately, the red, white and blue were chosen for the club’s new colours. The Local Salisbury Football Club greatly contributed to the introduction of the new pioneer club for the north. The suburb of Elizabeth was still very much in its infancy, so to have its own SANFL club to follow was a big deal. The club played in the Reserves until their introduction to the league in 1964. The Bulldogs throughout this era were always a bit of a slow burn. They were never truly terrible, and they often gave the other teams a run for their money, a promise they never fulfilled. Without a doubt the period of 1964-90 reflects the base from which Centrals would later dominate as the SA football landscape changed.
Early successes for the Bulldogs were few, between 1964-70 the highest the club finished was seventh in 1965 and again in 1970. It must be said, however, Centrals held firm with the coaches they appointed, providing stability for the developing club with Ken Eustice (1964-67) and Denis Jones (1968-71) the only two coaches over the first eight seasons. Individually, Gary Window, in a fabulous result for him and the fledgling club won the Magarey Medal in 1965.
The 1971 Breakout Season
The team made great strides in 1971 in a season where they won twelve of their twenty-one minor round matches and qualified for the finals for the first time. They defeated 1970 Premier Sturt in the knockout first Semi Final, turning a 5 point three quarter time deficit into a hard-fought and famous 27 point victory. They played Port Adelaide in the Preliminary Final a week later and were even (7.9 apiece) at half time. In the end they were beaten 16.15 to 11.16 in front of a record crowd for the club of 42,909 patrons. The Central District Football club had arrived.
When they repeated that effort in 1972 under Tony Casserly, it was seen as the start of big things to come. Alas, 1973-74 saw the club drift back to sixth, consequently missing the finals. It should be mentioned that with ten wins they only missed the four in 1973 by a win and percentage. The same can be said in 1974 where they missed the newly formed final five to Torrens, again by a whisker. Unfortunately they drifted again and by 1977 they were back to ‘Wooden Spooner’.
1979 the year of the Dogs?
With Daryl Hicks now at the helm as coach, Centrals dramatically improved and with an impressive fifteen wins and a draw, they won the Minor Premiership. Again, Port would prove to be their nemesis, defeating Centrals in the Second Semi Final. A week later when South proved too strong in the Preliminary, Centrals had gone out in straight sets in a disappointing result after so much promise. Despite the disappointment for the team there were individual successes such as John Duckworth recruited from the WAFL winning the 1979 Magarey Medal and a young Peter Jonas revealing himself as an emerging star.
1980 loomed as the year to continue onwards to glory. Their chances were severely dented when Duckworth suffered a serious abdominal injury in their Round One clash with Port. His ruptured kidney forced him to miss large chunks of the important early season and the Dogs never recovered, falling back to sixth with only nine wins and a draw. They fell further back in 1981 before rebounding in 1982.
1982 back to the finals
The players celebrate their first final victory in 1971.
4 10 CLUBS FOR 27 YEARS