Australian Football

Mitcham

Mitcham Football Club was formed in 1907 and competed in numerous different leagues and associations, winning a total of eight senior grade premierships, prior to commencing in the South Australian Amateur Football League in 1968. The club duly won an unbeaten A4 Grade premiership at the first time of asking, and subsequently achieved promotion to A2 Grade in 1969 after reaching the A3 Grade grand final, which it lost to Ferryden Park. 

In 1976 Mitcham became embroiled in a dispute with the SAAFL over what the latter saw as the club’s unsanctioned retention of a portion of the gate takings from 1975 finals series matches held at Hawthorn Oval. The club felt it was justified in taking this money in lieu of ground rental, but the SAAFL disagreed, and Mitcham was suspended from the competition. Between 1976 and 1984 the Hawks competed in the Glenelg South Adelaide Football Association, winning a couple of premierships. During the 1920s Mitcham was widely acknowledged as one of the strongest South Australian clubs outside the SAFL, an assessment reinforced by a famous victory over Sturt at Unley Oval in 1922.

Competing in Division Three the Hawks finished eighth (of nine) in 2015 and fifth (of ten) in 2016 before succumbing to relegation to Division Four after finishing tenth and last in 2017. The 2018 season brought consolidation at the lower level with the side managing 9 wins from 18 matches to finish sixth on the ten team premiership ladder.