Australian Football

South Croydon

South Croydon’s tally of four senior grade Division Two flags is bettered only by Scoresby’s five. The club has also won three reserve grade premierships, two in Division Two and one in Division Three, and five under eighteens or colts flags. Perhaps the greatest season in the Bulldogs’ history, prior to 2017 at any rate, was 2001 when all three grades - seniors, reserves and under eighteens - went top.

Since 2010 the Bulldogs have competed in Division One where fortunes have been mixed and prior to the 2017 season they had only qualified for the finals once. However, that 2017 season saw the team setting new records as they not only made a rare finals appearance they went on to claim their first ever Division One premiership. Third after the home and away rounds the Bulldogs won their qualifying final clash with Balwyn by 17 points before coming up against the irresistible force in the shape of a finals hardened Vermont side in the second semi final. Vermont had lost only once all season, and they made short work of the inexperienced Bulldogs, winning by 76 points, 18.10 (118) to 6.6 (42). Undaunted, South Croydon bounced back in the following week's preliminary final to down Blackburn by 6 points, 6.13 (49) to 5.3 (33). This set up a grand final re-match with Vermont and it would be fair to suggest that most people expected a repeat of the second semi final annihilation, but what they got instead was a close, hard fought affair in which the Bulldogs matched their opponents for two quarters before pulling away to lead by 25 points at the last change. During the final quarter Vermont were marginally the better side but they proved unable to make up all the leeway, and when the final siren sounded the scoreboard showed South Croydon with a 3 goal advantage, 10.12 (72) to 7.12 (54). A year later the same two sides played off for the premiership with victory on this occasion going to Vermont.