Australian Football

Prior to world war one Langhorne Creek appears only to have engaged in scratch matches against teams from nearby towns such as Belvidere and Strathalbyn. The club first joined a formal competition in 1922 when it was admitted to the Alexandra Football Association but its involvement was spasmodic, as it was in the Hills Central Football League’s A2 Division to which it crossed in 1932. Langhorne Creek continued to compete in A2 on and off for over three decades, claiming a total of half a dozen senior grade flags. In 1967 the club was a founding member of the Hills Football League where it remained until 1978 when it transferred to the Great Southern Football League. In their first season in the GSFL the Hawks enjoyed emphatic premiership success at the expense of Encounter Bay, winning the grand final 18.7 (115) to 11.16 (82).

Since the turn of the century Langhorne Creek has been a consistent competition pace-setter, contesting seven grand finals between 2001 and 2012 and winning four of them. Their most recent premiership success came in last of these seasons when they accounted for Yankalilla in the grand final by 21 points, 14.9 (93) to 11.6 (72). This was actually their second successive such triumph as a year earlier they had overcome the grand final challenge of Willunga by a margin of 56 points, 15.13 (103) to 6.11 (47). Subsequent seasons saw them finish fourth (2013), third (2014), seventh (2015), ninth (2016) and fourth (2017) on the ten club premiership ladder before progressing to another grand final in 2018. Opposed by McLaren, they pulled away in the second half after scores had been level at the main break. Final scores were Langhorne Creek 15.11 (101) defeated McLaren 10.17 (77).