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Woodville Football Club

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Woodville Football Club

Woodville Football Club was an Australian rules football club that competed in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) from 1964 to 1990, when it merged in 1991 with the West Torrens Football Club to form the Woodville-West Torrens Eagles.

Based in the inner north western suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia, Woodville Football Club derived its name from the suburb Woodville and local government area City of Woodville that it was located in.

The club's lack of success was unparalleled in the Victorian Football League (VFL) or West Australian Football League (WAFL) with the club receiving 9 wooden spoons, including 6 times in succession 1980-1985, in 27 years whilst only making the finals 3 times without a grand final appearance.

There are newspaper references to a Woodville Football Club dating back to the 19th century, when Woodville and Adelaide were the only teams, but the modern club was formed in 1938 to play in local amateur competitions.

In 1940, the club was admitted into the Amateur League Grade A2.

In 1959 the existing SANFL clubs agreed to submissions from Woodville and Central District to expand the competition from eight to ten teams on the proviso they enter the SANFL reserves competition on a five-year apprenticeship before gaining admission to the league competition in 1964. The team was then known as the "Woodville Woodpeckers" and reached the reserve finals once, in 1960, for a third place finish. The highlights of this apprenticeship were Bob Simunsen's successive Seconds Magarey Medal wins in 1961 and 1962. He was also runner up in the award twice in 1960 and 1963. In Woodville's first year he won the 1959 Tomkins Medal (Senior Colts U19s). Commentator Bruce McAvaney played for Woodville's U/19 team at the same time Craig Bradley played the team woodpecker mascot (as a 6 year old).

In 1964, Simunsen at age 22 would become the Club's captain for its inaugural senior season in the SANFL. The club won just three matches, all against fellow newcomer Central District. Following the inaugural season it collected the wooden spoon in 1965. In its 27 seasons in the SANFL, the club collected a total of 9 SANFL wooden spoons including 6 in succession from 1980 to 1985 (a SANFL record at the time.). Woodville reached the finals only three times: in 1979, 1986 and 1987; its best result was 3rd position in 1986. Out of a total of 575 matches the club had 160 wins and 4 draws.

Woodville's most successful player was Malcolm Blight, who won the SANFL's Magarey Medal and gained selection in the All Australian team in 1972. He would later play for North Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL), winning the Brownlow Medal in 1978 and joining a select group of players who had won the highest individual honour in both the (SANFL) and (VFL) competitions.

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