The Eastern Football Netball League (known previously as the Eastern Districts Football League and later the Eastern Football League) is an Australian rules football league, based in the eastern suburbs of metropolitan Melbourne.

History

The Eastern Districts Football League was established on 15 February 1962, but its origins can be traced back to the Reporter District Football League established in 1903, with the following clubs - Bayswater, Box Hill, Canterbury, Ferntree Gully, Mitcham and Ringwood.^[1]

The following football associations all played there part in the now Eastern Districts Football League.

The Ringwood District Football Association was established in 1922 and consisted of the following clubs - Croydon, Ferntree Gully, Kilsyth-Monbulk, Ringwood B and Warrandyte.^[2]

The Croydon Mail Football League was established in 1945 and consisted of the following clubs - Bayswater, Boronia, Croydon and Kilsyth.^[3] It appears that the League's name was changed to the Croydon District Football League in 1948 and stayed this way in 1949 too.^[4]

In 1950 the league became known as the Croydon-Ferntree Gully Football League, when Ferntree Gully left the Dandenong & District Football League and three grades of football commenced in 1950.^[5]

In 1997, the Eastern District Football League and the Knox Junior Football Association united to create the Eastern Football League.^[6]

Following a restructure during 2018, the league now consists of five divisions, and 2019 had 45 clubs. Premier and First Division had 10 clubs each, Second and Third Divisions have eight clubs each, and Fourth Division has nine with the admission of Croydon North-MLOC for 2019.^[7] After the conclusion of the 2019 season, on 15 October the league announced a re-branding to the Eastern Football Netball League, recognising netball as a key part of the league structure.^[8]

On 3 June 2020, the EFNL cancelled its 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[9]

With the admission of Beaconsfield and Oakleigh District for 2022, there are now 48 clubs, including 12 in the Premier Division.

Clubs

Men's Premier Division (2024)

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Locations of the 2019 EFL clubs (top two divisions). Red pogs represent teams in the Premier Division, yellow pogs represent teams in Division One.

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Locations of the 2019 EFL clubs (bottom three divisions). Red pogs represent teams in Division Two, orange pogs represent teams in Division Three, and yellow pogs represent teams in Division Four.

Jumper	Club	Nickname	Location	Home Ground	Web Page
	Balwyn	Tigers	Balwyn	Balwyn Park	Official Site
	Berwick	Wickers	Berwick	Edwin Flack Reserve	Official Site
	Blackburn	Panthers	Blackburn	Morton Park	Official Site
	Doncaster East	Lions	East Doncaster	Zerbes Reserve	Official Site
	East Ringwood	Roos	East Ringwood	East Ringwood Reserve	Official Site
	Noble Park	Bulls	Noble Park	Pat Wright Senior Ground	Official Site
	Norwood	Norsemen	Ringwood	Mullum Reserve	Official Site
	Rowville	Hawks	Rowville	Seebeck Oval	Official Site
	South Croydon	Bulldogs	South Croydon	Cheong Park	Official Site
	Vermont	Eagles	Vermont	Vermont Recreation Reserve	Official Site

Men's Division 1 (2024)

Jumper	Club	Nickname	Location	Home Ground	Web Page
	Bayswater	Waters	Bayswater	Bayswater Oval	Official Site
	Beaconsfield	Eagles	Beaconsfield	Holm Park Reserve	Official Site
	Doncaster	Sharks	Doncaster	Schramms Reserve	Official Site
	Mitcham	Tigers	Mitcham	Walker Park	Official Site
	Montrose	Demons	Montrose	Montrose Reserve	Official Site
	Mooroolbark	Mustangs	Mooroolbark	Heights Reserve	Official Site
	North Ringwood	Saints	North Ringwood	Quambee Reserve	Official Site
	Park Orchards	Sharks	Park Orchards	Domeney Reserve	Official Site
	South Belgrave	Saints	Belgrave South	Belgrave South Recreation Reserve	Official Site
	Wantirna South	Devils	Wantirna South	Walker Reserve	Official Site

Men's Division 2 (2024)

Jumper	Club	Nickname	Location	Home Ground	Web Page
	Boronia	Hawks	Boronia	Tormore Reserve	Official Site
	Croydon	Blues	Croydon	Croydon Oval	Official Site
	East Burwood	Rams	East Burwood	East Burwood Reserve	Official Site
	Heathmont	Jets	Heathmont	HE Parker Reserve	Official Site
	Lilydale	Falcons	Lilydale	Lilydale Sports Oval	Official Site
	Mulgrave	Lions	Mulgrave	Mulgrave Reserve	Official Site
	Ringwood	Redbacks	Ringwood	Jubilee Park	Official Site
	Templestowe	Dockers	Templestowe	Templestowe Reserve	Official Site
	The Basin	Bears	The Basin	Batterham Reserve	Official Site
	Waverley Blues	Blues	Mount Waverley	Mt Waverley Reserve	Official Site

Men's Division 3 (2024)

Jumper	Club	Nickname	Location	Home Ground	Web Page
	Coldstream	Cougars	Coldstream	Coldstream Reserve	Official Site
	Donvale	Magpies	Donvale	Donvale Reserve	Official Site
	Fairpark	Lions	Ferntree Gully	Fairpark Reserve	Official Site
	Ferntree Gully	Eagles	Ferntree Gully	Ferntree Gully Reserve	Official Site
	Knox	Falcons	Wantirna South	Knox Gardens Reserve	Official Site
	Oakleigh District	Districts	Oakleigh East	Princes Highway Reserve	Official Site
	Silvan	Cats	Silvan	Silvan Recreation Ground	Official Site
	Surrey Park	Panthers	Box Hill	Surrey Park Reserve	Official Site
	Upper Ferntree Gully	Kings	Upper Ferntree Gully	Kings Park	Official Site
	Warrandyte	Bloods	Warrandyte	Warrandyte Reserve	Official Site

Men's Division 4 (2024)

Jumper	Club	Nickname	Location	Home Ground	Web Page
	Chirnside Park	Panthers	Chirnside Park	Kimberley Reserve	Official Site
	Croydon North MLOC	Rams	Croydon	Hughes Park Croydon	Official Site
	Forest Hill	Zebras	Forest Hill	Forest Hill Reserve	Official Site
	Kilsyth	Cougars	Kilsyth	Pinks Reserve	Official Site
	Nunawading	Lions	Blackburn North	Koonung Reserve	Official Site
	Scoresby	Magpies	Scoresby	Scoresby Recreation Reserve	Official Site
	Whitehorse Pioneers	Pioneers	Box Hill	Springfield Park	Official Site

Women's Premier Division (2023)

Jumper	Club	Nickname	Location	Home ground	Web Page
	Donvale	Magpies	Donvale	Donvale Reserve	Official Site
	Eastern Devils	Devils	Wheelers Hill	Mulgrave Reserve	Official Site
	Mount Evelyn	Rovers	Mount Evelyn	Mount Evelyn Recreation Reserve	Official Site
	SBL Wolves	Wolves	Belgrave South	Belgrave South Recreation Reserve	Official Site
	South Croydon	Bulldogs	South Croydon	Cheong Park	Official Site
	Vermont	Eagles	Vermont	Vermont Recreation Reserve	Official Site
	Whitehorse Pioneers	Pioneers	Box Hill	Springfield Park	Official Site

Women's Division 1 (2023)

Jumper	Club	Nickname	Location	Home ground	Web page
	Beaconsfield	Eagles	Beaconsfield	Holm Park Reserve	Official Site
	Boronia	Hawks	Boronia	Tormore Reserve	Official Site
	Chirnside Park	Panthers	Chirnside Park	Kimberley Reserve	Official Site
	Knox	Falcons	Wantirna South	Knox Gardens Reserve	Official Site
	North Ringwood	Saints	North Ringwood	Quambee Reserve	Official Site
	Park Orchards	Sharks	Park Orchards	Domeney Reserve	Official Site
	Ringwood	Redbacks	Ringwood	Jubilee Park	Official Site
	The Basin	Bears	The Basin	Batterham Reserve	Official Site

Women's Division 2 (2023)

Jumper	Club	Nickname	Location	Home ground	Web page
	Blackburn	Panthers	Blackburn	Morton Park	Official Site
	Croydon North MLOC	Rams	Croydon	Hughes Park Croydon	Official Site
	East Burwood	Rams	East Burwood	East Burwood Reserve	Official Site
	East Ringwood	Roos	East Ringwood	East Ringwood Reserve	Official Site
	Heathmont	Jets	Heathmont	HE Parker Reserve	Official Site
	Montrose	Demons	Montrose	Montrose Reserve	Official Site
	Surrey Park	Panthers	Box Hill	Surrey Park Reserve	Official Site
	Waverley Blues	Blues	Mount Waverley	Mt Waverley Reserve	Official Site

Women's Division 3 (2023)

Jumper	Club	Nickname	Location	Home ground	Web page
	Eastern Devils Reserves	Devils	Wheelers Hill	Mulgrave Reserve	Official Site
	Kilsyth	Cougars	Kilsyth	Pinks Reserve	Official Site
	South Croydon Reserves	Bulldogs	South Croydon	Cheong Park	Official Site
	SBL Wolves Reserves	Wolves	Belgrave South	Belgrave South Recreation Reserve	Official Site
	The Basin Reserves	Bears	The Basin	Batterham Reserve	Official Site
	Vermont Reserves	Eagles	Vermont	Vermont Recreation Reserve	Official Site

Women's Division 4 (2023)

Jumper	Club	Nickname	Location	Home ground	Web page
	Boronia Reserves	Hawks	Boronia	Tormore Reserve	Official Site
	Coldstream	Cougars	Coldstream	Coldstream Reserve	Official Site
	Fairpark	Lions	Ferntree Gully	Fairpark Reserve	Official Site
	Mitcham	Tigers	Mitcham	Walker Park	Official Site
	Mooroolbark	Mustangs	Mooroolbark	Heights Reserve	Official Site
	Nunawading	Lions	Blackburn North	Koonung Reserve	Official Site
	Wantirna South	Devils	Wantirna South	Walker Reserve	Official Site
	Warrandyte	Bloods	Warrandyte	Warrandyte Reserve	Official Site

Junior Only Clubs

Jumper	Club	Nickname	Location	Home Ground	Web Page
	Rowville Knights (St. Simons)	Knights	Rowville	Liberty Reserve	Official Site
	Glen Waverley Rovers	Rovers	Glen Waverley	Brentwood Reserve	Official Site
	Lysterfield	Wolves	Lysterfield	Lakesfield Reserve	Official Site

Clubs Currently in Recess

Jumper	Club	Nickname	Location	Home Ground	Web Page	In Recess Since
	Glen Waverley Hawks	Hawks	Glen Waverley	Central Reserve	Official Site	2023

Premiers

Premiership Table

Premiership Timeline

Division Promotion and Relegation Timeline

Additional Information

• 1965 - Divisional promotion and relegation began between Division 1 and 2. Clubs such as Scoresby (Division 2 Premiers in 1962, 63, 64, 65) were not promoted despite winning the Division 2 premiership several times and clubs such as Heathmont were not relegated despite having finished last in 1962 and 1964.
• 1971 - Divisional promotion and relegation began between Division 2 and 3. Olinda (Division 3 Premiers in 1965, 66, 67) and Mount Evelyn (Division 3 Premiers in 1969, 70) won several premierships in a row without promotion and clubs such as Mulgrave (Division 2 Last Place 1968, 69) and Upper Ferntree Gully (Division 2 Last Place 1970, 71) were not relegated despite finishing last for two years in a row.
• 1986 - Division 4 was added to the league. The last seven teams of the 1985 Division 3 season were relegated to Division 4 for 1986 (Mount Evelyn, Lilydale, Nunawading, South Wantirna, South Waverley Sandown, Blackburn South and Kilsyth), joining Wonga Park who was admitted as a new club.
• 2019 - With Division 1 becoming Premier Division, Division 2 becoming Division 1 and Division 3 becoming Division 2, the newly created Division 3 comprised the bottom six teams of Division 3 of 2018 (Waverley Blues, Donvale, Ferntree Gully, South Belgrave, Warrandyte and Chirnside Park), as well as the two Grand Finalists of Division 4 of 2018 (Whitehorse Pioneers and Glen Waverley Hawks).

Eastern Football League Premiers (1962–present)

Five Division Competition (2019–)

Four Division Competition (1986–2018)

Three Division competition (1962–1985)

Former clubs

Jumper	Club	Nickname	Location	Home Ground	Years in EFNL	Current Status
	Balwyn Combined	Demons	Balwyn North	Macleay Park	1996	Folded
	Bennettswood	Swans	Burwood	Bennettswood Reserve	1968-1986	Merged with Blackburn South Football Club
	Bennettswood-Blackburn South	Swans			1987-1990	Folded
	Blackburn South				1984-1986	Merged with Bennettswood Football Club
	Clayton	Clays	Clayton	Meade Reserve	1985-1998	Transferred to Southern Football Netball League
	Canterbury	Cobras	Canterbury	Canterbury Sports Ground	2009-2013	Transferred to Victorian Amateur Football Association
	East Hawthorn	Hawks	Hawthorn	St. James Park	1970-1972	Transferred to Metropolitan Football League
	Mount Evelyn	Rovers	Mount Evelyn	Gary Martin Oval	1962-2001	Transferred to Yarra Ranges Football & Netball League, women's team still competes in EFNL
	Noble Park Bears	Bears	Noble Park	Parkfield Reserve	1989-1996	Folded
	Olinda	Bloods	Olinda	Olinda Recreation Reserve	1965-1985	Transferred to Yarra Ranges Football & Netball League and now known as Olinda-Ferny Creek
	Southern Cobras	Cobras	Springvale	Edinburgh Reserve	1977–83 as Sandown, 1984-1997 as South Waverley Sandown, 1998-05 as Southern Cobras	Transferred to Southern Football Netball League and now known as Sandown Cobras
	Surrey Hills				1962-1993	Merged with East Camberwell to form Surrey Park Football Club
	Wandin	Bulldogs	Wandin	Wandin North Reserve	1962-1971	Transferred to Yarra Ranges Football & Netball League
	Waverley		Wheelers Hill	Columbia Park Reserve	1991-1998	Merged with the Mount Waverley Burwood to form the Waverley Blues Football Club
	Wonga Park	Kangaroos	North Croydon	Brushy Creek Park	1986 as Wonga Park 1987-90 as North Croydon	Transferred to Yarra Ranges Football & Netball League
	Yarra Glen	River Pigs	Yarra Glen	Yarra Glen Recreation Reserve	1962-1984	Transferred to Yarra Ranges Football & Netball League