- Dulwich Dragons
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The Dragons are an Australian Rules Football club who play in the AFL London league, one of the leagues overseen by AFL Britain. The newest club in the league, the Dragons joined the competition in 2008 in the Social division, reaching the finals of this competition in their inaugural year. The team then moved into the Conference division in 2010. Unlike other AFL London clubs, the Dragons currently field only one side in the league but this may change in the future due to increasing player numbers. The team has been sponsored by the Walkabout in Finchley Road since the start of the 2010 season and its home ground will be Gladstone Park in Dollis Hill in 2011.
Key facts Nickname: The Dragons Motto: "99% social, 1% football" Competition: AFL London Division: Conference Ground(s): Gladstone Park, Dollis Hill History
Mark de Stefanis, an Australian living in Dulwich at the time, recognised the need for a new AFL team in the south of London due to the large number Australians living locally. With the support of AFL London, Mark established the team in 2008 and recruited friends, workmates and others to form the Dulwich Dragons in the Social division of the London league. The team's first home ground was Honour Oak Park and the team often trained at Peckham Rye Common alongside The Dulwich Harps Gaelic Football Club. Several members of the Dulwich Harps also played regularly with the Dragons during this time, ensuring strong European involvement in the club. The Dulwich Dragons won several games in the 2008 season and made the divisional finals in its inaugural year in the competition.
After overseeing the Dragons' impressive debut, Mark de Stefanis left London with his family in 2009 and founding team members Alistair Chisholm and Matt Guthridge stepped up to manage the team. From 2009-2010, Chisholm and Guthridge focused on professionalising the team without losing its strong focus on playing "social" football. The team adopted new jumpers (replacing the Essendon Bombers jumpers it wore during the 2008-9 seasons), established a web presence, secured generous sponsorship from the Walkabout Finchley Road, and recruited several high quality players into the club. The team also adopted a club song ("Oh we're from Dragonland") in 2010, sung to the tune of the Richmond Football club song (which was adapted from a 1930's show tune called "Row, Row, Row"). With a bold new image and focus, the Dragons moved into the Conference division of the AFL London league in 2010 and managed to defeat the Putney Magpies in its first season as a demonstration of the team's highly competitive spirit. Jon Carrett and Chris Thursfield shared the best and fairest award for the 2010 season.
In 2011 the Dragons have a new home ground - Gladstone Park in Dollis Hill - that allows them to tap into the quality playing talent in north west London and take full advantage of the Finchley Road Walkabout's sponsorship. In 2010, the Dragons shared the Motspur Park home ground of the Wimbeldon Hawks in 2010 and were grateful to the Hawks for their support and collaboration during these early days.
External links
Categories:- Australian rules football clubs
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