page_title: South Adelaide Football Club
section_title: Decline after District Football
hierarchical_section_title: South Adelaide Football Club / History / Decline after District Football
caption_attribution_description: English: Section of 1920 portrait of Jack Tredrea, South Adelaide Football Club captain.
context_page_description: The South Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club that competes in the South Australian National Football League. Known as the Panthers, their home ground is Flinders University Stadium, located in Noarlunga Downs in the southern suburbs of Adelaide.
context_section_description: District football was introduced optionally in 1897 and became compulsory in 1899. This was difficult for South Adelaide, who had under Reedman obtained most of its top players from Christian Brothers College, and even in 1899 when it won its sixth premiership in eight years half its side came therefrom. With the loss of Reedman and Jones to North Adelaide, and after one season goalsneak "Bos" Daly to West Torrens in 1900, the blue and whites declined steadily. This was exacerbated by the admission of Sturt in 1901. South Adelaide was runner-up in 1903 to Port Adelaide, but won only 26 and drew two of 108 games between 1906 and 1914, including a winless season in 1909 and two consecutive one-win seasons (both wins by less than a goal) in 1910 and 1911. In 1915, South improved to second before lack of finals experience took its toll in the semi-final.
  Following an enforced halt to SAFL football during World War I, the presence of champion defender Dan Moriarty made South highly competitive between 1919 and 1924, though it never rose above third in 1921. However, after his retirement South took four consecutive wooden spoons from 1926 to 1929 and did not finish above sixth in an eight-team competition between 1925 and 1934, winning only thirty and drawing three of 160 games. It was generally known that South had an unfairly small share of the area zoned between eight league clubs, but the league committee refused to alter the status quo.
caption: Jack Tredrea was the first South Australian league player to reach 200 games
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