Bridgewater-Callington Football Club
 | |
| Full name | Bridgewater-Callington Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname | Raiders |
| Sport | Australian rules football |
| Founded | 2013 |
| League | Hills Football League |
The Bridgewater-Callington Raiders are an Australian rules football club based in the towns of Bridgewater and Callington in South Australia. The Raiders play in Division 2 of the Hills Football League.
History
Bridgewater Football Club
The Bridgewater Football Club was founded in 1956 although football was played in the town back in 1895 when there was a local team that existed right up until the 1940s. The team formed the Bridgewater FC and joined the Hills Football Association in 1956 until 1961 when the league disbanded. The club were off to a slow start in its first few years of existence in the HFA but managed to win a senior premiership in 1959. After the league folded in 1961, Bridgewater spent five years with the Torrens Valley Football Association where in 1963, the club won another senior grade premiership over Eden Valley Rovers. The club were known as the Raiders and had the colours of light blue, royal blue and white and played in three different leagues before moving back to the Hills Football League Central Zone in 1967 where they have remained since.
A-Grade Premierships
- 1959 Hills Football Association vs Bremer 12.13.85 to 1.13.19
- 1963 Torrens Valley Football Association vs Eden Valley 11.7.73 to 8.11.59
- 1966 Hills Central Association vs Mylor 11.8.74 to 10.6.66
- 1981 Hills Football League Division 2
- 1987 Hills Football League Courier Cup
- 2016 Hills Football League Division 2
Callington Football Club
The Callington United Football Club was founded in 1995 as the Eagles and the colours were navy blue and gold, although the original Bremer-Callington club were around as far back as 1903, known as the Bremer Football Club from the 1950s. The club merged with Nairne in 1978 to form the Nairne Bremer United Football Club. Callington United played in Division 2 of the Hills Football League and joined the Country Division in 2003.
Merger
When Bridgewater and Callington United football clubs merged in 2016, it became the most successful era for each club with the A-Grade side reaching back to back Grand Finals in 2015 and 2016 in the HFL Division 2 competition. 2015 saw a negative result, losing to the Kersbrook Football Club, but the result was reversed the following year. The 2016 grand final was played on one of Bridgewater-Callington's home grounds (Callington Oval) and the Raiders came back from behind to win a 3-point premiership over Nairne Bremer 9.12.66 to 9.9.63, ending a 35-year premiership drought. The B-Grade side made it to the 2017 HFL Division 2 Grand Final and beat Nairne Bremer 43-22.
Notable Players
Tim Weatherald was a former player of the Bridgewater Football Club who continued his football journey to play for the Sturt Football Club in the South Australian National Football League and won the 2002 Magarey Medal and the club's Best and Fairest award and played in Sturt's 2002 grand final triumph over Central District, coming out 47-point winners.