Matt Burnell (Spence, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Deputy Speaker, I've got two words for you: you Dogs! That is the cry you will hear every weekend around Elizabeth from now until September as the Central District Football Club gets the 2025 SANFL season underway. I found time on the weekend to see our women's team get their second win in a row over Sturt, and I'm looking forward to the boys' first round on Saturday up against Woodville-West Torrens. This is a club cemented into the very heart of my community, bringing families and friends together throughout the year to get behind the mighty Dogs. It's a club with decades of rich history, reflecting the heavy influence of British migrants that settled in Elizabeth throughout the fifties and sixties. The red, white and blue on the guernsey reflects this, matching the Union Jack, and you can see that influence in our vibrant fan culture today, with chanting you'd normally reserve for a soccer match. But, most importantly to me, this is a club that brings people together. Kids growing up in the north fondly remember kicking the footy on the oval at half-time, enjoying hot chips and a Coke with mum and dad in the stands, making treasured memories with family and friends and watching the Doggies bring home nine flags in 11 years throughout the 2000s. This club is a symbol of our community and it deserves to be celebrated. Go the Doggies!