Eastlake Football Club

Eastlake Demons

Names

Full name

Eastlake Football Club Demons

Nickname

Demons

2025 AFL Canberra season

After finals

1st (Premiers)

Home-and-away season

1st

Club details

Founded

1926 (1926)

Colours

Competition

AFL Canberra

Coach

Jeremy Rowe

Captain

Aaron Bruce

Premierships

AFL Canberra (2)
2001, 2025
CANFL (18)
1928, 1930, 1933, 1934, 1937, 1942, 1945, 1948, 1957, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1976, 1978

Ground

Phillip Oval (capacity: 7,500)

Training ground

Phillip Oval (7,500)

Uniforms

Home

Away

Heritage

Other information

Official website

https://www.eastlakedemons.com.au/

The Eastlake Demons is a semi-professional Australian rules football club based in the inner-south of Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory. The club has formerly been known as City (1941-1944), the Southern District Demons (1991-1998),^[1] and the Canberra Demons (2016-2020).^[2]

The senior team competed in the North East Australian Football League (NEAFL) from the league's founding in 2011 until it was absorbed by the Victorian Football League (VFL) in 2021. Canberra declined to join the expanded VFL.

History

Canberra Australian National Football League

The Eastlake Football Club was established in 1926. The club was mostly made up of tradesmen who had moved to Canberra from southern states. During the Second World War, Eastlake would briefly merge with the Manuka Football Club, and played under the name City.^[1]

Between 1962 and 1966 the club held an unrivaled dominance over the Canberra Australian National Football League, winning five consecutive premierships. With Alex Jesaulenko playing for the club for three of those premierships. During the late 1960s the club first established a women's team, which played occasional social games.^[1]

The club won their last Grand Final before the AFL Canberra era in 1978. Fortunes changed at the club in the 1980s after the they lost three consecutive grand finals in 1982, 1983, and 1984. In 1991 the club merged again with the Manuka Football Club to become the Southern District Demons.^[1]

AFL Canberra and NEAFL

In 2011 Eastlake was one of the founding clubs of the North East Australian Football League.^[3]

In January 2016, the league announced that Eastlake would rebrand and now be known as Canberra,^[2] though the Eastlake name would continue to be used in local competitions.

In 2025, The Eastlake Demons First Grade Men's side, broke a 24 year Premiership drought by defeating the Queanbeyan Tigers by 37 points on 6 September 2025.^[4]