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), and the Canberra Demons (2016-2020).
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.
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.
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.
AFL Canberra and NEAFL In 2011 Eastlake was one of the founding clubs of the North East Australian Football League.
In January 2016, the league announced that Eastlake would rebrand and now be known as Canberra, 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.
Former jumpers
Notable players Craig Bolton Tony Bourke Josh Bruce Nathan Clarke Brad Fuller Allan Hird, Jr. Alex Jesaulenko Aaron Rogers Jeremy Turner Rodney Broadhurst Nick Fogarty Harry Himmelberg Tom Green
See also Manuka Oval AFL Canberra Manuka Football Club
References
External links
Eastlake FC (Archive, 13 Jan 2014) Australian Football profile for Eastlake