Footy · Frankston, Casey & the Peninsula

Footy clubs and training in Cardinia

Cardinia has 13 footy clubs, in Pakenham, Officer and Beaconsfield and more. Find yours below, then build the fitness that holds your place in it.

One month free, then A$24.99/month. Cancel any time. iPhone and iPad.

Short answer

13 footy clubs have a home ground in Cardinia (population 118,194 at the 2021 census), across 13 suburbs. Most play in the Ellinbank & District Football League (4 clubs), with others in the Outer East Football & Netball (4), the West Gippsland Football Netball Competition (4) and the Southern Football Netball League (2) and more.

Cardinia sits on the edge of three Talent League zones. Part of it is in the Eastern Ranges’ region; the rest meets the Dandenong Stingrays and, further east, Gippsland Power. Your junior league can confirm which one your address belongs to.

13 clubs

Footy clubs in Cardinia

Every club with a home ground in Cardinia, where it plays, and the league and grades it fields. Most senior clubs also run junior and girls’ teams — the club can tell you which age groups have spots.

Footy clubs with a home ground in Cardinia, by suburb
ClubHome groundCompetition and grades
BeaconsfieldHolm Park, BeaconsfieldEFNL Division 1 · women’s Division 2
BunyipBunyip Recreation Reserve, BunyipEDFL (Ellinbank) seniors
Lang LangLang Lang Community Recreation Precinct, CaldermeadeEDFL (Ellinbank) seniors
CataniCatani Recreation Reserve, CataniEDFL (Ellinbank) seniors
Cora LynnCora Lynn Recreation Reserve, Cora LynnWest Gippsland seniors
EmeraldChandler Recreation Reserve, Emerald Outer East Division 1 · women’s Division 2
GarfieldGarfield Recreation Reserve, GarfieldWest Gippsland seniors
Gembrook CockatooGembrook Recreation Reserve, GembrookOuter East Premier Division · women’s Division 2
Koo Wee RupKoo Wee Rup Recreation Reserve, Koo Wee RupWest Gippsland seniors
Nar Nar GoonNar Nar Goon Recreation Reserve, Nar Nar GoonWest Gippsland seniors
NyoraNyora Recreation Reserve, Nyora EDFL (Ellinbank) seniors
OfficerOfficer Recreation Reserve, OfficerSFNL women’s Division 3
Outer East Premier Division · women’s Division 2
PakenhamToomuc Reserve, PakenhamSFNL Open Grade Only
Outer East Division 1 · women’s Division 1

† The ground’s suburb is shared with a neighbouring council, so the club may sit just over the boundary. From each league’s current club list, checked September 2026. Clubs change leagues and divisions between seasons; the league is right if this is not.

Your pathway

Which Talent League club you trial for

Cardinia sits on the edge of three Talent League zones. Part of it is in the Eastern Ranges’ region; the rest meets the Dandenong Stingrays and, further east, Gippsland Power. Your junior league can confirm which one your address belongs to.

Frankston, Casey & the Peninsula: the zones, the leagues and the VFL clubs →

How the AFL pathway works, step by step →

Your first ten minutes

Set it up for your club in Cardinia

Four things, in the order the app asks them. The footy calendar and conditions are on the Melbourne guide.

Choose footy, then your team nights

Onboarding asks “When do you train with your team?” Pick your club nights — Ellinbank & District Football League or wherever you play — and your gym and conditioning are scheduled around them, lighter the day after a big one. Tell it your equipment and any niggles and every exercise is fitted to both.

Match the program to your league’s start

The app treats March as the start of the AFL season. If your league does not start until mid-April, set your season phase yourself and stay in pre-season a few weeks longer. The phase lives in Program → Your year.

Know your numbers on day one

Your first testing session is ready immediately: 2km time trial, Bench press 1RM, Max pull-ups, Trap-bar deadlift 1RM, Running vertical jump. It is re-run every 8 weeks, and the results re-price your training weights and conditioning paces.

Put your suburb on the board

In Social → Town, set where you train. Your minutes count toward that town’s weekly conditioning and strength top-10 boards — only the town is kept, never your location.

PakenhamOfficerBeaconsfieldEmeraldCockatooKoo Wee RupBunyipBeaconsfield UpperGembrookLang Lang

The suburbs

Cardinia by suburb

118,194 people at the 2021 census. Suburb populations from the same census; a suburb marked * is shared with a neighbouring council.

Pakenham 54,118Officer 18,503Beaconsfield* 7,267Emerald* 5,890Cockatoo 4,408Koo Wee Rup 4,047Bunyip 3,131Beaconsfield Upper 2,997Gembrook 2,559Lang Lang* 2,556Longwarry* 2,436Garfield 2,114Tooradin* 1,722Nyora* 1,644Pakenham Upper 1,196Officer South 1,159Nar Nar Goon 1,023Menzies Creek* 966Avonsleigh 844Nar Nar Goon North 819Maryknoll 646Tynong 523Bayles 445Tynong North 440Guys Hill 388Clematis 352Cardinia 342Catani 297Yannathan 272Iona 240Garfield North 236Pakenham South 229Tonimbuk 229Cora Lynn 220Heath Hill* 189Caldermeade 181Mount Burnett 180Modella* 169Dewhurst 151Dalmore 142Bunyip North 95Lang Lang East 94Monomeith 69Nangana 54Koo Wee Rup North 47Vervale 44Rythdale 33
For coaches

Coaching a side in Cardinia?

A club licence is A$8 per player, per month (minimum 5), and every player on it gets full Train Smart membership at no cost to them. You write the block once, it lands in each player’s app, and the console shows who actually did it.

FAQ

Footy in Cardinia: questions

What footy clubs are in Cardinia?
13 clubs have a home ground in Cardinia: Beaconsfield, Bunyip, Lang Lang, Catani, Cora Lynn, Emerald, Garfield, Gembrook Cockatoo, Koo Wee Rup, Nar Nar Goon, Nyora, Officer and Pakenham. The table on this page lists each one’s ground, league and grades.
Which Talent League club are Cardinia juniors zoned to?
Cardinia sits on the edge of three Talent League zones. Part of it is in the Eastern Ranges’ region; the rest meets the Dandenong Stingrays and, further east, Gippsland Power. Your junior league can confirm which one your address belongs to.
Where can women and girls play footy in Cardinia?
5 clubs field a women’s senior side: Beaconsfield, Emerald, Gembrook Cockatoo, Officer and Pakenham. Most junior clubs also run girls’ teams — ask the club directly.
Which league do Cardinia footy clubs play in?
Most Cardinia clubs play in the Ellinbank & District Football League (4 clubs), with others in the Outer East Football & Netball (4), the West Gippsland Football Netball Competition (4) and the Southern Football Netball League (2) and more.

Turn up to round one already fit

Pick footy, tell it your Pakenham training nights — or wherever you play — and your first block and testing session are ready before you leave the car park.

One month free, then A$24.99/month. Cancel any time. iPhone and iPad.