Formation and early GCAFL years (1961–1982) , its final match as the "Magpies" and its final in the GCAFL On 22 May 1961, the Southport Australian Football Club was formed and six days later the first training session was held at
Labrador Sports Oval. It was revealed on 7 June 1961 that the club would be known on as the Southport Magpies and would wear a black and white vertical striped jumper similar to the
Collingwood Football Club. In front of 1,000 spectators, Southport played their first ever game against the
Central Football Club on 25 June 1961. Southport came out victorious in their first outing 8.10.58 to Central's 6.11.47. They would then go on to win the first ever Gold Coast Australian Football League premiership with a 13-point victory over Ipswich on 25 September 1961. With the expansion of the Gold Coast Australian Football League starting in 1962, Southport moved their home ground to
Owen Park. Southport won back-to-back premierships in the first two years of the Gold Coast Australian Football League, defeating Currumbin by 53 points to win their second premiership. Following a series of local premierships, the club applied for entry into the Queensland Australian Football League in July 1981. Twelve months later, the Queensland Australian Football League officially accepted Southport's entry application for the 1983 season. In their last game as part of the GCAFL, the Southport Magpies fell in the Grand Final to Coolangatta by 28 points. The disappointment of the Grand Final loss was short lived as the rebranding from the Southport Magpies to the Southport Sharks began. The strip was changed to a black V on a white background to avoid an identity conflict with the Sherwood Magpies (which later became the
Western Magpies). The decision as to which club would retain the "Magpies" moniker was made by the toss of a coin.
New competitions (1983–) QAFL (1983–1999) Upon entrance into the Queensland Australian Football League (QAFL), the newly formed Southport Sharks were given little chance of success against the predominantly Brisbane based competition. In their first game of the 1983 season, the Sharks walked away winners with a victory over the Western Districts. They would compile a 12–6 win–loss record during the home and away season. The Sharks going undefeated through the 1983 finals series and would win the Grand Final by 13 points over
Morningside. The Sharks would continue to prove themselves through the 80s with another three premierships added to their trophy cabinet as well as two runners-up. Early in 1989, the Sharks moved their headquarters to their current ground
Fankhauser Reserve. The club continued their dominance with an unbeaten season in 1990 but the club's financial woes were a big issue following a Grand Final loss in 1991. The club almost abandoned the QAFL late in 1991 to re-enter the Gold Coast Australian Football League, but Queensland's introduction of poker machines would secure the financial future of the Sharks. By 1995 the Sharks had reached 20,000 members began to lead the charge for a second Queensland team entering the
Australian Football League. In 1996, the Sharks made their first bid to the AFL for inclusion in the national league, which was rejected by the AFL in favour of the
Port Adelaide Football Club's elevation from the
SANFL. After which, the club continued to lobby for a licence. Following the AFL's rejection of the Sharks into the national league, the Sharks would set out to prove just how good they really were. The team would win three premierships in a row in 1997, 1998 and 1999 to finish off the millennium with success. In 1999 the Sharks were able to poach future
St Kilda Saints star
Nick Riewoldt from their cross-town rivals
Broadbeach Cats, although Riewoldt would not compete for the Sharks senior side until 2000.
New Millennium and dominance (2000–2010) The Sharks would enter the 2000 season as the raging favourites to take out a fourth consecutive premiership. Soon to be number 1
AFL draft pick
Nick Riewoldt would play a huge role in their Grand Final victory over the Northern Eagles. Riewoldt would be kept virtually touchless in the first half when matching up against future Brisbane Lions player
Jamie Charman. Riewoldt was moved to ruck and would go on to kick two goals in the Sharks Grand Final victory. The four consecutive premierships would be Southport's last taste of success for five years as the club entered a rebuilding phase. Former AFL player
Paul Dimattina pulled on the Sharks guernsey in 2005 and would lead the team to their first premiership in five years. The Sharks would continue their success with another three Grand Finals between 2006 and 2008 in which the Sharks would come away with two more premierships. In November 2010 it was announced the Sharks would be joining the newly formed
North East Australian Football League which included four AFL reserves sides and local teams spread throughout Canberra, New South Wales, Northern Territory and Queensland.
NEAFL (2011–2020) The Sharks put together a 9–9 win–loss record in the 2011 NEAFL season but missed the finals series by percentage, their first non-finals season ever. The Sharks finished the
2012 NEAFL season with a 14–4 win–loss record and were placed third on the ladder. In the qualifying final, the Sharks fell to the
Brisbane Lions reserves team but recorded their first NEAFL finals victory over Redland the following week. The Sharks faced the
Northern Territory Thunder in the preliminary finals but lost by 37 points. The club won its first and only NEAFL premiership in controversial circumstances in
2018, defeating
Sydney reserves in the Grand Final. Southport dominated the game, and led 12.4 (76) to 2.4 (16) at three-quarter time, but then accidentally sent nineteen men onto the field to start the final quarter. Sydney called for a
head count after twenty seconds and the extra man was discovered, which would traditionally have resulted in Southport's score being re-set to zero for the final quarter; however, officials determined that since the breach had an immaterial effect on the game, Southport would retain its score and the only penalty would be a free kick and fifty metre penalty, resulting in one Sydney goal. Southport went on to win 14.6 (90) to 5.5. (35).
VFL (2021–) Following the cessation of the NEAFL in
2020 during the
COVID-19 pandemic, Southport was granted entry into an expanded
Victorian Football League for the
2021 season; along with Brisbane's
Aspley, it was one of two standalone non-Victorian teams without a reserves affiliation to an
Australian Football League club; and after Aspley's departure after one season, Southport remains the only such club. The Sharks found quick success in the VFL, and has four second-placed finishes inside its first five seasons: in 2021, it was positioned second with a 9–1 record before the season was curtailed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic; in 2022, the club qualified for the grand final from third on the ladder, and was defeated by the
Casey Demons by 32 points; in 2024, the club qualified for the grand final from fifth place, and was defeated by by six points; and in 2025 the club qualified for the grand final from third on the ladder, and was defeated by the Footscray reserves by ten points. ==Rivalries==