Australian rules football in Tasmania
Encyclopedia
Australian rules football
in Tasmania
known as Football officially and locally has a history dating back to the 1860s, with the state having the distinction of being the first place outside of Victoria to play the sport
.
Despite not being represented in a national competition, it remains the most popular sport in the state, and has the second highest participation rate in the country.
and Richmond
between 1853 and 1855 significantly pre-date those recorded across Bass Strait
in suburban Melbourne
.
Sean Fagan
claims that early matches played in Tasmania may have been an early form of rugby football
, pointing to early mentions of goal posts with cross-bars and offside
rules of later Tasmanian clubs.
However apart from the fact that they were organised and played, few details of these matches actually survive and the popularity of Football in the fast growing colony of Victoria quickly eclipsed the following that the past-time had in newly named colony of Tasmania.
in 1864 is believed to be the earliest in Tasmania - but disbanded soon after. By the mid to late 1860s more stable clubs including Derwent and Stowell Football emerged.
It was not until the adoption of "Victorian Football Rules" in 1866 that Tasmanian football was properly organised and recognised and even by then some clubs may have for a brief time continued playing by their own rules.
In 1871 the Break O'Day club was formed and in 1875 the Launceston Club was created. Other clubs to start soon after were Longford (1878), Launceston Church Grammar School (1876) and Cornwall (1879), which became City in 1880.
The City and Richmond clubs were formed in 1877 and the Oatlands and Railway clubs in 1879.
New Town formally started in 1878 and along with City and Richmond formed the basis of the game in Hobart, while in Launceston the abovementioned clubs formed the basis for the NTFA
.
On 1 May 1879 members of the Tasmanian Cricket Association met and decided to form a club for their members, to be called Cricketers. They initially adopted English Association Rules (soccer) before succumbing to the pressure to play Victorian Rules.
The Tasmanian Football League
, based around Hobart, began in 1879. The Northern Tasmanian Football Association
, based around Launceston, began in 1886. The third top-level league, although not recognised as such until later, was the North West Football Union
, contested by teams on the north-western coast of the state west of Latrobe
, which began in 1910.
The leagues were small in the pre-WWI era, with only three clubs competing in the TFL and NTFA, and four in the NWFU. Intrastate games between representative teams in the leagues were a regular fixture during these years. In the 1920s, the TANFL (as the TFL was now known) and NFTA expanded to four teams apiece, and the NWFU to six.
After World War II, all leagues underwent further expansion. The TANFL switched to a district-based selection, and expanded to six clubs. The NFTA also expanded to six teams. The NWFU expanded from six teams to as many as fourteen, with a short-lived incorporation of four Circular Head-based clubs, but eventually contracted back to eight.
The local leagues were extremely popular and attracted large crowds. The TANFL Grand Final between Glenorchy and Clarence at the North Hobart Oval in 1979 attracted a record crowd of 24,968 which, although ostensibly small in comparison to mainland crowds, represented 15% of Hobart's population at the time.
, which began (officially) in 1909 as a single Grand Final game between the TANFL and NTFA premiers, for the right to be the State Premiers. The Hobart-based teams initially dominated, winning the first fourteen such contests. In 1950, the NWFU Premier was also invited to contest for the State Premiership. The final State Premiership was played in 1978.
The next attempt at statewide competition was the Winfield Statewide Cup
, a seven-week tournament played prior to the 1980 season amongst all twenty teams in the TANFL, NTFA and NWFU, plus one team from the Circular Head Football Association (Smithton
, who would join the NWFU that season). The competition was not popular with the northern clubs, who believed the organisation of the league biased towards the Hobart-based league. In response, they refused to play another Winfield Statewide Cup. Instead, the NTFA and NWFU joined to form the Greater Northern Football League
, which resembled the old Statewide Premiership format, with the winners of the individual leagues playing off for the GNFL premiership. The GNFL experiment lasted only the 1981 and 1982 seasons.
In 1986 and 1987, a true Statewide League was finally realised, when five of the northern clubs left their respective leagues to join the TANFL, renamed the TFL Statewide League: North Launceston
, East Launceston
and City-South
left the NTFA in 1986 (the latter two merging to form South Launceston
), and Devonport
and Cooee (which was renamed Burnie for the move) left the NWFU in 1987. The two northern leagues merged to form the Northern Tasmanian Football League
.
From that point, Tasmanian local football slowly dwindled as teams began to lose money. Clubs began to leave both the NTFL and the Statewide league through the 1990s, returning to local or amateur competitions with lower travel costs, or in some cases (such as the TANFL's Sandy Bay Football Club
) fold completely. Only six teams remained in the Statewide League by 2000, and after one of the most poorly attended Grand Finals in seventy years, the league folded. The clubs that survived returned to the NTFL and the newly formed Southern Football League.
was formed in 2001 and admitted into the Victorian Football League
in its inaugural year. The team played home games in Launceston, Hobart, Ulverstone, Burnie and Devonport during its time in the league. The Devils attracted a strong following in comparison with many other VFL clubs at the time.
From 2005 until 2007, Tasmania was one of two VFL clubs to which the AFL's North Melbourne Football Club
was affiliated, meaning that up to six of North Melbourne's reserve players would play for Tasmania. The Devils were wound up at the conclusion of the 2008 season in order to make room for the return of the TFL in 2009.
made a return in 2009. Ten teams are represented: from the south, North Hobart, Glenorchy
, Hobart
, Clarence
, Lauderdale
; and from the north, Launceston
, North Launceston
, South Launceston
, Burnie and Devonport
. All clubs except for Lauderdale had at some stage been part of the original Statewide League.
, before being incorporated into the Allies representative team.
. But, with the relocation of the Sydney Swans
and admission of teams from Perth
, Brisbane
and Adelaide
, Tasmania began a push to enter the national competition.
Between 1996 and 1998 a bid
was prepared that involved the construction of a 30,000-capacity stadium in the Hobart showgrounds in Glenorchy
, at the cost of $34 million. The stadium would have been the team's only home ground, but the appeal was unsuccessful and the stadium was not built.
On several occasions the AFL has dismissed notions of admitting a Tasmanian side into the national competition, frequently citing a relatively small state population and a lack of sponsorship interest. The intrastate rivalry Hobart and Launceston
about where a home ground would be located has also contributed to problematic bids.
A government-backed Tasmanian bid
was prepared in response to the AFL admitting new licences for the Gold Coast and Western Sydney for the 2010 and 2011 seasons. While the AFL admitted that the state had put together a stronger business case, it was once again rejected by the league. AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou
was quoted to have said to the Tasmanian premier Paul Lennon
"Not now, not ever". Hobart's major daily newspaper The Mercury started a petition in response to this news on 16 April 2008. The premier vowed to bypass the AFL CEO and take the appeal directly to the AFL Commission
.
On 30 July, the Tasmanian government announced that it had secured a major sponsor, Mars
for the bid in a deal worth $4 million over 3 years. It was long doubted by the AFL that the Tasmanian club would secure corporate interest before a proposal is accepted by the AFL and this announcement came as a major shock as it was before a sponsor could be found for either the Gold Coast or Western Sydney Clubs and as AFL clubs Richmond
and Western Bulldogs
was left without a major sponsor for 2009. In addition to the Gemba financial audit of the bid to meet the AFL criteria, the Tasmania team had secured more than 20,000 potential members, ahead of the Gold Coast and Western Sydney bid in raw numbers.
It was not unusual for teams from the mainland leagues to play exhibition games in Tasmania during the early years. More recently Melbourne-based teams from the AFL
have entered into deals to play home-and-away games in Tasmania. The Fitzroy Football Club
was the first to do so, playing two home games at North Hobart Oval
in each of 1991 and 1992. The Hawthorn Football Club
and St Kilda Football Club both began playing home matches in Launceston at York Park
(later known as Aurora Stadium) in 2001, supported by the Tasmanian government in an attempt to build a local following and leave open a possibility of future relocation. St Kilda ended its arrangement after 2006, but Hawthorn continues to play four home matches in Launceston each year. Crowds for these matches average around 15,000-20,000 per match.
The North Melbourne Football Club
has confirmed that it will play two games per year in Hobart at Bellerive Oval
starting from 2012.
.
legends: St Kilda and Latrobe premiership captain and three-time Wander Medallist Darrel Baldock
, dual Leitch Medallist and twelve-time league goalkicking champion Peter Hudson
and three-time Brownlow Medallist Ian Stewart
.
Other players from Tasmania include Hall of Fame inductees Royce Hart
, Vic Belcher
, Horrie Gorringe
and Laurie Nash
; and others including Grant Birchall
, Matthew Richardson
, Darrin Pritchard
, Viv Valentine
, George Vautin
, Arthur Hodgson
, Rodney Eade
, John McCarthy, Michael Gale
, Brendon Gale
, Alastair Lynch
, Adrian Fletcher
, Simon Atkins
, Claude Bryan
, Jack Cashman
, Jack Gardiner
, Pat Hartnett
, Fred Pringle
, Alan Scott
, Ted Terry
, Ted McDonald
, George Challis
, Athol Webb
, Brad Green
, Brady Rawlings
, Jack Riewoldt
, Russell Robertson
, Jade Rawlings
, Brodie Holland
, Ray Stokes
, John Bingley
, James Manson
, Doug Barwick
, Graham Wright
, Peter Jones
, David Neitz
, Nick Riewoldt
and Garry Lyon
.
A combined state team usually plays other state competitions around Australia, such as AFL Queensland
in 2007, 2009, and 2010.
for Aussie Rules in Tasmania is AFL Tasmania
.
In 2009 the three main community football leagues The Northern Tasmanian Football League
, Northern Tasmanian Football Association, and the Southern Football League
established the Tasmanian Football Council which is a united body that represents community Footballs interests in the state. The council has membership with the Australian Amateur Football Council
.
Current Tasmanian Football League
Clubs
and Statewide League Clubs
Former Northern Tasmanian Football Association
Clubs
Former North West Football Union
Clubs
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
in Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
known as Football officially and locally has a history dating back to the 1860s, with the state having the distinction of being the first place outside of Victoria to play the sport
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
.
Despite not being represented in a national competition, it remains the most popular sport in the state, and has the second highest participation rate in the country.
The 1850s
Organised "Foot-ball" matches have been recorded in Van Diemens Land since 1851 and matches in southern Tasmanian towns of HobartHobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
and Richmond
Richmond, Tasmania
Richmond is a town in Tasmania about 25 km north-east of Hobart, in the Coal River region, between the Midland Highway and Tasman Highway. At the 2006 census, Richmond had a population of 880....
between 1853 and 1855 significantly pre-date those recorded across Bass Strait
Bass Strait
Bass Strait is a sea strait separating Tasmania from the south of the Australian mainland, specifically the state of Victoria.-Extent:The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Bass Strait as follows:...
in suburban Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
.
Sean Fagan
Sean Fagan
Sean Patrick Fagan is a Sydney, Australia based sports historian, author and journalist, specialising in early Australian history and particular the origins and local development of the popular football codes in Australia. He has written articles for Australian national daily newspapers, numerous...
claims that early matches played in Tasmania may have been an early form of rugby football
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
, pointing to early mentions of goal posts with cross-bars and offside
Offside (sport)
Offside is a rule used by several different team sports regulating aspects of player positioning. It is particularly used in field sports with rules deriving from the various codes of football, such as association football, rugby and field hockey, as well as in ice hockey.Offside rules are...
rules of later Tasmanian clubs.
However apart from the fact that they were organised and played, few details of these matches actually survive and the popularity of Football in the fast growing colony of Victoria quickly eclipsed the following that the past-time had in newly named colony of Tasmania.
The First Clubs
The "football" club formed in New TownNew Town, Tasmania
New Town is a suburb of the city of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, located about 4 km north of the central business district of Hobart. One of the city's oldest suburbs, it is now an inner city residential suburb. Many of its streets are lined with Federation style cottages...
in 1864 is believed to be the earliest in Tasmania - but disbanded soon after. By the mid to late 1860s more stable clubs including Derwent and Stowell Football emerged.
It was not until the adoption of "Victorian Football Rules" in 1866 that Tasmanian football was properly organised and recognised and even by then some clubs may have for a brief time continued playing by their own rules.
In 1871 the Break O'Day club was formed and in 1875 the Launceston Club was created. Other clubs to start soon after were Longford (1878), Launceston Church Grammar School (1876) and Cornwall (1879), which became City in 1880.
The City and Richmond clubs were formed in 1877 and the Oatlands and Railway clubs in 1879.
New Town formally started in 1878 and along with City and Richmond formed the basis of the game in Hobart, while in Launceston the abovementioned clubs formed the basis for the NTFA
Northern Tasmanian Football Association (1886 - 1986)
The Northern Tasmanian Football Association was an Australian rules football competition which ran from 1886 to 1986. In its time it was one of the three main leagues in Tasmania, with the Tasmanian Football League and North West Football Union representing the rest of the state...
.
On 1 May 1879 members of the Tasmanian Cricket Association met and decided to form a club for their members, to be called Cricketers. They initially adopted English Association Rules (soccer) before succumbing to the pressure to play Victorian Rules.
Local leagues
The history of local Tasmanian football differs considerably from any of the mainland states. Whereas mainland states had a major population centre around which a single dominant league was based, Tasmania's population was more evenly distributed. The consequences of this on Tasmanian football history are three-fold: firstly, a strong intrastate rivalry not noted in any mainland state; secondly, three different top-level football leagues in different regions of the state; and thirdly, the ability for teams representing very small towns to be competitive in the top leagues.The Tasmanian Football League
Tasmanian Football League
Tasmanian State League is the highest ranked Australian rules football league in Tasmania, Australia.The league has a long and convoluted history which dates back to its founding on 12 June 1879 Tasmanian State League (TSL) (formerly known as the Tasmanian Football League (TFL), Tasmanian...
, based around Hobart, began in 1879. The Northern Tasmanian Football Association
Northern Tasmanian Football Association (1886 - 1986)
The Northern Tasmanian Football Association was an Australian rules football competition which ran from 1886 to 1986. In its time it was one of the three main leagues in Tasmania, with the Tasmanian Football League and North West Football Union representing the rest of the state...
, based around Launceston, began in 1886. The third top-level league, although not recognised as such until later, was the North West Football Union
North West Football Union
The North West Football Union was an Australian rules football competition which ran from 1910 to 1986. In its time it was one of the three main leagues in Tasmania, with the Tasmanian Football League and Northern Tasmanian Football Association representing the rest of the state...
, contested by teams on the north-western coast of the state west of Latrobe
Latrobe, Tasmania
Latrobe is a town in northern Tasmania, Australia, situated on the Mersey River. It lies 8 km south-east of Devonport on the Bass Highway. It is main centre of the Latrobe Council. At the 2006 census, Latrobe had a population of 2,843....
, which began in 1910.
The leagues were small in the pre-WWI era, with only three clubs competing in the TFL and NTFA, and four in the NWFU. Intrastate games between representative teams in the leagues were a regular fixture during these years. In the 1920s, the TANFL (as the TFL was now known) and NFTA expanded to four teams apiece, and the NWFU to six.
After World War II, all leagues underwent further expansion. The TANFL switched to a district-based selection, and expanded to six clubs. The NFTA also expanded to six teams. The NWFU expanded from six teams to as many as fourteen, with a short-lived incorporation of four Circular Head-based clubs, but eventually contracted back to eight.
The local leagues were extremely popular and attracted large crowds. The TANFL Grand Final between Glenorchy and Clarence at the North Hobart Oval in 1979 attracted a record crowd of 24,968 which, although ostensibly small in comparison to mainland crowds, represented 15% of Hobart's population at the time.
Statewide Competition
There were always attempts made to somehow consolidate the major Tasmanian leagues into one statewide competition. The earliest and longest-lasting was the Tasmanian State PremiershipTasmanian State Premiership
The Tasmanian State Premiership was an Australian rules football tournament which was competed originally between the reigning TFL/TANFL and NTFA premiers, with the NWFU joining in from 1954....
, which began (officially) in 1909 as a single Grand Final game between the TANFL and NTFA premiers, for the right to be the State Premiers. The Hobart-based teams initially dominated, winning the first fourteen such contests. In 1950, the NWFU Premier was also invited to contest for the State Premiership. The final State Premiership was played in 1978.
The next attempt at statewide competition was the Winfield Statewide Cup
Winfield Statewide Cup
The Winfield Statewide Cup was an Australian rules football tournament held in Tasmania, Australia between the top twenty-one major football clubs across Tasmania from the three major footballing bodies across the state , the TANFL, the NTFA and the NWFU.The tournament was played in a five round...
, a seven-week tournament played prior to the 1980 season amongst all twenty teams in the TANFL, NTFA and NWFU, plus one team from the Circular Head Football Association (Smithton
Smithton Football Club
The Smithton Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Northern Tasmanian Football League. They competed in the North West Football Union in two different stints, from 1949 to 1951 and then 1980 to 1986...
, who would join the NWFU that season). The competition was not popular with the northern clubs, who believed the organisation of the league biased towards the Hobart-based league. In response, they refused to play another Winfield Statewide Cup. Instead, the NTFA and NWFU joined to form the Greater Northern Football League
Greater Northern Football League
The Greater Northern Football League was an Australian rules football competition played between the fifteen major football clubs across Northern Tasmania from the two major footballing bodies across the north of the state, the Northern Tasmanian Football Association , and the North West Football...
, which resembled the old Statewide Premiership format, with the winners of the individual leagues playing off for the GNFL premiership. The GNFL experiment lasted only the 1981 and 1982 seasons.
In 1986 and 1987, a true Statewide League was finally realised, when five of the northern clubs left their respective leagues to join the TANFL, renamed the TFL Statewide League: North Launceston
North Launceston Football Club
The North Launceston Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Launceston, Tasmania. Australia. Since 2009 they have played in the newly formed Tasmanian State League.-History:...
, East Launceston
East Launceston Football Club
The East Launceston Football Club was an Australian rules football club based in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia.The club was founded in 1948 as Cornwall Football Club and participated with limited success during its 38-year tenure in the Northern Tasman Football Association competition...
and City-South
South Launceston Football Club
The South Launceston Football Club is an Australian rules football club currently competing in the Tasmanian Football League. They were formed through a merger between City-South and East Launceston in 1986, former Northern Tasmanian Football Association clubs...
left the NTFA in 1986 (the latter two merging to form South Launceston
South Launceston Football Club
The South Launceston Football Club is an Australian rules football club currently competing in the Tasmanian Football League. They were formed through a merger between City-South and East Launceston in 1986, former Northern Tasmanian Football Association clubs...
), and Devonport
Devonport Football Club
Devonport Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Devonport, Tasmania. The club previously competed in the Northern Tasmanian Football League but from 2009 it joined the newly reformed Tasmanian State League....
and Cooee (which was renamed Burnie for the move) left the NWFU in 1987. The two northern leagues merged to form the Northern Tasmanian Football League
Northern Tasmanian Football League
The Northern Tasmanian Football League is an Australian rules football competition in northern Tasmania.-History:The Northern Tasmanian Football League was founded in 1987 to replace the former Northern Tasmanian Football Association - no relation to the current NTFA - and the North Western...
.
From that point, Tasmanian local football slowly dwindled as teams began to lose money. Clubs began to leave both the NTFL and the Statewide league through the 1990s, returning to local or amateur competitions with lower travel costs, or in some cases (such as the TANFL's Sandy Bay Football Club
Sandy Bay Football Club
The Sandy Bay Football Club was an Australian rules football club based in Sandy Bay, Tasmania, Australia that participated in the Tasmanian Football League from 1945 to 1997.-Club History:...
) fold completely. Only six teams remained in the Statewide League by 2000, and after one of the most poorly attended Grand Finals in seventy years, the league folded. The clubs that survived returned to the NTFL and the newly formed Southern Football League.
The Tasmanian Devils and the VFL
Upon the disbanding of the TFL in 2000, the Tasmanian Devils Football ClubTasmanian Devils Football Club
Tasmania Football Club, nicknamed The Devils, was an Australian rules football club which competed in the Victorian Football League in Australia. Formed in 2001, it was the youngest and the only non-Victorian club in the league. The club was based in the state of Tasmania at Bellerive Oval and was...
was formed in 2001 and admitted into the Victorian Football League
Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association , taking its new name as from the 1996 season, is the premier Australian rules football league in Victoria The Victorian Football League (VFL) which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association...
in its inaugural year. The team played home games in Launceston, Hobart, Ulverstone, Burnie and Devonport during its time in the league. The Devils attracted a strong following in comparison with many other VFL clubs at the time.
From 2005 until 2007, Tasmania was one of two VFL clubs to which the AFL's North Melbourne Football Club
North Melbourne Football Club
The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world...
was affiliated, meaning that up to six of North Melbourne's reserve players would play for Tasmania. The Devils were wound up at the conclusion of the 2008 season in order to make room for the return of the TFL in 2009.
The Return of the Statewide League
After an eight-year absence, the Tasmanian Football LeagueTasmanian Football League
Tasmanian State League is the highest ranked Australian rules football league in Tasmania, Australia.The league has a long and convoluted history which dates back to its founding on 12 June 1879 Tasmanian State League (TSL) (formerly known as the Tasmanian Football League (TFL), Tasmanian...
made a return in 2009. Ten teams are represented: from the south, North Hobart, Glenorchy
Glenorchy Football Club
The Glenorchy District Football Club is an Australian rules football club currently playing in the Tasmanian State League and the Southern Football League in Tasmania, Australia.-Origins:...
, Hobart
Hobart Football Club
Hobart Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Hobart, Tasmania. They play their home fixtures at the TCA Ground on the Queens Domain, in Hobart and from 2009, the club has been a member of the Tasmanian State League.- Club history :...
, Clarence
Clarence Football Club
The Clarence Football Club, nicknamed the Kangaroos , is an Australian rules football club playing in the Tasmanian State League, based in Bellerive, Tasmania.Before 1903, they existed as Bellerive Football Club....
, Lauderdale
Lauderdale Football Club
Lauderdale Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in the Hobart, beachside suburb of Lauderdale.-History:The Lauderdale Football Club was formed in 1948 and were known as the Lauderdale Cats until 2004 when Australian Football League team Essendon Bombers aligned with Lauderdale,...
; and from the north, Launceston
Launceston Football Club
The Launceston Football Club is an Australian rules football club, located in the West Tamar suburb of Riverside, seven kilometres north of the Launceston CBD and currently play in the Tasmanian State League in Tasmania, Australia.-History:...
, North Launceston
North Launceston Football Club
The North Launceston Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Launceston, Tasmania. Australia. Since 2009 they have played in the newly formed Tasmanian State League.-History:...
, South Launceston
South Launceston Football Club
The South Launceston Football Club is an Australian rules football club currently competing in the Tasmanian Football League. They were formed through a merger between City-South and East Launceston in 1986, former Northern Tasmanian Football Association clubs...
, Burnie and Devonport
Devonport Football Club
Devonport Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Devonport, Tasmania. The club previously competed in the Northern Tasmanian Football League but from 2009 it joined the newly reformed Tasmanian State League....
. All clubs except for Lauderdale had at some stage been part of the original Statewide League.
Interstate Competition
Tasmania was a strong competitor in early Interstate matches in Australian rules footballInterstate matches in Australian rules football
Australian rules football matches between teams representing Australian colonies/states and territories have been held since 1879. For most of the 20th century, the absence of a national club competition and international matches meant that football games between state representative teams were...
, before being incorporated into the Allies representative team.
Tasmanian VFL/AFL Bids
With a historically strong supporter base for Australian rules football, one of the highest participation rates in the country and strong local leagues, Tasmania had held back from expressing serious interest in the VFLAustralian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
. But, with the relocation of the Sydney Swans
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
and admission of teams from Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
and Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, Tasmania began a push to enter the national competition.
Between 1996 and 1998 a bid
Tasmanian AFL Bid
The bid to establish an Australian Football League team in the state of Tasmania has been ongoing, with fluctuating levels of support, since the then-Victorian Football League began its national expansion in the 1980s and 1990s....
was prepared that involved the construction of a 30,000-capacity stadium in the Hobart showgrounds in Glenorchy
Glenorchy, Tasmania
Glenorchy is a business district and suburb in the northern part of greater Hobart, capital of the state of Tasmania, Australia. The land was originally used for agriculture but is now a largely suburban, working-class area...
, at the cost of $34 million. The stadium would have been the team's only home ground, but the appeal was unsuccessful and the stadium was not built.
On several occasions the AFL has dismissed notions of admitting a Tasmanian side into the national competition, frequently citing a relatively small state population and a lack of sponsorship interest. The intrastate rivalry Hobart and Launceston
Launceston, Tasmania
Launceston is a city in the north of the state of Tasmania, Australia at the junction of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River. Launceston is the second largest city in Tasmania after the state capital Hobart...
about where a home ground would be located has also contributed to problematic bids.
A government-backed Tasmanian bid
Tasmanian AFL Bid
The bid to establish an Australian Football League team in the state of Tasmania has been ongoing, with fluctuating levels of support, since the then-Victorian Football League began its national expansion in the 1980s and 1990s....
was prepared in response to the AFL admitting new licences for the Gold Coast and Western Sydney for the 2010 and 2011 seasons. While the AFL admitted that the state had put together a stronger business case, it was once again rejected by the league. AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou
Andrew Demetriou
Andrew Demetriou is the chief executive officer of the Australian Football League and a former Australian rules footballer. He is the youngest son of Greek-Cypriot immigrants and, before becoming a VFL player, he worked in the dental import industry...
was quoted to have said to the Tasmanian premier Paul Lennon
Paul Lennon
Paul Anthony Lennon is an Australian Labor Party politician. He was Premier of Tasmania from 21 March 2004 until his resignation on 26 May 2008. He was member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly for the seat of Franklin from 1990 until officially resigning on 27 May 2008...
"Not now, not ever". Hobart's major daily newspaper The Mercury started a petition in response to this news on 16 April 2008. The premier vowed to bypass the AFL CEO and take the appeal directly to the AFL Commission
AFL Commission
The AFL Commission is the official governing body of the Australian Football League , the elite national Australian rules football competition....
.
On 30 July, the Tasmanian government announced that it had secured a major sponsor, Mars
Mars, Incorporated
Mars, Incorporated is a worldwide manufacturer of confectionery, pet food, and other food products with US$30 billion in annual sales in 2010, and is ranked as the 5th largest privately held company in the United States by Forbes. Headquartered in McLean, unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia,...
for the bid in a deal worth $4 million over 3 years. It was long doubted by the AFL that the Tasmanian club would secure corporate interest before a proposal is accepted by the AFL and this announcement came as a major shock as it was before a sponsor could be found for either the Gold Coast or Western Sydney Clubs and as AFL clubs Richmond
Richmond Football Club
The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,...
and Western Bulldogs
Western Bulldogs
The Western Bulldogs are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based at the Whitten Oval in West Footscray, an inner-western suburb of Melbourne...
was left without a major sponsor for 2009. In addition to the Gemba financial audit of the bid to meet the AFL criteria, the Tasmania team had secured more than 20,000 potential members, ahead of the Gold Coast and Western Sydney bid in raw numbers.
AFL Matches
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
have entered into deals to play home-and-away games in Tasmania. The Fitzroy Football Club
Fitzroy Football Club
The Fitzroy Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Lions, is an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League on its inception in 1897...
was the first to do so, playing two home games at North Hobart Oval
North Hobart Oval
North Hobart Oval is a sports venue in North Hobart, Tasmania, used for Australian rules football.-History:North Hobart Oval started its existence as Hobart Town's brickfields in 1844 before becoming a convict women's housing site, an immigration depot and an invalid persons' depot before closing...
in each of 1991 and 1992. The Hawthorn Football Club
Hawthorn Football Club
The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League . The club, founded in 1902, is the youngest of the Victorian-based teams in the AFL. The team play in Brown & Gold vertically striped guernseys...
and St Kilda Football Club both began playing home matches in Launceston at York Park
Aurora Stadium
York Park is a sports ground in the Inveresk and York Park Precinct, Launceston, Australia. Holding 20,000 people—more than any other stadium in Tasmania—York Park has been known as Aurora Stadium under a six-year naming rights agreement signed with Aurora Energy in 2004...
(later known as Aurora Stadium) in 2001, supported by the Tasmanian government in an attempt to build a local following and leave open a possibility of future relocation. St Kilda ended its arrangement after 2006, but Hawthorn continues to play four home matches in Launceston each year. Crowds for these matches average around 15,000-20,000 per match.
The North Melbourne Football Club
North Melbourne Football Club
The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world...
has confirmed that it will play two games per year in Hobart at Bellerive Oval
Bellerive Oval
Bellerive Oval, also known as its sponsored name Blundstone Arena, is primarily a cricket and Australian Rules Football ground located in Bellerive, City of Clarence, on the eastern shore of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia...
starting from 2012.
Participation
In 2007, there were 4,500 senior players and a total of 32,138 participants in Aussie Rules in Tasmania. A total participation per capita of 5% is the second-highest participation in the country, behind the Northern TerritoryNorthern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
.
Attendance Record
- 24,968 (1979). TFLTasmanian Football LeagueTasmanian State League is the highest ranked Australian rules football league in Tasmania, Australia.The league has a long and convoluted history which dates back to its founding on 12 June 1879 Tasmanian State League (TSL) (formerly known as the Tasmanian Football League (TFL), Tasmanian...
Grand FinalGrand FinalGrand Final is a predominantly Australian sport term used to describe a match that decides a league champion.It originated in Victoria and South Australia and has become specifically significant Australian culture...
GlenorchyGlenorchy Football ClubThe Glenorchy District Football Club is an Australian rules football club currently playing in the Tasmanian State League and the Southern Football League in Tasmania, Australia.-Origins:...
v ClarenceClarence Football ClubThe Clarence Football Club, nicknamed the Kangaroos , is an Australian rules football club playing in the Tasmanian State League, based in Bellerive, Tasmania.Before 1903, they existed as Bellerive Football Club....
(North Hobart OvalNorth Hobart OvalNorth Hobart Oval is a sports venue in North Hobart, Tasmania, used for Australian rules football.-History:North Hobart Oval started its existence as Hobart Town's brickfields in 1844 before becoming a convict women's housing site, an immigration depot and an invalid persons' depot before closing...
, HobartHobartHobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
)
Major Australian Rules Events in Tasmania
- Australian Football LeagueAustralian Football LeagueThe Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
Premiership Season (Hawks 'home' games) - Tasmanian State League Grand Final
- Southern Football LeagueSouthern Football LeagueThe Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales...
Grand Final - Northern Tasmanian Football LeagueNorthern Tasmanian Football LeagueThe Northern Tasmanian Football League is an Australian rules football competition in northern Tasmania.-History:The Northern Tasmanian Football League was founded in 1987 to replace the former Northern Tasmanian Football Association - no relation to the current NTFA - and the North Western...
Grand Final
Tasmanian Football Team of the Century
In 2004 the Board of Management of AFL Tasmania named a Team of the Century for the state. It had 18 on field and seven interchange players as well as an umpire, coach and assistant coach.- Assistant Coach -Robert ShawRobert Shaw (footballer)Robert Shaw is a former Australian rules footballer with the Essendon Football Club and coach in the VFL/AFL with the Fitzroy and Adelaide Football Clubs...
- Umpire - Scott JefferyScott JefferyScott Jeffery is an Australian rules football field umpire in the Australian Football League. He has umpired 106 career games in the AFL.In April 2011 Jeffery made a controversial ruling in the final minutes of the match between St Kilda and Richmond that ended in a draw.Under pressure from St...
Notable Tasmanian Players
Tasmania has supplied over 300 players to the elite level, including three Australian Football Hall of FameAustralian Football Hall of Fame
The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the Centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media personalities, coaches and administrators. It was initially established...
legends: St Kilda and Latrobe premiership captain and three-time Wander Medallist Darrel Baldock
Darrel Baldock
Darrel John Baldock , commonly nicknamed "The Doc" and "Mr Magic", was an Australian rules football player and state politician who in 1966 was the first captain of a premiership-winning St Kilda Football Club. Baldock was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame as a "Legend"...
, dual Leitch Medallist and twelve-time league goalkicking champion Peter Hudson
Peter Hudson
Peter John Hudson AM is a former Australian Rules Football player, considered one of the greatest full-forwards in the game's history....
and three-time Brownlow Medallist Ian Stewart
Ian Stewart (Australian rules footballer)
Ian Harlow Stewart , son of Aldo Liberale Cervi and Anita Cervi who separated three years after his birth, is a former Australian rules footballer with Hobart in the Tasmanian Football League , and in the Victorian Football League with St Kilda and Richmond...
.
Other players from Tasmania include Hall of Fame inductees Royce Hart
Royce Hart
Royce Desmond Hart is a former Australian rules football player and coach who played for the Richmond Football Club in the Victorian Football League between 1967 and 1977, and coached Footscray between 1980 and 1982.Hart was a supremely gifted, determined player who was acknowledged by all in his...
, Vic Belcher
Vic Belcher
Vic Belcher was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League.Belcher was a tireless ruckman for the South Melbourne Football Club who could also play in a key position...
, Horrie Gorringe
Horrie Gorringe
Horace Charles "Horrie" Gorringe was a Tasmanian Australian rules football player, considered one of the greatest Australian rules football rovers in the game's history.Horrie Gorringe was born on 4 July 1895 and died on 17 July 1994, aged 99....
and Laurie Nash
Laurie Nash
Laurence John "Laurie" Nash was a Test cricketer and Australian rules footballer. An inductee into the Australian Football Hall of Fame, Nash was a member of South Melbourne's 1933 premiership team, captained South Melbourne in 1937 and was the team's leading goal kicker in 1937 and 1945...
; and others including Grant Birchall
Grant Birchall
Grant Birchall is an Australian rules football player for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League.Birchall had an exceptional first season in 2006 with the Hawthorn, playing 16 games out of a possible 22...
, Matthew Richardson
Matthew Richardson (Australian rules footballer)
Matthew "Richo" Richardson , is a retired professional Australian rules footballer who played for Richmond in the Australian Football League...
, Darrin Pritchard
Darrin Pritchard
Darrin Pritchard is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Hawthorn in the Australian Football League.Pritchard played in 3 VFL/AFL Premierships with Hawthorn in 1988, 1989 and 1991...
, Viv Valentine
Viv Valentine
Viv Valentine is a former Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League.Valentine made his debut for the Carlton Football Club in Round 2 of the 1911 season....
, George Vautin
George Vautin
George James Phillips Vautin was an Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon in the Victorian Football League . He was born at Orielton, Tasmania and died at West Preston, Victoria....
, Arthur Hodgson
Arthur Hodgson
Sir Arthur Hodgson KCMG was an Australian pioneer and politician.-Early life:Hodgson was born in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, England; the second son of the Rev. Edward Hodgson and his third wife Charlotte, daughter of Francis William Pemberton of Bombay, India...
, Rodney Eade
Rodney Eade
Rodney "Rocket" Eade is a former Australian rules footballer and the former coach of the Sydney Swans and Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League...
, John McCarthy, Michael Gale
Michael Gale
Michael Gale is a former Australian rules football player who played in the VFL/AFL between 1985 and 1993 for the Fitzroy Football Club and then from 1994 to 1998 for the Richmond Football Club....
, Brendon Gale
Brendon Gale
Brendon 'Benny' Gale is an influential Australian rules football sports administrator and former player from the Australian Football League....
, Alastair Lynch
Alastair Lynch
Alastair Graeme Lynch is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League . He is best known as a three time premiership full-forward for the Brisbane Lions....
, Adrian Fletcher
Adrian Fletcher
Adrian Fletcher is a former Australian rules footballer and current assistant coach. He is regarded as one of football's nomads, having played for five Australian Football League clubs in his 13 year career...
, Simon Atkins
Simon Atkins
Simon Atkins was an Australian rules football player who played with Footscray from 1987 to 1994, before joining Fitzroy in its last two seasons as a club in its own right . Atkins and his twin brother Paul were recruited from Wynyard Football Club in Tasmania...
, Claude Bryan
Claude Bryan
Dr. Claude Vivian Joseph Bryan was an Australian rules footballer who played with University and Melbourne in the Victorian Football League . He played with Cananore in the TFL both before and after his VFL career. Bryan also represented Tasmania at the 1911 Adelaide...
, Jack Cashman
Jack Cashman
Jack Cashman was an Australian rules footballer who played for Fitzroy and Carlton in the Victorian Football League .Cashman was used during his career mostly as a ruckman and forward...
, Jack Gardiner
Jack Gardiner
John Carlton 'Jack' Gardiner was an Australian rules footballer who played for Carlton and Melbourne in the Victorian Football League . He then became a successful coach in the Tasmanian Football League....
, Pat Hartnett
Pat Hartnett (footballer)
Pat Hartnett was an Australian rules footballer who played for St Kilda in the Victorian Football League during the 1930s.Hartnett came to St Kilda from North Launceston in Tasmania and returned to that club after just one VFL season. He then played with Cananore before trying again at St Kilda...
, Fred Pringle
Fred Pringle
Frederick Neville 'Fred' Pringle was an Australian rules footballer who played for Cananore in the Tasmanian Football League and Carlton in the Victorian Football League during the 1920s....
, Alan Scott
Alan G. Scott
Alan G. Scott was an Australian rules footballer who played for St Kilda in the Victorian Football League...
, Ted Terry
Ted Terry
Edward Richard "Ted" Terry was an outstanding all-round Tasmanian schoolboy athlete.He was an accomplished professional sprinter, and he also played Australian rules football in Tasmania before moving to the mainland and playing with St Kilda in the VFL, and with Prahran in the Victorian Football...
, Ted McDonald
Ted McDonald
Edgar Arthur "Ted" McDonald was a cricketer who played for Tasmania, Victoria, Lancashire and Australia, as well as being an Australian rules footballer who played with Launceston Football Club, Essendon Football Club, and Fitzroy Football Club.A very fast bowler with the...
, George Challis
George Challis (Australian rules footballer)
George David Challis was an Australian rules footballer who played for Carlton in the Victorian Football League during the early 1910s....
, Athol Webb
Athol Webb
Athol Webb is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Melbourne in the Victorian Football League during the late 1950s....
, Brad Green
Brad Green (footballer)
Brad Green is a professional Australian rules football player and the current captain of the Melbourne Football Club's in the Australian Football League .-Early life:...
, Brady Rawlings
Brady Rawlings
Brady Rawlings is a former Australian rules footballer who played 245 games for the Kangaroos.He is the younger brother of former AFL footballer, and Richmond 2009 caretaker coach, Jade. Rawlings was recruited to the Kangaroos in the 1998 AFL Draft, with the 15th selection...
, Jack Riewoldt
Jack Riewoldt
Jack Riewoldt is a professional Australian rules footballer currently playing for Richmond in the Australian Football League.-Early life:Riewoldt was born in Hobart, Tasmania to parents Chris and Lesley Riewoldt. He has two younger brothers, Harry and Charlie Riewoldt. He is the cousin of Nick...
, Russell Robertson
Russell Robertson
Russell "Robbo" Robertson is a professional Australian rules footballer, who last played for the Melbourne Football Club....
, Jade Rawlings
Jade Rawlings
Jade Rawlings was the caretaker coach of the Richmond Tigers Football Club, and is a former Australian rules footballer who played in the AFL with the Hawthorn, Western Bulldogs and the North Melbourne Football Clubs....
, Brodie Holland
Brodie Holland
Brodie Holland is a former professional Australian rules footballer best known for his playing days at the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League....
, Ray Stokes
Ray Stokes
Raymond Gordon Stokes is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Richmond in the Victorian Football League ....
, John Bingley
John Bingley
John Bingley is a former Australian rules footballer who played for St Kilda in the Victorian Football League. Despite playing only 8 games in his career he was a member of the Saints premiership winning side in 1966, with the Grand Final being his last appearance.-External links:...
, James Manson
James Manson
James Manson is a former Australian rules footballer who played in the VFL/AFL.From North Hobart, Tasmania, Manson provided some great assets to a fighting Collingwood Magpies. Manson stood at 194 cm and was solidly built with a great overhead mark thanks to his great hands...
, Doug Barwick
Doug Barwick
Doug Barwick is a former Australian rules footballer who represented Fitzroy and Collingwood in the Australian Football League....
, Graham Wright
Graham Wright
Graham Wright is a former Australian rules footballer, in the Australian Football League.Wright was selected by Collingwood in the 1987 National Draft with their first round pick as a quick wingman, having shown great courage for Tasmanian side East Devonport...
, Peter Jones
Peter Jones (Australian rules footballer)
Peter Kevin "Percy" Jones , the son of Kevin and Mollie Jones , is a former Australian rules footballer who played 249 games for the Carlton Blues in the VFL...
, David Neitz
David Neitz
David Neitz , nicknamed Neita, is a retired Australian rules footballer. The strongly built centre half back who became a full forward was the longest-serving captain in the history of the Melbourne Football Club and the first Melbourne player to achieve the 300-game milestone.Neitz was born in...
, Nick Riewoldt
Nick Riewoldt
Nick Riewoldt is an Australian rules footballer who is the current captain of the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League . He was the first draft selection in the 2000 AFL Draft.-Early life:...
and Garry Lyon
Garry Lyon
Garry Peter Lyon is a former professional Australian rules football player and was captain of the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League. Since his retirement from football, he has been mainly an Australian rules football media personality, featuring on television, radio and in...
.
Representative Side
The Tasmanian representative team have played State of Origin test matches against all other Australian states. They still play at U19 level.- See Also Interstate matches in Australian rules footballInterstate matches in Australian rules footballAustralian rules football matches between teams representing Australian colonies/states and territories have been held since 1879. For most of the 20th century, the absence of a national club competition and international matches meant that football games between state representative teams were...
A combined state team usually plays other state competitions around Australia, such as AFL Queensland
Queensland Australian Football League
The Queensland Australian Football League was an Australian rules football competition for clubs from South East Queensland.Up until 2010, the QAFL was the premier semi-professional competition in Queensland, with salary cap rules and regulations in place.It was previously known as the Queensland...
in 2007, 2009, and 2010.
Governing body
The governing bodySport governing body
A sport governing body is a sports organization that has a regulatory or sanctioning function. Sport governing bodies come in various forms, and have a variety of regulatory functions. Examples of this can include disciplinary action for rule infractions and deciding on rule changes in the sport...
for Aussie Rules in Tasmania is AFL Tasmania
AFL Tasmania
AFL Tasmania is the governing body for Australian rules football in Tasmania.The organisation is responsible for game development in the state. The organisation recently became affiliated with the Australian Football League and was formerly known as Football Tasmania.The body is responsible for...
.
In 2009 the three main community football leagues The Northern Tasmanian Football League
Northern Tasmanian Football League
The Northern Tasmanian Football League is an Australian rules football competition in northern Tasmania.-History:The Northern Tasmanian Football League was founded in 1987 to replace the former Northern Tasmanian Football Association - no relation to the current NTFA - and the North Western...
, Northern Tasmanian Football Association, and the Southern Football League
Southern Football League (Tasmania)
The Southern Football League is an Australian rules football league which is based in Tasmania, Australia.- History :The Southern Tasmanian Football League was founded in 1996 with the league's original clubs being those of the recently defunct Tasmanian Amateur Football League – Southern Division...
established the Tasmanian Football Council which is a united body that represents community Footballs interests in the state. The council has membership with the Australian Amateur Football Council
Australian Amateur Football Council
The Australian Amateur Football Council is the governing body of amateur Australian football in the states of Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania in Australia.The council was formed in 1933....
.
State Leagues/clubs (past and present)
Current Tasmanian Football League
Tasmanian Football League
Tasmanian State League is the highest ranked Australian rules football league in Tasmania, Australia.The league has a long and convoluted history which dates back to its founding on 12 June 1879 Tasmanian State League (TSL) (formerly known as the Tasmanian Football League (TFL), Tasmanian...
Clubs
- Burnie Football ClubBurnie Dockers Football ClubBurnie Football Club is an Australian rules football club located in Burnie, Tasmania, Australia.-Club history:The Burnie Dockers were formed as a result of a merger between former TFL Statewide League club Burnie Hawks and NTFL club the Burnie Tigers...
- Clarence Football ClubClarence Football ClubThe Clarence Football Club, nicknamed the Kangaroos , is an Australian rules football club playing in the Tasmanian State League, based in Bellerive, Tasmania.Before 1903, they existed as Bellerive Football Club....
- Devonport Football ClubDevonport Football ClubDevonport Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Devonport, Tasmania. The club previously competed in the Northern Tasmanian Football League but from 2009 it joined the newly reformed Tasmanian State League....
- Glenorchy Football ClubGlenorchy Football ClubThe Glenorchy District Football Club is an Australian rules football club currently playing in the Tasmanian State League and the Southern Football League in Tasmania, Australia.-Origins:...
- Hobart Football ClubHobart Football ClubHobart Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Hobart, Tasmania. They play their home fixtures at the TCA Ground on the Queens Domain, in Hobart and from 2009, the club has been a member of the Tasmanian State League.- Club history :...
- Lauderdale Football ClubLauderdale Football ClubLauderdale Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in the Hobart, beachside suburb of Lauderdale.-History:The Lauderdale Football Club was formed in 1948 and were known as the Lauderdale Cats until 2004 when Australian Football League team Essendon Bombers aligned with Lauderdale,...
- Launceston Football ClubLaunceston Football ClubThe Launceston Football Club is an Australian rules football club, located in the West Tamar suburb of Riverside, seven kilometres north of the Launceston CBD and currently play in the Tasmanian State League in Tasmania, Australia.-History:...
- North Hobart Football ClubNorth Hobart DemonsThe North Hobart Football Club is an Australian rules football club currently playing in the Tasmanian State League.Players to reach Australian Football League level include Paul Williams, Peter 'Percy' Jones, Daryn Cresswell, Chris Bond, James Manson, Jim Wright, Tony Pickett and several other big...
- North Launceston Football ClubNorth Launceston Football ClubThe North Launceston Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Launceston, Tasmania. Australia. Since 2009 they have played in the newly formed Tasmanian State League.-History:...
- South Launceston Football ClubSouth Launceston Football ClubThe South Launceston Football Club is an Australian rules football club currently competing in the Tasmanian Football League. They were formed through a merger between City-South and East Launceston in 1986, former Northern Tasmanian Football Association clubs...
Former State Leagues/clubs
Former Tasmanian Football LeagueTasmanian Football League
Tasmanian State League is the highest ranked Australian rules football league in Tasmania, Australia.The league has a long and convoluted history which dates back to its founding on 12 June 1879 Tasmanian State League (TSL) (formerly known as the Tasmanian Football League (TFL), Tasmanian...
and Statewide League Clubs
- Cananore Football ClubCananore Football ClubCananore Football Club was an Australian rules football club, founded in 1901.It competed in the Tasmanian Football League as a junior club from 1901 to 1907, and as a senior club between 1908 and 1941....
(pre-WWII) - Lefroy Football ClubLefroy Football ClubLefroy Football Club were an Australian rules football club which competed in the Tasmanian Football League . They were known as the Blues and played their home games at North Hobart Oval as well as the Tasmanian Cricket Association Ground. Lefroy players wore dark and light blue as their club...
(pre-WWII) - New Norfolk District Football ClubNew Norfolk EaglesThe New Norfolk District Football Club is an Australian rules football club currently playing in the Southern Football League, in Tasmania, Australia.-Origins:Entry to Southern District Football Assoc* 1934Entry to TANFL/TFL* 1947...
- Sandy Bay Football ClubSandy Bay Football ClubThe Sandy Bay Football Club was an Australian rules football club based in Sandy Bay, Tasmania, Australia that participated in the Tasmanian Football League from 1945 to 1997.-Club History:...
- Southern Districts Football ClubSouthern Districts Football ClubThe Southern Districts Football Club, nicknamed, Crocs, is an Australian rules football club established in 1981. The club plays in the Northern Territory Football League at semi-professional level....
Former Northern Tasmanian Football Association
Northern Tasmanian Football Association (1886 - 1986)
The Northern Tasmanian Football Association was an Australian rules football competition which ran from 1886 to 1986. In its time it was one of the three main leagues in Tasmania, with the Tasmanian Football League and North West Football Union representing the rest of the state...
Clubs
- City-South Football ClubSouth Launceston Football ClubThe South Launceston Football Club is an Australian rules football club currently competing in the Tasmanian Football League. They were formed through a merger between City-South and East Launceston in 1986, former Northern Tasmanian Football Association clubs...
- Deloraine Football Club (also spent two seasons in the NWFU)
- East Launceston Football ClubEast Launceston Football ClubThe East Launceston Football Club was an Australian rules football club based in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia.The club was founded in 1948 as Cornwall Football Club and participated with limited success during its 38-year tenure in the Northern Tasman Football Association competition...
- George Town Football Club
- Longford Football ClubLongford Football ClubThe Longford Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Longford, Tasmania which currently compete in the modern Northern Tasmanian Football Association. From 1926 until 1986 they had played in the original Northern Tasmanian Football Association...
- Scottsdale Football ClubScottsdale Football ClubThe Scottsdale Football Club is an Australian rules football club which competed in the Northern Tasmanian Football Association between 1948 and 1986. Scottsdale joined the Northern Tasmanian Football League in 1987...
Former North West Football Union
North West Football Union
The North West Football Union was an Australian rules football competition which ran from 1910 to 1986. In its time it was one of the three main leagues in Tasmania, with the Tasmanian Football League and Northern Tasmanian Football Association representing the rest of the state...
Clubs
- Burnie Football ClubBurnie Dockers Football ClubBurnie Football Club is an Australian rules football club located in Burnie, Tasmania, Australia.-Club history:The Burnie Dockers were formed as a result of a merger between former TFL Statewide League club Burnie Hawks and NTFL club the Burnie Tigers...
- Cooee Football ClubBurnie Dockers Football ClubBurnie Football Club is an Australian rules football club located in Burnie, Tasmania, Australia.-Club history:The Burnie Dockers were formed as a result of a merger between former TFL Statewide League club Burnie Hawks and NTFL club the Burnie Tigers...
- East Devonport Football ClubEast Devonport Football ClubThe East Devonport Football Club is an Australian rules football club which competed on an irregular basis in various non-senior North Western competitions between 1901 and 1944 before being promoted to senior status to participate in the North West Football Union from 1945 to 1986.The club is a...
- Latrobe Football ClubLatrobe Football ClubThe Latrobe Football Club is an Australian rules football club which competed in the NWFU between 1910 and 1986. The club has been a playing member of the NTFL since 1987. Latrobe were one of the most successful NWFU clubs and their tally of 12 premierships in a joint record, shared with Burnie and...
- Penguin Football Club
- Smithton Football ClubSmithton Football ClubThe Smithton Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Northern Tasmanian Football League. They competed in the North West Football Union in two different stints, from 1949 to 1951 and then 1980 to 1986...
- Ulverstone Football Club
- Wynyard Football ClubWynyard Football ClubThe Wynyard Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Wynyard, Tasmania.-Club history:The Wynyard Football Club was believed to be formed in 1885 as Table Cape and adopted the name of Wynyard in 1890....
- Tasmanian Amateur Football League (League had southern and northern divisions with a state amateur premeirship)
- Tasmanian State PremiershipTasmanian State PremiershipThe Tasmanian State Premiership was an Australian rules football tournament which was competed originally between the reigning TFL/TANFL and NTFA premiers, with the NWFU joining in from 1954....
- Winfield Statewide CupWinfield Statewide CupThe Winfield Statewide Cup was an Australian rules football tournament held in Tasmania, Australia between the top twenty-one major football clubs across Tasmania from the three major footballing bodies across the state , the TANFL, the NTFA and the NWFU.The tournament was played in a five round...
- Tasmanian Devils Football ClubTasmanian Devils Football ClubTasmania Football Club, nicknamed The Devils, was an Australian rules football club which competed in the Victorian Football League in Australia. Formed in 2001, it was the youngest and the only non-Victorian club in the league. The club was based in the state of Tasmania at Bellerive Oval and was...
(Victorian Football LeagueVictorian Football LeagueThe Victorian Football League which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association , taking its new name as from the 1996 season, is the premier Australian rules football league in Victoria The Victorian Football League (VFL) which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association...
) (2001–2008)
Local Leagues
- Circular Head Football AssociationCircular Head Football AssociationThe Circular Head Football Association is an Australian rules football competition based in the Circular Head area of north-western Tasmania, Australia...
- Darwin Football AssociationDarwin Football AssociationThe Darwin Football Association is an Australian rules football league in Tasmania.The clubs belonging to the association are from localities close to Burnie, Tasmania and the West Coast, Tasmania.-Current:- Premiership teams :2007...
- King Island Football AssociationKing Island Football AssociationThe King Island Football Association is an Australian rules football competition held in Tasmania, Australia. Three clubs from small communities on King Island compete for the premiership every year.-History:...
- Leven Football AssociationLeven Football AssociationThe Leven Football Association is an Australian rules football competition in Tasmania, Australia. Five clubs from small communities in northern Tasmania compete for the premiership every year...
- North East Football Union
- Northern Tasmanian Football Association
- Northern Tasmanian Football LeagueNorthern Tasmanian Football LeagueThe Northern Tasmanian Football League is an Australian rules football competition in northern Tasmania.-History:The Northern Tasmanian Football League was founded in 1987 to replace the former Northern Tasmanian Football Association - no relation to the current NTFA - and the North Western...
- North Western Football AssociationNorth Western Football AssociationThe North Western Football Association is an Australian Rules Football competition based on the North West Coast of Tasmania, Australia.-Origins:...
- Oatlands District Football AssociationOatlands District Football AssociationThe Oatlands District Football Association is a non-professional Australian rules football league from Tasmania, Australia.-Oatlands District Football Association Origins: 1952–1999:...
- Old Scholars Football AssociationOld Scholars Football AssociationThe Old Scholars Football Association is an Australian Rules football competition in southern Tasmania, Australia.The competition currently stages an eighteen round roster season which is cut to a top four at the end of the roster series for a four match finals series played according to the...
- Southern Football LeagueSouthern Football League (Tasmania)The Southern Football League is an Australian rules football league which is based in Tasmania, Australia.- History :The Southern Tasmanian Football League was founded in 1996 with the league's original clubs being those of the recently defunct Tasmanian Amateur Football League – Southern Division...
Defunct Local Leagues
Main article: List of Former Australian Rules Football Competitions in Tasmania- Deloraine Football Association
- Esk Football Association
- Esk Deloraine Football Association
- Esperance Football Association
- Fingal District Football AssociationFingal District Football AssociationThe Fingal District Football Association was an Australian rules football association in Fingal Valley, Tasmania from 1884 to 1992.-History:...
- Huon Football Association
- Kingborough Football Association
- Midlands Football Association
- North West Christian Amateur Football League
- North West Football UnionNorth West Football UnionThe North West Football Union was an Australian rules football competition which ran from 1910 to 1986. In its time it was one of the three main leagues in Tasmania, with the Tasmanian Football League and Northern Tasmanian Football Association representing the rest of the state...
- Northern Tasmanian Football AssociationNorthern Tasmanian Football Association (1886 - 1986)The Northern Tasmanian Football Association was an Australian rules football competition which ran from 1886 to 1986. In its time it was one of the three main leagues in Tasmania, with the Tasmanian Football League and North West Football Union representing the rest of the state...
(original) - Peninsula Football AssociationPeninsula Football Association (Tasmania)The Peninsula Football Association is a former non-professional Australian Rules football league from south-eastern Tasmania, Australia that operated between 1988 and 2001.-Peninsula Football Association:...
- South East Districts Football Association
- Southern Districts Football Association
- Tasman Football AssociationTasman Football AssociationThe Tasman Football Association was a former Australian rules football competition in Tasmania, Australia. The association had origins back to 1902 when games were played at random. In 1919 a proper association was set up...
- Tamar Football Association
- Western Tasmanian Football AssociationWestern Tasmanian Football AssociationThe Western Tasmanian Football Association was a former Australian Rules Football competition based on the West Coast of Tasmania, Australia.The competition was made up of mostly miners living and working on the State's West Coast....
Junior
- Southern Tasmania Junior Football League
- Northern Tasmanian Junior Football Association (NTJFA)
Umpires
- TFLUA - Tasmanian Football League Umpires Association
- NTFUA - Northern Tasmanian Football Umpires Association
- NWUA - North West Umpires Association