Tuggeranong Hawks Football Club
Encyclopedia
The Tuggeranong Hawks Football Club is a semi-professional, community based Australian Rules Football
club based in Tuggeranong
, Australian Capital Territory
. They compete in the North East Australian Football League
.
The club also fields teams in the AFL Canberra
Reserve Competition, U/18 Competition, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade and Women's competitions.
from Melbourne
. Adopting red and white as its colours, the team bore the name of Eastlake-Woden in recognition of the fact that it was sponsored by the Eastlake Football Club. Eastlake-Woden later became South Woden, and later still Sutherland. In 1976 Sutherland was admitted to the ACTAFL at under nineteen level before adding reserves and senior teams in 1977 and 1979 respectively.
Initially, the team found the going tough, but following a name change to Tuggeranong in 1983 fortunes began to improve. In 1986, under captain-coach Hans Heystraten, premiership success was finally achieved following a thrilling 1 point grand final defeat of one of Canberra's foremost perennial football forces in the shape of Queanbeyan.
In 1994 the club welcomed former St Kilda, Ainslie and Central District identity Kevin 'Cowboy' Neale as senior coach and immediately adopted the Cowboys emblem, which it retained until forging an alliance with AFL club Hawthorn in 2003, whereupon it became known as the Hawks.
The Club has seen disappointing results since then as 2002 was the last year the first grade team made the finals. Numerous times the club has finished fifth on the ladder, just missing out on finals as well as claiming the wooden spoon from 2008-2010.
(Essendon
), Aaron Hamill
(Carlton
and St Kilda), Jacob Anstey
(Carlton), Stephen Hall
(Woodville-West Torrens), Brett Howman (Sturt
), Dale Argall (East Fremantle
), and James Meilkejohn (Sydney Swans
and Port Adelaide Football Club
) Ryan Power (Port Melbourne Football Club) and Ben Phibbs (Port Melbourne Football Club) and (Frankston Football Club) going on to enjoy greater success in higher level competitions.
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...
club based in Tuggeranong
Tuggeranong
Tuggeranong is the southernmost town centre of Canberra, the capital city of Australia. It comprises 19 suburbs with a total of 31,819 dwellings, housing 87,119 people of the 324,034 people in the Australian Capital Territory . The district occupies 117 square kilometres to the east of the...
, Australian Capital Territory
Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...
. They compete in the North East Australian Football League
North East Australian Football League
The North East Australian Football League is an Australian rules football league in New South Wales, Queensland, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory in Australia...
.
The club also fields teams in the AFL Canberra
AFL Canberra
AFL Canberra is the governing body for Australian rules football in the Australian Capital Territory.In November 2010 the five AFL Canberra Premier Division clubs merged with the Premier Division clubs of the Queensland Australian Football League to form the North East Australian Football League...
Reserve Competition, U/18 Competition, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade and Women's competitions.
History
The club was actually formed as long ago as 1968 by a group of Department of Supply employees, recently transferred to CanberraCanberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
from 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...
. Adopting red and white as its colours, the team bore the name of Eastlake-Woden in recognition of the fact that it was sponsored by the Eastlake Football Club. Eastlake-Woden later became South Woden, and later still Sutherland. In 1976 Sutherland was admitted to the ACTAFL at under nineteen level before adding reserves and senior teams in 1977 and 1979 respectively.
Initially, the team found the going tough, but following a name change to Tuggeranong in 1983 fortunes began to improve. In 1986, under captain-coach Hans Heystraten, premiership success was finally achieved following a thrilling 1 point grand final defeat of one of Canberra's foremost perennial football forces in the shape of Queanbeyan.
In 1994 the club welcomed former St Kilda, Ainslie and Central District identity Kevin 'Cowboy' Neale as senior coach and immediately adopted the Cowboys emblem, which it retained until forging an alliance with AFL club Hawthorn in 2003, whereupon it became known as the Hawks.
The Club has seen disappointing results since then as 2002 was the last year the first grade team made the finals. Numerous times the club has finished fifth on the ladder, just missing out on finals as well as claiming the wooden spoon from 2008-2010.
Notable players
The club has become a rich breeding ground for player talent, with the likes of Justin BlumfieldJustin Blumfield
Justin Blumfield is a former Australian rules football player of the Essendon and the Richmond Football Clubs. His career began in 1996 when he debuted for the Essendon Bombers. He was one of Essendon's consistent players in the years 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002...
(Essendon
Essendon Football Club
The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
), Aaron Hamill
Aaron Hamill
Aaron "Sammy" Hamill is a former professional Australian rules footballer who is best known for his time at the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League when he briefly captained the club....
(Carlton
Carlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
and St Kilda), Jacob Anstey
Jacob Anstey
Jacob Anstey is a former professional Australian rules footballer from the Australian Capital Territory who played for Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League ....
(Carlton), Stephen Hall
Stephen Hall
Stephen Charles Hall is an Australian actor and writer.-Television:Halls' career in televisions includes both acting and production duties...
(Woodville-West Torrens), Brett Howman (Sturt
Sturt Football Club
Sturt Football Club is an Australian rules football club in the South Australian National Football League. The club is best known for its period of dominance from 1966–76 under legendary coach Jack Oatey, during which it revolutionised the style of play by emphasising teamwork and accurate ball...
), Dale Argall (East Fremantle
East Fremantle Football Club
The East Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed the Sharks, is an Australian rules football club playing in the West Australian Football League . The team's home ground is East Fremantle Oval...
), and James Meilkejohn (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 Port Adelaide Football Club
Port Adelaide Football Club
The Port Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, which plays in the Australian Football League and the South Australian National Football League...
) Ryan Power (Port Melbourne Football Club) and Ben Phibbs (Port Melbourne Football Club) and (Frankston Football Club) going on to enjoy greater success in higher level competitions.