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Tasmanian Football League
Australian rules football league in Tasmania From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Tasmanian State League (TSL), colloquially known as the Tasmanian Football League (TFL), was the highest-level Australian rules football competition in the state of Tasmania.
The league has a long history which dates back to its foundation on 12 June 1879 as the Tasmanian Football Association, giving it some claim to the title of the third-oldest club football league in the world. For most of its history, it served as the top football competition in Hobart and the governing football body across the whole of Tasmania. From 1986 until 2000, its onfield competition expanded, incorporating clubs from Launceston and the north-west coast to become a statewide league. Its role as state governing body ended with the formation of Football Tasmania in 1999, and debts saw the league collapse at the end of 2000.
After eight years' hiatus, the league was re-established as a statewide league in 2009, and operated until the end of 2024 when it was disbanded in preparation for the Tasmania Football Club to enter the Victorian Football League (VFL) in 2026.[1][2]
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History
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Early history
The Tasmanian Football Association was established on 12 June 1879, giving it some claim to the title of the third-oldest club football league in the world. Delegates at the inaugural meeting represented the City, Cricketers, Richmond, Railway, New Town, High School and Hutchins School clubs, and voted by majority to adopt a modified variation of the Victorian rules, with the notable exception at the time that the goalposts included a cross-bar above which a goal was required to be kicked.[3] The standard Australian rules were adopted through the intercolonial conferences in the 1880s.[4]
The league underwent name changes to the South Tasmanian Football Association in 1887, and then the Tasmanian Football League in 1906. The same year, with the establishment of the Australasian Football Council, the TFL was formally established as the governing administrative body for football across the whole of Tasmania.[5] However, the onfield premiership run by the TFL remained limited to the local clubs around Hobart, with other leagues such as the Northern Tasmanian Football Association in Launceston or North West Football Union on the north-west coast running their own premierships locally.
The TFL remained a small league, typically only three or four clubs competing. The collection of teams changed frequently through the first few decades, but became stable by 1908, when the core clubs were North Hobart, Lefroy and Cananore. New Town was later admitted as a fourth club in 1921,[6] and that quartet contested the next two decades.
District era
The league went into recess between 1942 and 1944 due to World War II. In 1944, the league's directors met to discuss restructuring of the league under a district scheme with players zoned to clubs based upon which district they resided in. District clubs were established along the west of the Derwent for the 1945 season at Hobart, Sandy Bay, North Hobart and New Town.[7][8]
Two further country districts were set up as part of the scheme: Clarence, to the east of the Derwent; and New Norfolk, fifteen miles north-west of the city.[9] The Clarence and New Norfolk clubs were admitted to the league for the 1947 season under a two-year probationary periods, during which they were competing but excluded from shared league financial dividends; they were retained for at least a further two seasons with increased financial support in 1949; and they were made full, permanent and equal members of the league in August 1950.[10][11]
From 1948, the Glenorchy Football Club – positioned in Hobart's growing industrial northern suburbs, but also in New Town's district, sought admission to the league,[12] with its long-term home KGV Oval built in 1950.[13] Glenorchy's admission as a seventh club, and its impact on the district boundaries, was discussed and rejected repeatedly over the next decade,[14][15] and further country expansion with an eighth club in either Kingborough or Huon to avoid requiring a weekly bye was discussed in the same context.[16] Finally, ahead of the 1957 season, Glenorchy entered the league via an amalgamation with New Town: the merged club moved to KGV Oval, adopted the Glenorchy name and retained the New Town black and white colours.[13]
The district era was the strongest one for the league with a succession of star players in its ranks, record crowds and huge public support.[17] This set of six clubs contested the league unchanged for almost the next three decades.
Statewide Football era: 1986-2000
Disbandment
The league disbanded due to a dwindling of clubs able to financially cope and fell under the umbrella of Football Tasmania (which was soon renamed AFL Tasmania).[18]
Three regional leagues absorbed the clubs from the Statewide League. This was represented by the 2 main north–south leagues and subsidiary regional leagues which underpinned the Tasmanian Devils VFL team, created in 2001 which was owned and funded by the Australian Football League and administered by AFL Tasmania.
Tasmanian State League
After a hiatus of eight years, AFL Tasmania announced plans for a return of the statewide league in 2009.[19]
The concept attracted widespread public and media debate on the return of a statewide competition, with many in the football world hesitant over such a move due to the perilous financial position most of the participating clubs were left in after the previous competition was disbanded in 2000.
Many believed the push for a return of the league was a direct result of the media and the Tasmanian State Government's strong campaign in getting a Tasmanian team admitted into the AFL.[20]
Under the AFL Tasmania plan, ten (10) clubs were invited to join the competition.[21]
Clarence, Glenorchy, Hobart and North Hobart along with former Southern amateur club Lauderdale in the South. North Launceston, South Launceston and Launceston from the North and Devonport and Burnie Dockers from the North-West Coast.
The response from many clubs was initially lukewarm at best with many concerned at the lack of detail in the AFL Tasmania plan and the rushed decision-making process of the move.
Ulverstone from the North West Coast bowed to pressure from its playing list and some factional groups within the club to put in a submission to join the competition in 2009. Despite a membership vote narrowly ending in favour of joining, the Robins had missed the AFL Tasmania enforced deadline and were initially to be included in the 2010 roster, however the remaining clubs (most notably its closest and most bitter rival Devonport) exerted considerable pressure upon the League not to alter the current makeup of teams for a period of ten years, therefore Ulverstone were excluded from joining.
SFL Premier League club Kingborough also lobbied AFL Tasmania to be included in the competition, but their case for inclusion was dismissed by the game's governing body due to their inadequate facilities and poor standard Kingston Beach Oval headquarters.[22] Former TFL club New Norfolk (1947–1999) was also not invited to join the league because of their poor financial position. Also, as a result of the new competition getting off the ground, the Tasmania Devils VFL team was disbanded.[23]
On 4 April 2009, the opening match of the reformed competition took place at King George V Park between the reigning premiers of the SFL Premier League, Glenorchy and reigning NTFL premier Launceston and resulted in a 21-point triumph to the Blues.
The inaugural Grand Final was held at Bellerive Oval on 19 September between old rivals Glenorchy and Clarence resulting in a thrilling 6-point victory to the Roos in front of 7,534 fans.
The 2010 season started brightly with over 12,000 attending the first round of matches but soon after there was a great deal of off-field controversy with former Tasmanian Premier Paul Lennon originally accepting an unpaid role acting as a mediator between the clubs and AFL Tasmania as the relationship between the clubs and the governing body had become further strained. However, after only two weeks of the season, three clubs (Clarence, North Launceston and North Hobart) had decided to do their own bidding and Lennon walked away from the position.
There were further controversies, namely AFL Tasmania's decision to withdraw support for the Reserve grade competition after the Burnie Dockers announced only days before the start of the season that they would not be fielding a reserve grade side. Two other clubs (Hobart and Launceston) also struggled to field a reserves team throughout the season, and as a result the competition was run by the clubs themselves for the remainder of the season. It would be axed at season's end.
A finals set-up that included an extra week was roundly criticised by football pundits across the State and it failed to garner great enthusiasm amongst the footballing public as small crowds attended, with AFL Tasmania later admitting that they would be looking at returning to the more tradition Final Five set-up in 2011.
During the 2013 season, South Launceston decided that it would not pursue a new TSL licence at the end of the season, and arranged to move into the newest Northern Tasmanian Football Association in 2014; despite this, the club went on to win the 2013 premiership, meaning that there was no defending premier in 2014. The club was replaced by the Prospect State Football Club, which competes under the formal club name of Western Storm Football Club.[24] At the same time, the North Hobart Football Club was forced to disband as a team by AFL Tasmania in favour of the newly established Hobart City Football Club,[25] whilst the Hobart Tigers left for the Southern Football League.[26] These movements were forced upon the league to make space for a new AFL Tasmania backed TSL club, the Kingborough Tigers Football Club.[27]
Prior to 2016, the Western Storm was rebranded as the Prospect Hawks; but it was unable to field a senior team in 2016, managing only to field an uncompetitive team in the reserves, before being expelled from the league at the end of the 2016 season.[28] Prior to 2018, both north-western clubs – Burnie and Devonport – found themselves unable to viably field teams in the competition, with withdrew, reducing the size of the competition to seven teams.[29]
On 9 October 2017 the paying members of the Hobart City Demons voted 371–118 in favour of returning the playing name of the club to the North Hobart identity for season 2018 and beyond.
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Clubs
Final clubs
Locations
Former clubs
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Premierships
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League Presidents
- Notes
Locations
Premierships, leading goalkickers and records
Since the first championship held in 1879, North Hobart has won the most premiers with 27 titles. The first champion ever was City FC, a club now defunct.
Timeline (1945–present)
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Individual awards
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Alastair Lynch Medal
Formerly known as the Tassie Medal, presented to the Best and Fairest player in the Tasmanian State League from 2009.[30]
Peter Hudson Medal
Presented to the Leading Goalkicker in the Tasmanian State League from 2009.[31]
Former Individual Awards
Wilson Bailey Trophy
It was presented to the best and fairest player in the TFL/TANFL from 1927 until 1929. It was replaced by the William Leitch Medal in 1930.
George Watt Medallists
It was presented to the best and fairest player in the TANFL from 1935 until 1939. It replaced the William Leitch Medal although it ended up being replaced by it in 1940
William Leitch Medal
The William Leitch Medal was presented to the best & fairest player in the TANFL/TFL Statewide League from 1930 to 1934 and 1940–2000.
As of 2009 when the Tasmanian State League was revived, AFL Tasmania decided to award the Tassie Medal to the best and fairest player in the revamped competition as it was seen (particularly in the North) that the William Leitch medal was too Hobart-centric.
The medal continues to be presented to the best and fairest player in the Southern Football League since 2004.
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Audience
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Media
Official Magazine
Currently there is no official magazine for games during the 2014 season. A new provider and TSL Record is currently being re-designed for the 2015 season and beyond through Tall Zebra Media.
Television
Currently Southern Cross Seven shows one game a week on Saturday afternoons. Previously ABC and WIN broadcast the league.
All Tasmanian based stations have news and results shown regularly in their news broadcasts. Southern Cross report full-time scores from the TFL as well as other leagues around the state during the half time break of their Saturday night AFL broadcast.
Radio
League matches were formerly broadcast on radio from 1931 to 2000, however there are currently no radio broadcasts of TFL football with the exception of the Grand Final and the occasional roster game on ABC Local Radio which is also streamed online.
Newspapers
The Hobart Mercury in the South, The Examiner in Launceston and the North as well as The Advocate on the North West Coast all provide extensive coverage of TSL football in their publications.
Attendance
The Tasmanian Football league crowds compete heavily with AFL matches on television. Crowds at the beginning of the season are usually quite high and are up with the mainland state football competitions. Attendances usually slide considerably until it will increase during the finals. Night games, especially ones that do not clash with AFL matches are well attended.
Patrons at TFL games pay at the gates or hold club season passes.
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See also
References
External links
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