Australian rules football in Tasmania
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| Australian rules football in Tasmania | |||
| Governing body | AFL Tasmania | ||
| Representative team | Tasmania | ||
| First played | 1864, New Towm | ||
| Registered players | 25,186 (total) 4,500 (adult) |
||
| Competitions | |||
| Club | |||
| - Northern Tasmanian Football League | |||
| - Southern Football League | |||
| - Circular Head Football Association | |||
| - Darwin Football Association | |||
| - Southern Football League | |||
| - King Island Football Association | |||
| - Leven Football Association | |||
| - Northern Tasmanian Football Association | |||
| - Oatlands District Football Association | |||
| - Old Scholars Football Association | |||
| Audience records | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Single match | 24,968 (1979). TFL Grand Final Glenorchy v Clarence (North Hobart Oval, Hobart) | ||
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Australian rules football in Tasmania 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.
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[edit] History
The origins of Australian rules football in Tasmania can be traced back to 1864, when a club existed at New Town but disbanded soon after. About this time the Derwent and Stowell Football clubs were formed, while in 1871 the Break O'Day club was formed. 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 May 1, 1879 members of the Tasmanian Cricket Association met and decided to form a club for their members, to be called Cricketers.
[edit] Tasmanian Football League
The Tasmanian Football League existed as far back as 1879 and matches were played in the Greater Hobart area. It became the TFL Statewide League in 1986, comprising six teams from the South and two teams from Launceston. In 1987 a two teams were added, from Burnie and Devonport. In 1994 a third Launceston team was admitted.
The local leagues have been extremely popular and attracted large crowds, including a Tasmanian record of 24,968 in 1979 for the TFL Grand Final between Glenorchy and Clarence at the North Hobart Oval, which has still not been broken.
The TFL Statewide League was haemorrhaging badly in the 1990s with most clubs in severe financial difficulty, suffering from very poor attendances, and was losing players to rival competitions including the STFL (Hobart), NTFL (North & North West Coast) and the NTFA (Launceston), and to various mainland competitions where money was more abundant. The League was reduced to six teams by the late 90s, and public interest had gone. The final TFL match occurred at York Park (now Aurora Stadium) in Launceston between Northern Bombers (North Launceston) and Clarence in the 2000 Grand Final, which resulted in a 49-point win to Clarence. The crowd attendance of just 6124 was the lowest TFL Grand Final crowd in 40 years, and the second lowest since the 1930s. It was the first TFL Grand Final held away from North Hobart Oval since the early 1920s.
[edit] Interstate Competition
Tasmania was a strong competitor in early Interstate matches in Australian rules football, before being incorporated into the Allies representative team.
[edit] 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 VFL.
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. A rift between the two major population centres of Hobart and Launceston about where a "home ground" would be located has also contributed to problematic bids.
Some argue that AFL clubs, like Geelong with its 300,000 local people, have catchment areas with fewer people than Tasmania, with 500,000 people. North Melbourne's home turf has even fewer people. According to this argument Tasmania's larger size is not thought to be very important.
[edit] AFL Exhibition Matches
The Hawthorn Football Club and St Kilda Football Clubs have been playing home matches at Aurora Stadium since 2001, supported by the Tasmanian government in an attempt to build a local following and leave open a possibility of future relocation. In 2006, St Kilda announced that the club would be ceasing its deal with the Tasmanian government and would not play games in Tasmania in 2007. Crowds for these matches average around 15-20,000 per match.
[edit] The Tasmanian Devils and the VFL
To quell bids for a Tasmanian team in the AFL, the Australian Football League largely instigated the formation a Tasmanian team for the VFL.[citation needed]
The Tasmanian Devils Football Club was formed in 2001 and was admitted into the VFL in its inaugural year. The team is owned by the AFL.[citation needed]
The Devils regularly attract large crowds, but the following is not considered as significant as it would be if the state had a team in the national competition.
[edit] Participation
In 2004, there were 4,500 senior players and a total of 25,186 participants in Aussie Rules in Tasmania. A total participation per capita of 5% is the second-highest participation in the country, behind the Northern Territory. [1]
[edit] Audience
[edit] Attendance Record
- 24,968 (1979). TFL Grand Final Glenorchy v Clarence (North Hobart Oval, Hobart)
[edit] Major Australian Rules Events in Tasmania
- Australian Football League Premiership Season (Hawks 'home' games)
- Northern Tasmanian Football League Grand Final
[edit] Great Tasmanian Footballers
Tasmania has supplied over 300 players to the elite level, including greats such as Ian Stewart, Darrell Baldock, Royce Hart, Peter Hudson, Adrian Fletcher and Alastair Lynch.
[edit] Notable Tasmanian Players in the AFL
- Matthew Richardson
- Brad Green
- Russell Robertson
- Jade Rawlings
- Brodie Holland
- Peter Street
- Justin Sherman
- Grant Birchall
- Nick Riewoldt
- Trent Bartlett (retired footballer from deloraine)
[edit] Representative Side
The Tasmanian representative team have played State of Origin test matches against all other Australian states. They still play at U19 level.
[edit] Governing body
The governing body for Aussie Rules in Tasmania is AFL Tasmania.
It is divided into north and southern regional bodies:
[edit] Leagues & Clubs
[edit] Professional Clubs
[edit] Open
- Circular Head Football Association
- Darwin Football Association
- King Island Football Association
- Leven Football Association
- Northern Eastern Football Union
- Northern Tasmanian Football Association
- Northern Tasmanian Football League
- North Western Football Association
- Oatlands District Football Association
- Old Scholars Football Association
- Southern Football League
[edit] Defunct Leagues
- Tasmanian Football League
- Tasmanian Amateur Football League
- Huon Football Association
- North West Christian Amateur Football League
- Peninsula Football Association
- Tasman Football Association
[edit] Junior
- Southern Tasmania Junior Football League Official Site
- Northern Tasmanian Junior Football Association (NTJFA)
[edit] Masters
- Masters Australian Football Tasmania Official Site
[edit] Principle Venues
[edit] References
- AFL Tasmania
- Australian Football League
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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