The Tasmanian State League (TSL), colloquially known as the Tasmanian Football League (TFL), was the highest-level
Australian rules football
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
competition in the state of
Tasmania
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
. It disbanded following the end of the
2024 season in preparation for the
Tasmania Football Club to enter the
Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...
(VFL) in 2026.
The league has a long and convoluted history which dates back to its founding 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), but the name "TFL" (also the state's football governing body) was removed after it was liquidated with crushing debts in February 1999 and replaced by an independent commission (
Football Tasmania
Football Tasmania (FT) is the governing body for soccer in the Australian state of Tasmania. The federation oversees competitions across Tasmania, Tasmanian representative teams, and development of the sport in the state. The federation was kn ...
) and the competition was renamed the Tasmanian State Football League (1999) and the SWL (2000) until the number of clubs in financial difficulty made the league unsustainable and it collapsed in December 2000. After long negotiations and discussions it was reinstated as a ten club competition in 2009.
History
Post war years
In 1944, the Tasmanian Australian National Football League (TANFL) directors met to discuss restructuring of the league which was scheduled to return in 1945 after three seasons in recession due to
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The clubs would represent their various districts rather than being individual clubs.
Two new clubs (
Hobart
Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...
and
Sandy Bay) would join
North Hobart and
New Town
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz
* New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
** New (Paul McCartney song), "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013
* New (EP), ''New'' (EP), ...
at the expense of
Cananore and
Lefroy which went out of existence during the World War II cessation.
In 1947 the TANFL voted to include a further two clubs (
Clarence, formed in 1903, and
New Norfolk
New Norfolk ( ; Aboriginal Tasmanians#Big River, Leenowwenne/palawa kani: ''Wulawali'') is a river bank, riverside town located on the Derwent River (Tasmania), River Derwent in southeastern Tasmania, Australia. Established in 1807, it is Tasm ...
, formed in 1878) from the Southern District Football Association for a three-year probationary period. On 7 August 1950, the clubs unanimously voted to retain the two clubs as permanent members of the competition.
At the end of the 1956 season, New Town FC relocated itself to the municipality of Glenorchy and absorbed the already existing local club Glenorchy Rovers; on 8 April 1957 the TANFL ratified the club's new name as "Glenorchy District Football Club", its new home ground was the 1950-built
KGV Park.
This era would be the strongest one for the league with a succession of star players in its ranks, record crowds and huge public support.
From 1979 to 1985 the TANFL would be known as the "Winfield League" under a naming-rights sponsorship arrangement with a tobacco company.
Statewide Football era: 1986-2000
Dis
Dis, DIS or variants may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* Dis (album), ''Dis'' (album), by Jan Garbarek, 1976
* ''Dís'', a soundtrack album by Jóhann Jóhannsson, 2004
* "Dis", a song by The Gazette from the 2003 album ''Hankou Seimeib ...
band
Band or BAND may refer to:
Places
*Bánd, a village in Hungary
* Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran
* Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania
* Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, ...
ment
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
AFL Tasmania is the Australian Football League (AFL) subsidiary in Tasmania and its Sport governing body, governing body for Australian rules football in Tasmania. The organisation is responsible for AFL-linked Australian rules football developme ...
).
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
The Tasmanian devil (''Sarcophilus harrisii''; palawa kani: ''purinina'') is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae. It was formerly present across mainland Australia, but became extinct there around 3,500 years ago; it is now conf ...
VFL team, created in 2001 which was owned and funded by the
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...
and administered by
AFL Tasmania
AFL Tasmania is the Australian Football League (AFL) subsidiary in Tasmania and its Sport governing body, governing body for Australian rules football in Tasmania. The organisation is responsible for AFL-linked Australian rules football developme ...
.
Tasmanian State League
After a hiatus of eight years, AFL Tasmania announced plans for a return of the statewide league in 2009.
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
AFL may refer to:
Education
* Angel Foundation for Learning, a Canadian Roman Catholic charity
* Ankara Science High School, a high school in Ankara, Turkey, natively referred to as ''Ankara Fen Liesi''
* Assessment for learning
Military
* ...
.
Under the AFL Tasmania plan, ten (10) clubs were invited to join the competition.
Clarence,
Glenorchy,
Hobart
Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...
and
North Hobart along with former Southern amateur club
Lauderdale
Lauderdale is the valley of the Leader Water (a tributary of the River Tweed, Tweed) in the Scottish Borders. It contains the town of Lauder, as well as Earlston. The valley is traversed from end to end by the A68 road, A68 trunk road, which run ...
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
AFL Tasmania is the Australian Football League (AFL) subsidiary in Tasmania and its Sport governing body, governing body for Australian rules football in Tasmania. The organisation is responsible for AFL-linked Australian rules football developme ...
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. Former TFL club
New Norfolk
New Norfolk ( ; Aboriginal Tasmanians#Big River, Leenowwenne/palawa kani: ''Wulawali'') is a river bank, riverside town located on the Derwent River (Tasmania), River Derwent in southeastern Tasmania, Australia. Established in 1807, it is Tasm ...
(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.
On 4 April 2009, the opening match of the reformed competition took place at
King George V Park
King George V Park is a soccer-specific stadium in St. John's, Newfoundland, located at the head of Quidi Vidi Lake in downtown St. John's. The stadium was built in 1925 as the National stadium of Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador ...
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
Bellerive Oval, currently known as Ninja Stadium for Naming rights, sponsorship reasons, is a Cricket field, cricket oval and Australian rules football ground located in Bellerive, Tasmania, Bellerive, a suburb on the eastern shore of Hobart, T ...
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
The Prospect Hawks Football Club is an Australian rules football club which was a member of the Tasmanian State Football League (TSL) from 2014 until 2016. The club is based in Prospect, a Western suburb of Launceston. The club is a rebrandin ...
. At the same time, the
North Hobart Football Club
The North Hobart Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club currently competing in the Southern Football League Premier Division. The club was a part of the Tasmanian Football League from the early 1900s until 2001 ...
was forced to disband as a team by AFL Tasmania in favour of the newly established
Hobart City Football Club, whilst the
Hobart Tigers left for the
Southern Football League
The Southern League is a football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from East Anglia, the South and Midlands of England, and South Wales. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven a ...
. These movements were forced upon the league to make space for a new AFL Tasmania backed TSL club, the
Kingborough Tigers Football Club.
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. 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.
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.
Clubs
Final clubs
Locations
Former clubs
Premierships
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)
ImageSize = width:1070 height:520
PlotArea = width:500 height:420 left:140 bottom:50
AlignBars = late
BarData=
bar:Hob text:Hobart
bar:NHob text:North Hobart
bar:HD text:Hobart Demons
bar:NTD text:New Town
bar:Gle text:Glenorchy
bar:Cla text:Clarence
bar:NN text:New Norfolk
bar:KI text:Kingborough Tigers
bar:DE text:Derwent Eagles
bar:SB text:Sandy Bay
bar:SC text:Southern Cats
bar:EL text:East Launceston
bar:SL text:South Launceston
bar:NB text:Northern Bombers
bar:NL text:North Launceston
bar:LI text:Lauderdale
bar:L text:Launceston
bar:BH text:Burnie Hawks
bar:BD text:Burnie Dockers
bar:DEB text:Devonport Blues
bar:DEP text:Devonport Power
bar:DEM text:Devonport Magpies
bar:WS text:Western Storm
Colors =
id:grey value:gray(0.4)
id:lgrey value:gray(0.8)
id:vlgrey value:gray(0.92)
id:premier value:blue legend:Premier
id:spoon value:rgb(0.5,0,0) # legend:Last_place # need more data
id:rup value:gray(0.5) legend:Runner_Up
DateFormat = yyyy
Period = from:1945 till:2023
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:4 start:1945 gridcolor:lgrey
ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:4 start:1945 gridcolor:vlgrey
PlotData=
color:lgrey width:10
bar:Hob
from:1945 till:1997
from:2009 till:end
at:1950 mark:(line,premier)
at:1959 mark:(line,premier)
at:1960 mark:(line,premier)
at:1963 mark:(line,premier)
at:1966 mark:(line,premier)
at:1973 mark:(line,premier)
at:1980 mark:(line,premier)
at:1990 mark:(line,premier)
bar:NHob
from:1945 till:1999
from:2009 till:2013
at:1945 mark:(line,premier)
at:1947 mark:(line,premier)
at:1957 mark:(line,premier)
at:1961 mark:(line,premier)
at:1962 mark:(line,premier)
at:1967 mark:(line,premier)
at:1969 mark:(line,premier)
at:1974 mark:(line,premier)
at:1987 mark:(line,premier)
at:1989 mark:(line,premier)
at:1991 mark:(line,premier)
at:1992 mark:(line,premier)
bar:HD
from:1999 till:2000
bar:NTD
from:1945 till:1956
at:1948 mark:(line,premier)
at:1949 mark:(line,premier)
at:1951 mark:(line,premier)
at:1953 mark:(line,premier)
at:1955 mark:(line,premier)
at:1956 mark:(line,premier)
bar:Gle
from:1957 till:2000
from:2009 till:end
at:1958 mark:(line,premier)
at:1965 mark:(line,premier)
at:1975 mark:(line,premier)
at:1983 mark:(line,premier)
at:1985 mark:(line,premier)
at:1986 mark:(line,premier)
at:1999 mark:(line,premier)
at:2016 mark:(line,premier)
bar:Cla
from:1947 till:2000
from:2009 till:end
at:1970 mark:(line,premier)
at:1979 mark:(line,premier)
at:1981 mark:(line,premier)
at:1984 mark:(line,premier)
at:1993 mark:(line,premier)
at:1994 mark:(line,premier)
at:1996 mark:(line,premier)
at:1997 mark:(line,premier)
at:2000 mark:(line,premier)
at:2009 mark:(line,premier)
at:2010 mark:(line,premier)
bar:NN
from:1947 till:1998
at:1968 mark:(line,premier)
at:1982 mark:(line,premier)
bar:DE
from:1999 till:1999
bar:SB
from:1945 till:1997
at:1946 mark:(line,premier)
at:1952 mark:(line,premier)
at:1964 mark:(line,premier)
at:1971 mark:(line,premier)
at:1972 mark:(line,premier)
at:1976 mark:(line,premier)
at:1977 mark:(line,premier)
at:1978 mark:(line,premier)
bar:SC
from:1998 till:1999
bar:EL
from:1986 till:1986
bar:SL
from:1986 till:1997
from:2009 till:2013
at:2013 mark:(line,premier)
bar:WS
from:2014 till:2015
bar:NB
from:1986 till:1997
at:1995 mark:(line,premier)
bar:NL
from:1998 till:2000
from:2009 till:end
at:1998 mark:(line,premier)
at:2014 mark:(line,premier)
at:2015 mark:(line,premier)
at:2017 mark:(line,premier)
at:2018 mark:(line,premier)
at:2019 mark:(line,premier)
at:2020 mark:(line,rup)
at:2021 mark:(line,rup)
at:2023 mark:(line,rup)
bar:L
from:1994 till:1997
from:2009 till:end
at:2011 mark:(line,premier)
at:2020 mark:(line,premier)
at:2021 mark:(line,premier)
at:2022 mark:(line,premier)
bar:LI
from:2009 till:end
bar:BH
from:1987 till:1994
bar:BD
from:1995 till:2000
from:2009 till:2017
at:2012 mark:(line,premier)
at:2013 mark:(line,rup)
bar:DEB
from:1987 till:1996
at:1988 mark:(line,premier)
bar:DEP
from:1997 till:2000
bar:DEM
from:2009 till:2017
bar:KI
from:2014 till:end
at:2022 mark:(line,rup)
at:2023 mark:(line,premier)
Legend = left:50 top:20 columnwidth:90
LineData =
layer:front # all lines in front of bars unless stated otherwise
TextData=
pos:(350,488) fontsize:L text:TFL Premiers
Individual awards
Alastair Lynch Medal
Formerly known as the Tassie Medal, presented to the Best and Fairest player in the Tasmanian State League from 2009.
Peter Hudson Medal
Presented to the Leading Goalkicker in the Tasmanian State League from 2009.
Honours: Tasmanian State League
/ref>
''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
AFL Tasmania is the Australian Football League (AFL) subsidiary in Tasmania and its Sport governing body, governing body for Australian rules football in Tasmania. The organisation is responsible for AFL-linked Australian rules football developme ...
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
The Southern League is a football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from East Anglia, the South and Midlands of England, and South Wales. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven a ...
since 2004.
Audience
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
AFL may refer to:
Education
* Angel Foundation for Learning, a Canadian Roman Catholic charity
* Ankara Science High School, a high school in Ankara, Turkey, natively referred to as ''Ankara Fen Liesi''
* Assessment for learning
Military
* ...
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
ABC Local Radio is a network of publicly owned radio stations in Australia, operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
ABC Local Radio stations broadcast across the continent using terrestrial transmitters and satellites. Its programm ...
which is also streamed online.
Newspapers
The '' Hobart Mercury'' in the South, '' The Examiner'' in Launceston and the North as well as ''The Advocate
An advocate is a professional in the field of law.
The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to:
Magazines
* The Advocate (magazine), ''The Advocate'' (magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States
* ''The Harvard 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
AFL may refer to:
Education
* Angel Foundation for Learning, a Canadian Roman Catholic charity
* Ankara Science High School, a high school in Ankara, Turkey, natively referred to as ''Ankara Fen Liesi''
* Assessment for learning
Military
* ...
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
AFL may refer to:
Education
* Angel Foundation for Learning, a Canadian Roman Catholic charity
* Ankara Science High School, a high school in Ankara, Turkey, natively referred to as ''Ankara Fen Liesi''
* Assessment for learning
Military
* ...
matches are well attended.
Patrons at TFL games pay at the gates or hold club season passes.
See also
* Australian rules football in Tasmania
In Tasmania, Australian rules football is a popular spectator and participation sport. It has been played since the late 1860s and draws the largest audience for any Football, football code in the state. A 2018 study of internet traffic showed ...
* Northern Tasmanian Football League
* Southern Football League (Tasmania)
The Southern Football League (SFL) is an Australian rules football league based in the state of Tasmania, Australia, Tasmania.
History Beginning and growth
The Southern Tasmanian Football League (STFL) was founded in 1996. The league's orig ...
References
External links
Official website
AFL Tasmania
Southern Football League Website
Northern Tasmanian Football League
2008 Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame Inductions
{{Australian rules football
Australian rules football competitions in Tasmania
1879 establishments in Australia
Sports leagues established in 1879
2024 disestablishments in Australia
Sports leagues disestablished in 2024
Professional sports leagues in Australia