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our great game | Tasmanian State Football Premierships
Tasmanian football clubs have competed for a
‘State Premiership’ on and off for around 100
years. The governing leagues of Tasmanian
football inaugurated an official State
Premiership in 1909 when the Premier from
the southern based TFL, namely Cananore (of
Hobart), played against the northern based
NTFA premiership team, Launceston.
The State Premiership series became hugely
popular from 1928 up until a dispute between
the TFL and NTFA halted the series in 1951.
The year 1928 was significant because the City
Club (of Launceston) had recruited the high
profile Victorian Roy Cazaly to coach and he
duly delivered the first state title for a Northern
Tasmanian club in his first season.
The State Premiership series resumed in 1954
after the North-West Football Union (NWFU)
successfully gained equal status with the NTFA
and TFL. Subsequently, the State Premiership
became a contest between the Premiership
team from the 3 major Tasmanian regions. The
period 1954 to 1973 became the second golden
era of Tasmanian state football such was the
interest and success of the series of games that
was conducted to culminate each season and
determine the best team in Tasmania.
However, new cracks began to appear in 1974,
1977 and 1979 when the three leagues could
not agree on the timing of the finals series or
their commitment to the concept. Ultimately, the
prolonged decline of the series in the early 1980s
became a major catalyst for the formation of a
Statewide League in 1986-87.
The subsequent Tasmanian State League that
was conducted up until the end of 2000 was
very successful in attracting high quality players
and coaches to Tasmania. The State League
was very popular until a number of Clubs began
to fail financially and were unable to continue in
the competition.
Regional football resumed in 2001 across
Tasmania, but there was an inability to progress
a State Premiership series for 8 long years
despite constant speculation and a failed
attempt in 2008.
The State Premiership series has been disrupted
on numerous occasions due to world wars, the
influenza pandemic of 1919 and internecine
disputes in the early 1950s, on and off in the
1970s and 1980s and again in the last decade.
Historically there is a correlation between the
relative strength and interest in a Tasmanian
State Finals series or league and the strength
of Tasmanian football at representative level. In
this regard we can expect if the new Wrest Point
Tasmanian State League is able to gain traction
amongst football players, corporate and media
supporters and fans, that a new fourth era of
Tasmanian State football will dawn and this will
strengthen Tasmanian football.
This series of articles will provide a summary of all
Tasmanian State Premiership games and a table
of premiers and runners-up. As well, there is a
feature on the greatest State Premiership games
from the 4 major eras starting with the 1920s
and 1930s. A special ‘Fantasy Final’ series will
also been provided to fill in some gaps in the
history of Tasmanian State Football Premierships.
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