New Norfolk District Football Club

Origins

The club was founded in 1878 with the first premiership won in 1891 under the name "Derwent Football Club", which would last until the late 1890s. With the "New Norfolk" name the team won the Southern Country Championship in 1904, the Brown Trophy (1906), the Ellis Dean (1908–1909) and the Corumbene Trophy (1910, 1913).

World War I ceased the club activity. In 1920 New Norfolk defeated Molesworth to win the Derwent Valley Football Association Premiership. Then came the Cyril Nash Trophy in which New Norfolk defeated Scottsdale by three points at York Park in 1921 and Clarence in 1922. The club’s next three premierships came in the Southern Tasmanian Country Football Association in 1928, 1930 and 1933, which would be the last year in the SCFA.

In 1934 New Norfolk played at Southern District Football Association, where it lasted until 1946 (excluding the World War II years). The following year the club entered to TANFL/TFL, where it play the tournaments until 2000 when joining the Southern Football League.

TANFL and District Football

In 1944 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 Two. The clubs would represent their various districts rather than being individual clubs. Two new clubs (Hobart & Sandy Bay) would join at the expense of Cananore and Lefroy which went out of existence during the World War Two cessation.

In 1947 the TANFL voted to include a further two clubs (Clarence – formed in 1903 and New Norfolk – 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.

In early 1986 the TANFL went into liquidation and a newly constituted Tasmanian Football League replaced it as the sport's governing body.

The TFL initiated the new competition as the TFL Statewide League with all six former TANFL clubs involved, North Launceston and East Launceston also joined the competition from the NTFA in early 1986.

However, the new-look competition did not garner the support of the football public at either end of the state at first, with the lowest attendance recorded was 470 at KGV Football Park when New Norfolk hosted South Launceston on 28 June.

In 1987 the Devonport Football Club joined the competition under a new Blues emblem, along with Burnie Hawks (formerly the Cooee Bulldogs), which created a ten-club competition with all three regions now represented. All clubs were required to field teams in seniors, reserves and under-19s competition from that season.

At first the competition appeared well balanced with three different clubs – Glenorchy, North Hobart and Devonport – winning the league's first three premierships and, importantly, the strong level of competition produced a very high standard of football.

Of even greater importance, the league began to be well supported by players, clubs, sponsors, the general public and the media – which had for many years been unenthusiastic about Tasmanian football – was now giving the TFL Statewide League its full support.

The TFL administration had also been lax in their financial control of the competition and by 1992 it was servicing a debt of $300,000 and growing as crowd numbers continued to plummet.

By 1997 the league appeared to be in deep trouble, the level of interest in the TFL had continued to drop as crowds continued to stay away in droves as the competition had evolved into a two-horse race. The preceding five premierships had been won by just two clubs – Clarence and North Launceston.

Faced with enormous debts and dismal attendances, four clubs were to quit the TFL at the end of the 1997 season. By 1998, the TFL was on the brink of collapse. In a leaked document to the Hobart Mercury newspaper, the following was an official list of club debts at the completion of the 1998 TFL Statewide League season: Burnie Dockers ($735,819), Devonport ($709,067), New Norfolk ($431,858), Glenorchy ($267,897), North Hobart ($232,607), Northern Bombers ($167,570), Clarence ($153,441), Southern Districts ($80,000). With the debt level continuing to rise, New Norfolk left the League and sort permission to join the Southern Football League.

When AFL Tasmania decided to commit to a statewide league for the 2009 season former TFL club New Norfolk (1947–1998) was not invited to join the league because of their poor financial position. New Norfolk have dominated in the Southern Football League, playing in ten Grand Finals and winning six of them.

Club

SCFA

Premiers (3): 1928, 1930, 1933

Runners up (2): 1927, 1931, 1932

SDFA

Premiers (2): 1939, 1945

Runners up (1): 1934

Tasmanian Football League

Premiers (3): 1906, 1968, 1982

Runners up (7): 1959, 1964, 1970, 1972, 1981, 1983, 1994

Tasmanian State Premiership (1): 1968

Southern Football League

Premierss (6): 2005, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014

Runners up (4): 2000, 2004, 2011, 2015

Notes

Record home attendance

4,710 v Clarence at Boyer Oval on 25 April 1964 in the TFL

An unofficial crowd just short of 5,000 was reported to have attended a home match against Huonville at Boyer Oval on 16 June 2012 in the Southern Football League.

Record finals attendance

24,413 v Clarence – 1970 TFL Grand Final at North Hobart Oval

Record score

SFL 40.25 (265) v Brighton 6.4 (40) on 26 April 2009 at Boyer Oval.

Leading goalkickers

TANFL/TFL Statewide

1963 – Peter Hudson – 79

1964 – Peter Hudson – 86

1965 – Peter Hudson – 110

1966 – Peter Hudson – 103

1983 – Wayne Fox – 135

1984 – Wayne Fox – 93

1985 – Wayne Fox – 130

1987 – Paul Dac – 80

1990 – Paul Dac – 103

1991 – Paul Dac – 133

SFL

2003 – Matthew Smith – 67

2005 – Sean Salter – 72

2009 – Adrian Burdon – 106

2012 – Michael Thompson – 101

2014 – Josh Hall – 112

William Leitch Medallists

(Best and fairest player – TFL and SFL premier senior football)

1948 – Jim Brown

1952 – Cliff Busch

1954 – Bruce Roe

1955 – Rex Garwood

1958 – Rex Garwood

1961 – Roger Browning

1962 – Roger Browning

1972 – Ricky Graham

1974 – Tony Browning

1981 – Robbie Dykes

1985 – Graham Hunnibell

1990 – Ricky Hanlon

1993 – Rene Peters

2004 – Brock Ackerley and Roger Belcher (tied)

2007 – Brad Carver

2009 – Roger Belcher

2011 – Nathan Ross

2012 – Michael Thompson

2013 – Nathan Ross

2014 – Caden Wilson

Darrel Baldock Medallists

(Best player afield – TFL Statewide League Grand Final)

1994 – Jason Wilton

Lefroy Medallists

(Best Player Afield – Interstate Football)

1965 – Peter Hudson

1982 – Graham Hunnibell

1983 – Michael Hunnibell

1984 – Wayne Fox

1985 – Wayne Fox

Weller Arnold Medallists

1966 – Barry Browning

1970 – Ricky Graham

George Watt Medallists

(Best and fairest player – TFL Reserves Football)

1953 – T. Maddox

1964 – Ken Latham

1965 – Ken Latham

1967 – Robert Wilton

1970 – L. Barratt

1973 – G. Richardson

1974 – R. Wylie

1979 – N. Bester

1983 – Steven Sutton

1986 – Robbie Crane

1991 – Brendan Skelly

1992 – Justin Rainbird

1993 – Adrian Jeffries

Vic Geard Medallists

(Best and fairest Player – TFL thirds football)

1976 – Steven Sutton

1977 – Dan Munnings

1986 – Jason Taylor

1988 – Steven Byers

1995 – Ricky Braslin

Doug Plaister Medallists

(Best and fairest player – TFL fourths football)

1975 – P. Jarvis

1980 – L. Brooks

1981 – Mark Hall

1982 – Mark Hall

1983 – Michael Eiszele

1984 – Jason Taylor

1988 – Paul Banks-Smith

1989 – Paul Barrow

1991 – J. Cooley

1993 – Ricky Braslin

1994 – D. Triffitt

1995 – Craig Haremza and D. Triffitt

Club record games holder

344 – Luke Joseph

340 - Michael Eiszele

Club record senior games

273 - Roger Belcher (still playing)

264 – Chris Sproule (retired)

254 – Hedley Thompson (retired)

Club record reserves games

180 – Dean King

All-Australians

1966 – Peter Hudson

Most goals in a match by one player

18.6 – Brendan Fevola v Huonville on 16 June 2012 at Boyer Oval.