1939 TANFL season

1939 TANFL season
Teams	4
Premiers	North Hobart 13th premiership
Minor premiers	North Hobart
Best and fairest	Eric Zschech (Lefroy)
Leading goalkicker	Jack Metherell (North Hobart − 59 goals)
←  1938 1940  →

The 1939 TANFL season was the 58th season of the Tasmanian Australian National Football League (TANFL), the highest-level senior Australian rules football competition in southern Tasmania.

North Hobart won the TSL premiership for the 13th time and the second year in a row, defeating Cananore by 22 points in the final.

Ladder

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	D	Pts	Qualification
1	North Hobart (P)	15	12	3	0	60	Finals series
2	Cananore	15	8	7	0	36
3	Lefroy	15	6	9	0	28
4	New Town	15	4	11	0	20

Source: ^[1]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for.
(P) Premiers

Finals

From 1929 until 1941, the TANFL home-and-away season featured three rounds played for 4 premiership points per win, and two rounds played for 6 premiership points per win. A three-team system with challenge was then played, with the initial 1–3 positions based on premiership points, and the right of challenge going only to the team with the strictly best home-and-away season win-loss record. ^[2]

Semi-final

	Semi-final
Saturday, 2 September	Cananore 10.7 (67)	def.	Lefroy 9.7 (61)	North Hobart Oval (crowd: 3,484)	[3]
Cananore 10.6 (66) led Lefroy 2.3 (15) at half time by 51 points; Cananore managed only one point after half time, but Lefroy was unable to make up the difference and Cananore won by six points. [3]

Grand final

	1939 TANFL grand final
Saturday, 16 September	North Hobart	def.	Cananore	North Hobart Oval (crowd: 5,078)	[4]
	2.1 (13) 4.6 (30) 7.8 (50) 10.9 (69)	Q1 Q2 Q3 Final	3.2 (20) 5.5 (35) 6.7 (43) 6.11 (47)
T. Richardson 3, Tyler 2, S. Richardson, Jones, Manson, Pratt, Andrews		Goals	Cashman, Haley, E. Richardson, Harrison, Clothier, Reid
Pye, Hooper, Goggins, Abbott, Pratt, T. Richardson, Metherell		Best	Evans, Cashman, Haley, Harrison, Reid, Clothier, E. Richardson
Had Cananore won, North Hobart (which had the best win-loss record) would have been entitled under the challenge rule to a rematch the following Saturday to decide the premiership.

Awards

• Eric Zschech (Lefroy) won the George Watt memorial medal as the TANFL's best and fairest player. It was Zschech's second league best and fairest award, having first won it in 1936. ^[5]
• Jack Metherell (North Hobart) was the TANFL's leading goalkicker, finishing the home-and-away season with 59 goals. ^[1]
• North Hobart won the Tasmanian State Premiership for the sixth time, defeating City (NTFA) on 23 September 1939 at North Hobart Oval, before an attendance of 5,800. North Hobart 13.13 (91) defeated City 12.13 (85) ^[6]

References

1. "Lefroy in finals". The Mercury. Hobart, TAS. 28 August 1939. p. 13.
2. "TASMANIAN LEAGUE". The Mercury. 26 March 1929. p. 12. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
3. "Lefroy eliminated, Cananore's great first half effort". The Mercury. 4 September 1939. p. 10.
4. "North Hobart 1939 premiers". The Mercury. Hobart, Tas. 18 September 1939. p. 10.
5. "Best and fairest player". The Mercury. 19 September 1939. p. 10.
6. "North Hobart defeat City". The Examiner. Launceston, TAS. 25 September 1939. p. 10.