1945 TANFL season

Last updated

1945 TANFL season
Teams
Premiers North Hobart
Minor premiersNorth Hobart
Attendance
Matches played34
Total attendance53,207 (1,565 per match)
  1941
1946  

The 1945 Tasmanian Australian National Football League (TANFL) premiership season was an Australian Rules football competition staged in Hobart, Tasmania over fifteen (15) roster rounds and four (4) finals series matches between 5 May and 29 September 1945.

Contents

This was the first season of post-World War Two football and much work was undertaken by officials, members, supporters and players in re-establishing the competition after it was closed down at the end of the 1941 season due to the War.

This was also the first season of a new district-based competition, with four clubs – North Hobart, New Town, Hobart and Sandy Bay – competing and players selected on residential qualification.

District football

Senior football in Hobart had ceased after the 1941 season during the height of World War II. Throughout 1944, a committee within the TANFL worked towards resuming football in 1945 and adopting a district system, with each club representing a district and local players automatically tied to a club based on residential address. In September, the committee recommended the division of metropolitan Hobart into four districts – North Hobart, Hobart, Sandy Bay and New Town – each with a roughly equal adult population, and that the new district competition be formed from one club in each district. As part of the plan, each club would require a venue within its district where it played its home matches; [1] since the mid 1930s, all matches had been played on either the TCA Ground or North Hobart Oval as effectively neutral venues. A new constitution covering the scheme was adopted in November. [2]

The district clubs were formed over the following months. Strictly speaking, all four district clubs were newly formed; but the New Town and North Hobart clubs are considered de facto continuations of the pre-district clubs of the same name. Sandy Bay was the first club to form, on 20 November, [3] adopting royal blue and white colours; [4] New Town formed on 29 November, adopting black and white colours [5] in place of the green and gold worn by its pre-district counterpart; North Hobart formed on 5 December, [6] retaining the navy blue and red of its predecessor; [7] and Hobart formed on 19 December, adopting the black and gold colours of the pre-district Cananore Football Club, [8] and now considered its spiritual successor.

As part of developing the district scheme, the outer districts of New Norfolk, Clarence and Huon were invited to put themselves forward for consideration as districts; New Norfolk and Clarence applied, Huon did not. [1] The new constitution created the New Norfolk and Clarence districts, but did not allow for clubs in those districts to join until 1947. [2]

Participating clubs

1945 TANFL Club Coaches

TANFL Reserves Grand Final

TANFL Under-19's Grand Final

State Schools Old Boys Football Association (SSOBFA)

Note: Macalburn were affiliated to Hobart, South East were affiliated to Sandy Bay.

State Grand Final

(Saturday, 6 October 1945)

Intrastate Matches

Jubilee Shield (Saturday, 9 June 1945)

Jubilee Shield (Saturday, 14 July 1945)

Jubilee Shield (Saturday, 18 August 1945)

Leading Goalkickers: TANFL

Medal winners

1945 TANFL Ladder

PosTeamPldWLDPFPAPPPts
1 North Hobart 15132014811013146.252
2 Sandy Bay 1586112191118109.034
3 New Town 1586112011111108.134
4 Hobart 150150807146655.00
Source: [ citation needed ]

Starting from this year, all roster matches earned four premiership points for a win and two for a draw. [9] This ended the practice of awarding more premiership points for a win in the latter half of the season than in the former half, which had been in place since 1907. [10] [11] Finals were still played under a three-team system with challenge, and the right of challenge in the finals now went to the minor premier based on premiership points), rather than the club with the most wins.

Round 1

(Saturday, 5 May 1945)

Round 2

(Saturday, 12 May 1945)

Round 3

(Saturday, 19 May 1945)

Round 4

(Saturday, 26 May 1945)

Round 5

(Saturday, 2 June 1945)

Round 6

(Saturday, 16 June & Monday, 18 June 1945)

Round 7

(Saturday, 23 June 1945)

Round 8

(Monday, 30 June 1945)

Round 9

(Saturday, 7 July 1945)

Round 10

(Saturday, 21 July 1945)

Round 11

(Saturday, 28 July 1945)

Round 12

(Saturday, 4 August 1945)

Round 13

(Saturday, 11 August 1945)

Round 14

(Saturday, 25 August 1945)

Round 15

(Saturday, 1 September 1945)

Semi-final

(Saturday, 8 September 1945)

Semi-final Replay

(Saturday, 15 September 1945)

Final

(Saturday, 22 September 1945)

Grand Final

(Saturday, 29 September 1945)

References

  1. 1 2 "District plan adopted by league". The Mercury. Hobart, TAS. 26 September 1944. p. 15.
  2. 1 2 "New Constitution for District Football". The Mercury. Hobart, TAS. 9 November 1944. p. 15.
  3. "Sandy Bay forms first district club". The Mercury. Hobart, TAS. 21 November 1944. p. 11.
  4. "Hobart Football Club to be formed". The Mercury. Hobart, TAS. 15 December 1944. p. 15.
  5. "New Town football club formed". The Mercury. Hobart, TAS. 30 November 1944. p. 19.
  6. "North Hobart club adopts constitution". The Mercury. Hobart, TAS. 17 January 1945. p. 13.
  7. "Third football club in district scheme". The Mercury. Hobart, TAS. 6 December 1944. p. 16.
  8. "Four district clubs now formed". The Mercury. Hobart, TAS. 20 December 1944. p. 16.
  9. Observer (20 July 1945). "League competition reaching deciding stages". The Mercury. Hobart, TAS. p. 14.
  10. "Football - Tasmanian League". The Mercury. Hobart, TAS. 26 March 1929. p. 12.
  11. "The premiership rules". The Mercury. Hobart, TAS. 14 August 1908. p. 7.