1987 TFL Statewide League season

The 1987 TFL Statewide League premiership season was an Australian rules football competition, staged across Tasmania over 18 roster rounds and six finals series matches between 4 April and 12 September 1987.
This was the second season of statewide football and the League was known as the Cascade-Boags Statewide League under a dual commercial naming-rights sponsorship agreement with both Cascade Brewery in Hobart and Boag's Brewery in Launceston.

1987 TFL Statewide League Season
General Information
Founded 12 June 1879 in Hobart, Tasmania
Previous Names TFA (1879–1886)
STFA (1887–1896)
STFL (1897)
STFA (1898–1905)
TFL (1906–1927)
TANFL (1928–1985)
TFL President Mr David Smith
Participating Clubs Burnie Hawks
Clarence Kangaroos
Devonport Blues
Glenorchy Magpies
Hobart Tigers
New Norfolk Eagles
North Hobart Demons
North Launceston Robins
Sandy Bay Seagulls
South Launceston Bulldogs
Stadiums North Hobart Oval
KGV Football Park
York Park
Bellerive Oval
Boyer Oval
Queenborough Oval
Devonport Oval
West Park Oval
Youngtown Memorial Ground
1987 TFL Statewide League Season.
Premiers North Hobart 23.20 (158) v Glenorchy 16.10 (106)
Minor Premier Nth Hobart
Wooden Spooners Nth Launceston (1st)
Grand Final attendance 17,094 at North Hobart Oval
Total Roster Series attendance 126,548 for 90 games at 1,406
Total Finals Series attendance 42,351 for 6 games at 7,058
Total aggregate attendance 168,899 for 96 games at 1,759

Participating Clubs

1987 TFL Statewide League Club Coaches

Midas Mufflers League (Reserves) Grand Final

Medibank Private League (Under-19's) Grand Final

Leading Goalkickers: TFL Statewide League
  • Paul Dac (New Norfolk) – 80
  • Wayne Fox (Hobart) – 80
  • Steve McQueen (North Hobart) – 80
  • Chris Reynolds (Devonport) – 76

Note: The TFL Goalkicking award was won by New Norfolk's Paul Dac with 80 goals, Dac kicked 14 goals in the last roster match against North Launceston to take the prize, at the completion of the finals series, Dac was joined by Hobart's Wayne Fox and North Hobart's Steve McQueen, who both finished on 80 goals.

Medal Winners
  • David Code (Devonport) – William Leitch Medal
  • Craig Randall (Sandy Bay), Mark Radford (Sandy Bay) & Matthew Honner (Glenorchy) – George Watt Medal (Reserves)
  • Darren Clifford (North Launceston) – V.A Geard Medal (Under-19's)
  • Paul Burnell (Sandy Bay) – D.R Plaister Medal (Under-17's)
  • Ian Paton (Tasmania) – Lefroy Medal (Best player in Interstate Matches)

Interstate Matches

Foster's NFL Shield Match (Saturday, 25 April 1987)

Foster's NFL Shield Match (Saturday, 23 May 1987)

Foster's NFL Shield Match (Saturday, 30 May 1987)

Season Summary

The 1987 TFL Statewide League competition got underway on 4 April 1987 and was now a fully statewide concept with clubs from the South, North and North West participating.
There was much excitement on the North West Coast with Devonport undergoing a change of jumper, emblem and colours (formerly Magpies, now Blues) and coastal rival, Burnie Hawks (formerly Cooee) making their debut.

The standout performers this season were North Hobart, who swept all before them winning sixteen out of their eighteen roster matches and finished on top.
Glenorchy, Clarence and Hobart all performed very well throughout the season, all vying for top-two positions at various stages.
1986 Grand Finalists Sandy Bay, with the loss of as many as ten senior players from the previous year's team, performed poorly under Andy Bennett and slid to second last on the ladder by season's end.
Burnie Hawks, Devonport and the much-improved South Launceston all strived for the final spot in the top-five, Burnie Hawks managing to cling to fifth at the end of the roster series, six games (24 points) behind Hobart in fourth.
Devonport, whose history in the NWFU over the previous fifty years had been one of considerable under-achievement, having only won one flag since 1938 were looking in fine form midway through the season and were also challenging for a top-three spot, but fell in a heap at the latter end of the season dropping its final seven matches to miss the five by 10.70%, whilst South Launceston, who had performed very well at the latter end of the season needed to beat the rampaging North Hobart at Youngtown in the final round to make the finals but were demolished by 121-points.
New Norfolk, still sorting out their considerable financial problems stemming back to their 1982 TANFL Premiership year, weren't able to produce consistent football and remained in the bottom three.
North Launceston under coach Tony "Chang" Young struggled again to make an impact and finished on the bottom, however the club had earmarked some major changes to its playing list and coaching staff over the next eighteen months to become a power club once again.
Glenorchy and Clarence would again do battle in the finals, the Magpies winning a classic contest in the Qualifying Final after trailing for most of the first half, only winning in the closing minutes by 13-points.
The following day, Hobart and the Burnie Hawks met in the Elimination Final at KGV Football Park to an unusual sight in TFL Football, a thunderstorm just prior to the opening bounce.
The weather failed to dampen the Tigers spirits as they raced away after quarter-time to take a 51-point victory and earn a shot at Clarence in the First Semi Final.
The Second Semi Final between North Hobart and Glenorchy at North Hobart Oval was pretty much a one-sided contest after quarter-time as the Demons pegged back a slender Magpie lead and raced away with the match to win by 41-points, their followers were jubilant at the chance of seeing their Red & Blue heroes break a long premiership hoodoo.
At KGV Football Park the following day, Hobart and Clarence staged an epic First Semi Final.
The Roos held sway for much of the day including an 11-point three-quarter time lead, but Hobart struck back and 29-minutes into the final quarter, Hobart's Alistair Lynch marked 30-metres out from goal and was felled heavily by Clarence centre half-back Greg Farquahar (who was subsequently suspended for five matches over the incident), Lynch was stretchered from the ground.
Burly Tiger full-forward Wayne Fox took the kick to win the game for Hobart, but field umpire Haydyn Nielsen failed to pay the mandatory 15-metre penalty to Fox after reporting Farquahar, Fox's shot missed narrowly and the Roos were able to hold on for the final few seconds to win by four points.
Glenorchy and Clarence again met in the Preliminary Final at North Hobart Oval before an expectant crowd of almost 7,000 and the match did not disappoint.
The two bitterest rivals in Tasmanian football were neck and neck all day with many lead-changes but the Magpies held sway at all three changes, eventually holding out the Roos by twelve points to play in another Grand Final.
The Grand Final saw North Hobart hoping to end a premiership drought extending back to 1974, Glenorchy aiming for a hat-trick of TFL premierships.
The match was eerily similar to the Second Semi Final clash between the same two sides with Glenorchy getting out a fast start and North Hobart reeling them in and racing away with match.
North Hobart booted a Grand Final record 11.3 (69) in the second quarter to go into half-time 19-points to the good of the Magpies, then inflicting further damage in the third quarter by racing out a 56-point lead at the final change.
North Hobart fans celebrated wildly as their team broke its 13-year premiership drought in emphatic fashion by 52-points.
At North Hobart Oval, works commenced on the building of the $1.25 million Doug Plaister Stand, after the 1923-built Letitia Street Stand was destroyed by a mid-morning fire on Sunday, 31 May.
The stand, which had had works carried out on it in recent years by the Hobart City Council after ABC-Television engineers raised safety concerns over the structure in 1980 and had later been condemned in 1981, was destroyed when rubber matting was deliberately set on fire in a store-room at the rear of the structure, two youths were questioned by police over the fire but no charges were laid, the damage was estimated at $50,000 and the structure was demolished by the Hobart City Council that same day due to safety concerns.

1987 TFL Statewide League Ladder
Team Played Won Lost Draw For Against Percentage Points
North Hobart 18162023521506156.17%64
Glenorchy 18144021411334160.49%56
Clarence 18135018311578116.03%52
Hobart 18135019921750113.82%52
Burnie Hawks 1871101835201291.20%28
Devonport 1871101606199580.50%28
South Launceston 1871101704216378.77%28
New Norfolk 1861201713189790.30%24
Sandy Bay 1851301694178694.84%20
North Launceston 1821601463221166.16%8

Round 1

(Saturday, 4 April 1987)

Round 2

(Saturday, 11 April 1987)

Round 3

(Saturday, 18 April 1987)

Round 4

(Saturday, 2 May 1987)

Round 5

(Saturday, 9 May 1987)

Round 6

(Saturday, 16 May 1987)

Round 7

(Saturday, 30 May 1987)

Round 8

(Saturday, 6 June & Sunday, 7 June 1987)

Round 9

(Saturday, 13 June 1987)

Round 10

(Saturday, 20 June 1987)

Round 11

(Saturday, 27 June 1987)

Round 12

(Saturday, 4 July 1987)

Round 13

(Saturday, 11 July 1987)

Round 14

(Saturday, 18 July 1987)

Round 15

(Saturday, 25 July 1987)

Round 16

(Saturday, 1 August 1987)

Round 17

(Saturday, 8 August 1987)

Round 18

(Saturday, 15 August 1987)

Qualifying Final

(Saturday, 22 August 1987)

  • Glenorchy: 2.2 (14) | 8.7 (55) | 13.9 (87) | 18.12 (120)
  • Clarence: 4.5 (29) | 9.9 (63) | 11.14 (80) | 15.17 (107)
  • Attendance: 5,333 at North Hobart Oval

Elimination Final

(Sunday, 23 August 1987)

  • Hobart: 4.2 (26) | 10.5 (65) | 13.8 (86) | 18.11 (119)
  • Burnie Hawks: 3.5 (23) | 4.7 (31) | 9.11 (65) | 9.14 (68)
  • Attendance: 2,803 at KGV Football Park

Second Semi Final

(Saturday, 29 August 1987)

  • Nth Hobart: 6.1 (37) | 12.8 (80) | 18.9 (117) | 23.14 (152)
  • Glenorchy: 7.4 (46) | 8.6 (54) | 14.12 (96) | 16.15 (111)
  • Attendance: 6,506 at North Hobart Oval

First Semi Final

(Sunday, 30 August 1987)

  • Clarence: 7.4 (46) | 11.8 (74) | 16.10 (106) | 18.13 (121)
  • Hobart: 4.2 (26) | 9.6 (60) | 14.11 (95) | 17.15 (117)
  • Attendance: 3,885 at KGV Football Park

Preliminary Final

(Saturday, 5 September 1987)

  • Glenorchy: 3.3 (21) | 8.6 (54) | 13.10 (88) | 18.15 (123)
  • Clarence: 2.2 (14) | 7.5 (47) | 11.7 (73) | 17.9 (111)
  • Attendance: 6,730 at North Hobart Oval

Grand Final

(Saturday, 12 September 1987)

  • Nth Hobart: 2.4 (16) | 13.7 (85) | 20.16 (136) | 23.20 (158)
  • Glenorchy: 5.4 (34) | 10.6 (66) | 12.8 (80) | 16.10 (106)
  • Attendance: 17,094 at North Hobart Oval
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