The North West Football League (NWFL) is an Australian rules football competition in North West Tasmania. The league was previously known as the Northern Tasmanian Football League (NTFL) from its inception in 1987 until the end of the 2014 season.
History
Throughout and after the 1986 season, greater northern Tasmania's two senior football competitions – the Launceston-based Northern Tasmanian Football Association (NTFA) and the north-western coast's North Western Football Union (NWFU) – each lost several clubs to the new TFL Statewide League in 1986. The NTFA had lost North Launceston, East Launceston and City-South: and the NWFU had lost Devonport and Cooee. As a result, the two leagues were wound up, and the Northern Tasmanian Football League was established in 1987 to feature all of the remaining clubs. The NTFL was considered a lower tier than the Statewide League, unlike its predecessors, which were of equal seniority.
After the collapse of the Statewide League at the end of 2000, the northern and coastal clubs from that competition returned to the NTFL and dominated the competition for the next eight years (Burnie and Launceston won the next eight premierships between them). With the revival of the Statewide League in 2009, the same five clubs left the NTFL again (North Launceston, South Launceston, Launceston, Burnie and Devonport), resulting in the contraction of the league to a six-club coastal composition.
In the early years, the NTFL was contested by a mixture of smaller northern and north-western clubs, but the northern clubs gradually departed, and since 2009 the league has been contested solely by clubs from the north-western coast, all with a NWFU history. Consequently, at the end of the 2014 season, the name of the league was changed to the North West Football League (NWFL).[1]
In 2015, Burnie and Devonport rejoined the competition, each fielding its reserves team in the NWFL seniors while continuing to field its senior team in the Statewide League reserves; this increased the league numbers up to eight.[2] In early 2017, Burnie withdrew from this arrangement, which dropped the number of teams down to seven.[3] Then, in 2018, Burnie and Devonport withdrew their senior teams from the Statewide League and each entered the NWFL proper.[4] The league's senior premiership is now contested by seven clubs.
^Competing with reserve teams (Devonport 2015-17).
^Burnie Tigers were absorbed by the Burnie Hawks at the end of 1993, the merged club continued to participate as the Burnie Hawks in the 1994 TFL season until the club adopted a new identity and colours from 1995 as the Burnie Dockers.
2001 Burnie Dockers 17.14 (116) def North Launceston 7.10 (52) at Latrobe
2000 Ulverstone 13.8 (86) def Latrobe 7.10 (52) at Latrobe
1999 South Launceston 11.19 (85) def Smithton 7.8 (50) at Latrobe
1998 South Launceston 9.11 (65) def East Devonport 9.4 (58) at Latrobe
1997 Ulverstone 21.8 (134) def East Devonport 8.8 (56) at Latrobe
1996 Ulverstone 18.13 (121) def Wynyard 8.11 (59) at Latrobe
1995 Ulverstone 18.15 (123) def Wynyard 14.9 (93) at Latrobe
1994 Ulverstone 11.8 (74) def Latrobe 7.8 (50) at Latrobe
1993 Ulverstone 14.12 (96) def Scottsdale 8.7 (55) at Latrobe
1992 Burnie Tigers 18.10 (118) def Penguin 10.5 (65) at West Park
1991 Smithton 18.9 (117) def Ulverstone 10.9 (69) at West Park
1990 Ulverstone 18.13 (121) def Scottsdale 12.7 (79) at West Park
1989 Scottsdale 13.10 (88) def Smithton 10.10 (70) at West Park
1988 East Devonport 20.7 (127) def Burnie Tigers 18.15 (123) at Devonport Oval
1987 Ulverstone 13.19 (97) def East Devonport 12.12 (84) at West Park
Attendance
The Northern Tasmanian Football League is considered to be one of the strongest leagues in the state and has a strong supporter following.
Games in the NTFL average around 500 spectators.
