| 1989 TFL Statewide League season | |
|---|---|
| Teams | |
| Premiers | North Hobart |
| Minor premiers | North Launceston 1st minor premiership |
| Attendance | |
| Matches played | 96 |
| Total attendance | 192,943 (2,010 per match) |
The 1989TFL Statewide League premiership season was anAustralian rules football competition staged acrossTasmania, Australia over eighteen (18) roster rounds and six (6) finals series matches between 1 April and 16 September 1989.
The League was known as the Cascade-Boags Statewide League under a dual commercial naming-rights sponsorship agreement with bothCascade Brewery in Hobart andBoag's Brewery in Launceston.
Foster's NFL Shield Match (Friday, 9 June 1989)
Foster's NFL Shield Match (Saturday, 10 June 1989)
Foster's NFL Shield Match (Monday, 12 June 1989)
(Saturday, 2 July 1989)
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The 1989 TFL Statewide League season was the fourth season of statewide football and the football public were treated to some magnificent football throughout the season.
North Launceston were tipped to be the big improvers as were North Hobart, with Glenorchy and Devonport looming as possible outside chances.
Hobart under Mark Browning had had a large cleanout over the summer following their dismal end to 1988 and the jury was out on whether they would take the step up this season.
On the opening day Clarence threw their hat into the ring with a sensational 89-point demolition of North Hobart but their season would be punctuated with brilliant displays such as this, followed by the mediocre, sometimes even in the same game as in two such cases where they led Devonport by 55-points at three-quarter time atBellerive Oval on 8 April only to see the Blues steam home to draw the game and again at the same venue on 14 July against the Burnie Hawks, the Roos again led by 55-points at the final change only to see the Hawks fly home to fail by one point.
North Launceston would be all the rage in the north of the state, the high-flying Robins would finally demonstrate their full potential to take the minor premiership ahead of North Hobart, who had produced many moments of champagne-football throughout the season including a Statewide League record score against the hapless New Norfolk at Boyer on 3 August with 38.15 (243).
On the eve of the finals, the rampaging Demons sent reigning premier Devonport, who had suffered a very disappointing fall from grace away fromNorth Hobart Oval (the site of their ground-breaking premiership only eleven months previous) with a staggering 161-point defeat.
After a moderate start, Hobart would go on a rampage as well and storm into the finals with ten wins from their final eleven games to take third spot and aim for their first premiership since 1980.
Both Clarence and Glenorchy would be far from their dominant selves for much of the season, indeed Glenorchy were looking likely to miss the finals for the first time since 1973 but managed to produce four wins from their final five matches to sneak into the five over the Burnie Hawks, who lost their final two matches to miss out while Clarence won their final five matches to claim fourth spot.
At the other end of the table New Norfolk continued to wallow at the foot of the table and suffer from disastrous financial turmoil, during the season a crisis meeting was held at New Norfolk where discussions were held on what the future of the club may be, whether it be a merger, dropping out of the league or a last-ditch effort to rescue the club's ailing finances.
South Launceston continued to struggle on and off the field, with the TFL looking likely to attempt to get the struggling Bulldogs to move away from their sub-standard Youngtown ground and move them toYork Park in an effort to lift the club's poor image and attract better crowds, whilst Sandy Bay would win their opening four games of the season then fall into a dark hole and only win another three for the rest of the season in a disappointing finish.
The TFL and various media commentators were similarly calling for Sandy Bay to merge with North Hobart and move its home base away from the tinyQueenborough Oval and up toNorth Hobart Oval in a bid to improve the Seagulls image and attract better crowds to their matches.
An exciting finals series got underway on 26 August with fierce inner-city rivals North Hobart and Hobart doing battle in the Qualifying Final.
Hobart broke out to a 31-point lead late in the second quarter only to see the Demons fight back and run away with the match to record a 31-point victory, while the following day, Clarence would start the Elimination Final strongly against hated rival Glenorchy and hold a five-goal lead shortly before half time only to see the Magpies draw level at three-quarter time and race away with the match to win by 30-points, keeping the Roos scoreless in the final quarter in the process.
On 2 September, football followers in both the North and South of the state were treated to two intriguing finals matches.
AtYork Park, minor premier North Launceston would face North Hobart for the right to go straight into the grand final.
Despite a good start for the Robins, North Hobart would find their way during the second quarter and run rampant, proving far too good on the day to record a 28-point win in front of almost 7,000 parochial Launcestonians.
Meanwhile, atNorth Hobart Oval, Hobart would do battle against the fading Magpie Machine from Glenorchy.
Glenorchy had made every grand final except one from 1975 to 1988 whilst their opponents Hobart had been in only three grand finals since 1966.
In a see-sawing contest all day which enthralled the 5,573-strong crowd, Glenorchy held sway by just 2-points at the final change before the Tigers unleashed a sensational seven goal to two burst in the final quarter to win by 29-points, consigning Glenorchy to missing their first Grand Final since 1981. In the Preliminary Final on 9 September, Hobart would do battle with North Launceston in a true North v South battle. The two clubs lastNorth Hobart Oval finals meeting was in the 1950State Grand Final and the Robins were keen to repeat that 1950 triumph.
Unfortunately for the minor premier, the hopes of the North weighed too heavily on them and they were crushed by a quiet and determined Tiger outfit who totally outclassed the Robins all day to book a Grand Final spot with a 41-point win. This however, was not to be the last time these two clubs would cross paths in the ensuing years.
The Grand Final showdown on 16 September was one eagerly awaited by football fans in the South, the two old inner-city rivals (North Hobart and Hobart) both with great histories were ready to battle it out in the Grand Final for the first time since 1960.
On a dull, cold day Hobart, looking to break a nine-year premiership drought, came out full of running and shocked an unsettled Demon side with six unanswered first quarter goals which left the 16,528-strong crowd stunned.
In the early stages of the second quarter, Hobart continued to hold sway and held a 35-point lead over North Hobart, but the Demons produced one of the most memorable spells of attacking football in TFL Grand Final history by rattling on eight unanswered goals in eleven minutes to jump out to a 9-point lead over a shell-shocked Hobart, Tiger forward Michael Winter booted his sixth goal right on half time to reduce the Demon lead to 3-points at the long break but the difference in body language of the two sides leaving the ground for half-time couldn't have been more stark.
In the second half it was all North Hobart as they ran rampant over Hobart, producing another six goals in the third quarter to break out to a 26-point three-quarter time lead and eventually run out 30-point winners over a gallant Hobart to take their second premiership in three years.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | PF | PA | PP | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Launceston | 18 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 1932 | 1542 | 125.3 | 54 |
| 2 | North Hobart | 18 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 2477 | 1765 | 140.3 | 52 |
| 3 | Hobart | 18 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 2200 | 1874 | 117.4 | 52 |
| 4 | Clarence | 18 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 2030 | 1870 | 108.6 | 46 |
| 5 | Glenorchy | 18 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 1967 | 1704 | 115.4 | 44 |
| 6 | Burnie Hawks | 18 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 2336 | 2052 | 113.8 | 38 |
| 7 | Sandy Bay | 18 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 1785 | 2041 | 87.5 | 28 |
| 8 | Devonport | 18 | 4 | 12 | 2 | 1608 | 1925 | 83.5 | 20 |
| 9 | South Launceston | 18 | 3 | 14 | 1 | 1301 | 2083 | 62.5 | 14 |
| 10 | New Norfolk | 18 | 2 | 14 | 2 | 1630 | 2437 | 66.9 | 12 |
(Saturday, 1 April 1989)
(Saturday, 8 April 1989)
This was the first draw in TFL Statewide League history, with the most recent in the TANFL having occurred a combined 407 games earlier in the 1983 First-Semi-Final between Sandy Bay and Clarence. The previous roster round draw was in 1980 between Glenorchy and North Hobart.
(Saturday, 15 April 1989)
(Saturday, 22 April & Sunday, 23 April 1989)
(Tuesday, 25 April & Saturday, 29 April 1989)
(Saturday, 6 May 1989)
(Saturday, 13 May 1989)
(Saturday, 20 May & Sunday, 21 May 1989)
(Saturday, 27 May 1989)
(Saturday, 3 June 1989)
(Saturday, 17 June 1989)
(Saturday, 24 June 1989)
(Saturday, 8 July & Sunday, 9 July 1989)
(Saturday, 15 July & Saturday, 22 July 1989)
(Saturday, 22 July. Saturday, 29 July & Sunday 30 July 1989)
(Saturday, 5 August & Sunday, 6 August 1989)
(Saturday, 12 August 1989)
(Saturday, 19 August & Sunday, 20 August 1989)
(Saturday, 26 August 1989)
(Sunday, 27 August 1989)
(Saturday, 2 September 1989)
(Saturday, 2 September 1989)
(Saturday, 9 September 1989)
(Saturday, 16 September 1989)(ABC-TV highlights: 1989 TFL Grand Final)