The North West Football Union (NWFU) was an Australian rules football competition which ran from 1910 to 1986. In its time it was one of the three main leagues in Tasmania , with the Tasmanian Football League and Northern Tasmanian Football Association representing the rest of the state. Burnie , Latrobe and Ulverstone were the most successful clubs with 12 premierships each.
The league disbanded after the 1986 season after major clubs such as Cooee and Devonport defected to the TFL Statewide League . In 1987 the NWFU effectively merged with the Northern Tasmanian Football Association (NTFA) to form the Northern Tasmanian Football League , which exists today as the North West Football League .
NWFU premierships
Winners by year
The NWFU intrastate representative team in Hobart, 1930
The TFL (southern) team photo. Charlesworth in front and Gorringe 3rd from the end. players in a North vs South fixture at Hobart, 1927
Joe Littler played as many as 500 league games, mostly in the NWFU
Year
Premiers
Runner-up
Year
Premiers
Runner-up
1910
Ulverstone 8.13 (61)
def.
Mersey 5.8 (38)
1952
Wynyard 9.12 (66)
def.
Ulverstone 7.14 (56)
1911
Mersey 7.8 (50)
def.
Latrobe 1.9 (15)
1953
Ulverstone 8.14 (62)
def.
Wynyard 7.14 (56)
1912
Mersey 2.8 (20)
def.
Ulverstone 1.7 (13)
1954
Burnie 9.13 (67)
def.
Wynyard 8.10 (58)
1913
Latrobe
(No Final Played)
1955
Ulverstone 11.14 (80)
def.
Burnie 10.15 (75)
1914
Devonport 9.9 (63)
def.
Latrobe 5.1 (31)
1956
Ulverstone 13.15 (93)
def.
Cooee 7.14 (56)
1915
Devonport 3.2 (20)
def.
Ulverstone 2.6 (18)
1957
Ulverstone 29.17 (191)
def.
Latrobe 9.11 (65)
1916–19
No Competition due to
WWI
and Spanish Flu Epidemic
1958
Burnie 19.15 (129)
def.
East Devonport 13.13 (91)
1920
Latrobe 8.11 (59)
def.
Ulverstone 5.6 (36)
1959
Burnie 16.10 (106)
def.
East Devonport 11.10 (76)
1921
Diggers 7.11 (53)
def.
Latrobe 4.6 (30)
1960
Burnie 12.10 (82)
def.
Cooee 7.15 (57)
1922
Latrobe 5.12 (52)
def.
Burnie 4.12 (36)
1961
Cooee 8.10 (58)
def.
Burnie 8.5 (53)
1923
Ulverstone 9.6 (60)
def.
Latrobe 7.11 (53)
1962
Burnie 12.20 (92)
def.
Devonport 13.4 (82)
1924
Latrobe 10.11 (71)
def.
Devonport 8.9 (57)
1963
Burnie 15.15 (105)
def.
Ulverstone 13.11 (89)
1925
Devonport 11.11 (77)
def.
Ulverstone 6.13 (49)
1964
Cooee 17.12 (114)
def.
Ulverstone 5.14 (44)
1926
Latrobe 12.14 (86)
def.
Ulverstone 12.8 (80)
1965
Cooee 12.14 (86)
def.
Ulverstone 7.9 (51)
1927
Burnie 13.8 (86)
def.
Devonport 12.12 (84)
1966
Burnie 7.7 (49)
def
Latrobe 5.11 (41)
1928
Burnie 7.11 (53)
def.
Devonport 4.13 (37)
1967
Wynyard 13.7 (85)
def.
Cooee 7.7 (49)
1929
Circular Head 8.8 (56)
def.
Burnie 6.14 (50)
1968
East Devonport 15.16 (106)
def.
Ulverstone 10.18 (78)
1930
Latrobe 9.15 (69)
def.
Burnie 6.10 (46)
1969
Latrobe 9.10 (64)
def.
Ulverstone 4.5 (29)
1931
Latrobe 8.19 (67)
def.
Ulverstone 8.10 (58)
1970
Latrobe 14.19 (103)
def.
Wynyard 12.5 (77)
1932
Penguin 14.10 (94)
def.
Latrobe 10.13 (73)
1971
Latrobe 14.16 (100)
def.
East Devonport 5.9 (39)
1933
Latrobe 14.13 (97)
def.
Penguin 6.10 (46)
1972
Latrobe 11.16 (82)
def.
Burnie 8.12 (60)
1934
Devonport 17.14 (116)
def.
Burnie 8.13 (61)
1973
Cooee 14.12 (96)
def.
Latrobe 10.10 (70)
1935
Ulverstone 9.16 (70)
def.
Devonport 8.8 (56)
1974
Burnie 14.15 (99)
def.
Latrobe 9.12 (66)
1936
Devonport 14.11 (95)
def.
Burnie 9.19 (73)
1975
Wynyard 15.10 (100)
def.
Ulverstone 12.8 (80)
1937
Burnie 14.14 (98)
def.
Devonport 13.15 (93)
1976
Ulverstone 14.9 (93)
def.
Penguin 7.19 (61)
1938
Devonport 13.22 (100)
def.
Burnie 9.9 (63)
1977
Penguin 11.18 (84)
def.
Cooee 11.14 (80)
1939
Burnie 16.10 (106)
def.
Latrobe 8.13 (61)
1978
Cooee 20.11 (131)
def.
Wynyard 13.30 (108)
1940–44
No Competition
Due
To World War II
1979
Wynyard 21.24 (150)
def.
Cooee 15.7 (97)
1945 W
APPM 10.20 (80)
def.
Wynyard 11.12 (78)
1980
Penguin 12.11 (83)
def.
Wynyard 11.5 (71)
1945 E
East Devonport 8.15 (63)
def
Devonport 6.16 (52)
1946 W
Burnie 13.11 (89)
def.
Wynyard 12.10 (82)
1981
Devonport 13.9 (87)
def.
Penguin 10.12 (72)
1946 E
East Devonport 18.14 (122)
def
Ulverstone 12.4 (76)
1947 W
Burnie 10.17 (77)
def.
Cooee 11.8 (74)
1982
Cooee 16.15 (111)
def.
Penguin 16.5 (101)
1947 E
Ulverstone 15.17 (107)
def
Latrobe 8.17 (65)
1948 W
Wynyard 8.13 (61)
def.
Cooee 8.9 (57)
1983
Smithton 20.17 (137)
def.
Cooee 21.10 (136)
1948 E
East Devonport 10.7 (67)
def
Ulverstone 6.8 (44)
1949
APPM 14.12 (96)
def.
Ulverstone 9.15 (69)
1984
Cooee 18.16 (124)
def.
Smithton 17.13 (115)
1950
Ulverstone 7.8 (50)
def.
Devonport 7.7 (49)
1985
Penguin 21.9 (135)
def.
Smithton 13.9 (87)
1951
Ulverstone 17.22 (124)
def.
Cooee 8.11 (59)
1986
Ulverstone 9.10 (64)
def.
Smithton 7.7 (49)
Reforming after the war there were two divisions, East and West, Both Divisional premiers would play off.
Most premierships
NWFU representative coach Ivor Warne-Smith
This was contested regularly between the premiers of the Tasmanian Football League and the Northern Tasmanian Football Association and then the NWFU from 1954 until 1978.
The six winners from the NWFU were:
Best and Fairests
The Wander Medal was awarded annually to the best and fairest player in the NWFU, every year from 1948 to 1986. Prior to 1948, the league's best and fairest award was known under various names and given out semi regularly. From 1945 to 1947, an award was given to best and fairest player from the western region but the name of it is unknown. Len Hayes won it in the first two years and Alan Crawford the last.
Wander Medal
1948 – Dave Jeffrey
1949 – Len Hayes
1950 – Lou Redman
1951 – Jack Rough
1952 – Max Berryman, Peter Gillam
1953 – Darrel Eaton
1954 – Ray Stokes
1955 – Arthur Hodgson
1956 – Joe Murphy
1957 – Darrel Baldock
1958 – Colin Moore
1959 – Darrel Baldock
1960 – Terry Pierce
1974 – Cec Rheinberger
1975 – Ricky Watt
1976 – Kerry Coates
1977 – Ricky Smith
1978 – Jim Prentice
1979 – Tom Lee
1980 – Lindsay Bell
1981 – John Murphy
1982 – Richard Lynch
1983 – Stephen Parsons
1984 – John Korporshoek
1985 – Neville Muir
1986 – Peter Borlini
Cheel Medal
1923 – Stan Trebilco
1924 – Fred Odgers
1925 – Bill Berryman
1926 – Rupert Stott
1927 – H. O. "Nip" Smith (Penguin)
1928 – Charlie Hallam
1929 – Tas Langmaid
Royal Medal
Awarded only to players from the eastern region of the NWFU
Wright Medal
Awarded only to players from the western region of the NWFU
1930 – Jimmy Brown (Ulverstone)
1931 – Gerry Plapp
Alford Medal
References
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