The Circular Head Football Association (CHFA) is an Australian rules football competition based in the Circular Head area of north-western Tasmania, Australia. The CHFA currently features four clubs from small communities in the region and is the second oldest regional competition in Tasmania.[1]
History
The CHFA was formed in 1900 as the West Wellington Football Association.[2] The formation of the Smithton Football Club in 1918 prompted a reorganisation of football in the region, and the name of the competition was changed to the Circular Head Football Association in 1919. The original clubs in the West Wellington FA were Forest, Irishtown and Stanley and these three clubs and Smithton form the CHFA from 1919. During this period Irishtown won 10 premierships in a row, which is a Tasmanian record and the third longest premiership streak across Australia.[3]
The competition remained stable and a two-year break was taken in 1942 and 1943 because of the second World War. Football resumed in 1944 with Irishtown defeating Smithton in the grand final that year.[4] From 1947 to 1948, the CHFA was absorbed by an expansion of the North West Football Union[5] but this ended in 1949. In 1951 Scotchtown and Marrawah joined the senior competition[6] but they only lasted two seasons. However, as a merged entity they returned in 1962.[7] The followed year Forest and Stanley merged to become the Forest/Stanley Football Club.[8] Scotchtown dropped the "Marrawah" from its name after the 1975 season.
The departure of Smithton to the NWFU in 1980 prompted the promotion of Redpa, Trowutta and City from the reserve grade. Trowutta folded after the 1992 season[9] and in 1996 they merged with City to form the Trowutta/City Football Club.[10] The competition has remained more or less stable since then with Trowutta/City going into recess in 2010 for a year and permanently in 2015.
Clubs
Current
| Club | Colours | Nickname | Home Ground | Est. | Years in CHFA | CHFA Premierships | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Years | ||||||
| Forest-Stanley |  |
Demons | Stanley Recreation Ground, Stanley | 1963 | 1963- | 18 | 1965, 1972, 1973, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1991, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2017 |
| Irishtown |  |
Canaries | Irishtown Sports Complex, Irishtown | 1896 | 1900-1915, 1919- | 41 | 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1914, 1915, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1930, 1932, 1935, 1937, 1938, 1940, 1944, 1953, 1957, 1969, 1970, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1982, 1983, 1995, 1996, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2018 |
| Redpa |  |
Redlegs | Redpa Oval, Redpa | 1960s | 1965- | 13 | 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994, 2000, 2006, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024 |
| Scotchtown |  |
Tigers | Circular Head Recreation Ground, Smithton | 1950 | 1951-1952, 1959- | 5 | 1977, 1987, 1988, 2004, 2021 |
Former
| Club | Colours | Nickname | Home Ground | Est. | Years in CHFA | CHFA Premierships | Fate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Years | |||||||
| City |  |
Magpies | Circular Head Recreation Ground, Smithton | ?-1995 | 1 | 1993 | Merged with Trowutta to form Trowutta-City in 1996 | |
| Forest |  |
Robins | Forest Sports Centre, Forest | 1900-1962 | 12 | 1901, 1902, 1904, 1905, 1918, 1931, 1933, 1934, 1939, 1945, 1950, 1951 | Merged with Stanley to form Forest-Stanley in 1963 | |
| Marrawah |  |
Coasters | 1951-1952 | 0 | - | Entered recess after 1953 season. Merged with Scotchtown to form Scotchtown-Marrawah in 1959. | ||
| Mengha | 1910, 1912, 1918-1922 | 0 | - | Recess in 1911 and 1913-1917. Folded after 1922 season. | ||||
| Methodists | ?-1953-1954-? | 0 | - | Folded | ||||
| Montagu | Dark with light sash and monogram | ?-1953-? | 0 | - | Folded | |||
| North Forest | 1908-1909 | 0 | - | Folded after 1909 season | ||||
| Our Boys | 1900 | 0 | - | Folded | ||||
| Ramblers | 1914 | 0 | - | Folded after 1914 season | ||||
| Smithton | (1931) |
Magpies | Circular Head Recreation Ground, Smithton | 1907 | 1907-1979 | 18 | 1925, 1929, 1949, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1971, 1978 | Moved to North West FL in 1980 |
| Stanley |  |
Seagulls | Stanley Recreation Ground, Stanley | 1900-1913, 1915-1921, 1923-1962 | 8 | 1900, 1903, 1936, 1941, 1948, 1947, 1948, 1961 | Merged with Forest to form Forest-Stanley in 1963 | |
| Trowutta |  |
Roos | Trowutta Oval, Trowutta | ?-1992 | 0 | - | Entered recess after 1992 season. Merged with City to form Trowutta-City in 1996 | |
| Trowutta-City |  |
Bulldogs | Trowutta Oval, Trowutta | 1996 | 1996-2009, 2011-2014 | 4 | 1997, 1998, 2003, 2007 | Entered recess in 2010, re-formed in 2011, folded after 2014 season |
Premiers
|
'West Wellington FA
'Circular Head FA
|
|
|
|
* - As the Circular Head Division of the North West FU
2017 Ladder
| Circular Head FA | Wins | Byes | Losses | Draws | For | Against | % | Pts | Final | Team | G | B | Pts | Team | G | B | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irishtown | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1254 | 357 | 351.26% | 44 | Preliminary | Forest/Stanley | 6 | 11 | 47 | Scotchtown | 6 | 7 | 43 | |
| Forest/Stanley | 9 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1043 | 517 | 201.74% | 36 | Grand | Forest/Stanley | 8 | 7 | 55 | Irishtown | 3 | 10 | 28 | |
| Scotchtown | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 629 | 1073 | 58.62% | 16 | ||||||||||
| Redpa | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 276 | 1255 | 21.99% | 0 |
2018 Ladder
| Circular Head FA | Wins | Byes | Losses | Draws | For | Against | % | Pts | Final | Team | G | B | Pts | Team | G | B | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irishtown | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1310 | 548 | 239.05% | 52 | Semi | Scotchtown | 16 | 17 | 113 | Redpa | 4 | 1 | 25 | |
| Forest/Stanley | 9 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1415 | 736 | 192.26% | 36 | Semi | Irishtown | 9 | 10 | 64 | Forest/Stanley | 3 | 4 | 22 | |
| Scotchtown | 7 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 973 | 951 | 102.31% | 28 | Preliminary | Forest/Stanley | 5 | 8 | 38 | Scotchtown | 3 | 9 | 27 | |
| Redpa | 1 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 336 | 1799 | 18.68% | 4 | Grand | Irishtown | 14 | 7 | 91 | Forest/Stanley | 8 | 6 | 54 |
References
- ^ Stoward, John. Australian rules football in Tasmania. Digital Print Tasmania, 2002, p. 23. ISBN 0-9577515-7-5
- ^ Stoward, John. Australian rules football in Tasmania. Digital Print Tasmania, 2002, p. 23. ISBN 0-9577515-7-5
- ^ Phil's World Archived 2015-02-08 at archive.today
- ^ Stoward, John. Australian rules football in Tasmania. Digital Print Tasmania, 2002, p. 23. ISBN 0-9577515-7-5
- ^ Burnie Advocate 1947 to 1948
- ^ Burnie Advocate 1951 to 1952
- ^ Burnie Advocate 1962
- ^ Burnie Advocate 1963
- ^ Burnie Advocate 1993
- ^ Burnie Advocate 1996
