Australian Football

The Lindisfarne Football Club was a founder member in 1996 of the Southern Football League (SthFL). After showing promise by reaching the finals in its first couple of seasons, however, the club began to find life difficult. Indeed, in 1999 and 2000 the Two Blues failed to win a single match. 

In 2002, following the admission of former state league clubs Clarence, Glenorchy, North Hobart, Hobart and New Norfolk, the league was split into Premier and Regional sections, with the Two Blues competing in the latter, initially at least with minimal success.

Eventually, in 2006 the Two Blues suggested that they were beginning to flex their muscles when they qualified for the finals, ultimately finishing fourth. However, they proved unable to build on this, and a 10-8 record in 2007 was only good enough for sixth place.

The 2008 season ought really to have produced the club’s first ever Regional League flag but despite dominating the competition almost all year there was an inexplicable sting in the tail as Huonville defeated them in the grand final by 37 points. The Two Blues entered the grand final as almost unbackable favourites having won their previous 19 matches, but they wilted under pressure in the final term and a season’s hard and impressive work was ruined.

In 2009 the competition was denuded by the departure of Clarence, Glenorchy, North Hobart, Hobart and Lauderdale to participate in a revamped statewide league, with the SthFL reverting to a single division format. Lindisfarne have been consistently strong since this restructuring, finishing as runners-up  in 2009, 2012, 2016 and 2017 before enjoying arguably the greatest season in their history in 2018. Top of the ladder after the roster matches, the Two Blues cruised into the grand final on the strength of a 21.19 (145) to 11.7 (73) second semi final trouncing of Claremont. A fortnight later Lindisfarne played off for the premiership against Huonville and the result was similarly conclusive as they triumphed by 84 points, 19.15 (129) to 6.9 (45).

Lindisfarne’s pre-SthFL existence stretched back to before the first world war and the club won its first senior premiership in 1924 in the Clarence Football Association, where it competed for several seasons in the 1920s. Most of the Two Blues’ success arrived after world war two, however. In 1957 they procured the coveted ‘double’ of southern and state amateur premierships, beating Ogilvenians by 42 points to clinch the former, and overcoming northern premier Old Launcestonians by 9 points in the play-off for the latter.

The 1980s proved to be a particularly productive decade for Lindisfarne. In 1982 the TAFLSD was divided into Districts and Old Scholars sections, with the two section winners playing off for the Divisional premiership. The Two Blues duly won the Districts grand final against Claremont, and then beat Old Hobartians for the Southern Division flag. They went under to Old Launcestonians in the state title decider, however.

In 1989 they again claimed the double, scraping home by 4 points against Claremont in the local grand final before trouncing Longford by 61 points for the state title.