Australian Football

The town of Wynyard, which currently has a population of roughly five thousand people, nestles beneath the picturesque Table Cape at the mouth of the Inglis River in north west Tasmania. The club which now bears the town’s name was originally in fact known as Table Cape, and is believed to have been formed around 1885. It spent its first four decades participating sporadically in a number of minor competitions. As of the 1925 season there were actually two separate clubs known as Wynyard after North West Football Union member club Yeoman decided to adopt the name. To make things even more confusing, Yeoman-Wynyard’s reserves team competed in the Table Cape Football Association along with the original Wynyard Football Club. This state of affairs continued intermittently until 1945, when Wynyard was admitted to the NWFU and Yeoman-Wynyard, whether under duress or voluntarily is unclear, reverted to its original name.

Wynyard enjoyed a fair amount of lower grade success during the 1920s, winning five premierships from nine grand final appearances. After the war, the club was quick to find its feet in the NWFU. In 1948 it played off in its first NWFU grand final, losing narrowly to East Devonport, and as the 1950s dawned the club found itself blessed with arguably the finest list of players in its history. Among the champions to don the Wynyard colours during this era were 1953 Wander Medallist Darrell Eaton, highly productive full forward Ray Rocher, triple club champion ‘Bill’ Baker, Glen French, Barry Flint, and the indefatigable Len Hayes, who “many say .....was the most reliable footballer to pull on a pair of boots in the coastal competition”.[1] With such talent at their disposal it is small wonder that the Cats as they were by this time known were finally able to break through for a flag, beating Ulverstone 9.12 (66) to 7.14 (56) in the grand final of 1952. Possible further glory was denied the club when the state premiership was not contested. It would be another fourteen years before Wynyard were finally given the opportunity to play off for the state title and the controversy generated by that 1967 encounter with North Hobart resonates to this day.

Wynyard’s 1967 NWFU premiership was won by 6 goals at the expense of Cooee. The Cats of this period boasted some highly accomplished players, including full forward John Coughlan, who booted 75 majors in 1967 and 88 the following season to top the competition’s goal kicking list both years, John Neal who won the 1968 Alstergen Trophy as the NWFU’s best player in the annual intra-state series, dual club best and fairest winner David Cox, Kayden Edwards, Geoff Gaby and Kevin King. Somewhat surprisingly, however, the Cats failed to build on their 1967 success, and other than a losing grand final against Latrobe in 1970 it would be another eight seasons before they again seriously challenged for the premiership.

In 1975 Wynyard once again had a strong team in which Ricky Smith was the undoubted star. Wander Medallist in 1977, Smith also won the 1976 Alstergen Trophy, was a regular Tasmanian interstate representative, and was four times voted the club’s champion player. Against Ulverstone in that year’s grand final the Cats won with a fair degree of comfort, 15.10 (100) to 12.8 (80), but the state premiership again eluded them.

Wynyard’s fourth and final NWFU premiership came in 1979 thanks to a resounding 21.24 (150) to 15.7 (97) grand final defeat of Cooee. The previous year’s flag decider had seen the Cats kick themselves out of contention in classic fashion, somehow contriving to lose by 25 points despite managing 43 scoring shots to Cooee’s 31.

When the Tasmanian football map was comprehensively re-drawn in 1987 Wynyard began competing in the Northern Tasmanian Football League, but generally found the going arduous. The closest it has managed to get to a premiership was in 1995 when it topped the ladder after the roster matches but lost the grand final by 30 points to Ulverstone. A second consecutive grand final in 1996 brought an even more emphatic defeat, again at the hands (or should that be claws?) of the Robins, this time by 62 points. Following that, the club really began to struggle, and by 2003 matters had become so dire that some felt that the club’s very future was in jeopardy. With the senior team firmly entrenched at the bottom of the NTFL ladder, one of its senior players, the rather appropriately named Robert Hope, remarked “If we don’t find ourselves a high profile coach and get some players here I can see the place falling over, which would be a tremendous shame. I think if it goes on for another year, we’ll struggle to field a side’’.[2]

Some would suggest that calling it “a tremendous shame” is a gross understatement; the demise of a club of Wynyard’s stature, pedigree and importance would constitute a veritable tragedy, both for the sport of Australian football, and for the community of Wynyard.

In hindsight it seems apparent that the pessimists did not truly appreciate the indomitable spirit of the people of Wynyard, for thanks to them the club has not only survived, it has developed into a bona fide competition pace setter, capturing senior grade flags in 2012, 2014 and 2015. Moreover, all these triumphs were achieved in a manner befitting the club's imposing tradition, as evidenced by an average grand final victory margin of almost 64 points. Since claiming their 2015 premiership the Cats have finished fourth in 2016, third in 2017 and fourth in 2018.

Fortunes in Australian football are prone to sudden, often dramatic fluctuations, and it is unlikely that anyone associated with Wynyard will be taking their new found eminence for granted, particularly in light of their recent difficulties. However, given a fair run at the ball it is hard not to see the Cats remaining at or near the forefront of footy in their region for some time to come.