Australian Football

Cyril Hoft began his league career with North Fremantle for whom he played 11 WAFL games in 1914 before joining Perth, where he played in 1915 and 1916. He spent the next couple of years undertaking military service overseas, during which time he took part in a number of battalion matches, before resuming his league career in 1919 with Perth. A talented, extremely pacy centreman, Hoft was particularly renowned for his strong high marking and prodigious place kicking. He tied for the inaugural Sandover Medal with Subiaco's Tom Outridge, only for the award to be exclusively conferred on the Maroons man on the casting vote of the league president. In 1997 the league made retrospective awards to all players who had originally been deprived of a Medal in such circumstances.

Hoft was a member of Western Australia's triumphant Perth carnival team of 1921, and also played in the match against South Australia in Adelaide two years later. During that game he sustained an eye injury and had to remain in Adelaide for treatment. For reasons which are unclear, he elected to settle in South Australia, and the 1924 season saw him lining up with Glenelg in the SAFL. He had a highly memorable debut campaign, taking over the Glenelg captaincy two rounds into the season, representing South Australia at the Hobart carnival, and winning the club's best and fairest award. 

In 1925 he was appointed captain-coach and, in the opening round of the season, had the immense satisfaction of leading the club to its first ever league win at the expense of reigning premier West Torrens. Hoft remained at Glenelg for another couple of years, playing a total of 56 senior games, and earning carnival selection again at Melbourne in 1927. In 1928 he returned home to the west where he played one final season with Perth, taking his total number of games with that club to 88.

Author - John Devaney