Australian Football

When the mine at Grassy was closed in 1990 it seemed certain that it would lead to the demise not only of the township's football club, but also of the three team King Island Football Association. However, a man named Mark Patterson took the bit between his teeth and “went around literally knocking on doors and he found people so that come first match day we had a side on the ground. We never won a game for two and half years, I don’t think, but it helped keep football going, and the atmosphere within our club was just fantastic.”[1]

Apparently, almost two decades on plans were afoot to re-open the mine, so the future of the Hawks, who are the KIFA’s least successful club, may well be a bright and long one. Certainly the club's recent record is a good one as they have contested six of the last eight grand finals, emerging victorious from those of 2012, 2014 and 2015.