Australian Football

The Hutchins School Old Boys Football Club (OSFA) began life in 1932 as a member of the Public School Old Boys Football Association competition from its inception until the Association became the Tasmanian Amateur Football League (Southern Division) in 1947. The club reached the 1932 grand final on debut, beating St Virgil’s by 41 points, 11.14 (80) to 5.9 (39). Between 1934 and 1947 the club contested every OSFA grand final, a total of nine in succession allowing for a five year break for the war. Five of those grand finals were won, and three were backed up with state titles. 

However, after scoring a 3 point win over St Virgil’s in the 1946 grand final Hutchins would have to endure a fifteen season premiership drought, broken in 1961 by means of a 13.9 (87) to 8.14 (62) grand final defeat of Friends. The club went on to add the state championship with a 20.18 (138) to 13.17 (95) defeat of northern amateur premier Brooks Old Boys. Two years later, Hutchins again achieved the ‘double’ with victories over Lindisfarne (TAFLSD) and Brooks Old Boys (state title). In 1964, the club won the local premiership by a bare point from Tasmanian University, but lost to Old Launcestonians in the state final.

After enduring another extended premiership drought the club returned as a force in the early eighties when it contested the first five grand finals of the decade, for wins in 1981 against Ogilvie Tech Old Scholars and 1983 against Old Hobartians Association. In 1983 Hutchins went on to claim the Southern Division premiership by downing Districts premier Sorell 16.21 (117) to 13.13 (91), and the state title with a 21.17 (143) to 10.14 (74) mauling of Old Scotch Collegians.

Hutchins has enjoyed considerable success since the turn of the century, winning eight senior grade flags in the last seventeen seasons. The most recent of these came in 2014 when they accounted for DOSA in the grand final by 58 points, 14.16 (100) to 5.12 (42). They last contested a grand final in 2017 when they went down by 69 points to Richmond. A year later they dropped to fifth place and therefore missed the finals.