Burnie Dockers Football Club

Burnie Football Club

Full name	Burnie Football Club
Nickname(s)	Dockers
Strip
Founded	1995
Sport	Australian rules football
League	Tasmanian State League
First season	1995 (TFL)
Ground	West Park, Burnie
Club song	"We're a happy team at Burnie"
President	Peter Vincent
Coach	Brent Plant
Captain	Kade Munday
2011 (TSL)	2nd

Burnie Football Club is an Australian rules football club located in Burnie, Tasmania, Australia.

Club history

The Burnie Dockers were formed as a result of a merger between former TFL Statewide League club Burnie Hawks (formerly known as Cooee) and NTFL club the Burnie Tigers. After several years of bitter hatred in the city between the two rival clubs, both clubs were fledgling by the early 1990s and were struggling financially.

In late 1993 the Burnie Hawks absorbed the Burnie Tigers and merged, however the club still played as the Burnie Hawks until, with the arrival of former North Melbourne champion Peter German, the club adopted a new emblem, colours and jumper designed to appease both sides of the divide.

From 1995 the Burnie Dockers were successful, making the 1996 and 1997 Grand Finals, but ultimately losing both to Southern powerhouse, Clarence. Shortly after, the Dockers found themselves (like many TFL clubs during the 1990s) in serious financial trouble and facing extinction until a late bailout by the Burnie City Council saved them. The Dockers participated in the Tasmanian Football League until 2000 when it announced it would be pulling out of the fledgling competition, the League therefore folding and the Dockers rejoined the NTFL in 2001.

Success was never far away and the Dockers became arguably Tasmanian football's most powerful domestic club during the early part of the 2000s, winning five consecutive NTFL premierships from 2001–2005. After two lean years, the Dockers bounced back in 2008. Playing in a thrilling NTFL grand final, the Dockers fought tenaciously against the all-conquering Launceston Blues, but fell short by 13 points in front of 5,274 fans at Latrobe.

From 2009, the Burnie Dockers have participated in the Tasmanian State League (TSL) competition.

Statistics and records

Affiliations – Burnie Tigers:

• 1885–1912 – North West Football
• 1913–1921 – Burnie Football League
• 1922–1931 – North West Football Union
• 1932–1933 – Burnie Football League
• 1934–1940 – North West Football Union
• 1945 – Burnie Football League
• 1946–1986 – North West Football Union
• 1987–1993 – Northern Tasmanian Football League

Affiliations – Cooee Bulldogs/Burnie Hawks:

• 1920–1922; 1930–1944 – Junior competitions
• 1945–1986 – North Western Football Union
• 1987–1994 – TFL Statewide League

Affiliations – Burnie Dockers:

• 1995–2000 – TFL Statewide League
• 2001–2008 – Northern Tasmanian Football League
• 2009–present – Tasmanian State League

Home ground:

• West Park Oval

Formed:

• Burnie Tigers: 1885 (as Emu Bay)
• Cooee Bulldogs: 1894 (became Burnie Hawks in 1987)
• Burnie Dockers: 1995

Colours:

• Purple, green, red and white

Emblem:

• Dockers

Premierships – Burnie Tigers:

• 1899, 1911, 1927, 1928, 1937, 1939, 1954, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1966, 1974, 1992

Tasmanian State Premierships:

• 1963

Premierships – Cooee Bulldogs:

• 1930, 1931, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1941, 1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978, 1982

Tasmanian State Premierships:

• 1964, 1978

Premierships – Burnie Dockers:

• 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005

Cheel Medallists:

• 1928 – Charlie Hallam – {Burnie Tigers}

S.L Alford Medallists:

• 1937 – Clem Riggs – {Burnie Tigers}

Wander Medallists:

• 1949 – Len Hayes – {Cooee Bulldogs}
• 1950 – Lou Redman – {Cooee Bulldogs}
• 1954 – Ray Stokes – {Burnie Tigers}
• 1973 – Graeme Shephard – {Cooee Bulldogs}
• 1979 – Tom Lee – {Cooee Bulldogs}

Baldock Medallists:

• 2003 – Nick Probert – {Burnie Dockers}
• 2008 – Kade Munday – {Burnie Dockers}

All-Australians:

• Nil

NWFU leading goalkickers:

• 1947 – G. Goninon {Burnie Tigers} – 67
• 1948 – B. Quirk {Burnie Tigers} – 52
• 1961 – M. Morse {Burnie Tigers} – 60
• 1971 – D. Hodgetts {Burnie Tigers} – 79
• 1972 – D. Hodgetts {Burnie Tigers} – 73
• 1979 – L. Barnes {Burnie Tigers} – 82

• 1952 – D. Anderson {Cooee Bulldogs} – 89
• 1957 – L. Hayes {Cooee Bulldogs} – 51
• 1972 – S. Beaumont {Cooee Bulldogs} – 73
• 1973 – A. Hodgetts {Cooee Bulldogs} – 73
• 1975 – D. Shepherd {Cooee Bulldogs} – 60
• 1976 – D. Shepherd {Cooee Bulldogs} – 102
• 1978 – S. Beaumont {Cooee Bulldogs} – 94
• 1984 – S. Beaumont {Cooee Bulldogs} – 143

NTFL leading goalkickers:

• 1991 – C. Reynolds {Burnie Tigers} – 76
• 1992 – C. Reynolds {Burnie Tigers} – 96
• 2001 – A. Hering {Burnie Dockers} – 102

TFL Statewide League leading goalkickers:

• 1996 – Justin Plapp {Burnie Dockers} – 98

Highest scores:

• Burnie Tigers 30.21 (201) v Penguin in 1963
• Cooee 31.22 (208) v North Launceston 6.13 (49) in 1982
• Burnie Dockers 49.35 (329) v Smithton 0.1 (1) in 2001

Most games:

• 265 – David Langmaid – {Burnie Tigers}
• 263 – Harold 'Tiger' Dowling – {Cooee Bulldogs}

Record finals attendance:

• Burnie Tigers: 13,223 v Hobart – 1959 State Grand Final at North Hobart Oval
• Burnie Dockers: 12,352 v Clarence – 1996 TFL Grand Final at North Hobart Oval

References

• Full Points Footy profile for Burnie Football Club
• Burnie Football Club official site