Burnie Dockers Football Club
| File:BurnieDockerslogo.jpg | |
| Full name | Burnie Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname | Dockers |
| Sport | Australian rules football |
| Founded | 1995 |
| First season | 1995 (TFL) |
| League | Tasmanian State League |
| Home ground | West Park, Burnie |
| Colours | Purple and white |
| Anthem | "We're a happy team at Burnie" |
| President | Peter Vincent |
| Head coach | Clint Proctor |
| Captain | Kade Munday |
| 2015 (TSL) | 3rd |
| Strip | |
 | |
Burnie Football Club is an Australian rules football club 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 struggling both on-field and financially by the early 1990s.
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 joined the Northern Tasmanian Football League 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.
Burnie rejoined the newly re-established Tasmanian State League (TSL) competition in 2009, and has played there since. Since 2015, its reserves team has competed in the North West Football League seniors, and it has also fielded teams in the junior grades of that competition.[1]
Club song
The club song is "We're a happy team at Burnie" which is based on "The Yankee Doodle Boy".
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
- 2015–present – North West Football League (reserves and junior grades only)
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
TSL Premierships:
- 2012
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}
- 2012 – Jason Laycock – {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}
- 288 – Anthony 'Tom' Lee – {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
Notable players
Past and present Burnie Dockers players who have played at AFL include:
- Jason Laycock (Essendon)
- Justin Plapp (Richmond and St. Kilda)
- Maverick Weller (Gold Coast and St. Kilda)
References
- ^ Jordan Abell (1 August 2014). "Welcome back: NTFL clubs give unanimous approval for the return of Burnie and Devonport". Retrieved 6 June 2015.