Devonport Football Club
| Devonport | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Names | |||
| Full name | Devonport Football Club | ||
| Nickname(s) | Magpies | ||
| Club song: "Good old Devonport forever!" | |||
| 2016 (TSL) season | |||
| After finals | 5th | ||
| Home-and-away season | 5th | ||
| Club details | |||
| Founded | March 6, 1890 | ||
| Colours | |||
| Competition | Tasmanian State League | ||
| President | Shane Yates | ||
| Coach | Mitch Thorp | ||
| Captain(s) | Brad Symmons, Nick Pearce, Quade Byard | ||
| Ground(s) | Devonport Oval (capacity: 14,000) | ||
| Uniforms | |||
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Devonport Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Devonport, Tasmania. The club previously competed in the Northern Tasmanian Football League but from 2009 it joined the newly reformed Tasmanian State League.
The collapse of statewide football in late 2000 saw Devonport revert to a regional competition, in this case the Northern Tasmanian Football League (NTFL), but with only 9 wins from 20 matches for the year the club finished 8th (out of 12), a result it failed to improve on in 2002.
In 2003, however, the Magpies surged up the ladder to qualify for the finals, while the next year they went within one game – albeit a game in which they were conclusively vanquished by Burnie – of a flag. The 2005 season brought another grand final appearance, and another loss to Burnie, albeit this time by the comparatively more respectable margin of just 17 points. Then, in 2006, hopes that it might be third time lucky were conclusively dashed on grand final day by a much more talented and cohesive Launceston side, which ultimately won with ease by 57 points. The 2007 season brought a marginal decline in fortunes as the Magpies, having topped the ladder prior to the finals, bowed out of flag contention in straight sets after defeats by eventual premiers Launceston in the second semi final, and Ulverstone in the preliminary final. Kurt Heazlewood's Baldock Medal victory as the competition's best and fairest player provided a small measure of consolation.
The Devonport Football Club accepted an invitation to join the new Tasmanian State League in 2009. After a meeting of club members, delegates and supporters, the club unanimously voted to leave the NTFL and join the new league. The club began their foray back into Statewide football with distinction in their first two seasons, with a first semi final loss to eventual premier Clarence in 2009 and a surprise Grand Final appearance the following season, again meeting Clarence at Bellerive Oval, but there was to be no fairytale as the Coastal Magpies were swept aside by the reigning premier by 57 points.
Just three months after competing in a Grand Final, financial disaster was to beset the club, on 10 December 2010 the Devonport Football Club was to announce that they were facing a debt of $507,525 and faced impending collapse should a white knight not be found. AFL Tasmania's CEO Scott Wade announcing that the club had fourteen days to prove to the sport's governing body that they were able to put plans in place to reduce the debt or they would face immediate expulsion from the Tasmanian State League for poor financial management. The NTFL stating that they would not let Devonport Football Club back into their competition should this eventuate and cross-town rival East Devonport refusing to enter into amalgamation talks with the club would most likely see the club go into extinction. The club is no stranger to financial turmoil, having been in trouble for most of the previous twenty years stemming back to their appointment of former Hawthorn legend Peter Knights as senior coach in 1990. By 1998 Devonport were close to extinction with a debt of $709,067 and were only saved by an approximately $246,000 loan from the Devonport Council in order to pay off some of their creditors. Urban legend amongst football writers and punters on the North West Coast was that the club were well known to have been in almost a quarter of a million dollars debt when they joined the TSL in late 2008, but the full extent of the financial problems were not known by AFL Tasmania until the sport's governing body appointed an independent administrator to oversee the running of the club in late 2010 whereby the extent of the financial problems were fully disclosed as Devonport Council also called in their loan to the club at the same time. After a change of board of directors, the club were granted donations of approximately $200,000 by a number of North Western businessmen and other supporters in the community and as such, were granted permission to remain a member of the Tasmanian State League.
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