North Western Football Association

The North Western Football Association is an Australian rules football competition based on the North West Coast of Tasmania, Australia.

Origins

The North Western Football Association was formed at a meeting at the Formby Hotel in 1894 and is the oldest continuously running football competition in the state of Tasmania. The first clubs were Devonport, Latrobe, Mersey and Ulverstone.
The NWFA was the senior football body on the coast until a break away group of teams formed the NWFU in 1910.

The NWFA was then looked upon as a junior competition feeding the NWFU and later the TFL Statewide League until their demise and later the NTFL teams.
The competition has seen more than fifty teams participate in its history from all parts of the North West Coast indicating the rise and fall and changing fortunes of many towns throughout history. Clubs such as Burnie Tigers, Cooee, Penguin, Mole Creek, Wilmot, Barrington, Don, [East Devonport Football Club|Devonport Football Club|East Devonport], Moriarty, Sassafras, Melrose and Gowrie Park are among many to have played in the NWFA.
From mid-1938 until it went into recess during World War II, the NWFA played under VFA rules, a code of rules established by the Victorian Football Association as a rival to the national rules. This most notably meant that throwing the ball was legal during those years. The NWFA was one of the highest level competitions outside the VFA to play under those rules. Upon its resumption after World War II, the NWFA returned to playing under the traditional rules.

The Association currently operates as an eight club competition and the medal awarded to the Association's Best & Fairest player is the Les Hicks Medal.

Premiers

List of NWFA Seniors Premiership teams.

1894 Devonport
1895 Barrington
1896 Barrington
1897 Devonport
1898 Mersey
1899 Mersey
1900 Ulverstone
1901 Mersey
1902 Mersey
1903 Ulverstone
1904 Mersey
1905 Mersey
1906 Ulverstone
1907 Latrobe
1908 Mersey
1909 Mersey
1910 Wesley Vale
1911 no details
1912 Don
1913 no details
1914 no details
1915 Competition in Recess Due to WWI
1916 Competition in Recess Due to WWI
1917 Competition in Recess Due to WWI
1918 Competition in Recess Due to WWI
1919 Competition suspended due to Influenza Epidemic
1920 Melrose
1921 Wesley Vale
1922 Forth
1923 Mersey
1924 Mersey
1925 Wesley Vale
1926 Wesley Vale
1927 Mersey
1928 Mersey
1929 Wesley Vale
1930 Wesley Vale
1931 Wesley Vale
1932 Mersey
1933 Devonport Juniors
1934 Wesley Vale
1935 Forth
1936 Wesley Vale
1937 Forth
1938 Forth
1939 Forth
1940 Forth
1941 Competition in Recess Due to WWII
1942 Competition in Recess Due to WWII
1943 Competition in Recess Due to WWII
1944 Competition in Recess Due to WWII
1945 Latrobe Rovers
1946 Railton
1947 Railton
1948 Forth
1949 Wesley Vale
1950 Forth
1951 Ex Servicemen
1952 Ex Servicemen
1953 Ex Servicemen
1954 Spreyton
1955 Railton
1956 Forth
1957 Forth
1958 Forth
1959 Wesley Vale
1960 Wesley Vale
1961 Railton
1962 Sheffield
1963 Wesley Vale
1964 Sheffield
1965 Forth
1966 Railton
1967 Gowrie Park
1968 Gowrie Park
1969 Gowrie Park
1970 Gowrie Park
1971 Ulverstone District
1972 Forth
1973 Sheffield
1974 Forth
1975 Spreyton
1976 Spreyton
1977 Spreyton
1978 Spreyton
1979 Wesley Vale
1980 Forth
1981 Turners Beach
1982 Turners Beach
1983 Turners Beach
1984 Spreyton
1985 Motton Preston
1986 Motton Preston
1987 Sheffield
1988 Sheffield
1989 Wesley Vale
1990 Spreyton
1991 Ulverstone District
1992 Ulverstone District
1993 Ulverstone District
1994 Sheffield
1995 Turners Beach
1996 Wesley Vale
1997 Wesley Vale
1998 Rosebery Toorak
1999 Rosebery Toorak
2000 Sheffield
2001 Spreyton
2002 East Ulverstone
2003 Sheffield
2004 Motton Preston
2005 Forth
2006 Motton Preston
2007 Forth
2008 Wesley Vale
2009 Wesley Vale
2010 Motton Preston
2011 Spreyton
2012 Motton Preston
2013 Motton Preston
2014 Turners Beach
2015 Forth
2016 Forth
2017 Wesley Vale
2018 Forth
2019 Wesley Vale
2020 Motton Preston
2021 Motton Preston
2022 Forth
2023 Motton Preston
2024 Sheffield
2025 East Ulverstone

Records

NWFA Record Score

Sheffield Seniors – 69.29 vs Rosebery Toorak 0.0 in 2021. Rosebery-Toorak set an unfortunate new NWFA benchmark with an all-time low percentage in the 2021 season of 1.635%. 60% of their points were scored in one match against West Ulverstone, when they only lost by five goals. For the other 14 games, they kicked 1.0.6 four times, 0.1.1 three times, and went scoreless seven times. Their leading goalkicker was Nick McElwee with two goals, both against West Ulverstone. It was the only time he played for the club all year.
Forth Reserves – 66.24 vs Spreyton 0.0 in 2013.

NWFA Individual Goalkicking Record (Match)

Ben Holland – – Wesley Vale v Rosebery Toorak in 2024.
Note: This is a current Tasmanian state record.

Leading Goal Kickers

Year	Player	H&A goals	Finals goals	Total Goals
1975	Ron Mansfield	0	0	0
1976	Royce Miles	0	0	0
1977	Royce Miles	76	0	76
1978	G Smith	66	0	66
1979	B Johnson	65	0	65
1980	Lloyd Dixon	110	0	110
1981	Brian Cole	0	0	0
1982	Brian Hickey	122	0	122
1983	Brian Eade	86	0	86
1984	Chris Reynolds	72	0	72
1985	Brian Eade	102	0	102
1986	David Frenshaw	88	0	88
1987	Mike Brocksopp	102	0	102
1988	Shane Harris	77	0	77
1989	Les Davidson	49	0	49
1990	Michael Bramich	58	0	58
1991	Les Davidson	55	0	55
1992	Robert Cole	60	0	60
1993	Robert Cole	83	10	93
1994	Tom Honner	66	3	69
1995	Iaon Drake	80	0	80
1996	Iaon Drake	110	11	121
1997	Paul Hampton	100	0	100
1998	Paul Hampton	81	3	84
1999	Jason Fellows	75	15	90
2000	Craig Muir	111	0	111
2001	Andrew Stretton	57	0	57
2002	Jason Foley	81	0	81
2003	Andrew Stretton	0	0	0
2004	Jamie Auton	0	0	0
2005	Jamie Auton	96	2	98
2006	Jamie Auton	127	4	131
2007	Paul Hampton	101	0	101
2008	Todd Bryan	120	0	120
2009	Jamie Auton	79	0	79
2010	Jamie Auton	101	0	101
2011	Mathew Smedley	70	0	70
2012	Shannon Mulvey	104	0	104
2013	Claye Sculthorpe	137	0	137
2014	Nick Milbourne	138	8	146
2015	Nick Milbourne	108	0	108
2016	Brodie Dennis )	113	0	113
2017	Nick Veal	79	2	81
2018	Tristan Weeks	112	8	120