Fingal District Football Association
The Fingal District Football Association was an Australian rules football association in Fingal Valley, Tasmania from 1924 to 1992. Football had been played in the Fingal region since 1884, when the Fingal Football Club was formed. History. The history of the Association goes back to the 1880s when the town of Mathinna was thriving due to gold mining and had three teams that played each other regularly. At this time, like most competitions in Australia at the time, the team that won the most games were awarded the premiership. There was a game between Fingal and  St Marys recorded in 1884, but regular competition did not commence until the railway line was completed through the Fingal Valley in 1886. Two became three when Avoca joined. The "Launceston Examiner" reported on Saturday 9 August 1890 that a team from South Esk had journeyed to St Marys and played the local side with the visitors winning by seven points. Only two Premierships have been recorded, from 1891 and 1907 with Avoca winning both. The odd game was played during World War One and the competition didn't reform again until 1922. The participating clubs in the return season  were St Marys, Rovers (Cornwall-Mt Nicholas), Fingal, Avoca and Mathinna. The Association was in recess again from 1934 to 1935. In 1936 Rovers played a draw with Avoca in the grand final, but they refused to play the next week in the replay resulting in a forfeit. The very next year Avoca received another forfeit, this time from St Marys who had won the original game only for a protest to be upheld and the game ordered replayed. St Marys had already arranged for a game outside the Association and wanted a delay. When this was refused, they forfeited . The Association remained more of less stable until World War 2, when the competition went into recess once again. The Rovers failed to re-appear once the recess ended in 1945. In 1945 St Helens, Rossarden and Swansea joined the competition bringing the club numbers to seven. Competition was healthy until the 1960s, when Mathinna started to struggle to get teams on the field. They finally folded in 1968, making way for Campbell Town to join the Association. By this time Rossarden were dominating the competition with players like the Lowe and Hawkins Brothers, Gus O’Boyle, Colin Cruikshank, Garry Tapp  and coach Bob Miller. They won seven premierships between 1956 and 1967, with five in a row from 1961 to 1965. In the more recent years of the Association, the competition was looked after by longtime secretary Graham McGee. The players of the era included Bob Bye, Scott Marshall, John Smith, Jack Clements, Les Newman, John Thurley, Steven Salter, Colin Cruickshank, Gus O’Boyle, John and Patrick Cusick, Rob Lowe, Max Davison, Paul Ellis, Norm Barnes and Craig Woods. The last grand final of the Association was played at St Marys in 1992. St Helens defeated St Marys by 87 points . Campbell Town decided to enter the Northern Tasmanian Football Association leaving only four teams in the competition; St Marys, Fingal, St Helens and Swansea. Rossarden had folded after the 1972 season and Avoca had folded after winning the premiership in 1989. It was decided that a four team competition was not viable. Swansea headed for the Tasman Football Association, while St Helens went into the North East Association. St Marys and Fingal were forced to join Campbell Town in the NTFA. (St Marys won the first grand final but the game was ended with ten minutes to go. Fingal protested  and the Fingal F.A. determined that the game had to be replayed and it took place two weeks after) Seniors. Best and Fairest. Best and fairest in the seniors was presented the Athol "Curly" Ellis Memorial Trophy