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LATROBE
Affiliated: Junior competitions, notably the NWFL, between 1881 and 1909; NWFU 1910-86; NTFL 1987-present
Club Address: P.O. Box 80, Latrobe 7307, Tasmania
Home Ground: Darrel Baldock Oval
Formed: 1881
Colours: Navy blue and red (formerly royal blue and red)
Emblem: Demons (formerly Diehards)
Premierships: 1891-92, 1907, 1913, 1920, 1922, 1924, 1926, 1930-31, 1933, 1969-70-71-72 (15 total) Tasmanian State Premierships - 1970 (1 total)
Cheel Medallists: Nil
Royal Medallists: Nil
Wander Medallists: Dave Jeffrey 1948; Peter Gillam 1952; Joe Murphy 1956; Darrel Baldock 1959 & 1969; Wally Clark 1964; Len Lawson 1965; Bob Hickman 1966-67; Brian Waters 1968; John Jillard 1970-71 (9 Medallists/10 Medals)
All Australians: Darrel Baldock 1961 (1 total)
NWFU Top Goalkickers: H.Hicks (N/A) 1920, (N/A) 1921 & (39) 1922; N.Horne (71) 1937, (61) 1938 & (84) 1939; A.Cole (97) 1965; R.Gilham (83) 1970; T.Honner (85) 1986 (9 total)
NTFL Top Goalkickers: M.Williams (132) 1989; T.Keays (117) 1994; S.French (42) 2000 (3 total)
Highest Score: 38.22 (250) vs. Penguin 9.6 (60) in round 8 2004
Most Games: 324 by Rod Butler
| MINI-BIOGRAPHIES: | Darrel Baldock Wally Clark Harry Coventry Maurice Sankey Viv Valentine Ivor Warne-Smith |
Its population may only be in the region of 2,500, but on a per capita basis Latrobe's contribution to the sport of Australian football is second to none. A total of fifteen senior premierships plus one state flag is creditable enough, but when one peruses a list of some of the illustrious names to have taken the field over the years wearing the Diehards' navy and red jumper one's admiration increases still further. Along with regular Tasmanian interstate representatives like Joe Murphy, Len Lawson and Vin Waite, and dual Wander Medallists in Bob Hickman and John Jillard, Latrobe has been home to three champions who would have to be accorded legendary status regardless of either the era or the company. Of these, Ivor Warne-Smith and Darrel Baldock have both acquired Australia-wide reputations, and their careers are covered in detail elsewhere on the site (click on their names to view); however, the third of these champions, Harry Coventry, despite being less well known, loses nothing in comparison, and might lay some claim to being Latrobe's favourite son.
| Born in 1884, Harry
Coventry was an all round sportsman of prodigious excellence, accomplishing
noteworthy feats in cycling, boxing, tennis, cricket, athletics, snooker and
billiards in addition to football. However, it is for his exploits with
the leather that he is best remembered. Aged just thirteen when he made his
debut for Latrobe, he was still making sporadic appearances for the club some 30
years later. "Although of small build his ability to kick either
feet, turn both ways and pass accurately made him a champion" (see
footnote 1) and it was not long before his talent began to attract notice
from across the Bass Strait. However, despite receiving a number of
offers, notably from Collingwood, St Kilda and
South Melbourne, he remained loyal to coastal
football throughout his career, playing briefly for Mersey and Launceston
as well as his home town club. He was also a prominent and regular member
of both coastal and northern representative teams, although sadly the bulk of
his career took place at a time when coastal footballers were not normally considered for
interstate selection.
Formed on 19 June 1881, the Latrobe Football Club had already firmly established itself on the north west coastal football scene when Harry Coventry began his career. By the time that career was over, the Diehards were arguably the strongest team in the region. |
Latrobe's north west coastal football all time great, Harry Coventry. |
After spending most of its formative phase in the NWFL, in 1910 Latrobe, along with Mersey, Wesley Vale, Ulverstone and Penguin, became a founder member of the NWFU, where it was to remain until the competition was disbanded at the end of the 1986 season. The club contested its first NWFU grand final in 1911, losing heavily to Mersey, before breaking through for its first flag two years later.
Coastal football went into recess because of World War One in 1916 and did not resume until after the devastating influenza outbreak of 1919. When it did resume, Latrobe was very much to the fore, contesting all five grand finals between 1920 and 1924 for three premierships, and adding another flag in 1926. It was similarly prominent during the first four years of the 1930s, winning pennants in 1930, 1931 and 1933, and finishing 2nd in 1932 (see footnote 2). A further losing grand final followed in 1939, but the quarter of a century or so following the resumption of football after the 2nd World War in 1945 proved to be an unusually dismal time for Latrobe. Not even the arrival from East Devonport in 1959 of a new captain-coach by the name of Darrel John Baldock could spark an improvement in fortunes.
It would not be until Baldock's return from a seven season stint with St Kilda in 1969 that the Diehards would, at long last, return to pre-eminence. That the club already possessed a nucleus of highly accomplished players was not in doubt - indeed, Latrobe players would, incredibly, win every Wander Medal on offer between 1964 and 1971 - but such talent was worthless unless it could be properly harnessed. With 119 VFL games under his belt, many of them as the Saints' captain, Darrel Baldock was perfectly equipped and qualified to mould talented individuals like John Jillard, Bob Hickman, Denis 'Mary' Smith, Ken Luxmoore and Rod Butler into a consistently winning combination. Between 1969 and 1972 Latrobe established an all time league record by winning four premierships in succession (see footnote 3). The only real disappointment during this period was the club's failure to perform better in contests for the state premiership; given the abundance of talent available, a record of just one state flag from four attempts has to be regarded as disappointing.
When the structure of Tasmanian football underwent a drastic overhaul at the end of the 1986 season, Latrobe found itself in the newly formed Northern Tasmanian Football League where, after a somewhat inglorious start (a success rate of just 29.3% in its first six seasons), it has established itself as a key member of the competition, albeit without, as yet, a premiership (see footnote 4).
Whatever the future holds, Latrobe Football Club's legacy is already unique, significant, and worthy of much greater attention and celebration than it is likely to receive.
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Footnotes
1. A Century of Tasmanian Football 1879-1979 by Ken Pinchin, page 166. Return to Main Text
2. In 1931, after Devonport's withdrawal left the competition with just three participating clubs, Latrobe fielded two separate teams - Latrobe Town and Latrobe Country - during roster matches, only to combine once again for the finals. Return to Main Text
3. The record had previously been shared by Ulverstone (3 wins between 1955 and 1957) and Burnie (3 wins 1958-60). Return to Main Text
4. The Demons, as they are now known, have twice reached the grand final, losing on both occasions to Ulverstone, by 24 points in 1994, and by 34 points in 2000. Return to Main Text