The Tassie Tigers are Tasmania's senior representative hockey teams playing in the elite national domestic competition - the Sultana Bran Hockey One League. The club was formed in 2019 and fields 100% equal Women's and Men's teams every season, with over 85% of our athletes and staff based in, or originally from, Tasmania. They are based at and play their home matches at the Tasmanian Hockey Centre in New Town, Hobart.
However, our history stretches back much further than that.
2019 - Present
In 2019 the new Hockey One League was launched - a national competition replacing the old Australian Hockey League (AHL) - bringing with it new franchises (clubs and teams) from around the country, with a national broadcast deal on FOX Sports and Kayo, and an exciting home and away format that brought the best hockey players to crowds across Australia.
The Tassie Tigers were Tasmania's franchise entry into the new League, joining the Perth Thundersticks, Adelaide Fire, Brisbane Blaze, Canberra Chill, NSW Pride, and Hockey Club Melbourne as the foundation clubs. The Tigers unified the Tasmanian senior Women's and men's teams under the one brand, uniform, and program for the first time.
In that first season the Tigers Men were seen as a serious title challenger and eventually finished third overall, falling in a Semi-Final to the Brisbane Blaze at the Brisbane State Hockey Centre. They played their first game of the new league at home, at the Tasmanian Hockey Centre, on 5 August 2019 against the Adelaide Fire.
The Tigers Women were a rebuilding project, having lost a number of players and struggled for consistency in the prior years, their goal in that first year was to bring some previous stars back into the program, develop some promising young players, and be competitive in every match to build a foundation for future success. They nearly defeated the Canberra Chill in Canberra, pushed eventual winners HC Melbourne all the way and almost caused an upset, and then won a memorable final-round match at home against the Perth Thundersticks in front of a cheering Tasmanian crowd.
Unfortunately, both season 2020 and 2021 were affected by the complications brought about by the global coronavirus pandemic and were not able to be played, but the League is returning in 2022 with a full programme again.
2001 - 2018
The Australian Hockey League was formed in 2001, bringing together the Men's and Women's National Hockey League championships under one unified banner. The senior Tasmanian representative sides were known as the Tassie Tigers (Men) and Tassie Van Demons (Women) at that time, and Tasmania fielded these teams at every AHL until it's last tournament in 2018.
The AHL would change formats constantly, depending on what international tournaments were scheduled for during that year, as it was mostly used as a way to select and prepare the Australian national teams. In some years it was an intense two-week tournament in one location to simulate an Olympic Games style competition, while in other years it would be split across two or three venues. On rare occasions it took the shape of a home-and-away style format. Each state and territory of Australia fielded Men's and Women's teams in the competition, giving it the staus of a senior Australian Championship.
During this time the Van Demons struggled for results, but the Tigers started to find consistency and earn good finishes with some international stars leading the side such as Daniel Sproule and Matthew Wells. They went all the way through to the final in 2006 before losing 1-0 to Queensland. Eddie Ockenden made his debut in the side in 2005 and was a regular member of the team as a youngster in 2006. His rise in the Kookaburras and world hockey mirrored a similar rise in form for the Tigers at AHL, with them winning the title in 2014 after several 4th and 5th placed finishes, and then collecting a 3rd-placed finish in 2015 and 2018.
1991 - 2000
The Tassie Tigers can trace their beginnings back to the early 1990s. In 1991 the Australian National Hockey League (NHL) was formed, and in 1992 Tasmania entered a Men's team into the competition named the Tassie Tigers. A Women's side joined them in 1996 - the Tassie Van Demons - and from that moment Tasmania has fielded senior Men's and Women's teams in every NHL/AHL and Hockey One season since.