Tasmania's Finest: Leedham and Riewoldt Enter Football Immortality

A legend of Tasmanian football and a modern star of the AFL from Tasmania have been honoured with induction into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.

The careers of North Launceston and North Hobart great John Leedham and St. Kilda champion Nick Riewoldt were celebrated at a gala function in Melbourne on Tuesday night.

Widely regarded as the best Tasmanian footballer never to have played in the VFL, the late John Leedham was recognised for a storied career that included five NTFA premierships and three state premierships with North Launceston as well as a TFL premiership with North Hobart.

Leedham represented the state 13 times and was the first Tasmanian to win All-Australian honours after a dominant performance at the National Carnival in 1953.

In 2004, Leedham was named vice-captain to Darrel Baldock in Tasmania’s official Team of the Century.

“To me there was only a cigarette paper between he [Leedham] and Darrel,” Australian Football Hall of Fame Legend Peter Hudson said.

“The player I’ve seen in my lifetime who was very much like him was Greg Williams…

He would have been able to do anything he wanted to do in the VFL if he had made the move.”

While Leedham’s Hall of Fame honour was accepted posthumously by his family, Riewoldt took to the stage recounting stories from a glittering 17-season AFL career, which included 336 games and 718 goals.

The first selection in the 2000 AFL Draft, Riewoldt grew up in Sandy Bay and attended Princes St Primary School before his family relocated to the Gold Coast when he was nine years old.

He is the cousin of three-time Coleman Medal winner Jack Riewoldt, who won three premierships with Richmond and is a future hall of famer as well.

“I just view my time growing up in Tassie so fondly,” Nick said.

“I’ve always been a Tasmanian, I just happened to play the majority of my junior footy in Queensland.

Riewoldt, a six-time best and fairest and former St. Kilda captain, was in the heaving crowd at North Hobart Oval when Tasmania beat Victoria in 1990 and also has fond memories of watching his Clarence heroes - uncle Chris, Gavin Cooney and Darren Winter - in the old Tasmanian Statewide League.

“I was absolutely aware of the power of football in Tasmania, I can still remember waking up and watching the footy on the ABC, watching the game of the round in the TFL.”

“I can remember those days vividly and romanticise those days as a kid watching football.”

Riewoldt has been a strong advocate for Tasmania’s entry into the AFL and was part of the taskforce that helped to build the business case that resulted in the state’s conditional license.