South Launceston has elected long-time club servant John Hosken as its new president following a special general meeting.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The club appeared in turmoil earlier this month when a majority of its board including then-president Joey Crawford and life members Marcia Tepper and John Ivory resigned, but has rallied to elect a new 13-member board two weeks out from its season opener.
Hosken boasts links with the club dating back nearly 30 years and was proud to unveil respected two-time former president Rod Patterson as the club's new patron.
The Bulldogs' former vice-president, committee member, sponsorship director and patron assured fans the club was not "broken" and that their season would progress business as usual.
"Probably the only role I haven't done outside of football director has been the president and I took the view that in the time of need people step up that have a stake in the club," Hosken said.
"I'm excited to take on the role of president and I'm delighted that so many people stepped up to have such a large committee, and I'm particularly delighted about three female directors being part of that.
"I think it's quite ironic that when Rod Patterson was president he asked me to be the patron and my first official act as club president was to appoint Rod as the patron.
"We're delighted with the community spirit Rod has and his history in the club and football and business and that he's prepared to take the position on."
Hosken hoped his reign would be characterised by solid financial management and a strong junior program.
"Immediately for me it's to come up to speed - outside of that the club's been successful in securing a couple of significant grants and we've got a couple more in play," he said.
"Then it's making sure the finances are where they need to be and the junior football club liaison - the two first things I did after appointing Rod as patron was reach out to the president of the junior football club, and the second was to reach out to the president of the NTFA to update the competition on where we're at and our commitment to the competition.
"We're not as broken as what was portrayed - there's a really solid base and I'm really delighted about the groundswell of support around the club."
Patterson, who oversaw the club's transition from State League to NTFA in late 2013, said the club's "great family atmosphere" had been key to its continued success.
"I've been president of the football club twice in its darkest hour," Patterson said.
"Six years ago we didn't have a player, we didn't have a pair of shorts - six years after that we've won five premierships and we've got money in the bank.
"There's been a bit of a hiccup in the last few months and it was really important that we didn't let that become a roadblock.
"We're going back to what were known for and that's our culture based around our people and if we focus on that our football club will be strong forever."
BULLDOGS BOARD
John Hosken (president), Wayne Mitchell (vice-president), Toni Rosier (secretary), Trent Allen (treasurer), Bob Salt, Lyle Knee, Kate Child, Richard Rosier, Terry Coughlan, Paul Etchell, Kate Greaves, Ashley Moore, Craig Newman
Love local footy? Sign up for our footy fanatics newsletter here.