Jack Metherell's appointment as coach of North Hobart was one of the most inspired decisions made by the club.
Metherell was the catalyst for the most successful period in the club's history.
Born on the 9th of November 1912, he came from a family steeped in football tradition. His father was one of six brothers, all of them top footballers, who migrated in 1896 from Moonta in South Australia to the goldfields of Western Australia.
The goldfields competition in those days and the early part of the 1900's was on a par with the Perth competition. Jack Metherell's family eventually moved to Perth (WA). It was while playing with Subiaco Juniors that he was recruited by Geelong in 1932. He was preceded to Geelong by his brother Len who played in the famous 1931 Geelong Premiership team captained by Ted Baker and featuring the great Reg Hickey.
Jack Metherell was the club's leading goalkicker three times; in 1934 with 45, 1936 with 58 and 1937 with 71
Metherell remained with Geelong until 1937, his last game a Grand Final where he kicked 4 goals in the premiership team.
He also kicked 8 goals in the 2nd semi final.
The 1937 Geelong Premiership team: Jack Metherell is fifth from right in the back row.
The following excerpt is taken from "Cats Alive" by Col Hutchinson.
"Jack Metherell was a chunky half forward flanker/forward/pocket/rover. He contributed well to the club in his 6 VFL seasons. He was a dangerous goal sneak, scouted packs cleverly for crumbs, fed to position smartly and kicked accurately."
Metherell's appointment as North Hobart coach in 1938 did not meet with Geelong's approval. Despite repeated overtures, including the legal efforts instigated by the then Premier of Tasmania and North Hobart supporter Albert Ogilvie QC, he had to stand out for the entire 1938 season.
North were able to withstand this setback and take out the premiership. This was the beginning of an unbroken run of 5 TFL premierships, four with Metherell as captain/coach (1938, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1945 & 1947) and four State titles ( 1939, 1940, 1941, 1945) under his coaching.
Metherell left North Hobart to coach Cooee in 1946.
He returned to North Hobart in 1947 and captain/coached the club to another premiership. Season 1948 was his final year as the club coach, this time in a non playing role due to injury. North were runners up to New Town under another legendary coach Jack Rough
.
Jack Metherell being chaired off the field at North Hobart Oval after North Hobart won the State Premiership in 1939.
Jack Metherell's record as a coach was outstanding; his own ability as a player was a big factor in the teams success.
He was leading goalkicker on three occasions. His goal sense was uncanny, yet he did not rely solely on his natural talents. Quite often he would be found practising his goal shooting using unconventional methods.
As a coach he trained his team hard and on training nights his booming voice could be heard several streets from the ground.
He was awarded life membership of the club in 1958 for his outstanding contributions.
Life after North Hobart included a stint as captain/coach of Glenorchy in the Southern Districts Football Association and a period as a central umpire, including senior TFL games.
In 1960 Jack Metherell was appointed non playing coach of the Tasmanian team. In June 1960 at Launceston's York Park he reached the pinnacle of his outstanding coaching career when Tasmania defeated Victoria for the first time.
The famous 1960 Tasmanian team - Coach Jack Metherell is sitting fifth from the right in the front row. Sitting next to him is Stuart Spencer
. Sitting at his feet is Bob Withers
and sitting on the ground second from left is Murray Steele. Also in the team is Mal Pascoe; second from left in the back row, Neil Conlan
; first left in the second row, Burnie Payne
first right in the second row with Barry Strange next to him, Don Gale; second left in the front row with Jack Hawksley; fourth left in the same row.
The following season he was coach of the Tasmanian Carnival team in Brisbane which brought to a close a remarkably successful career.
He played 65 games for Geelong for a return of 221 goals and 74 games for North Hobart including winning the TFL goalkicking 3 consecutive times in 1939 (59 goals), 1940 (69) and 1941 (76). he represented the TFL in 8 games and was non playing coach of the State for 6 games; 3 in 1960 and 3 in 1961.
Jack Metherell died on the 30th November 1992.
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Jack Metherell - A Tasmanian Football Legend
