Player Inductee
North Hobart, Centreman, 1945-1957
- 213 games for North Hobart, 1945-57
- North Hobart TANFL premierships 1945, 1947
- North Hobart State premiership 1945
- William Leitch Medallist (TANFL Best and Fairest) 1945
- North Hobart Best and Fairest 1945
- North Hobart Leading Goalkicker 1949 (Equal, 30), 1950 (31), 1953 (29)
- Tasmanian National Carnival representative 1947 (Hobart), 1950 (Brisbane)
- Eight representative matches for Tasmania
- 35 representative matches for TANFL
- North Hobart FC Hall of Fame 2004
- North Hobart Team of the Century
A champion rover/centreman, Noel ‘Nogger’ Reid was the first post-war footballer to reach the 200 game milestone and one of the most skilful players of his day.
Reid’s first year of senior football was in 1945, the TANFL’s first year of competition after the conclusion of World War II. Reid’s would enjoy a debut season from heaven, as he took out not only the North Hobart Best and Fairest award but also the William Leitch Medal as the TANFL’s premier player, winning ahead of Sandy Bay defender Harold ‘Nunky’ Ayers. His side would also taste premiership success that season, with the Demons defeating Sandy Bay for the regional premiership before besting Launceston by seven points for the State pennant.
Reid would build on his phenomenally successful 1945 in the subsequent years. A magnificently skilful player, he possessed a cool head under pressure, deceptive strength and blinding pace, and these attributes helped establish him as arguably the finest centreman in southern football. He featured in a second North Hobart TANFL premiership in 1947, the same year he was selected in Tasmania’s squad for the National Carnival in Hobart. 1950 would be a year of personal milestones for Reid: he was appointed North Hobart Vice-Captain (a position he would hold for the next seven seasons), appeared in his second National Carnival at the tournament in Brisbane and became the first post-war player to play 100 senior games in the TANFL in Round 12. He would also prove to be one of the first players selected whenever inter-association representative matches rolled around, pulling on the TANFL jumper a remarkable 35 times during his career.
Success was lean for North Hobart during the early-to-mid 1950’s, but Reid was constantly one of his side’s best players, consistently polling well in media awards and the William Leitch Medal. Always dangerous anywhere around the ground, Reid’s adaptability mean that he could play every role from handy goalsneak (winning North Hobart’s goalkicking award on three occasions) to effective back pocket stopper, a role he performed with aplomb later in his career after his pace began to wane. In 1956, Reid became the first player post-WWII to play 200 senior games, and retired from senior football the following season after a then-club record 213 games. One of the all-time greats of the North Hobart Football Club, Reid was honoured with numerous honours post-retirement, including induction into the North Hobart Hall of Fame, life membership, and selection in the club’s Team of the Century in 2000.
