The Clarence Football Club, nicknamed the Kangaroos, is an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

club playing in the

Tasmanian State League The Tasmanian State League (TSL), colloquially known as the Tasmanian Football League (TFL), was the highest-level Australian rules football competition in the state of Tasmania. It disbanded following the end of the 2024 TSL season, 2024 season ...

, based in Bellerive, Tasmania. Before 1947, they existed as Bellerive Football Club. The Club play their home games at Blundstone Arena (formerly

Bellerive Oval Bellerive Oval, currently known as Ninja Stadium for Naming rights, sponsorship reasons, is a Cricket field, cricket oval and Australian rules football ground located in Bellerive, Tasmania, Bellerive, a suburb on the eastern shore of Hobart, T ...

), Hobart's Test Cricket ground, they share the facilities with Tasmania's

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

team, the

Tasmanian Tigers The Tasmania men's cricket team, nicknamed the Tigers, represents the Australian state of Tasmania in cricket. They compete annually in the Australian domestic senior men's cricket season, which consists of the first-class Sheffield Shield an ...

History

Clarence joined the

Tasmanian Football League The Tasmanian State League (TSL), colloquially known as the Tasmanian Football League (TFL), was the highest-level Australian rules football competition in the state of Tasmania. It disbanded following the end of the 2024 TSL season, 2024 season ...

in 1947 on a two-year probationary period from the Southern District Football Association, later being granted permanent status on 7 August 1950, and continued to participate in the league until it was disbanded in December 2000. They then joined the

Southern Football League The Southern League is a football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from East Anglia, the South and Midlands of England, and South Wales. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven a ...

and participated until the end of the 2008 season whereby the club opted to join the newly reformed

from 2009 and have won the first two premiership titles on offer since joining the competition and only in the 2015 season missed out on the finals.

Club details

*Home ground – Ninja Stadium (formerly Bellerive Oval & Blundstone Arena) *Established – 1884 (as Bellerive Football Club) *Playing colours – Red and white (Maroon and white until 1979) *Emblem – Kangaroos *Club theme song – "Clarence are the team to beat, I sing to you!" (Tune: "

The Battle Hymn of the Republic The "Battle Hymn of the Republic" is an American patriotic song written by the abolitionist writer Julia Ward Howe during the American Civil War. Howe adapted her song from the soldiers' song " John Brown's Body" in November 1861, and sold ...

") *Affiliations – Various junior competitions including the SDFA (1884–1946) TANFL/TFL/TSL (1947–2000, 2009–present), SFL (2001–2008)

Honours

Club

** Premiers (11): 1970, 1979, 1981, 1984, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2009, 2010 ** ''Runners-up'' (6): 1962, 1969, 1971, 1985, 1995, 1998 *

(4) ** Premiers (4): 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006 ** ''Runners-up (2)'': 2005, 2007

Individual

William Leitch Medallists (Best and fairest player – TFL senior football) * 1949 – Hamish Yaxley * 1960 – Stuart Spencer * 1967 – J.Richmond and Stuart Spencer * 1968 – Bob Lucas * 1976 – Trevor Sorrell * 1989 – Scott Wade * 1991 – Gary Williamson * 1995 – Danny Noonan * 1996 – Danny Noonan * 1999 – Matthew Jones Tassie Medallists (Best and fairest player – TSL senior football from 2009) * 2010 – Brett Geappen George Watt Medallists (Best and fairest player – TFL reserves football) * 1957 – B. Burn (tied) * 1974 – P. Smith V. A. Geard Medallists (Best and fairest player – TFL thirds football) * 1957 – Russell Newell * 1965 – Royce Hart * 1973 – P. Smith * 1979 – M. Kruene D. R. Plaister Medallists (Best and fairest player – TFL fourths football) * 1978 – T. Carter * 1984 – Brendan Mayne * 1990 – Steven Old Dolphin Medallists (Best and fairest player – NFL Shield) * 1989 – Scott Wade Lefroy Medallists (Best and fairest player – Tasmanian team) * 1956 – J.Golding * 1957 – S. Spencer (tied) * 1960 – S. Spencer * 1981 – Rod Hughes (tied) * 1988 – Billy Picken * 1989 – Scott Wade * 2012 – Brady Jones * 2016 – Jake Cox All-Australian team members * 1958 – S. Spencer Club record score: * TFL: 38.16 (244) vs Devonport 4.4 (28) on 14 August 1999 at

* SFL: 41.23 (269) vs Brighton 5.4 (34) on 7 May 2005 at

Club games record holder: * 315 – Scott McCallum from 1989 to 2007 * 314 – Gavin Cooney from 1989 to 2006 and 2009

Attendance records

Record home attendance: Bellerive Oval * 5,157 – Clarence v

New Norfolk New Norfolk ( ; Aboriginal Tasmanians#Big River, Leenowwenne/palawa kani: ''Wulawali'') is a river bank, riverside town located on the Derwent River (Tasmania), River Derwent in southeastern Tasmania, Australia. Established in 1807, it is Tasm ...

on 6 June 1970 at

Record roster match attendance: all time * 8,480 – Clarence v Glenorchy on 4 April 2011 at

KGV Oval KGV Oval is a multi-purpose sports stadium located in Glenorchy, Tasmania. It serves as the home ground for the Glenorchy Football Club and the Southern Football League, and it is also used by the Glenorchy Cricket Club. The oval has a sea ...

Record TANFL/TFL finals attendance: * 24,968 – Clarence v Glenorchy on 22 September 1979 for the TANFL Grand Final at North Hobart Oval Record SFL Premier League finals attendance: * 7,149 – Clarence v Glenorchy – 2006 SFL Premier League Grand Final at North Hobart Oval.

Current playing list

Notable players

There is a list of past and present Clarence players who have played at AFL/VFL: * Colin Alexander (Collingwood and Brisbane Bears) * Daniel Archer (St Kilda) * Jack Bennett (1920–1997) (Carlton) * Arthur Budd (1945–2012) (South Melbourne) *

Ian Callinan Ian David Francis Callinan (born 1 September 1937) is a former Justice of the High Court of Australia, the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy. Education Born in Casino, New South Wales, Callinan was raised in Brisbane, Queenslan ...

(Adelaide) * Terry Cashion (1921–2011) (South Melbourne) * John Chivers (Richmond) * David Donato (Fitzroy) * Robert Dutton (Carlton and Hawthorn) * Bert Edwards (1914–1995) (Richmond) * Josh Green (Brisbane Lions and Essendon) * Graeme Hatcher (Essendon) * Paul Holdsworth (Sydney Swans) * Graham Hunnibell (Melbourne) * Noel Leary (Melbourne) * Royce Hart (Richmond) * Bob Lynch (Fitzroy) * Rod MacPherson (Footscray and Brisbane Bears) * Stephen MacPherson (Footscray) * Terry Mayne (1950–1983) (Geelong) * Danny Noonan (Brisbane Bears) * Eric Pascoe (Carlton) * Bradley Plain (Essendon, Collingwood and North Melbourne) * John Richmond (Richmond) * Jack Riewoldt (Richmond) *

Justin Sherman Justin Sherman (born 26 January 1987) is an Australian rules footballer who played for the Brisbane Lions and Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was recruited as the number 45 draft pick in the 2004 AFL draft from C ...

(Brisbane Lions and Western Bulldogs) * Stuart Spencer (1932–2011) (Melbourne) * Scott Sutcliffe (Melbourne and Richmond) * Cameron Thurley (Geelong and Kangaroos) * Scott Wade (Hawthorn) * Jeromey Webberley (Richmond) * Michael Young (Carlton and Melbourne)

References

External links

Official website
{{Tasmanian Sports Teams Australian rules football clubs in Tasmania Australian rules football clubs established in 1884 1884 establishments in Australia Tasmanian Football League clubs Sport in Hobart City of Clarence