The Claremont Football Club, nicknamed Tigers, is an Australian rules football club based in Claremont, Western Australia, that currently plays in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and WAFL Women's (WAFLW). The club plays its home matches at Claremont Oval since 1927. Its official colours are navy blue and gold. Formed as the "Cottesloe Beach Football Club" in 1906, the club entered the WAFL in 1925 as the "Claremont-Cottesloe Football Club"', changing its name to the present in 1935. Claremont have won 12 senior men's premierships since entering the competition, including most recently the 2011 and 2012 premierships.
Contents
History
Foundations
It was formed as the amateur Cottesloe Beach Football Club in 1906, and joined the peak amateur competition, the Western Australian Football Association the following year. The club dominated the WAFA from the outset, winning premierships from 1907 to 1910, and in 1908 it beat WAFL club Subiaco in a challenge match.
Applications by the club to join the WAFL were rejected for many years. In 1919, the Cottesloe Beach club merged with a consortium from Claremont which was also attempting to gain entry to the WAFL and had no contracted players, but claimed to have secured use of the Claremont Showground as a home ground. In 1921, the club was admitted to the WAFL "B" Grade competition, as Claremont-Cottesloe, using the same blue and gold colours as the local swimming club, being finally admitted to the senior league in 1926.
The inaugural captain-coach was former South Fremantle and Richmond player Norm McIntosh, who was the only player with senior experience. McIntosh's young squad could only win one game in their first season.
1927–1960
In 1927, the club moved to Claremont Oval, where it has been the club's home ground, with the exception of 1945 and 1946, where, due to the grandstand burning down in 1944, and the condition of the playing surface, the club shared with Subiaco Oval with the Subiaco Football Club.
Between 1926 and 1935, Claremont won just 40 and drew 2 of 183 games for an overall success rate of 22.4%. The nearest they came to qualifying for the finals was in 1929 when, with 8 wins and 10 defeats, they finished just four points plus percentage behind 4th placed Subiaco. Even when Swan Districts was admitted to the competition in 1934, Claremont-Cottesloe continued to underachieve, ending up with the wooden spoon for the 7th time in 9 seasons.
In 1935, the club officially dropped 'Cottesloe' from its name, becoming simply 'Claremont', and with the return of George Moloney in 1936 following his five seasons with Geelong Football Club in Australian football's 'big league' the VFL Claremont enjoyed its best WANFL season to date, winning 12 and losing 8 of its home and away matches to qualify for the finals in 2nd place. A 5-point 2nd semi final defeat of minor premier East Fremantle Football Club then earned Claremont premiership favouritism, a state of affairs which intensified still further when it was learned that their grand final opponents would not be Old Easts, but the Royals (East Perth Football Club), which had finished the minor round in 4th place, but had surprisingly overturned East Fremantle in the preliminary final by a solitary point. The 1936 WANFL grand final attracted 20,874 spectators to Subiaco Oval, who witnessed East Perth reaching an 11.5 (71) to 9.6 (60) victory.
Claremont again finished runners-up a year later after raising hopes, first by finishing the home and away rounds with a 13–5–1 record to qualify for the finals as minor premiers, and then by overcoming East Fremantle in the 2nd semi final by 14 points. However, when the stakes were raised a fortnight later against the same opponent Claremont was found lacking, eventually going under by 10 points.
In 1938, the club replaced coach Dick Lawn with Johnny Leonard, a former Sandover Medallist, who had already coached successfully at Ballarat, Geelong and West Perth. The club qualified for the finals in 2nd place and scored a 2nd semi final victory over East Fremantle, winning, 17.19 (121) to 13.18 (96). The grand final, again against East Fremantle however resulted in a draw, only the second time in WA(N)FL history. In the subsequent grand final replay Claremont won by 22 points, 14.17 (111) to 11.13 (79), breaking their premiership drought. In 1939, although the club lost the 2nd semi final against East Fremantle, 15.15 to 9.14, it won the preliminary final against East Perth 10.17 (77) to 11.5 (71). In the grand final, again facing East Fremantle, Claremont went on to win 14.11 (95) to 11.10 (76) obtaining its second premiership.
1961–2000
After claiming the wooden spoon in 1962 and 1963 Claremont appointed a complete outsider, former East Fremantle rover Jim Conway as coach for 1964. At the end of that season Claremont scraped into the finals in 4th place. The club went on to beat Subiaco in the 1st semi final, which was then followed by a win against the Demons (Perth Football Club) in the preliminary final. Claremont won 14.18 (102) to 15.8 (98) against East Fremantle in the grand final and secured the club's fourth premiership. Ian Brewer kicked two late goals to put Claremont ahead. His direct opponent was Norm Rogers, who won the Simpson medal for the game. Rogers suffered cramp in the last minutes of the game and Brewer was able to break free and score the winning goals. In those days there were no interchangeable reserves, if you went off you stayed off, so Rogers couldn't be quickly replaced.
Claremont failed to follow this meteoric rise, and between 1966 and 1978 participated in the finals only twice. In 1971 they were knocked out easily by an Alan Joyce-coached East Fremantle outfit, but in 1972 they lost only three home-and-away games and with players of the calibre of Graham Moss, Bruce Duperouzel, Colin Tully and Daryl Griffiths, were firm flag favourites, only to be beaten in both the second semi and grand finals by a more physical East Perth side. Despite recruiting Essendon Football Club full forward Geoff Blethyn, who came to Claremont in exchange for Graham Moss, the Tigers fell to last in 1973 with only four wins, and did even worse in 1975 with only three wins. The club were involved in an unusual incident in their Round 20 clash against West Perth Football Club during the 1976 season. Claremont coach Mal Brown replaced John Colreavy with Ross Ditchburn at three-quarter time, but when another player went off injured in the last quarter, Brown sent Colreavy back onto the ground, in contravention of the rule which specified that a player being replaced could not return to the field. Claremont lost the game 20.21 (141) to 13.18 (96), but had their score annulled after the game.
When Moss returned in 1977 season as captain-coach – after winning the Brownlow Medal the previous season – he formed a team in WAFL with such players as Jim and Phil Krakouer, Ken Hunter, Wayne Blackwell, John Annear, and Warren Ralph. In 1981, they broke an Australian record with 3,352 points in 21 matches and won their fifth flag over South Fremantle. Despite lacking the "enforcer" needed to win many flags under pressure, Claremont played in the finals every year bar 1985 and 1992. Under Gerard Neesham's extremely innovative coaching methods and "chip and draw" style, they won twenty and drew one of their last 21 games in 1987. Neesham's skill was such that Claremont reached five successive grand finals for three flags despite the loss of most key players to the VFL (later AFL).
2000–present
After 1994, Claremont's fortunes declined somewhat, and financial difficulties threatened their existence in the middle 1990s. However, at WAFL level they managed to remain competitive throughout the 1990s and 2000s if never threatening for a premiership until 2004, when they were thrashed by Subiaco in the grand final, a fate which befell Claremont again in 2005 from South Fremantle.
Claremont ended the 2007 season strongly, claiming the minor premiership, but lost to Subiaco in the WAFL Grand Final on 23 September 2007. Coach Ashley Prescott left the club at the end of the season to take up an assistant coaching role with Essendon. Prescott's replacement was former assistant coach, Roger Kerr (former East Fremantle player and father of West Coast Eagles player, Daniel Kerr), who was given a two-year contract. Claremont also won the 2007 Rodriquez Shield (the team which has the best League, Reserves and Colts record combined).
Claremont's 2008 campaign kicked off on 22 March against West Perth at Claremont Oval, which Claremont won by 14 points. It was Roger Kerr's first game in charge of the club. He took the reins of the club, following the loss of experienced players such as Daniel Bandy (retired), Rowan Jones (retired), Luke Toia (retired), as well as Mitch Morton (Richmond) and Cale Morton (Melbourne). Other losses include Luke Dwyer (retired), Darren Harper (retired), Aaron Jarvis (retired), Trent Martin (East Perth), Tim Nelli (East Fremantle), Tom Matson (overseas) and Rory Walton (overseas). The Tigers' only gain this year was former Brisbane Lions midfielder Marcus Allan. The Tigers finished the season second last, saving themselves from the wooden spoon with a victory on the last day of the competition.
Claremont lost their first match of 2009 and things were starting to look a bit wobbly after they lost their second match. The losing streak continued, during which they lost nine games in a row. At the end of April the club decided to cut short Kerr's two-year coaching contract. Claremont appointed Simon McPhee as a caretaker coach, becoming the club's 30th league coach. McPhee had been the coach of Claremont's Colts team for the last three seasons. Under the new coach the Tigers started to win a couple of games. They finished in eighth place on the ladder, with seven wins from twenty matches. The Claremont Colts side showed a great future for the league side, by defeating Peel Thunder in the Colts Grand Final, by over 8 goals. Another positive was that Chad Jones won the Bernie Naylor Medal, kicking 77 goals.
Club song
Oh, We're From Tigerland is the official club song of the Claremont Football Club and is sung to the tune of "Row, Row, Row from Ziegfeld Follies". It was taken from the Richmond Football Club song, with an alteration to the second last line.
Oh! We're from Tigerland
A fighting fury, we're from Tigerland
In any weather you will see us with a grin
Risking head and shin
If we're behind then never mind
We'll fight and fight and win
For we're from Tigerland
We never weaken 'til the final siren's gone
Like the Tigers of old, we're strong and we're bold
For we're the Tigers, the old gold and blue
We're from Tigerland
Honours
Individual honours
Sandover Medalists: 1932: Keith Hough, 1933–34: Sammy Clarke, 1936: George Moloney, 1949: Gordon Maffina, 1967: John Parkinson, 1984: Michael Mitchell/Steve Malaxos, 2005: Jaxon Crabb, 2007: Anthony Jones, 2011: Luke Blackwell, 2012: Kane Mitchell, 2016: Jye Bolton, 2018: Jye Bolton, 2021: Bailey Rogers
Bernie Naylor Medalists: 1940: George Moloney (129), 1943: Robin Farmer (97), 1976: Norm Uncle (91), 1981: Warren Ralph (127), 1982: Warren Ralph (115), 1983: Warren Ralph (128), 1991: John Hutton (100), 2001: Paul Medhurst (78), 2009: Chad Jones (77), 2010: Chad Jones (85)
All Australians: 1966 & 1969: John McIntosh, 1979 & 1980: Ken Hunter, 1986: Steve Malaxos, 1985 & 1986: Michael Mitchell
Tassie Medallists: (1 total) 1947: Les McClements
Records
Highest Score: Round 17, 1981 – 39.20 (254) vs. Perth at Claremont Oval
Lowest Score: Round 15, 1945 – 1.3 (9) vs. Perth at WACA
Greatest Winning Margin: Round 10, 2010 – 194 points vs. Peel at Claremont Oval
Greatest Losing Margin: Round 10, 1958 – 147 points vs. East Perth at Perth Oval
Most Games: Darrell Panizza 274 (1979–1995)
Record Home Attendance: Round 7, 1983 – 18,268 vs. South Fremantle.
Record Finals Attendance: 1982 Grand Final – 50,883 vs. Swan Districts at Subiaco Oval
AFL Draftees: 64 (not including rookies)
AFL/VFL players (including Rookies)
There is a list of past and present Claremont players who have played at AFL/VFL: