The 2016 induction into the ‘Legendary Team’ category of the Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame is the Clarence team of 1970.
Since joining the TANFL in 1947 success had been hard to come by for Clarence. Coming into the 1970 season the club had made ten finals appearances in their 23 seasons in the competition, yet had amazingly won only three of their 17 finals matches in that period, including a loss to North Hobart in the 1962 grand final. After a first semi final exit in 1966, former Melbourne champion Stuart Spencer resigned as coach, and the man chosen to replace him was 1966 St. Kilda premiership player and Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame inductee, John Bingley, who would have a profound impact on the club’s fortunes.
Under Bingley’s tutelage, Clarence quickly acquired their new coach’s own burning desire to never accept second best and before long became a force in southern football for the first time in their history. After making three consecutive finals appearances from 1967-69 – including a grand final in 1969 that ended in defeat at the hands of North Hobart – Clarence and Bingley entered the 1970 season primed to end their premiership drought. During the off season the Roos had managed to recruit several big names, most notably Bob Cheek (Penguin), defender Adrian Bowden (Melbourne/Sandy Bay) and centreman Bob Lynch (Fitzroy/City-South/New Norfolk); these, along with ex-Collingwood reserves player Mike Nash and former Richmond rover Barry Teague would form what would come to be known, rather tongue in cheek, as the ‘Foreign Legion’, and would all play crucial roles in the team’s coming success.
After a slightly up and down campaign, Clarence finished the 1970 Home and Away season in second position on the ladder, setting up a second semi final clash with minor premiers Sandy Bay, a team that the Roos had beaten in three of their four meetings during the year. In a tight game the Roos eventually triumphed by 22 points, and when the Seagulls were bundled out of the flag race in ‘straights sets’ by New Norfolk a week later, the scene was set for one of the great TANFL grand finals. The mood around Clarence in the week leading up to the grand final was extraordinarily optimistic, with the feeling that this was finally the year that the Roos would claim their first piece of silverware.
So it proved on the day, with Clarence leading from start to finish to claim their maiden TANFL premiership, dismantling New Norfolk 19.16 (130) to 10.15 (75) in front of a then record TANFL grand final attendance of 24,413. The star of the day was 19-year-old sensation Terry Mayne, who, after being named on a half forward flank, booted ten goals from full forward to be far and away the best player on the ground. The victory sparked wild celebrations on Hobart’s eastern shore, with coach Bingley later stating that the triumph meant more to him than his flag with St. Kilda four years earlier. In a sign of just how much Bingley’s efforts had meant to the community, a street in the eastern shore suburb of Howrah was named Bingley Street in his honour.
Clarence’s next task was to take out the state premiership. A tough but relatively comfortable 28-point victory over NTFA premiers Scottsdale saw the Roos play off in the decider against NWFU powerhouse Latrobe, led by legendary coach Darrel Baldock. Alas the Demons proved too strong, defeating Clarence by 35 points after piling on five goals to one in the last quarter. The loss hardly put a dampener on the Roos spirits however, as the maiden TANFL flag that the club has so long desired was firmly in their keeping.
The Clarence team of 1970 were the pioneers for the club’s subsequent success, with the Roos winning a further 14 senior TFL/SFL/TSL premierships since that initial triumph 46 years ago. It is for this reason amongst many others that this team is a worthy inductee of the Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame.
1970 TANFL GRAND FINAL: Clarence v New Norfolk (12/09/1970)
CLARENCE’S FIRST TANFL PREMIERSHIP
Clarence 5.8 (38) 9.11 (65) 13.14 (92) 19.16 (130)
New Norfolk 1.2 (8) 3.5 (23) 8.10 (58) 10.15 (75)
Goals
Clarence: T. Mayne 10, B. Yost 3, P. Ingles 1, K. King 1, J. Richmond 1, B. Teague 1, B. Godfrey 1, J. Bingley 1
New Norfolk: T. Richards 3, K. Duggan 2, T. Browning 2, R. Graham 1, G. Winters 1, H. Wilton 1
Best
Clarence: T. Mayne, J. Bingley, B. Yost, B. Godfrey, B. Whitehouse, R. Norris
New Norfolk: H Wilton, R. Graham, L. Browning, R. Wilton, T. Lane, R. Green
Attendance: 24,413 at North Hobart Oval
Gate: $13,474.20
CLARENCE:
B: Michael Nash, Robin Norris, Kevin Thornbury
HB: Kevin Palmer, Adrian Bowden, John Anderson
C: Rod Stirling, Bob Lynch, Barry Edwards
HF: Phil Ingles, John Bingley (c), Terry Mayne
FF: Brian Godfrey, John Richmond, Barry Teague
R: Brian Yost, Kevin King, Bob Whitehouse
I: Ray Bentley, Bob Cheek
Coach: John Bingley
Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame Inductees: John Bingley (2005), Kevin ‘Doola’ King (2014)
NEW NORFOLK:
B: Terry Lane, Dennis Banks, Noel Woolford
HB: Robert Wilton, Michael Booth, Len Browning
C: Paul Plunkett, Hassa Wilton, Bob Becker
HF: Steven Salter, Robert Hill, Kerry Duggan
FF: Tony Richards, Tony Browning, Greg Winters
R: Roger Green, Ricky Graham (c), Tony Wilton
I: Peter Latham, John Windsor
Coach: Ricky Graham
1970 STATE FINAL: Latrobe v Clarence (03/10/1970)
Latrobe 4.2 (26) 7.3 (45) 10.7 (67) 15.10 (100)
Clarence 1.3 (9) 6.7 (43) 8.9 (57) 9.11 (65)
Goals
Latrobe: D. Baldock 5, B. Dixon 3, B. Huxtable 3, G. Fox 2, M. Jaffray 1, B. Hickman 1
Clarence: T. Mayne 2, B. Whitehouse 2, K. King 2, B. Teague 1, B. Cheek 1, P. Ingles 1
Best
Latrobe: D. Baldock, J. Jillard, I. Smith, T. Jackson, B. Hickman, T. Taylor
Clarence: R. Norris, B. Whitehouse, K. King, J. Bingley, R. Stirling, K. Palmer
Attendance: 9,778 at Devonport Oval
Gate: $6,248
CLARENCE:
B: Lance Hart, Robin Norris, Kevin Thornbury
HB: Kevin Palmer, Adrian Bowden, John Anderson
C: Rod Stirling, Bob Lynch, Barry Edwards
HF: Phil Ingles, John Bingley (c), Bob Cheek
FF: Brian Godfrey, Terry Maybe, Barry Teague
R: Brian Yost, Kevin King, Bob Whitehouse
I: Ray Bentley, Paul Sheehan
Coach: John Bingley
LATROBE:
B: Kevin Parker, Bob Hickman, Gerald Wyatt,
HB: Ian Smith, John Jillard, Tony Jackson
C: Bob Huxtable, Gary Cox, Denis Smith
HF: Kerry Aherne, Darrel Baldock (c), Ken Luxmore
FF: Harvey Fox, John Harris, Mervyn Jaffray
R: Terry Taylor, Colin Jaffray, Bill Dixon
I: Phillip Reeves, Paul Sheehan
Coach: Darrel Baldock
