Clayton Football Club

Clayton
Full nameClayton Football Club
NicknameClays
ColoursBlack and White stripes
Founded1908
LeagueSouthern Football League
GroundClayton Reserve, Clayton
Official websitehttp://www.Claytonfc.com.au/

The Clayton Football Club is an Australian rules football club located in the Melbourne bayside suburb of Clayton.

History

Formed in 1908 the club first played in The Berwick Football Association and its successor the Dandenong District Football Association.

When the Dandenong competition folded and reformed as the South West Gippsland FL in 1954, Clayton opted to join the Federal Football League. They broke through and won the last two premierships, in 1980 and 1981.

Clayton commenced in the South East Suburban Football League in 1982, winning the premiership. Another premiership was won in 1984. Unhappy with the quality of administration in the SESFL the club applied and were cleared to the Eastern District Football League. It spend three years at the top of the 2nd Division ladder before winning the 1993 premiership that allowed the club to be promoted to 1st Division. Five years in the top division of the Eastern suburbs the club opted to return to their natural local competition in 1999.[1]

The club won the 2001 and 2006 1st division premierships, a regular finalist for most years, by 2008 the club began to struggle with the quality of the competition, accumulating in 2009 the seniors only won a game, finished last and got demoted back to Division 2. They bounce back the following years, winning the premiership and got promoted back to 1st division.and have remained in that division to this day.

Nostalgia

An unusual occurrence to the Clayton Football Club took place in 1912, the club with their new red jerseys and red stockings were leading at three-quarter time against Clyde. An enraged bull attacked the crowd and the players. The bull seeing red charged after the red jerseys of the Clayton players who wisely took shelter in the club's dressing rooms. The bull charged at the door of the dressing room and the whole building trembled. The door withstood the first charge, but the bull's second attempt smashed the door in. Only the narrow doorway stopped the bull from getting access to the rooms and the horrified victims.

The people inside the rooms kept up a barrage of boots, coats and everything possible to scare it away. A local farmer came and knowing how to handle bulls was able to control it and lead the animal away to a more secure paddock.[2]

Senior Premierships

References

  1. ↑ http://www.foxsportspulse.com/club_info.cgi?c=1-3909-47845-0-0&sID=45900&articleID=5383775&news_task=DETAIL
  2. ↑ http://localhistory.kingston.vic.gov.au/htm/article/20.htm


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