Australian Football

Bracknell

The Redlegs have a proud record dating back to shortly after the first world war. They were one of the Esk Football Association’s most successful clubs for over half a century, contesting twenty-two senior grade grand finals for fifteen wins, including an incredible run of ten premierships in eleven seasons commencing in 1956. 

The success continued after the EFA merged with the Deloraine Football Association to form the Esk Deloraine Football Association in 1984. The merged competition endured for fourteen years, during which time Bracknell enjoyed continuous membership, contesting five senior grade grand finals for wins in 1985, 1994 and 1997. The club also won a reserves and two under sixteens flags. In Ricki Shelton, the Redlegs had the EDFA's most decorated footballer. Shelton won four competition best and fairest awards, one more than Perth’s Bruno Zelesco.

Since 1998 Bracknell has been a member of the Northern Tasmanian Football Association. The club currently competes in Division One. It reached its first grand final in 2008, but lost to perennial power club George Town by 7 goals. A second grand final appearance followed in 2012 but opponents Rocherlea won at a canter. The Redlegs' third grand final appearance came in 2016 when they lost by 15 points to Rocherlea. A year later they made their fourth such appearance when they went down by 32 points to South Launceston, a fate to which they also succumbed in the 2018 flag decider, with the deficit on this occasion being 52 points. The 2019 season brought a sharp fall from grace as the Redlegs managed just five wins in 16 games to slump to seventh place on the nine team premiership ladder. An abbreviated 2020 campaign produced only marginal improvement as the side finished one place higher in the table.