AustralianFootball.com Celebrating the history of the great Australian game
Full name
Samuel Leslie McClements
Known as
Les McClements
Born
12 May 1922
Place of birth
Claremont, WA (6010)
Died
1973 (aged 50‡)
Height and weight
Height: 183 cm
Weight: 86 kg
Senior clubs
Claremont; Clarence
Recruited from
Claremont (1951)
State of origin
WA
Hall of fame
Western Australian Football Hall Of Fame (2004)
‡ Approximate age
Club | League | Career span | Games | Goals | Avg | Win % | AKI | AHB | AMK | BV |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Claremont | WANFL | 1941-1950 | 108 | 241 | 2.23 | — | — | — | — | — |
Clarence | TANFL | 1951-1955 | 99 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Total | 1941-1955 | 207 | 241 | 1.16 | — | — | — | — | — |
The highlight of ruckman Les McClements’ much decorated, 244-game senior football career came during the 1947 Australian championships when, on a North Hobart Oval turned into a veritable quagmire by incessant rain, he “threw a stout heart and a strong body into the fray”¹ in helping propel his Western Australian team mates to a famous four-point victory over the VFL. Having earlier displayed superlative form against both South Australia and New South Wales, McClements was considered a ‘shoe-in’ for the Tassie Medal as best player in the carnival, an honour he eventually shared with Canberra’s Bob Furler.
Les McClements began his senior football career with Claremont in 1941, the year after the third of the Tigers’ inaugural three premierships in a row. In 108 games with Claremont the closest he came to a flag was playing in a losing first semi final team in his debut season.
On the individual front, however, honours flooded his way, with no fewer than five successive Claremont fairest and best awards between 1946 and 1950, followed by a couple more with Clarence where he moved in 1951.
Besides representing Western Australia in both the 1947 Hobart and 1950 Brisbane carnivals, McClements went to Adelaide in 1953 in the colours of his adopted state of Tasmania. His interstate football career comprised a total of 37 games, 16 for his home state, and 21 for Tasmania.
Despite conceding up to five inches to many of his opponents in the ruck, McClements managed to be more than competitive owing to his “magnificent build and an ability to lift his powerful frame high”.
Author - John Devaney
1. The Tigers' Tale: The Origins And History Of The Claremont Football Club by Kevin Casey, page 62.
2. Ibid, page 72.