Kingdom Kangaroos: Fife Australian Rules football team celebrate 10-year anniversary

It started with a simple post on online classifieds website Gumtree, leading to two Scots turning up at a sodden field in Culross, near Kincardine, to kick around an odd-shaped ball.

A decade later and that session, involving club founders Dougie Hunter and Rab Dempsey, will be celebrated when the team gather this month to mark their 10-year anniversary.

Known as the Roos, the club will recognise the occasion by unveiling a new anniversary strip as they take on the West Lothian Eagles at Carleton Park in Glenrothes on Saturday, July 15.

It is a milestone the Kangaroos didn’t always look likely to reach – but having survived Covid-19 lockdowns, a major squad rebuild and the challenge of being a minority sport in a region dominated by football and rugby, they’re once again blossoming and boasting their highest participation numbers in years.

Club treasurer and former coach Mark Flanagan was a member of the inaugural team in 2013 and he says the Kangaroos have long been “punching above their station”.

“It is relatively easy to set up a club,” he said. “The difficult bit is sustaining and progressing.

“Over 85 players have represented the Roos over the past decade, with ten going on to represent the national Scotland team.

“The Roos are also one of the only teams in Britain to commit to a weekly Aussie rules programme for juniors. Our Kanga Kick programme ran for five to 12-year-olds every year from 2014 to 2020.

“Excitingly, our first Kanga Kick member has recently started training with the senior team and is expected to debut next year.”

Competing in a six-team league with clubs spread from Kirkcaldy to Newcastle in England, the Roos have regularly come up against heavyweight sides from Edinburgh and Glasgow. But the highlights have been many, from winning the inaugural Tyne Tees Cup to making the league grand final in 2017 – and now the Roos are pressing for a return to finals this season for the first time in five years.

Coach Campbell Lewis says the club have always possessed a “core group who'll support and work for each other”.

“It’s a huge achievement for a provincial side to reach a decade,” he said.

“Whilst teams based in large cities can rely on Australians of a younger age bracket passing through and the energy and excitement that can bring, at the Roos everything we have, we built up.

“Everyone who plays or supports us joined the club through our own action to reach out to them or recruit them.

“The club came from humble beginnings, and I’m so grateful to have had the chance to play with guys like Rab, who was effectively our founding player at the start.

“So many people have learned the sport, enjoyed a kick or shared a beer with us in that time.”

The club’s decade anniversary celebrations will open with an under-13s girls’ exhibition match starting at 12.30pm.

Bouncedown for the main game is at 2pm, with the bar at Glenrothes Rugby Club to be open on the day.

Post-match celebrations will include the unveiling of the club’s team of the decade, as well as a raffle and auction.

Past and current players and supporters, as well as all members of the public, are invited to attend.

For further details, check out the club’s Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/KingdomKangaroosArfc/?locale=en_GB