Eastland controls the ruck

 By Murray Willis

Claremont’s reserves scratch match against Subiaco at Leederville Oval on Saturday was a game of two halves with Claremont’s first-half dominance reflected in a six goal to nil second quarter.

The boys played an emphatic brand of football and  they doubled Subiaco’s tackles, contested possessions and overall possessions for the half and finished off with some lightening fast build-ups into attack.

The second half was not so impressive, due to a combination of the effects of the heat (same for both sides), complacency and, to Subiaco’s credit, a significant lift in intensity from the opposition.

Oliver Eastland was outstanding in the ruck for the Tigers. He took very few rests off the ball in the first half.  Claremont’s other talls had to provide greater assistance in the second half but Ollie continued to dominate both with hit-outs and around the ground play whenever he was on the ball.

The side was capably led by key defender Luke Maddock, the captain for the day,and the best players were Eastland, Matt Palfrey, Kaiden Gilbert, Jared Hardisty and Nick Winmar..

Claremont also had a plethora of newcomers who looked very comfortable at senior level. Players such as Corey Mitchell, Harrison Wroth, Shaq Morton, Ben Rushforth and Jack Griffiths were among those who caught the eye.

Details:

Claremont 12.11 (83) beat Subiaco 11.6 (72)

Scorers for Claremont: M. Palfrey 3.1; M. Ehlers 2.1; B. Delaporte, K. Gilbert 2.0; M. Whitehead 1.1; O. Eastland, D. Ehlers 1.0; J. Hardisty 0.2; C. Mitchell, N. Winmar 0.1.

Best for Claremont: O. Eastland, M. Palfrey, K. Gilbert, J. Hardisty, N. Winmar.

View League Report HERE.