Claremont keep season alive despite loss of captain Mountford

By John Townsend | Match Day Reporter

The importance of Claremont’s round 19 clash with Swan Districts on Saturday was underlined by the make-up of the centre-square combination used for the first ball-up at Revo Fitness Stadium.

The Tigers had fallen in their previous four matches, a losing trot that saw them tumble from first to fifth on the ladder, and shed considerable percentage.

Another defeat would put Claremont in serious danger of missing the finals given that West Perth were charging from the lower rungs of the WAFL ladder.

But buoying Claremont’s spirits was the return of inspirational captain Dec Mountford after an absence with a perforated lung.

And there was quiet confidence in the camp driven by the club’s outstanding recent record against their grand final nemesis.

Claremont might have lost all four grand final clashes with Swans but they had not been beaten at home for the past decade and had a remarkable record of 12 wins from the past 13 matches at all venues.

Mountford went straight into the centre for the start of the match where he was stationed alongside the team’s two biggest stars in Sandover medallists Jye Bolton and Bailey Rogers who were followers to State ruckman and fairest-and-best favourite Ollie Eastland.

This was not a time for experimenting - Claremont needed their biggest guns at the centre of action.

Coach Ashley Prescott’s tactical move was vindicated in the opening burst when spearhead Alex Manuel struck immediately and Callan England, used in a new role as a high half- forward on his return from a broken finger, twice swooped on loose balls to land two goals in a minute.

Mountford ripped a hamstring laying a tackle at the first ball-up but that vibrant opening surge set the tone for Claremont’s 11th win of the season, an 18.15 (123) to 14.7 (91) victory that retained fifth spot and created the possibility of a home final in the first weekend of September.

The captain will not be available for that match but hopes to be fit later in the finals campaign.

No player was more influential than Rogers who displayed his class throughout a four-quarter effort that produced 29 disposals, many of them driving centre clearances, and scored 2.3.

Both goals came from powerful contested marks inside 50 in the third term, helping extend the lead to 51 points at the last break before Swans whittled it to 32 at the end.

Bolton (32 possessions) and Ben Edwards (31) were the only players to win more of the football than Rogers; Manuel (4.1) was the only Tiger to score more.

The spearhead was equally effective on the ground, where he gathered the ball twice to land first half majors, as he was in the air where he converted two marks in their same period.

With Talon Delacey and Zac Mainwaring kicking a pair of goals to maintain their share of the goal-kicking lead – they have 26 to Manuel’s 23 – and Bolton kicking two of his own, Claremont had multiple scoring options to complement the dominant midfield brigade.

Strong contributions were made by Declan Hardisty, who has been shifted into attack in recent weeks, and did an excellent job to close down Swans veteran Tony Notte.

And Sam Alvarez (with a career-first two goals to go with 24 disposals) was the key component in a team job to combat Jesse Turner, the dynamic Swans wingman who was kept to his season average of 29 touches but was unable to generate his customary impact.

Prescott must have been pleased with a defensive unit that is starting to gel after an extended period together.

Louis Passera’s reliability has made him an increasingly important member of that division while Daniel Curtin, who could be the first West Australian drafted this year, maintained his rise to prominence.

CLAREMONT 5.3 11.6 15.13 18.15 123

SWAN DISTRICTS 3.4 7.4 8.4 14.7 91

GOALS – CLAREMONT: Manuel 4; Rogers, Bolton, England, Mainwaring, Delacey, Alvarez 2; Eastland, Gowdie.

SWAN DISTRICTS: Edwards 4; Riley 3; McLachlan 2; Clarke, Lynch, Cipro, Noble, Palmer.

BEST – CLAREMONT: Rogers, England, Edwards, Sheldrick, Manuel, Bolton, Hardisty, Eastland.

SWAN DISTRICTS: Edwards, Clarke, McLachlan, Turner, O’Donoghue.