A reorganised Claremont defence (with regular full-back Luke Rosher and in-form half-back flanker Jack Beeck promoted for the first time to the reserves side and talented centre-half-back Rowen Powell out with a damaged shoulder) came under extreme pressure and had to withstand a concerted Perth attack early in the match at Lathlain Park on Saturday.

It was a severe test that the revamped defence came through with flying colours and the outstanding work of the backmen, led by Timm House, set the standard for the morning and paved the way for a splendid 16-point victory over a side which had won at each of its past 11 matches.

The Demons attacked relentlessly for the first eight minutes of the match, and quite remarkably, did not manage a score, due to the great defensive work of House, Mason Whitehead, Harry Taylor, Bailey Rogers, Harry Court, Joel Ebert, ruckman Darcy Cameron and others.

House was a tower of strength, cool and calculating as he took three marks and had six kicks in the opening term. He also impressed with his composure as he delivered the ball to advantage.

This set the stage for a wonderful contest between two of the best sides in the competition. To Claremont’s credit, they prevailed over an older and more experienced line-up which comprised three 19-year-olds, 14 18-year-olds and six 17-year-olds. The Claremont side was made up of one 19-year-old, nine 18-year-olds, nine 17-year-olds, three 16-year-olds and one 15-year-old.

After surviving the early Perth onslaught Claremont penetrated their 50m attacking zone for the first time after nine minutes and scored a goal after full-forward Eddie Simpson had marked a pass from Jack Carruthers. This attacking move was set up by dynamic midfielder Alec Waterman, Elijah Howard and Ebert.   

A minute later Jared Hardisty, Joel Fiegert and Whitehead combined to get the ball to Ebert for another major. Scott Doncon replied with a goal to Perth at the 15-minute mark and the Tigers led by seven points at quarter time.

Perth hit the front seven minutes into the second term with a goal to their power forward Sam Garstone before the Tigers hit back with the only other three goals before half-time. Whitehead, Ben Higgs and Jyrin Woods combined to get the ball to hard-running midfielder Ryan Lim, who delivered into attack where half-forward flanker Howard, resplendent in yellow and gold boots, soared to pull down a spectacular mark before using his trusty left foot to boot a goal.

Higgs got the next goal after a good passage of play involving Rogers, Fiegert, Sam Bevan, Hardisty and Jordan Crockett. The ball went back to the centre where Waterman gained the clearance. He surged forward and gained possession at half-forward before booting a lovely long goal.

Soon after that Taylor, showing great dash, sent the ball deep into attack where Howard pulled down another brilliant mark. But no score resulted.

Claremont went into the half-time break with a well-deserved 14-point lead, 5.3 to 2.7. The Redlegs struck back with two goals (both after 50m penalties) in the opening three and a half minutes of the third quarter. Then a goal to Kurtis Chester and another to Garstone stretched Perth’s lead to ten points before the Tigers scored the final three goals to go into the three-quarter-time break with an eight-point advantage.

A goal to Bevan at the 13-minute mark came after an excellent passage of play involving Crockett, Court, Whitehead, Howard and Lim. Five minutes after that Simpson received a free-kick on the left wing before receiving a 50m penalty which enabled him to kick a goal from 45m.

Lim and Waterman were driving forces on the ball and they combined to get the ball to Woods for Claremont’s final goal for the quarter.

The Tigers earned some breathing space with a goal to Higgs two minutes into the final term. This came after Taylor, Ebert, Lim, Waterman and Nick Steens had worked the ball forward. Andries Mercer replied with a goal to the Demons before Crockett drove the ball forward to Lim for another Claremont major.

Newcomer Sam Seton, a 15-year-old from Halls Creek and a student at Clontarf, was warming to his task and marked a short pass from Carruthers before kicking a behind with one of his four kicks for the quarter.

Claremont made sure of victory at the 17-minute mark when Whitehead scored a goal following a forward thrust involving House, Carruthers, Hardisty, Seton, Rogers and Higgs.

Lim and Waterman were outstanding for the victors and Max Bentley maintained his fine form, both on a wing and on a half-back flank. Lim finished with 14 marks, 20 kicks and 12 effective handpasses; Waterman took 12 marks, had 21 kicks and made six effective handpasses and Bentley took eight marks, had 15 kicks and made six effective handpasses. Lim got the ball inside the side’s 50m attacking zone five times and Waterman four times.     

Claremont will finish the qualifying rounds in top spot. The Tigers have 68 points from 17 wins from 19 matches and head the premiership table from South Fremantle (56 points), Perth (52) and Subiaco and East Fremantle (each 44). Claremont are sure to meet spirited opposition from the Sharks at East Fremantle Oval on Saturday morning before clashing with the powerful South Fremantle side in the second semi-final at Claremont Oval the following weekend.

By Ken Casellas

Details:

Claremont 11.9 (75) beat Perth 8.11 (59).

Scorers---CLAREMONT: B. Higgs 2.1; E. Simpson 2.0; S. Bevan, E. Howard, J. Woods 1.1; J. Ebert, R. Lim, A. Waterman, M. Whitehead 1.0; S. Seton 0.2; J. Carruthers, N. Steens 0.1; 1pt forced. PERTH: S. Garstone 4.0; K. Chester, S. Doncon, H. Litchfield, A. Mercer 1.0; K. Merson, A. Moreno, T. Phillips 0.2; D. Cox, A. Fitzgerald, B. Manuel, M. Walker 0.1; 1pt forced.

Best---CLAREMONT: R. Lim, T. House, A. Waterman, B. Rogers, J. Fiegert, H. Taylor, J. Hardisty, M. Bentley, M. Whitehead, H. Court. PERTH: B. Edmonds, S. Garstone, S. Doncon, B. Manuel, D. Cox, J. Busher, J. Leeson.