Delacey Shines On A Dull Day

By Ken Casellas

It was a miserable cold, dark and wet day at Bassendean Oval on Saturday when Talon Delacey, relishing the responsibility of greater involvement as a midfielder, was a shining light in the bleak conditions and played a major role in Claremont’s hard-fought 22-point victory over Swan Districts.

The 24-year-old Delacey honed his wet-weather skills during his football upbringing with the North Albany club in the delightful city which is one of the closest habitats to the frozen South Pole.

It was Delacey and robust wingman Ollie Sheldrick who showed the way in the murky mud, and it was no surprise that Claremont’s first score came at the 12-minute mark of the opening term when Alec Waterman marked a spearing low pass from Delacey.

A point was the result, and Swans led throughout the first half and were in front, 2.7 to 1.5 at half-time. Swans were more efficient in the wintry conditions, while the Tigers wasted many scoring opportunities.

A solitary goal in a half was a poor return from 27 entries inside the side’s 50m attacking zone. However, the overall effort could not be faulted on an afternoon when every goal was like a gem.

Claremont’s first-half major came after small forward Jack Musika drove the ball forward to Waterman, who finished with a tally of 3.3.

Four minutes into the third quarter Sheldrick burst out the centre and delivered a splendid pass which was marked by Zac Mainwaring, whose goal reduced the side’s deficit to two points.

Successive behinds to Waterman and Tyson Headland levelled the scores at 2.7 apiece before a holding the ball free-kick against the Tigers resulted in Leigh Kohlmann scoring a goal for the home side when the left footer used a clever screw kick with deadly effect from deep in the left pocket.

Delacey and Dec Mountford fought hard to send the Tigers into attack where Waterman was pushed in the back, and he took advantage of the free-kick to score a goal which brought the scores level again.

Soon after that the hard-working Musika delivered to Waterman, whose goal gave the Tigers the lead for the first time at the 21-minute mark of the term. This was followed by a goal to Delacey, a fearless straight-ahead raging bull, who finished the contest with seven marks, 14 kicks (including six inside 50s), nine handpasses and two tackles.

Sheldrick excelled with four marks, 11 kicks, four inside 50s and ten handpasses, while Mountford was outstanding, mainly on a wing, when he had eight kicks in the third quarter and finished with 17, including six inside 50s, in a high-quality performance.

Quite remarkably, the players were casting long shadows in the final quarter when the sky turned blue and the sun was shining brightly.

It was a gritty and highly meritorious display by the Tigers who scored six of the final seven goals, with the victory consolidating second spot on the premiership table.

The Claremont side will need to maintain its good form at Revo Fitness Stadium next Saturday when the Subiaco Lions are sure to come out with all guns blazing to enhance their prospects of appearing in the finals. The good news for the Tigers is that star midfielder Callan England will be fit to resume after recovering from an ankle injury which prevented him from playing in the club’s past three matches.

Delacey, who has played much of his football this season as an effective half-forward flanker, was one of several strong contributing midfielders against Swans, with Ben Elliott, Mainwaring, Bailey Rogers and Headland all competing strongly, while Ollie Eastland, Kieran Gowdie and debutant Benji van Rooyen gave the side a significant edge in the ruck battles.

Eastland, who scored two goals early in the final quarter, had 17 kicks and 23 hit-outs, and his seven clearances was the highest individual tally in the contest, ahead of the five clearances by Elliott and Rogers.

Heading the list of tackles were Mainwaring (nine), Sam Alvarez (seven), Musika (six) and Max Spyvee (five). All the side’s defenders deserve great credit for their performances in restricting the opposition to three goals.

Details:

Claremont 7.9 (51) beat Swan Districts 3.11 (29)

Scorers—CLAREMONT: A. Waterman 3.3; O. Eastland 2.0; T. Delacey 1.3; Z. Mainwaring 1.0; K. Gowdie, T. Headland, S. van Rooyen 0.1. SWAN DISTRICTS: L. Kohlmann 2.2; C. Ernst 1.0; J. Cipro, L. Cotellessa, O. Harvey, C. Loftus, J. McLachlan, J. Turner 0.1; 3pts forced.

Best—CLAREMONT. T. Delacey, O. Sheldrick, B. Elliott, O. Eastland, A. Waterman, Z. Mainwaring, J. Musika, D. Mountford, B. Rogers. SWAN DISTRICTS: B. Kelly, J. Cipro, C. Hinchliffe, B. Erceg, J. McLachlan, J. Turner, C. Loftus.