Endeavour unquestioned but South hoodoo continues

John Townsend

You know you are having a bad day when a player with the considerable skill of dual Sandover medallist Jye Bolton kicks a simple set shot into the man on the mark with the game on the line.

Another compelling chapter in Claremont’s recent rivalry with South Fremantle played out at Revo Fitness Stadium on Saturday.

But as in most of the close encounters of the past half decade, including three one-point thrillers and a three-point grand final epic, the Bulldogs found themselves in front at the final siren.

Claremont’s endeavour was never in question in the top-five clash but the Tigers paid a high price for numerous skill errors and clumsy ball-handling that enabled South to survive by 17 points, 10.8 (68) to 7.9 (51).

The margin was 13 points with the home team charging 15 minutes into the last quarter when Bolton won a free kick 40m from goal.

It should have been a straightforward conversion for a champion player seeking the 90th goal and 100th victory of his 177-game career but the kick was awry, South Fremantle rebounded and the momentum could not be recovered.

There was much to like about Claremont’s commitment and resolve which ensured the contest was squared bar a five-minute burst early in the second term when the Bulldogs kicked three unanswered goals.

Resolute full-back Declan Hardisty blanketed mercurial forward Trey Ruscoe for much of the day but could not keep the former Collingwood player from landing three goals, including two remarkable banana kicks at critical moments.

Ronin O’Connor returned to league action for the first time in 400 days after two pectoral ruptures and did well enough to keep dangerous Matthew Parker to two touches in the middle two quarters.

But Parker had eight in each of the first and last to contribute to his team’s cause.

Ben Elliott got his hands dirty working hard in heavy traffic but rarely got enough space to set up decent forward entries: his kicking efficiency of just 19% was telling.

Lively Talon Delacey was one of two multiple goal-kickers but had just one effective disposal in the first half – and that was a free kick and 50m penalty that took him to the goal-line.

Ollie Eastland had another absorbing contest with a recent AFL-listed ruckman but while he won 29 hit-outs to Hamish Free’s 19, South had the better of the clearances and kicked the match’s only two goals directly from centre stoppages.

Kieren Gowdie opened the scoring when he grabbed a loose ball early in the match while Alec Waterman ensured Claremont had the lead at the first break when he took advantage of an Eastland entry.

But South soon stretched the advantage to a game-high 21 points as Jake Florenca, Isiah Winder and Tom Blechynden took charge in the midfield.

Claremont needed flair and precision and while dashing defender Anthony Davis provided the first element, with 16 disposals and half a dozen saving marks in the second half, composed wingman Sam Alvarez was the catalyst with ball in hand.

Equalling his career-high returns of 19 kicks and two goals, Alvarez demonstrated a level of composure under pressure, capacity to make good decisions and precision in his delivery matched by few team-mates.

He kicked the last goal of the first half when he gave Waterman a good option inside 50 then sparked the surge in the last term with a neat finish after Bailey Rogers picked him out.

Rogers maintained his bright start to the season with a notable mixture of effervescence and grit while Waterman had 19 disposals, his most prolific outing since the 2020 grand final season, while his team-high seven inside 50s underlined his value when playing higher up the ground.

CLAREMONT 2.1 4.2 5.6 7.9 51

SOUTH FREMANTLE 1.4 6.6 8.8 10.8 68

GOALS – CLAREMONT: Alvarez, Delacey 2; Waterman, Gowdie, Smallwood.

SOUTH FREMANTLE: Ruscoe 3; Winder, Donaldson, Graham 2; Ward.

BEST – CLAREMONT: Davis, Rogers, Alvarez, Waterman, Bolton, Eastland.

SOUTH FREMANTLE: Florenca, Blechynden, Winder, Ruscoe, Free, Rayson.