Headland Presses His Claims

By Ken Casellas

A dashing display by speedy midfielder Tyson Headland in the scratch match against East Perth at Leederville Oval on Saturday strengthened his claims of selection in Claremont’s league side for the round one fixture against West Perth at Joondalup on April 4.

He was in the spotlight early in the contest with an effective spoil followed by a sparkling burst which saw him send a left-foot kick inside the forward 50m.

He used his natural right foot for his next kick, also into the forward 50m — and then was the dominant player on the field in the second quarter when he had six kicks, made two effective handpasses and laid three tackles.

The 25-year-old Headland played ten league matches for south Fremantle in 2022 and since then he has been a star for Gosnells in the Perth Football League C2 competition. His uncle Des Headland played for Subiaco before a wonderful AFL career with Brisbane and the Fremantle Dockers.

The only other recruit in Claremont’s side on Saturday was East Perth’s Adam Boules, who gave an indication of his ability with a four-kick and two-handpass second quarter.

Regular league wingman Sam Alvarez was Claremont’s best player, first on a wing and then when used as a half-back flanker in the second half when he played with great poise and assurance. He took three marks and had 15 kicks and four handpasses.

Maing his first appearance in senior ranks was Samson Jennings-Hopkins, who slotted in seamlessly on a half-back flank where he impressed with his composure and all-round skills.

Claremont led, 4.5 to 1.4 at half-time, before dominating the second half and winning by 54 points, with tall forwards Jaiden Hunter, Kieran Gowdie and Sam van Rooyen scoring ten goals between them.

Details:

Claremont 16.9 (105) b East Perth 7.9 (51)

Scorers—CLAREMONT: K. Gowdie 4.2; J. Hunter, S. van Rooyen 3.2; Z. Mainwaring 2.1; T. Delacey 2.0: B. Banfield, A. Waterman 1.0; O. Eastland, B. Elliott 0.1. EAST PERTH: D. Craven 2.1; C. Burgiel, S. Kuek 2.0; K. Screaigh 1.0; D. Freitag, T. North 0.2; T. Medhat, B. Middleton, S. van Diemen 0.1; 1pt forced.

Best—CLAREMONT: S. Alvarez, Z. Mainwaring, C. England, A. Davis, T. Headland, T. Delacey, K. Gowdie, S. van Rooyen. EAST PERTH: D. Craven, D. Middleton, K. Willcocks, X. Milner, C. Stephens, L. Foley.