Inspirational Mainwaring is a Star

By Ken Casellas

Zac Mainwaring’s emergence as a dynamic midfielder continued apace at Fremantle Oval on Saturday when he produced four quarters of inspirational football to play a major role in Claremont’s hard-fought five-point victory over South Fremantle.

Not only did he kick two goals in the low-scoring dog fight but he was directly responsible for two others — when he marked a short pass from Jaiden Hunter and centred the ball the ball to Dec Mountford for Claremont’s second goal 20 minutes into the opening quarter — before his magnificent effort in the closing moments of the tough physical encounter helped seal the issue.

The Tigers were trailing by two points at the 26-minute mark and fatigue was the enemy of players from both sides when Mainwaring pounced on a loose ball in the centre of the ground after it had been thumped forward following a behind scored by South’s Ashton Ferreira.

Mainwaring accelerated brilliantly as he sped down the corridor and took two bounces before firing out a perfect handpass to Jack Musika, who dashed forward and also took two bounces before slamming home a goal from 35 metres out to give the Tigers a four-point lead with 26min. 42sec. on the clock.

A free-kick to Ollie Eastland two minutes later resulted in a behind before the match ended with Claremont foiling South Fremantle’s bid to set a club record of 18 consecutive victories.

It was a gritty performance by the Tigers, who led by 22 points after Hunter had taken a fine contested mark and kicked a goal at the 13-minute mark of the second term. But Claremont lost concentration and the Bulldogs took charge and four minutes into the final quarter the home side led by 15 points after outscoring the opposition 7.4 to 1.3 in a 51-minute period of domination.

However, Claremont rallied determinedly in the final quarter, adding 4.2 to South’s 1.8. Callan England, cool and composed, played a pivotal role in Claremont’s victory. After shining on the ball in the first three quarters, he stationed himself deep in defence where he repeatedly thwarted South Fremantle.

Claremont’s seven defenders performed manfully throughout, with full-back Dec Hardisty showing the way in his battle with Trey Ruscoe, who managed just three kicks, including the opening goal of the contest.

The livewire Mainwaring finished with three marks, 12 kicks, seven handpasses, seven tackles, six clearances at stoppages and five inside 50s while Mountford had a major influence in the victory, with two goals and a match-high tally of nine tackles.

After three rounds of fixtures Claremont is the only unbeaten side, and the Tigers face an expected spirited challenge at Revo Fitness Stadium next Saturday from the East Fremantle Sharks who impressed on Saturday with 13-point win over last year’s beaten grand finalists East Perth.

Details:

Claremont 11.8 (74) beat South Fremantle 9.15 (69)

Scorers—CLAREMONT: Z. Mainwaring, D. Mountford, S. van Rooyen 2.0; J. Musica 1.2; A. Davis, O. Eastland 1.1; J. Hunter, M. Spyvee 1.0; T. Delacey, B. Rogers 0.1; 3pts forced. SOUTH FREMANTLE: H. Free 2.0; I. Winder 1.3; A. Drage 1.2; G. Edward, A. Harvey, R. O’Hehir, T. Ruscoe 1.1; L. Robinson 1.0; J. Boullineau, A. Ferreira, E. Graham 0.1; 3pts forced.

Best—CLAREMONT: Z. Mainwaring, C. England, D. Mountford, D. Hardisty, A. Davis, B. Elliott, O. Eastland, S. Alvarez, J. Hunter, J. Peace, B. Rogers, A. Pearce. SOUTH FREMANTLE: H. Free, J. Florenca, L. Rayson, T. Blechynden, L. Robinson, E. Hughes, A. Drage, C. Bourne., I. Winder.