Lewsey Notches his Century

By Ken Casellas

 Claremont Oval was a quagmire and rain was sheeting down when a teenager wearing the No. 58 jumper ran on to the field to make his league debut for the Tigers in the round 16 fixture against East Perth on July 21, 2018.

Much water has flowed under the bridge since that day, and the abovementioned intrepid youngster has progressed to wearing the No. 1 guernsey.

He is the muscular rebounding small defender Jack Lewsey, who will lead the Tigers on to Revo Fitness Stadium on Saturday this week as he celebrates his 1OOth league appearance for the club, becoming the 128^th Claremont player to achieve this milestone.

Lewsey, a fierce and uncompromising defender, either in a back pocket or on a half-back flank, made a splendid debut seven years ago when he kept his opponent Luke Partington goalless while he took two marks, had nine kicks and fired out five effective handpasses.

“It was a memorable match because of the terrible conditions and the fact that our side established a record tackle count of 134, as well as enjoying the occasion with my best mate and fellow-debutant Addison Dew,” said Lewsey.

Quite remarkably, only four of Lewsey’s teammates in his debut match (Declan Hardisty, Jye Bolton, Ollie Eastland and Lachie Martinis) are still in action with the side. Claremont was successful in Lewsey’s first match, beating East Perth 6.13 to 3.7, with either side managing only one goal in the second half.

Lewsey is hoping to celebrate his century this week with a victory, just as he did in his 50^th league appearance when Claremont beat the West Coast Eagles by 96 points in a round 21 match on August 28, 2021.

A Christ Church Grammar schoolboy, Lewsey showed splendid early promise as a footballer when he represented the WA side in the under-16 national championships in Victoria and South Australia in 2015. A stress fracture in his back forced him to miss a season of colts football before he lined up in 20 colts matches in 2016.

“I played all my junior football in the Claremont district when I was a devout fan of the Tigers and admired players like Tom Lee and Kane Mitchell,” he said.

Lewsey has played in losing league grand finals against South Fremantle in 2020 and West Perth in 2022, and he is excited at the potential of Claremont’s side this year, saying: “There is a huge amount of talent and plenty of room for growth at the club. We have a lot of hard-working blokes.”

The 26-year-old Lewsey missed the 2024 season while he was in Melbourne competing his final year of his studies in sport and exercise and psychology at the Institute Of Social Neuroscience. He also enjoyed lining up in 18 matches for the Warragul Gulls in the Gippsland League, as well as competing in two marathons.

“It was a bit of a challenge coming back to playing league football with Claremont, but it has been most enjoyable and the culture at the club has been outstanding.”