Musika Sets The Tone

 By Ken Casellas

He’s not a big-name star nor a big and burly footballer, but Jack Musika set a wonderful example of commitment to the cause when he played a major role in Claremont’s hard-fought victory over Peel Thunder at Revo Fitness Stadium on Saturday.

The 24-year-old Musika, playing as a small forward on a half-forward flank, possibly the most difficult position on the field, was a constant source of inspiration with his unstinting devotion and fierce attack on the ball.

He was a shining light from the outset until the final siren, setting the standard in the opening minutes of the contest with an inspirational chase and tackle, and it was significant that in the final minute of play that his concentration did not waver as he applied a powerful tackle on Peel’s Tobyn Murray.

To his credit, Musika excelled in his battles against a succession of opponents, beginning with Jacob Hewitt and then three Fremantle Dockers defenders Josh Draper, Brandon Walker and Cooper Simpson.

He finished with three marks, 13 kicks, one effective handpass, seven crunching tackles, four inside 50s and a goal in a low-scoring encounter.

Possibly his most impressive tackle was the one which stopped Peel’s dangerous Jeremy Sharp at the 21-minute mark of the third quarter, an effort which earned him a free-kick.

Musika’s teammates were keen to follow his example, and Claremont’s tally of 84 tackles to Peel’s total of 60 was a significant factor of the win, one of the club’s most outstanding and meritorious in recent times, against a team which boasted 14 AFL listed Dockers players. It was truly a great effort.

High on the list of Claremont’s leading tacklers were Dec Mountford and Tyson Headland (seven each), Zac Mainwaring (six), Callan England and Sam Alvarez (five each).

It was a dour contest on a pleasant sunny afternoon which saw the scores level at 2.3 at half-time before the Tigers gradually asserted their authority to score an emphatic 11-point victory, 7.10 to 6.5.

Claremont and South Fremantle remain the only unbeaten sides after two rounds of fixtures, with the clash between the Bulldogs and Claremont at Fremantle Oval next Saturday promising to be a thriller.

On Saturday, Claremont penetrated their forward 50m area 38 times to Peel’s 45, and the fact that the Thunder were restricted to six goals in perfect conditions was due to the unsung heroes in the home side’s defence who thwarted numerous promising attacking moves.

Co-captains England (31 disposals) and Bailey Rogers (25) were dominant midfielders who received excellent support from Mainwaring (19 and six inside 50s) and Ben Elliott (24).

Earlier on Saturday Peel beat Claremont, 9.18 to 9.1 in the reserves match, in which classy centreman Joel Western starred in his return to action after recovering from ligament damage to a thumb.

League details:

Claremont 7.10 (52) beat Peel 6.5 (41)

Scorers—CLAREMONT: J. Hunter, M. Spyvee 1.2; T. Delacey, B. Rogers 1.1; C. England, J. Musika, A. Waterman 1.0; O. Eastland, S. van Rooyen 0.1; 2pts forced. PEEL: J. Sharp 3.0; J. Draper, T. Murray, K. Sanders 1.0; C. Nicholls 0.3; M. Cox 0.2.

Best—CLAREMONT: J. Musika, C. England, Z. Mainwaring, B. Rogers, B. Elliott, D. Mountford, S. Alvarez, M. Minear, D. Hardisty. PEEL: L. Tardrew, J. Sharp, M. Cox, N. O’Driscoll, H. Davies, J. Sears, B. Banfield.