Rogers is a Clearance King

By Ken Casellas

A remarkable performance by Bailey Rogers was the highlight of Claremont’s crushing victory over East Fremantle at Revo Fitness Stadium on Saturday.

Rogers and co-captain Callan England continued to show the way with masterly displays as the Tigers recorded their biggest victory — by 111 points — over the Sharks in the 299^TH meeting between the clubs.

Rogers excelled with his work at centre ball-ups, gaining nine clearances and he had an equal game-high tally of delivering the ball inside his side’s attacking 50m zone seven times, sharing that with fellow midfielder Ben Elliott, whose tigerish display earned him the Ralph Honner trophy as the player who embodied the values war-time hero Honner lived by: leadership, courage, determination and selflessness.

All the vital ingredients required for victory were on show — with the entire squad showing a ruthless determination, a will to chase and a desperation to prevent the opposition from scoring.

The massive victory appeared unlikely at quarter-time when Claremont led by seven points, 4.2 to 3.1. But after that the Sharks were overwhelmed by the Tigers, who added 17.9 in the final three quarters while restricting their rivals to 0.7, with three of those behinds being forced.

When a shot at goal in the final minute by former Claremont player Eric Benning registered a behind it saved East Fremantle from finishing with 3.7 which equalled the club’s lowest total against Claremont.

The 111-point margin was superior to Claremont’s previous biggest win over East Fremantle — the 103-point victory at East Fremantle Oval on July 30, 2005, when Claremont had twelve goalscorers in their total of 24.13 against the 8.6 managed by the Sharks. Leon Wilson scored a goal, and he was again in action on Saturday, wearing the pink outfit as his side’s runner.

Before that, Claremont’s biggest winning margin against East Fremantle was 102 points when the Tigers had eleven goalkickers, headed by Warren Ralph with eleven. Claremont won that match, scoring 30.17 to East’s 14.11 at Claremont Oval on July 11, 1981.

Claremont’s dominance on Saturday was illustrated by their control of the centre ball-ups where Ollie Eastland’s grand ruckwork provided a feast for Rogers and England, who between them took ten marks, had 38 kicks, 25 handpasses and seven tackles.

While Claremont penetrated their attacking 50m zone 57 times, the Sharks were able to get the ball inside their 50 33 times. Great credit is due to the outstanding defensive work of the home side’s backmen, led by Anthony Davis, who took ten marks and had 23 disposals.

Details:

Claremont 21.11 (137) beat East Fremantle 3.8 (26)

Scorers—CLAREMONT: J. Hunter 5.1; K. Gowdie 4.1; T. Delacey 4.0: S. van Rooyen 3.1; A. Waterman 2.2; B. Rogers 2.1; T. Headland 1.1; C. England, Z. Mainwaring, J. Musika 0.1; 1pt forced. EAST FREMANTLE: L. Robinson 1.2; O. McManus, L. Strnadica 1.0; E. Benning, L. Carrello, J. Cleaver 0.1; 3pts forced.

Best—CLAREMONT: B. Rogers, C. England, A. Davis, B. Elliott, T. Delacey, A. Waterman, O. Eastland, J. Hunter, Z. Mainwaring, S. Alvarez. EAST FREMANTLE: J. Cleaver, T. Joyce, J. Marsh, K. Baskervill, C. Eardley, Z. Rankin, O. McManus, T. Alker.