Self-belief growing as finals approach

by John Townsend

Claremont’s belief that they can win from any position has been tested again but proved to be well-founded.

A week after recovering from a WAFL-record 50-point quarter-time deficit to beat finals-bound Perth, the Tigers had to dig deep on Saturday to overcome another September contender. It might have been a dead rubber, with the result having no bearing on the finals make-up, but Claremont boosted their self-belief by coming from 26 points down at half-time to beat East Perth by nine in the final match of the home-and-away season. Both teams will return to Revo Fitness Stadium for the qualifying final next Saturday when the Tigers host the Royals for the second successive week.

The 13.11 (89) to 12.8 (80) result was Claremont’s 14th win of the season and officially confirmed coach Ashley Prescott’s remarkable record of making finals in each of his nine seasons at the helm of the Tigers. Prescott is the only one-club coach in WAFL history to win a final in each of at least eight seasons, a feat he can extend next Saturday, but the reality is that he has bigger fish to fry than another statistical achievement. He has rarely coached better than this season but will be searching for the formula for stronger starts against good opposition to avoid the need for miraculous comebacks in the second half of matches.

There was a lovely moment before the game started when the league team and members of the Ralph family unveiled a large banner behind the southern goals to mark the Warren Ralph End. But it was East Perth who started brightly with the first two goals in the opening minutes before Zac Mainwaring continued his emergence as a midfielder of great commitment and energy to help the home team peg back the lead. The same pattern followed in the second term. East Perth kicked the first three majors as giant ruckman Scott Jones got on top of Kalin Lane, who played his first Claremont league match in 1588 days after recovering from a knee reconstruction required during his AFL stint at Brisbane. Mainwaring then bobbed up again to strike twice before the Royals surged to half-time with another three majors.

The margin had blown out to 26 points by then and while Mainwaring’s three goals had kept his team in the contest, and Bailey Rogers had bounced back to form after a career-low seven disposals a week earlier, East Perth had winners across the ground. That dominance did not last long. Champion midfielder Jye Bolton imposed himself with 10 possessions in the third term, Callan England lifted his rating significantly, and the returning Dec Mountford and Anthony Davis had a strong say in the recovery. Claremont started to provide outlets for the ball-winners, with 36 handballs received underlining the improvement in their running to provide an option, while the rest of the team lifted so significantly that they laid more tackles than the opposition, won more of the football, went inside 50 18 times to eight, and kicked four goals to one to get with striking distance at the last break. Goals to Mountford, the lively Talon Delacey and Bailey Banfield slashed the deficit before Davis, who took a strong mark in defence, received two 50m penalties and took full advantage by kicking the goal that gave Claremont the lead.

The Royals pegged it back just before the last break but Claremont’s midfield were well on top by this stage, the backline as impervious as any in the league and opportunities were sure to arise. Kieren Gowdie started the scoring early in the last after getting on the end of a chain of possessions linked by Rogers, England and Dec Hardisty. A 10-minute arm wrestle suited the home team but the dam wall suddenly broke when Rogers grabbed a ground ball in traffic and kicked truly from 50m before the next two centre clearances resulted in rapid ball movement into attack and goals to Banfield and Mountford. The 26-point deficit soon became a 21-point advantage when Delacey converted an intercept mark inside 50 and while East Perth kicked two goals in the dying moments, it did little but affect the margin.

There is a bigger prize at stake next week but Claremont enter the qualifying final full of confidence, with senior players and emerging juniors in good form, and with their self-belief in robust health.

CLAREMONT 2.2 4.4 8.8 13.11 89

EAST PERTH 2.3 8.6 9.7 12.8 80

GOALS – CLAREMONT: Mainwaring 3; Mountford, Delacey, Banfield 2; Rogers, Gowdie, England, Banfield.

EAST PERTH: Kuek 4; Raykos 2; Burgiel, Medhat, Jones, Peak, Tedesco, Delaney.

BEST – CLAREMONT: Mainwaring, England, Rogers, Davis, Mountford, Bolton.

EAST PERTH: Tedesco, Jones, Raykos, Kuek, North.