Spyvee Adds Spice to Attack

By Ken Casellas

The Claremont Tigers have excellent targets in attack, with tall, high-marking forwards Jaiden Hunter, Kieran Gowdie and Sam van Rooyen complemented with the exciting mid-sized trio Alec Waterman, Talon Delacey and Max Spyvee and small forward Jack Musika.

The three big power forwards scored seven of Claremont’s 12 goals in the scratch match against Peel Thunder at Revo Fitness Stadium on Saturday, with Spyvee scoring two and Delacey and Musika weighing in with a goal apiece, while Waterman excels in his task as the organising general in attack.

Claremont won a hard-fought contest by nine points, with Spyvee lining up on a half-forward flank, adding considerable fire power in attack, not only scoring goals but playing a valuable role by foiling the opposition’s hopes of clearing the defensive zone with his spirited tackling.

Spyvee laid four tackles on an afternoon that the home side’s tackling was a welcome feature, with Zac Mainwaring (six tackles), Declan Mountford (five) and Ollie Sheldrick and Tyson Headland (four each) showing the way.

The 24-year-old Spyvee is a wonderful acquisition this season after playing in the country in the past three years. Tigers fans are looking forward to watching Spyvee in action in the round one fixture against West Perth at Joondalup next Saturday week. This will be his first appearance for Claremont since he scored two goals in the losing grand final against West Perth at Leederville Oval in 2022.

With the forwards developing into a splendid unit, Mainwaring, a superb goalscoring and hard-tackling small forward in previous seasons, is enjoying the opportunity of joining the club’s strong midfield group.

Mainwaring produced a typical energetic display with eight kicks and a team-high total of ten handpasses in the scratch match.

Leading lights in Claremont’s midfield are Sandover medallists and co-captains Bailey Rogers and Callan England, with splendid assistance from Mainwaring, Mountford, Ben Elliott and Tyson Headland.

The smooth-moving England maintained his outstanding pre-season form on Saturday with four marks, 13 kicks and eleven handpasses, while Rogers (who was switched to a half-back flank for much of the second half) finished with six marks, 17 kicks and six handpasses.

Elliott, who relishes working at the coalface, was a driving force with eight marks, 14 kicks, eight handpasses and three tackles.

Ollie Eastland and Kalin Lane performed strongly in the ruck duels against giant Fremantle Dockers player Mason Cox, with that club’s supporters watching anxiously as Cox limped from the arena at the end of the contest with an ice pack encasing his left calf muscle.

Bailey Banfield, Ollie Sheldrick and Adam Boules showed good form when used on the wings, and it was interesting to see Sheldrick moved into defence in the second half, with that unit without the services of talented left-footer Sam Gilbey, who unfortunately suffered a damaged left knee early in the opening quarter.

Details:

Claremont 12.4 (76) beat Peel Thunder 10.7 (67)
Scorers—CLAREMONT: K. Gowdie 3.2; J. Hunter 3.1; M. Spyvee 2.0; T. Delacey, J. Howard, J. Musika, S. van Rooyen 1.0; Z. Mainwaring 0.1. PEEL: T. Bryce 2.1; C. Nicholls 2.0; A. Sweid 1.2; F. Burmeister, T. Murray, D. Walters 1.1; M. Cox, L. Kickett 1.0; J. Sears 0.1.

Best—CLAREMONT: C. England, B. Elliott, O. Eastland, B. Rogers, S. Alvarez, A. Pearce, M. Spyvee, Z. Mainwaring, T. Headland, J. Peace. PEEL: H. Davies, A. Sweid, M. Cox, B. Banfield, J. Sears, J. Carr, B. Hancock, S. Tuia, C. Nicholls, T. Bryce.