Tigers Overcome Leederville Hoodoo

John Townsend

“I hate playing at Leederville,” a long-time Claremont observer muttered as he walked away from the three-quarter-time huddle on Saturday night.

The Tigers had played the better football for most of the match against last-placed Subiaco, building a lead of 26 points early in the second term, but had stumbled and were down by two points at the last break.

Claremont’s record at the ground is only modest – just 12 wins from 27 matches in the past decade with last year and the short COVID-affected 2020 the only seasons in that period to produce a clean sweep against all opponents.

An upset to the cellar-dwellers threatened to disrupt Claremont’s growing momentum yet coach Ashley Prescott could hardly have been any calmer as he addressed his troops.

Urging them to concentrate on the fundamentals of the game – playing in front and running hard to support team-mates – he provided the tonic required for Claremont to see off the danger and come home strongly.

Ruckman Ollie Eastland enhanced his dominant form to have a profound impact with more disposals and clearances than anyone else on the ground, prolific midfielders Bailey Rogers and Jye Bolton increased theiroutput and Ben Elliott put the icing on perhaps his best performance for the club.

Their contributions helped Claremont kick the first three goals and quickly put the result beyond doubt.

The 12-point win, 11.10 (76) to 10.4 (64), steered Claremont into third place on the ladder, a position where they could remain for the coming weeks given the way the fixtures fall.

It was also Prescott’s 123rd win as coach, equalling Gerard Neesham’s mark achieved during the club’s golden period late last century.

Jaiden Hunter made a solid return after a long absence with a broken finger, kicking three goals and providing an excellent combination with energetic small forward Zac Mainwaring who landed goals either side of quarter-time and his first early in the game to reward the team’s bright start.

Tall target Kieran Gowdie couldn’t back up his career-best seven-goal effort from the previous round but still hauled in six marks and should provide a powerful 1-2 punch with Hunter as they build on their four matches together.

The greatest impact was generated in the middle where Eastland had too much skill and class for his Subiaco opponents.

The big left–footer produced 34 hits-outs, had 22 disposals – half of them won in contests – and laid six tackles.

The only players to generate more defensive pressure were Talon Delacey (nine tackles) and Elliott (six) who helped Claremont to a +2 tackle count while also having 38 more possessions, 20 more marks and 20 more hard ball gets.

That ferocious intensity contributed to Claremont kicking 10 of their 11 goals from turnovers, a trait that has been evident in the strong recent month.

The 59-36 inside 50 count indicates that the ball was in Claremont’s forward half for most of the match, the result of Bolton (39 disposals), Rogers (27) and Elliott (26) getting their hands on the ball so often, but thefailure to convert opportunities onto the scoreboard meant the Tigers were susceptible when Subiaco pushed hard and played their best football in the third term.

The danger was averted, though, with the team’s pillars standing upright when they were most needed.

The likely availability of Callan England (ankle) and Alec Waterman (illness) after the bye, and the imminent return of captain Dec Mountford (shoulder), augers well for a team that has thrived on recent challenges.

CLAREMONT 3.3 6.5 8.6 11.10 76

SUBIACO 1.1 5.1 9.2 10.4 64

GOALS – CLAREMONT: Hunter, Mainwaring 3; Gowdie, Rogers, Elliott, Alvarez, Smallwood.

SUBIACO: Mayo, Borchet 3; Savigni, Schofield, Gathercole, Golding.

BEST – CLAREMONT: Eastland, Elliott, Rogers, Bolton, Mainwaring, Davis, Barron.

SUBIACO: Mayo, Giro, Savigni, Schofield, Hickmott, Burke.