by Warren Parker | Claremont FC Talent Manager

The Claremont Football Club has a long and proud history with the Great Southern Region as a recruiting zone which has been a great producer of WAFL and AFL talent. This includes just some AFL stars such as Nat Fyfe, Jeremy & Mitchell McGovern and Marley Williams along with a host of present Claremont players such as Declan Mountford, Dylan & Tyron Smallwood, Bailey Bennett, Matthew Palfrey & Addison Dew to mention a few.

As a club that lives by the motto “develop our own, promote from within” we are committed to ensuring that the link between the club remains strong and that players from the region are able to access high quality programs and pursue their dreams of playing the highest level of football they possibly can.

With this in mind, the opportunity for our club to play the Round 16 WAFL Colts Fixture against Perth in Albany was one that we were extremely excited about. To have a number of local products return to the Great Southern and play in front of family and friends while presenting opportunities for a number of locally based players to experience football at this level was a great thing for our club and for the region itself.

It also opened up the possibility of running various football clinics for the kids in the area while delivering Coach and Umpire Education Sessions to a number of volunteers and stakeholders from both the senior and junior landscapes.

A Claremont Masterclass was run on Wednesday 17th July run by Sam Cousens and Declan Cormack along with a couple of CFC Colts players in Hayden Parker and Jacob Blight. It consisted of 40 players from the ages of 10-14 taking part in a one-day camp which exposes players to high level skill drills and development techniques along with testing and education. The young players loved the experience and gained a lot from all of the coaches involved.

Thursday 18th July saw the annual Proudies Foundation Clinic take place where 50 kids from the ages of 5-12 take part in a day full of fun Auskick activities and games. WAFC Great Southern Regional Manager Matthew Bishop took the lead on running the day with 7 CFC Colts players assisting in having a kick with the kids. They had an absolute ball and couldn’t have asked for a better day with all profits from the clinic going towards the Proudies Foundation.

The weather took a turn on Friday 19th July which was just in time for our senior and junior education sessions. CFC Colts Coach Ross McQueen, WAFC Umpiring Manager and WAFC Talent Pathways Manager Michael Ablett flew in to assist and run the sessions which was a real treat for a number of the locals.

Claremont Board Member and “Mini” Storm Coach Darrell Panizza invited a group of the regions 12-14-year-old development players to a session conducted by Ross which was going very well until the heavens opened up and the players and coaches were absolutely drenched! The coaches watching on quickly retreated to the safety of the building and the session wrapped up before heading inside to run theory sessions in a much more comfortable setting.

These theory sessions were fantastic with both the Ross and David delivering some real quality content in their sessions which the local Coaches and Umpires valued greatly. There was some great conversation around a number of issues and opportunities, and everyone walked away from the sessions very positive and with note pads marked with valuable information which will assist their own programs and performance.

Finally, Saturday 20th July rolled around, Game Day. A bus provided by a great club sponsor in Buswest rolled up to Claremont Oval at 7:45am to pick up players and coaches which arrived at our destination of the Le Grande Motel in Albany later that day.

Whilst the bus made its way to Albany the events had already begun with Michael Ablett, Matthew Bishop and West Coast Eagles Community Manager Kim Hannah taking a Female Football Session which was well attended by a number of women looking to refine their skills and play some football.

The Great Southern “Mini” Storm then took the field at Centennial Stadium for a development match before the weather took hold again and it was time for some WAFL Colts football action as Claremont and Perth took the field. 12 players in total took the field for Claremont who had past or present links to the Great Southern Region which was great for the group.

The contest was hot early, although Claremont managed to take control on the scoreboard and unfortunately it didn’t get any better for the remainder of the game for the Demons. In what were wet and slippery conditions for the majority of the match, the final score ended up being CLA 10.9.69 – PER 0.4.4. For a full match report click here 

A big thank you must go out to the Royals and Albany Football Clubs who are co-tenants at Centennial Stadium and took on a lot of the duties of the day including the Canteen and timekeeping and scoreboard duties which the game would not have gone ahead without.

After thawing out and showering up, the players, staff and parents returned to the Le Grande Motel for post-match presentations and a meal. Joe and the crew at Le Grande took great care of us and after eating, socializing and presenting a number of awards the players headed off to bed and got some well-deserved rest.

The players woke early the next morning, completed some recovery walking, ate some breakfast and it was back on the bus for Perth.

This brought to an end what was a great weekend of football for the club’s and for the Great Southern Region. I’d like to personally thank our sponsors in Buswest, the Le Grande Motel and WFI for their support of the event. Without their contributions it simply would not have gone ahead.

Also, a big thank you to the WAFC Staff, Claremont and Perth Coaches and Staff along with all of the players who travelled and assisted with clinics etc.
This was a fantastic week for the football club and the Great Southern Region, and I can only hope that the footprint that we left there at the conclusion of the week further enhances the kids passion for the game and leaves parents and stakeholders of the region with a positive feeling about the game in the region.

Our commitment to the region will continue to be a big focus for us as a club as we look to provide future players with opportunities to play at higher levels of football while aiming to help where we can with ensure the health of football at all levels in the region.