AFL DRAFT WATCH - CLAREMONT FOOTBALL CLUB

By Lenny Fogliani

Since 1981, the Claremont Football Club has had 64 players drafted onto an AFL list, making it one of the powerhouse clubs in Western Australia in terms of talent.

Notable recent draftees from Claremont include Jeremy McGovern (2010), Tom Mitchell (2011), Joel Hamling (2011), Jesse Hogan (2012), Tom Barrass (2013), Mitch McGovern (2014), Sam Petrevski-Seton (2016), Jordan Clark (2018) and Jason Carter (2018).

In 2019, the Tigers have nine players who have been nominated for the NAB AFL Draft, which is set to occur on November 27 (first round) and November 28 (second round and subsequent rounds; and rookie draft) at Marvel Stadium.

The profiles for each of Claremont’s nominated players are below.

CAMERON ANDERSON

The Wembley Downs Junior is an outside midfielder/half-back flanker who is quick, evasive, clever and skilful. In eight games for Claremont, he averaged 13 possessions, three tackles and three marks, with his best performance coming against East Perth (22 possessions and five inside 50s). Across three games for the WA U18s State Academy, he averaged 10 possessions, three marks, three tackles and two inside 50s.

ISAIAH BUTTERS

The Mosman Park Junior is a medium-sized forward who has awesome athleticism and dazzling skills. He made a name for himself in this year’s WAFL Colts Grand Final with four goals to help inspire the Tigers to their 16^th WAFL Colts Flag. In five games for the Tigers, Butters booted nine goals and averaged 10 possessions, four tackles and three marks. He is a member of Fremantle’s Next-Generation Academy.

JACK COOLEY

The Claremont Junior is a big-bodied midfielder who thrives on the contested side of the game. In 20 games for the Tigers, he averaged 22 possessions, three marks, and three tackles. He made a name for himself when he won the Mel Whinnen Medal as the best player in the WAFL Colts Grand Final with 33 possessions (18 contested), 14 clearances, seven tackles, seven inside 50s and five marks.

JEREMY GODDARD

The 2015 and 2016 AFL-AIS Academy member is a strongly built up-and-coming ruckman. In 21 games for Claremont’s League team, Goddard recorded the most hit-outs (828) of any ruckman in the WAFL Competition. He averaged 9 possessions, 39 hit-outs, 3 tackles and 2 marks. Goddard always carries a physical presence, whether it be through his strength in the ruck contest, his contested marking ability or his desire to lay a strong tackle.

LIAM HENRY

The Fremantle Dockers’ Next-Generation Academy member is a dynamic small forward who has the ability to push into the midfield. He won All-Australian selection after a stellar campaign for the WA U18s after he averaged 18 possessions, 5 marks, 4 tackles, and 3 inside 50s across four games with his best performances coming against Vic Metro (14 possessions and 3 goals) and Vic Country (26 possessions, 6 marks, 5 tackles, 5 rebounding 50s and 4 inside 50s). He also played four games for Claremont’s Colts’ team and averaged 23 possessions, 6 marks, 4 tackles, 3 inside 50s and booted 7 goals.

CALLUM JAMIESON

The North Beach Junior is a raw ruckman who is strong overhead, skilful and athletic for his size, and has been labelled as having “great character traits”. In 12 games for Claremont’s Colts’ team he averaged 16 possessions, 24 hit-outs,  5 marks and 4 tackles, and in two games for Claremont’s Reserves team he averaged 10 possessions, 11 hit-outs, 5 tackles and 4 marks. He was a key figure in Claremont’s Colts premiership triumph over Peel with 12 possessions and 34 hit-outs. Jamieson was also a member of the WA U18s, averaging 9 possessions (4 contested), 5 hit-outs, 3 marks, and 2 inside 50s.

RONIN O’CONNOR

The Marist Junior etched himself into Claremont folklore, captaining the Colts to the 2019 Flag. On Grand Final Day, O’Connor gathered 17 possessions and recorded 3 inside 50s to help inspire his team to a famous victory. In 13 games for Claremont’s Colts team, O’Connor averaged 16 possessions, 5 tackles and 2 marks, while in two games for Claremont’s Reserves team, he averaged 12 possessions, 3 marks and 3 tackles. O’Connor was also a member of the WA U18s, averaging 15 possessions (6 contested), and 5 tackles. As a midfielder, O’Connor is an inside bull who truly thrives on the contested side of the game.

LENO THOMAS

The Fremantle Dockers’ Next-Generation Academy Member is a medium-sized defender who reads the play well and has very good skill execution especially by foot. He made a name for himself as a member of the WA U16s Team in 2017, most notably with his performance against Vic Country. He further enhanced his reputation when he produced the game-saving smother in the 2019 WAFL Colts Grand Final. Across 18 games for Claremont’s Colts team in 2019, Thomas averaged 15 possessions, 3 marks and 2 tackles.

ANTHONY TREACY

The former Sydney Swans Academy member is a highly skilled, speedy half-forward flanker who has x-factor. After winning the 2018 West Kimberley Football League Best & Fairest Award, Treacy made the move to Claremont and the move has paid dividends. In 17 games for Claremont’s League team, Treacy kicked 18 goals and averaged 13 possessions, 4 marks, 3 inside 50s and 3 tackles with his best performances coming against Perth (17 possessions, 5 inside 50s and 2 goals), Subiaco (12 possessions and 2 goals), Swan Districts (14 possessions and 2 goals) and West Coast (12 possessions and 2 goals).