HARDISTY STANDS TALL

BY DAN SCAMOZZI 

Reliable and brilliant defenders are worth their weight in gold.

The ones who win their position time after time, read the play with aplomb and remain composed and balanced when their team needs them the most.

Dec Hardisty is one of these defenders and can also go forward and win you a match on one leg.

So it was no surprise to anyone at Tigerland when the No.35 produced another one of his trademark performances in Claremont’s 32-point win against Perth at Revo Fitness Stadium in round three.

This is what Hardisty does so well and so often and it’s why he was named best player and won the players’ player award.

Claremont is also building momentum.

Armed with a new and bolder game plan, the fluent Tigers are taking the game on and leaving opponents in their wake, with their many avenues to goal resulting in a number of ways to score.

They also have the right balance between youth and experience and are playing with passion and cohesion.

The 16.14 (110) to 12.6 (78) win against the Demons was not the Tigers at their best, but it was their third consecutive victory and the third consecutive game where they have had 10 or more goal kickers.

It was also the third time they have scored more than 100 points in their opening three games.

Captain Dec Mountford (28 disposals) continues to lead from the front and limited the impact of proppy Perth running machine Chris Masten, with fellow midfield ball magnets Bailey Rogers (30 disposals, team-high nine marks) and Jye Bolton (game-high 33 disposals, one goal) also driving the Tigers forward.

The smooth-moving Jake Patmore (28 disposals, game-high seven inside 50s, one goal) is the icing on Claremont’s midfield cake, with his ability to glide through traffic and deftly deliver the ball to teammates setting him apart from the rest.

Forwards Harrison McCracken (game-high four goals) and Alex Manuel (three goals) continued their strong form, while ruckman Kalin Lane (game-high 26 hit-outs, one goal) made a terrific debut and laid a team-lifting tackle in the opening term.

And then there were courageous defenders Tom Baldwin and Dylan Smallwood, who bravely put their bodies on the line for the betterment of the team.

Baldwin’s courage at half-back in time-on in the second term saw him clash heads with an opponent in a heavy and nasty collision which concussed and ruled him out of the game, but it endeared him to the team and was a key moment in the win.

Smallwood’s courageous moment in midfield came late in the final term when the result was beyond doubt, but he never flinched and also endeared himself to the team with his commitment to the cause.

These inspirational moments are not measured in the stats column but they are duly noted and remembered.

Matt Rogers kicked a team-high three goals for the plucky Demons, who never really threatened the Tigers.

Defender Anthony Davis and Lane replaced Oliver Eastland (glute) and Anton Hamp (hamstring) in the Claremont team which defeated South Fremantle at the same venue in round two, as the Tigers kicked to the southern end of the ground in the opening term.

Repeat efforts on the wing from Rogers contributed to Cal England kicking the opening goal before Manuel soon doubled the Tigers’ advantage.

Ferocious tackles from Lane and Jack Buller were signs of Claremont’s intent and appetite for the contest, as were desperate smothers from Smallwood and Baldwin in defensive 50.

Consecutive goals from Perth levelled the scores in the 16^th minute before Manuel brilliantly finished with his left foot from the pocket.

Lachlan Martinis then denied Perth with a terrific spoil at full-back before consecutive goals from McCracken gave the Tigers a 21-point lead at quarter-time.

The Tigers began the second term +16 in contested disposals, before Regan Clarke kicked Perth’s third goal.

Goals from Anthony Treacy and Bolton gave the Tigers a 27-point lead before Perth kicked the next two, before Buller won the ball in the ruck and snapped Claremont’s eighth major.

Play was then halted as Baldwin was attended to and assisted from the field, before Mountford denied Perth at full-back with a terrific spoil.

A tackle inside 50 won Patmore a free kick, with the Tigers retaining their 21-point lead at half-time.

Patmore then won another free kick in the early stages of the second half before Smallwood laid another smother, before Conor McPartland kicked Perth’s sixth goal.

The prominent Patmore then brilliantly gathered the ball and distributed it to McCracken for his third goal, before Manuel kicked his third after Mountford won the centre clearance and sent the ball to full-forward.

McCracken then kicked his fourth goal as the Tigers established a 33-point lead before former Tiger Jack Richardson kicked his first major.

Already seemingly involved in everything, Patmore then kicked truly to reply for Claremont, before Hardisty hauled in consecutive marks in defence.

Goals to midfielder Ben Edwards and Lane gave the Tigers a commanding 45-point lead at the final break after a six-goals-to-two third term, with coach Ash Prescott praising the team’s hard work.

Lively Demon Sam Stubbs kicked his second goal in the early stages of the final term before Buller thumped through his second from 50m, before Hardisty laid a smother in defence.

Rogers then kicked consecutive goals before Isaac Barton converted a thumping kick to full-forward from Bolton, before Hardisty hauled in another impressive mark at full-back.

Kristian Cary then kicked Perth’s 11^th major before a dazed Smallwood was assisted from the field, before Richardson kicked his second and the final goal of the game.

The Tigers will be aiming for their fourth consecutive win when they face Peel Thunder at David Grays Arena in round four.

CLAREMONT 5.4 8.7 14.8 16.14 (110)

PERTH 2.1 5.4 7.5 12.6 (78)

GOALS

CLAREMONT: 4 H. McCracken, 3 A. Manuel, 2 J. Buller, 1 B. Edwards, J. Bolton, C. England, J. Patmore, A. Treacy, I. Barton, K. Lane.

PERTH: 3 M. Rogers, 2 J. Richardson, S. Stubbs, 1 C. Byrne, R. Clarke, C. McPartland, K. Cary, D. Baldwin-Wright.

BEST

CLAREMONT: D. Hardisty, D. Mountford, B. Rogers, J. Bolton, H. McCracken.

PERTH: M. Sinclair, K. Cary, D. Baldwin-Wright, M. Taylor, M. Rogers.