Ferocious Tigers Advance to First Semi

By John Townsend

A ferocious Claremont have fired a warning to the other WAFL finalists that this could be the year of the Tiger.

Producing their most intense September performance in several seasons as Ollie Eastland continued to set the required standard by overcoming the competition’s biggest and best ruckmen, the Tigers held off East Perth by 12 points to advance to next Sunday’s first semifinal against Subiaco.

Captain Dec Mountford will push for selection after damaging a hamstring last month but it is quite feasible that Claremont will go in with the same combination that won the pulsating elimination final at Leederville Oval, 11.6 (72) to 9.6 (60).

No player deserves to be omitted after all 22 made valuable contributions while the commitment to the contest was delivered at a remarkable level after coach Ashley Prescott used his quarter-time address to urge greater intensity.

The response was immediate: Claremont kicked two goals in a blink of an eye, laid an extraordinary 29 tackles in the term, overcame an 18-point deficit to square the scores at half-time and posed questions to East Perth that could not be answered.

More significantly, Claremont answered the questions put to them though the pressure on the ball-carrier and premium on effective ball-use was also underlined by the Tigers having just 256 possessions, their second lowest team tally in the past 20 years.

The victory also gave Prescott the notable record of winning a final in every one of his seven seasons at Claremont while the Tigers became the only WAFL team to win a final in each of the past six years.

That is mostly irrelevant, of course, because the goal is to reach the top of the mountain, rather than a station along the way.

“Every win is important but next week is the most important one,” Eastland said

“Hopefully we have got another three to go.”

“It was a hard win but finals are always like that.

“The intensity was up from the first bounce but we brought the intensity when it really mattered.”

Matching and eventually wearing down the giant Jedd Edwards, Eastland used 40 hit-outs, 21 disposals and a ferocious attack on the football to be the most influential player on the ground.

Spearhead Alex Manuel celebrated his 100th match with the first goal in the opening moments but it was the manual labour of many of his team-mates that proved the critical difference between the teams.

Small forward Tyron Smallwood was typical of the selfless effort produced by the Tigers.

He only won the ball six times all game and did not add to his 20 goals this season, but harried, harassed and worried the East Perth defenders so consistently that his team-mates often found valuable space and time to threaten the scoring zone.

And only rebounding defender Anthony Davis matched Smallwood’s five inside 50s as numerous players made small but significant contributions to the cause.

Davis had one of his best games as he regularly backed his judgment to win the ball in the air and took it forward often enough to score just his second career goal.

His example rubbed off on Louis Passera who produced a desperate lunge to prevent an East Perth goal early in the last quarter.

The kick-in then found Eastland who won a tough contest in the middle and passed to Callan England whose kick from outside the 50m sailed through at goal-post height to extend the lead to 11 points.

It was one of several highlights in a brutal and bruising last quarter in which East Perth repeatedly threatened, particularly with spearing left-footers Mitch Crowden and Stan Wright delivering bullets into attack, but were unable to crack Claremont’s unyielding defence nor overwhelm their resolute midfield.

Ben Elliott produced another highlight with a spectacular diving mark to cut off a dangerous Wright kick while Ollie Sheldrick laid 13 tackles and was one of the reasons Claremont’s quietened East Perth’s potent midfield brigade.

Talon Delacey, Declan Hardisty and Zac Mainwaring bobbed up at important times to keep two goals apiece while the recent addition of Keiran Gowdie and Hardisty has stiffened the forward line and made it a more dangerous division.

It will need to be against a Subiaco team on the rebound.   

CLAREMONT 2.2 5.3 9.3 11.6 72

EAST PERTH 4.2 5.3 8.3 9.6 60

GOALS – CLAREMONT: Delacey, Mainwaring, Hardisty 2; England, Davis, Elliott, Manuel, Gowdie.

EAST PERTH: Graham 4; Hille, Crowden, Schofield, Tedesco, Saunders.

BEST – CLAREMONT: Eastland, Davis, Sheldrick, Bolton, Miles, Smallwood.

EAST PERTH: Crowden, Wright, Graham, Scott, Ameduri, Schofield.