Frederick Flair Lifts Claremont into Finals Frame

John Townsend

Martin Frederick picked an excellent time to play his best match for Claremont.

Recruited from the SANFL this season to bolster Claremont’s running power from defence, Frederick demonstrated his value with a vibrant display in the comprehensive win over West Perth on Saturday that lifted the Tigers back into the top five.

Frederick, whose twin Michael is playing with similar flair at Fremantle, was prominent as Claremont made an emphatic statement from the opening bounce at Revo Fitness Stadium.

Needing to beat their recent nemesis to remain alive this season, the Tigers made it clear from the start that they had come to play.

Ollie Eastland dominated the ruck contest, midfield stars Jye Bolton, Bailey Rogers and Callan England were productive and dangerous early and often, and Frederick’s dash and creativity complemented Jack Maibaum’s superb shutdown job on Bernie Naylor Medal-bound spearhead Tyler Keitel.

And a host of lesser lights contributed strongly – Kieran Gowdie provided a strong target in attack, Sam van Rooyen proved an effective one-two punch early and Zac Mainwaring’s defensive ferocity underpinned his value in attack.

The final margin of 30 points flattered the visitors but it was one-way traffic all day as Claremont landed 10 scoring shots before West Perth got on the scoreboard and restricted the Falcons to just three goals before time-on in the last quarter.

The 11.17 (83) to 6.17 (53) result enabled Claremont to replace South Fremantle in fifth place. And the half-game advantage over South guarantees the Tigers will play finals if they beat West Coast and Subiaco in the last two home-and-away rounds.

A qualifying final berth or home elimination final are possible though not likely given the fixtures over the next two weeks.

Claremont’s bright first quarters have been a telling factor this season with double-figure leads being established at quarter-time in eight of the past nine matches.

Frederick was instrumental in the 30-point lead at the first break on Saturday.

He gathered the ball eight times in the first term, six of them on the end of handballs from teammates, to set up attacking moves.

Anthony Davis was an early beneficiary as he swooped on a loose ball to open the scoring, Gowdie quickly got the second from a mark within range and Mainwaring’s desperate tackle on Zac Patterson set up van Rooyen’s set shot.

The cleanest passage of the day came from a centre ball-up late in the last term when an Eastland tap went directly to Bolton whose long kick inside 50 was followed by two precise handballs from Talon Delacey and Ben Elliott that set up Rogers’ running goal as he streamed forward.

Bolton (28 disposals) and Rogers (27) each kicked two goals to enhance their prolific ball-winning while England (27), Frederick (25), Davis (23), Elliott (23) and Sam Alvarez were busy all day. One of the most pleasing features was Maibaum’s effort in keeping Keitel goal-less for just the second time this season.

Maibaum’s success forced his opponent to range beyond the forward 50 to find the ball, making West Perth significantly less potent and enabling Declan Hardisty and the other defenders to tighten the screws on the remaining forwards.

CLAREMONT 5.6 6.10 9.16 11.17 83

WEST PERTH 1.0 2.5 3.8 6.17 53

GOALS – CLAREMONT: Rogers, Bolton 2; Gowdie, Frederick, Elliott, Musika, A Davis, Mainwaring, van Rooyen.
WEST PERTH: Knott 2; Black, Demarte, Bevan, Lynch

BEST – CLAREMONT: Frederick, Bolton, Eastland, Rogers, England, Maibaum.
WEST PERTH: Meadows, Nelson, Black, Munns, Knott.