Claremont paid dearly for an inexplicable first-half lapse against East Perth at the Showground on Saturday before fighting back determinedly to lose by just 16 points.

The second-half display from the tenacious Tigers was full of merit and underlined the continuing improvement in the side.

Claremont opened the match it top gear and had two goals on the board after five minutes and 15 seconds of play. But then the side buckled under the pressure applied by the Royals, who took control and in the next 55 minutes and 11 seconds piled on 10.7 while the Tigers managed a solitary goal to trail by 49 points at half-time.

A repeat of the 80-point mauling at the hands of East Perth in a round-eight contest on May 10 was a distinct possibility. But the Tigers came out after the long break with renewed energy and purpose to shock the league leaders, who managed only 2.3 in the second half to Claremont’s 7.6.

East Perth’s only scores in the third quarter were two forced points. The second-half tally of 2.3 by the Royals was the lowest second-half score by the side this year, fractionally worse than the 2.4 they managed when walloped by 100 points by West Perth in a lop-sided round-four encounter.

Claremont’s spirited fightback will give the players considerable confidence for the rest of the season and the side will travel to Bassendean Oval next Saturday to do battle with Swan Districts with renewed vigour and greater self-belief.

It was a simple case of East Perth making the most of their opportunities and of Claremont frittering away many chances in the first quarter, during which the Tigers gained 15 clearances from stoppages to East Perth’s five. The Tigers also penetrated their 50m attacking zone 13 times to East Perth’s 12, but the Royals led, 6.4 to 2.0 at quarter time.

Heavy rain tumbled down for much of the bleak afternoon and the muddy, slippery conditions diminished the prospects of deft ball handling, overhead marking and precise kicking. It was not a day for pretty football and Claremont’s most heartening recovery was due largely to the tactic of driving the ball forward at any cost and to an insistence of playing in front.

The recovery was sparked to a significant degree by veteran midfielder Matt Orzel, who was celebrating his 150^th appearance in senior football. Orzel, tough and unrelenting in his pursuit of the ball, and opposing players, revelled in the wintry conditions. He was a dominant force in the second half when the massive overhead lighting system came to the aid of both players and spectators.

Claremont began with tremendous zest and jolted East Perth with a couple of goals in the opening five minutes, the first coming after Luke Blackwell was rewarded for a great tackle at right-half-forward with a free-kick. His unerring pass was marked by Anton Hamp in the right pocket and Hamp’s clever banana kick for a goal drew healthy applause from the hardy fans.

Two minutes later it was Jack Bradshaw to Ryan Neates to Brenden Abbott for another major. It was the strong play from Blackwell, Bradshaw, Neates and Andrew Foster that had East Perth in trouble in the early stages.       

After East Perth, a side which contained 11 West Coast Eagles squad members, including Claremont products Pat McGinnity and Josh Hill, had booted their first three goals, Claremont went on the defensive and Trinity Handley was switched from attack to play as a loose man in defence. It was a ploy which failed to pay dividends.

Remarkably, Claremont managed just three marks (to Hamp, Foster and Jack Richardson) in the first term in which the Tigers received great drive from Blackwell and Bradshaw (nine disposals each) as well as from Neates and Foster (six each).

Ruckman Mark Seaby failed to gain a kick in the opening quarter before he wielded a strong influence for the rest of the contest, finishing with seven marks, 15 kicks, eight effective handpasses and 28 hit-outs. He also applied four tackles, gained five clearances from stoppages and got the ball inside the forward 50m area three times.

Again, Blackwell was Claremont’s dominant performer, producing a grand four-quarter effort of 17 kicks, nine effective handpasses, four tackles, four inside 50s and a team-high eight clearances.

Claremont again flew out of the blocks, gaining the clearance from the opening bounce in the second quarter. Tom Taylor got the ball to Bradshaw, who passed to Foster, whose kick was marked by Seaby alongside the left goal post. Seaby was then placed on an almost impossible angle, but he deliberated before popping the ball through the tall timber with his non-preferred right boot from five metres.

The clock was showing that the quarter was 58 seconds old and the Tigers were within 22 points of the Royals. East Perth steadied and added four goals in the next 12 minutes. But then the match developed into an ugly wet-weather battle and the only scores in the final 16 minutes of the quarter were three behinds to the visitors, who went into the half-time break, leading by 49 points, 10.7 to 3.0.

The lights were switched on for the second half and heavy rain greeted the combatants as they took the field for the third quarter which was dominated by the Tigers, who added 4.2 and restricted East Perth to two behinds, both forced. Claremont’s endeavour was wonderful, with the tigerish Orzel setting the example.

However, turnovers cost the Tigers dearly. Eight Claremont kicks in this quarter were marked by the opposition and more than double that total of kicks resulted in turnovers. Admittedly, much of this was due to the atrocious conditions.

Handley marked an Abbott pass to register the first score, a behind, after 90 seconds of play. Soon after that winger Sam Fong gained possession after a splendid Hamp spoil of an East Perth opponent brought the ball to the ground. Fong’s goal gave the Royals plenty of food for thought.

At the 12-minute mark Blackwell passed perfectly to Seaby, who got the ball to Abbott, whose kicked landed in the goalsquare where Corey Yeo soccered a major from a metre out.

It was tough going, but the Tigers were calling the tune. Twenty-four minutes into the quarter Orzel drove the ball forward and Abbott, playing on the ball, booted a goal from long range.  Less than two minutes later Blackwell, Hugo Breakey and Handley combined to deliver the ball deep into attack where Fong earned a free-kick for Claremont’s seventh major.

The Tigers had reduced the margin to 25 points at three-quarter time and they challenged the high-flying Royals in a spirited final-quarter battle before going down by 16 points.

A goal to Callum Sinclair with just 42 seconds on the clock increased East Perth’s lead to 31 points. The Tigers refused to surrender and just before the 14-minute mark Yeo booted the ball forward where Foster was infringed in a marking duel. He converted his free-kick to a goal.

East Perth replied five minutes later with an accurate snap from Ash Smith, and this was followed by behinds from Foster and Handley before Orzel sharked an East Perth knock from a boundary throw-in and his shot slewed across the goalmouth and was marked in the right pocket by Taylor, who gave Claremont a glimmer of hope with a goal.

Yeo then gained the clearance at the centre bounce down and his kick was marked by Handley. But only a point resulted. Four minutes later a couple of creative handpasses in the centre of the ground led to Foster scoring a goal from long range. There was no further score in the next 90 seconds and East Perth retained top spot on the premiership table with a hard-fought 16-point victory. Claremont remained in eighth position. But the future looks promising and Swans will be preparing themselves for a powerful Tigers challenge at Bassendean Oval next Saturday afternoon.

by Ken Casellas

Details:

East Perth 12.10 (82) beat Claremont 10.6 (66)

Scorers---EAST PERTH: J. Hill 2.1; P. Johnson, C. Sinclair, A. Smith 2.0; J. Smith, S. Tunbridge 1.1; W. Maginness, D. Sheed 1.0; S. Payne 0.1; 6pts forced. CLAREMONT: A. Foster 2.2; B. Abbott, S. Fong 2.0; T. Taylor 1.1; A. Hamp, M. Seaby, C. Yeo 1.0; T. Handley 0.3.

Best---EAST PERTH: P. McGinnity, C. Sinclair, B. Wilson, S. Payne, K. Anderson, C. Wulff, B. Lee, F. Clutterbuck, D. Sheed, B. Colledge. CLAREMONT: L. Blackwell, M. Orzel, R. Neates, M. Seaby, A. Foster, B. Abbott, J. Bradshaw, A. Hamp, H. Breakey, C. Yeo.