Tigers Triumph In Mudbath

It was tough, hard slog at Leederville Oval on Saturday in the mud and slush and deep puddles of water when robust half-forward flanker Matt Davies set the standard for Claremont by applying a fierce tackle on Subiaco’s Tristan Gum just past the five-minute mark of the opening quarter.

Davies was rewarded with a free-kick which he converted into a goal. Claremont led for the rest of the contest, apart from 90 seconds in the second term, and the side’s great endeavour and a willingness to tackle and consistently place the opposition under pressure was a heartening feature of the side’s hard-fought 19-point victory.

All the Claremont players followed the lead of Davies, with midfielder Andrew Foster outstanding in his determination and his tackling.

Subiaco employed Gum to tag Claremont star Luke Blackwell, with Joel Ashman being used in a bid to negate the efficiency of Blackwell at the stoppages. But Blackwell showed his class by producing a superb four-quarter effort of polished, constructive football in the quagmire.

Blackwell finished with team-high tallies of 22 kicks, eight effective handpasses, 12 clearances at stoppages and six inside 50s. His was a tremendous performance at his second league appearance following an 11-week absence as he recovered from a serious ankle injury.

Saturday’s win enabled the Tigers to retain three-game lead over West Perth at the head of the premiership table and the club now has high hopes of appearing in the second semi-final at home, at Claremont Oval, early in September.  But there is still a lot of hard work ahead, starting with what should be a stern test against East Perth at Claremont Oval next Saturday.

The Tigers will then have a bye, followed by matches against Swan Districts (at Claremont Oval), Perth (at Lathlain Park) and East Fremantle (at East Fremantle Oval).

Once again, Claremont came out of a match with injury concerns. Key forward Anton Hamp damaged an ankle in the first quarter and was unable to continue. And hard-working midfielder Ben Daniher hurt a knee in the reserves match and is likely to be out of action for a month.

Congratulations go to Richard Cronin and Steven Edwards on making their debut in league football. Both are from the Royals Club in Albany, in the heart of Claremont’s Great Southern zone. Cronin worked strongly at centre-half-back and did well to keep Brad Stevenson under control, while the skilful 18-year-old Edwards, playing in a back pocket, improved as the game went on and should develop into a fine player.

Ian Richardson and Chad Jones stood out in attack, with both players frequently venturing downfield to lend a hand. Their forward pressure was excellent and each kicked two goals on an afternoon when scoring was extremely difficult.

Claremont had the first use of the breeze and less than two minutes after the opening goal from Davies, winger Nick Winmar drove the ball forward and defender John Williams assisted Jones to gain possession and  boot the side’s second major. The defence was holding up well and Blackwell, Foster and Ryan Neates were driving forces in the midfield. However, a couple of comparatively easy shots at goal went astray and the Tigers led by only 13 points at quarter time after each side had gone inside their attacking 50m zone 13 times. 

Ruckman Mitch Andrews earned a free-kick two minutes into the second term and his goal stretched the Claremont advantage to 19 points. However, Subiaco fought back with goals to Rhys Waters and Rhett Kerr. Neates was working hard and applying plenty of forward pressure and then he bobbed up with a strong mark deep in defence.

A free-kick to Charles Le Fanu enabled him to kick a goal which gave the Lions a one-point lead 19 minutes into the quarter. It took the Tigers 90 seconds to regain the lead with Winmar driving his side into attack and Richardson snapping truly around his body.

Points to Richardson and Jess Laurie gave Claremont a slender one-goal half-time advantage. Great persistence by several Claremont players locked the ball in deep in the forward line until, finally, Jones grabbed the ball in heavy congestion to snap a fine goal.

Subiaco replied with a goal to Brad Stevenson. Andrews gained the clearance at the resultant centre bounce and Jack Bradshaw took the mark before receiving a 50m penalty. His goal stretched the lead to 13 points.

Richardson was continuing to shine and he deserved the plaudits for his spirited chase and strong tackle on Brett Mahoney late in the quarter. 

Almost 16 minutes passed before the first goal in the final quarter. It was scored by Raymond Daniels and gave the Maroons some hope. Three minutes later Jones sent the ball forward and Bradshaw held a diving mark in the mud. But only a point resulted.

At the 27-minute mark Williams produced a great effort to spoil an attempted mark by Mahoney after the Subiaco player had appeared set to take a mark. Moments later Davies gained possession and surged forward, taking three bounces before shooting at goal. But the ball veered to the right to register his side’s 16^th behind.

With 30 minutes on the clock the indefatigable Blackwell sent a short pass to Richardson, who took the mark and shot truly to bring to an end a solid, but unspectacular victory in the miserable wintry conditions.

By Ken Casellas

Details:

Claremont 7.16 (58) beat Subiaco 5.9 (39).

Scorers---CLAREMONT: I. Richardson 2.4; C. Jones 2.0; J. Bradshaw, M. Davies 1.2; M. Andrews 1.0; A. Foster 0.2; J. Laurie, P. Medhurst, N. Winmar 0.1; 3pts forced. SUBIACO: B. Stevenson, R. Waters 1.1; R. Daniels, R. Kerr, C. Le Fanu 1.0; G. Hampson 0.3; J. Ashman 0.1; 3pts forced.

Best---CLAREMONT: L. Blackwell, A. Foster, I. Richardson, M. Seaby, J. Williams, C. Jones, T. Taylor. SUBIACO: G. Hampson, R. Waters, A. McDougall, J. Kayler-Thomson, J. Ashman, A. Parker.