Forwards Share The Load

Sixteen minutes into the third quarter at Claremont Oval on Saturday East Perth were threatening danger as they clawed their way to a three-point lead after having trailed Claremont by 42 points half-way through the second term.

It was then that the dynamic Ian Richardson gained possession backward of centre and booted the ball long down the left flank into open territory where the fleet-footed Nick Winmar led his opponent in the race to the ball, deftly scooped it up one-handed and surged downfield before his long shot was cleverly shepherded through for a goal by Paul Medhurst.

This was Winmar’s third goal for the afternoon, after he had managed just three goals in his previous 15 league matches this season. This was just another wonderful example of the all-round scoring potential of the Tigers.

Claremont have won 15 of their 17 matches and head the premiership table, three matches clear of West Perth and six in front of East Fremantle, Swan Districts, Perth and East Perth, who are engaged in a tense struggle for the third and fourth spots on the table.

The Tigers have kicked more goals (252) than any of the other eight sides in the competition, but they do not have a player in the top five goalscorers. Richardson (38 goals) is in sixth spot, with Chad Jones (30) ninth. Medhurst has kicked 28 for the season, with Anton Hamp (27), Jack Bradshaw (22), Mitch Andrews (13) and Jake Murphy (11) all making useful contributions.

Thirty-six players have represented the club in league ranks this year and 30 of them have kicked goals. This big spread of goalkickers is a perfect example of how the side does not rely exclusively on one, two or three men to kick the bulk of the goals.  It shows that the Claremont players are more than happy to share the load and the way that the side’s forwards assisted each other in Saturday’s contest against East Perth was a joy to behold.

Versatility is an essential ingredient in modern football and the unselfishness shown by the Tigers goes a long way to building morale. Medhurst, Jones, Richardson, Jack Bradshaw, Andrew Foster, Ryan Neates and Matt Davies stood out on Saturday with their disciplined team play in the forward lines.

Claremont shrugged off East Perth’s challenge and scored nine of the final 13 goals of the match to record an impressive 28-point victory. This means that the Tigers are virtually certain to appear in the second semi-final at home at Claremont Oval. To miss out on a home final Claremont would have to lose their final three qualifying matches by big margins and West Perth would have to record three massive victories.

The Tigers have a bye next weekend and then they will meet Swan Districts (at Claremont Oval), Perth (Lathlain Park) and East Fremantle (East Fremantle Oval). West Perth will complete their program with matches against Perth (Moora), East Fremantle (Joondalup) and Swan Districts (Bassendean Oval).

It is axiomatic that forwards cannot be expected to kick goals unless they receive a good supply of the ball from the midfielders, and it was the strength of Claremont’s ruckmen Mark Seaby and Mitch Andrews and the untiring efforts of midfielders Luke Blackwell, Murphy, Foster, Pat McGinnity, Neates, Winmar and Matt Goyder that provided a steady stream of goalkicking opportunities.

Blackwell again was outstanding in his second league appearance after recovering from a serious ankle injury in the round 4 match against East Perth on April 6. He finished with ten marks, 25 kicks, nine effective handpasses, six clearances from stoppages and six inside 50s.

His co vice-captain Jake Murphy produced yet another sterling four-quarter effort of spirited play on the ball, which netted him four marks, 16 kicks, 13 effective handpasses, 11 clearances and two inside 50s.McGinnity and Foster also worked effectively in the midfield.

The Tigers got away to a flying start, with three goals on the board just after the clock had ticked past the six-minute mark of the first quarter. These goals came from Foster (after receiving a free-kick on the left flank), Jones (after outmarking Danny Chartres) and McGinnity (after Murphy had won the centre clearance and got the ball to John Williams, who handballed to Winmar before Bradshaw handpassed to an unattended McGinnity).

Cale Morton replied with a goal for the Royals before defender Jess Laurie drove the Tigers forward where Andrews gained the knock at a bounce down at half-forward and Medhurst  unselfishly handpassed to Winmar for Claremont’s fourth major.

Five minutes later Blackwell passed to Goyder, who handpassed to Winmar, who charged forward and took two bounces before passing to Medhurst, who took the mark and played on to snap accurately.

Late in the quarter Davies was rewarded with a free-kick on the left wing for a strong tackle on Ryan Maldenis. He then combined with Bradshaw and Blackwell to deliver the ball to Foster, whose kick was marked in spectacular fashion by a flying Williams, whose shot at goal sailed out of bounds on the full.

The second term was just 51 seconds old when Bradshaw scored a clever goal from the right pocket at the railway end of the ground to extend Claremont’s lead to 31 points. Josh Smith replied with a goal for East Perth, but the Tigers hit back with goals to Winmar, Medhurst and McGinnity.

Aaron Holt, back in action in the league side, drove the ball out of defence and Medhurst took an excellent mark in the middle of the ground before passing to Jones, whose shot at goal bounced right on the line and back into the goalsquare where Winmar, aided by a block from Williams, got his second goal.

Medhurst’s goal also finished a move started at half-back, this time by Foster, who combined with Andrews, Davies, McGinnity and Goyder to get the ball to Medhurst, who after taking the mark played on to notch his second.  The ball went back to the centre where Andrews tapped the ball to Murphy, who started a move which finished with Blackwell handballing to Winmar, who got the ball on to McGinnity.

Claremont then led by 42 points with the clock showing 13min. 40sec. But the Royals were not to be denied and they piled on five goals in the space of 12 minutes to get within ten points of the home side. At the 30-minute mark Seaby, Blackwell, Richardson and Winmar combined to get the ball to the right pocket where Medhurst took the mark and fired out a handpass to Richardson for a much-needed goal. But East Perth replied a minute later with a goal to Matt Seal. 

The Royals continued to apply considerable pressure at the start of the third quarter and the Claremont backmen stood up manfully, with Alex Silvagni shining with a couple of excellent marks deep in defence.  However, goals to Mitch Fraser and Craig Wulff saw East Perth get to a three-point lead.

This sparked the Tigers into action and they scored the next four goals, starting with Winmar’s great effort on the left flank. Two minutes later Tom Taylor, Neates, Murphy worked hard to get the ball to Jones, who dropped to his knees to take a mark in the right pocket before delivering a splendid short pass to Foster for the next major.

Taylor, Seaby, Blackwell and Neates were involved in the next forward sortie which resulted in a mark to Bradshaw, who passed to a leading Richardson for another goal. A couple of behinds were followed by a goal to Murphy from a free-kick.

Claremont went into the final term with a 17-point advantage which was reduced to just three points after early goals to Smith and Dean Cadwallader. However, the Tigers steadied and added five goals to East Perth’s one to emerge triumphant by 28 points after 122 minutes and 45 seconds of fine football in sunny conditions.

After some strong defensive work, particularly from captain Andrew Browne and Silvagni, Claremont got the first final-quarter goal after 13 minutes when Jones got his second after some good work from Goyder, Richardson and Winmar.

McGinnity gained the centre clearance and Neates, Winmar and Davies combined to get the ball to Jones at right half-forward. Jones dashed forward, drawing the opposition and then sending a wonderful long handpass to Goyder in the goalsquare for the next major.

Claremont again gained the clearance at the centre bounce, with Andrews getting the ball to Winmar. Then Blackwell sent the ball forward and the crowd was brought to its feet by a dazzling flying mid-air mark by Richardson. He promptly posted his side’s 17^th goal.

The Tigers finished full of running and they scored the final two goals following centre breaks by Blackwell. The first of these was scored by McGinnity, after he was tackled high, and the second was kicked by Andrews after receiving a free-kick following a move involving McGinnity, Browne and Foster.

By Ken Casellas

Details:

Claremont 19.13 (127) beat East Perth 14.15 (99).

Scorers---CLAREMONT: I. Richardson 3.2; N. Winmar 3.1; P. McGinnity 3.0; C. Jones, P. Medhurst  2.1; A. Foster 2.0; J. Murphy 1.2; M. Andrews 1.1; J. Bradshaw, M. Goyder 1.0; M. Davies, R. Neates, M. Seaby, J. Williams 0.1; 1pt forced. EAST PERTH: J. Smith 4.2; C. Morton 3.1; D. Cadwallader, C. Wulff 2.2; M. Seal 1.2; M. Fraser, J. Locantro 1.0; B. Higgins, J. Oakley-Nicholls 0.2; S. Payne 0.1; 1pt forced.

Best---CLAREMONT: L. Blackwell, J. Murphy, I. Richardson, N. Winmar, A. Foster, P. McGinnity, S. Fong, A. Browne. EAST PERTH: B. Lee, S. Payne, J. Oakley-Nicholls, J. Smith, A. Selwood, C. Morton.