Tigers Hold Firm

The tension was almost unbearable in the final quarter of the 2013 grand final at Subiaco Oval on Sunday morning after Claremont wrested the lead from South Fremantle at the nine-minute mark and then held on grimly for the next six minutes while neither side managed to score.

The Tigers were in front by two points when the Bulldogs mounted yet another attack and danger threatened when the ball was delivered to talented forward pocket specialist Willie Rioli. And this was the time for some special heroics from Claremont’s Nick Steens, who kept his feet and retained a cool head as he fought feverishly to dispossess Rioli in the left pocket.

A crisis was averted and the ball was cleared, with Steens, Steven Edwards, Francis Watson and Jack Carruthers working hard to get the ball to Isaac Baum, whose kick was marked deep in a pocket by ruckman Darcy Cameron.

Cameron also remained icy cool as he booted a wonderful goal from the boundary line to increase Claremont’s lead to eight points. South Fremantle attacked relentlessly, but the Tigers held firm. They held their structures and did not panic by packing the backlines.

Jye Depane and Dylan Main added a couple of points for South Fremantle during a stressful period when the Tigers defence played magnificently. Led by captain Tom Barrass, composed and confident, the defenders repulsed several South Fremantle forward thrusts. It was in this nerve-wracking time that Jack Beeck and Max Bentley really stood out.

It was fitting that in the final moments of the contest that it was Claremont midfielder Alec Waterman who gained possession (after some good work from Joel Fiegert and Ben Higgs) and passed accurately to Jake Anderson. The siren then sounded and the Tigers had achieved a notable triumph, beating the Bulldogs by six points and depriving that club of a hat-trick of colts premierships.

It was payback time for the loss to Souths in the second semi-final and also for the loss to that club in the grand final two years earlier.

This was Claremont’s 13^th colts premiership and was a fitting climax to the two-year coaching reign of Ben Dyer, who has accepted a two-year contract to be North Melbourne’s head development coach.

Dyer admitted that he was a little worried when South Fremantle moved out to a three-goal lead in the third quarter. “Souths are a side which can score so quickly and hurt you on the counter attack,” he explained. “We were probably just close enough at three-quarter time. It was a class last quarter with a fair bit at stake and I thought that our boys, collectively, rose to the challenge. And there were some fantastic individual efforts as well.

“It has been a great couple of years at Claremont. We got some good stuff done pre-season before Christmas and it has been a really receptive group.”

This was Claremont’s first colts premiership since 2009 when the side, coached by Matt Angus, crushed Peel Thunder in the grand final under lights at Subiaco Oval. Seven members of the 2009 colts squad (Nat Fyfe, Ryan Neates, Travis Colyer, Gerrick Weedon, Nick Winmar, Lewis Broome and Nick Kommer) were drafted by AFL clubs. So, now it’s best of luck to AFL aspirants in the 2013 squad. 

Commiserations go out to several young men who represented the Claremont colts during the season, but failed to make the side for the grand final. It was a shoulder injury sustained by Harrison McCracken in the preliminary final against Subiaco that prevented him from appearing him in the grand final. Steens was his replacement in a match he and his teammates will never forget.

The Mel Whinnen Medal for the best player in the grand final was most deservedly won by 17-year-old left-footer Waterman, who has been one of the side’s shining lights throughout a tremendous season of 23 matches for 20 wins and just three defeats.

South Fremantle had the first use of the breeze in the grand final and Claremont’s effort in keeping the opposition to a lead of only five points at quarter time was a major factor in the ultimate result.

After the opening bounce Harry Taylor, Harry Court and Anderson combined to work the ball forward where most unfortunately it was rebounded off the boot of Francis Watson’s boot and went out of bounds on the full in the right pocket.

South Fremantle defender Tom Vandeleur received the free-kick and he decided to switch play and attempted a pass across to the opposite pocket. Isaac Baum chipped in and intercepted the ball which he marked directly in front of goal. He then kicked truly and Claremont had the first score on the board after only 63 seconds.

The Bulldogs then gained the centre clearance and replied with a goal to Main within a minute. Taylor was prominent deep in defence and he got the ball to Higgs four minutes later, whose rushed kick found Court, who used a clever screw kick to bring up the side’s second goal. Watson was working well and he earned a free-kick with a great chase and tackle on Bailey Matera on a centre wing.

The Bulldogs got to the front midway through the term with goals in quick succession to Rioli and Matthew Ah Siu. The Tigers fought back late in the quarter with their third goal. It was a great tackle on the right wing by midfielder Jared Hardisty on South Fremantle’s Ben Sokol which earned him a free-kick. Hardisty passed to hard-running winger Ryan Lim, who delivered to Court for the left-footer’s second major.

A Jyrin Woods handpass to Waterman gave the Tigers a goal early in the second term and soon after that the dominant Waterman received a short pass from Mason Whitehead and then passed to Jack Carruthers for a goal which stretched Claremont’s lead to eight points.

However, the Bulldogs put plenty of pressure on the Tigers, who managed, with the wind, to add only two more behinds (both from Higgs) in the final 20 minutes of the quarter which ended with heavy rain drenching the contestants. A Claremont highlight in that barren period was a wonderful spoil on a wing made by Taylor on South’s Matt Gundry.

Nasty turnovers enabled the Bulldogs to kick two goals late in the quarter and they went into the half-time break with a lead of six points.

Goals to Main and Sokol in the first five minutes of the third quarter stretched the margin to 20 points. Dyer made a few moves, including sending Court into defence and switching Taylor into attack.

Taylor continued to shine and he was rewarded with a free—kick for a crunching tackle on Joel McComb. Soon after that Taylor gained possession in the centre and passed to Cameron, who delivered to Edwards in the right pocket for a much-needed steadying goal. Soon after that Carruthers went short to Woods, whose kick to the goalsquare saw Taylor snap for just a minor score.

A shot from long range by Sokol bounced through for a goal to give Souths a 19-point lead before Claremont replied with a goal to Higgs after Anderson had booted the ball to the goalsquare. But the Bulldogs hit back with a goal from 55m to ruckman William Frampton.

Two minutes later a succession of passes from Hardisty, Cameron and Lim ended with Taylor booting the ball deep into attack where Woods, lurking beneath the pack in a marking duel, seized the ball and snapped truly to set the stage for an exciting final quarter.

Early in the final term Rowen Powell, who had played soundly at centre-half-back and in attack, got the ball forward to the goalsquare where a shot from Higgs brushed a goalpost to register a point. Rain was teeming down and Barrass was standing tall in defence and he caught the eye with a wonderful strong mark to turn back a promising Bulldogs attacking move.

Claremont got another score with a forced point and then Brad McPhail’s kick-in saw Law produce a spoil which allowed Waterman to gain possession before booting his second goal which drew the Tigers to within 11 points of the Bulldogs.

The Tigers continued to play strongly, despite the rain and slippery conditions. The Tigers penetrated their 50m attacking zone ten times in the final quarter for a return of 3.3, while the Bulldogs went inside their 50m zone 14 times for just two points.

By Ken Casellas

Details:

Claremont 11.10 (76) beat South Fremantle 10.10 (70).

Scorers---CLAREMONT: I. Baum 2.1; H. Court, A. Waterman 2.0; B. Higgs 1.6; D. Cameron, J. Carruthers, S. Edwards, J. Woods 1.0; H. Taylor 0.1; 2pts forced. SOUTH FREMANTLE: M. Ah Siu, D. Main, B. Sokol 2.1; T. Bennell, W. Frampton, M. Gundry, W. Rioli 1.0; C. Ah Chee, J. Culleton, J. Depane, J. Dragovich, B. Matera 0.1; 2pts forced.

Best---CLAREMONT: A. Waterman, T. Barrass, J. Law, R. Lim, H. Taylor, J. Beeck, M. Bentley, D. Cameron, J. Hardisty, J Anderson. SOUTH FREMANTLE: B. Sokol, J. Dragovich, J. Pickett, D. Main, J. Garlett, B. Matera, M. Gundry, B. McPhail, M. Ah Siu.