Franz Stands Tall On Dark Day | Round 3 League Match Report

Claremont came crashing back to stark reality at East Fremantle Oval on Saturday when the side was pulverised by a vibrant Subiaco team which inflicted a demoralising 80-point defeat on the Tigers who were still preening themselves on their upset win over the 2013 premiers West Perth the previous weekend.

Standing tall among the wreckage was Brandon Franz, who gave an almost flawless exhibition at full-back.

The 28-year-old Franz, returning to the club this year after taking 2013 off to play for the Margaret River Hawks, was wonderfully resolute in a defence which was constantly under siege.

Subiaco went on a scoring spree and amassed a total of 18.22 while restricting Claremont to 6.14. Franz had the task of guarding Matthew Boland, and it was a job he performed with great merit. Boland managed just three kicks and his solitary scoring shot was a goal midway through the third quarter when he was matched against Tom Willett and held a strong contested mark.

Franz, cool and calculating, lean and lithe, was constantly under notice as he thwarted Subiaco, outmanoeuvring his opponent, taking telling marks and using spoiling tactics superbly.  He finished the contest with 13 spoils, a total rarely achieved by any individual. His performance was nonpareil.

The sad fact to emerge from the annihilation was that Subiaco took the field with a disciplined, slick and well-drilled combination which gave Claremont a football lesson. It was simply a case of the rampaging Lions mauling the tentative Tigers to take the mantle of Kings of the Jungle.

In contrast, Claremont were indecisive and paltry, hesitant and uncoordinated. Poor disposal by hand and foot led to an abundance of turnovers.

The performance, and the result, came as a major shock to the hardy band of Claremont faithful. In the past four seasons Tigers supporters approached contests against the Lions with a self-satisfied, almost arrogant air. It was a case of “ho hum, it’s the Lions to the slaughter again.”

Claremont had won 11 of the 12 previous encounters against Subiaco, scoring 194.151 to Subiaco’s 116.115. Certainly what transpired on Saturday came as a rude awakening to all associated with the club. It’s now a case of back to the drawing board.

And there’s certainly not an army of players clamouring for league selection. The demolition in the league match followed Subiaco’s 107-point thrashing of an injury-ravaged Claremont in the reserves match. In the space of four and a bit hours Subiaco’s senior footballers had piled on 39 goals and 41 behinds to Claremont’s puny 12.16.  

And to make matters worse Subiaco completed a hat-trick of wins by charging home and snatching victory from the Tigers in the colts match. Disconsolate Claremont fans trudged home with heavy hearts and contemplating another journey to East Fremantle Oval next Saturday to take on the Sharks in the three grades.

A knee injury to captain Jake Murphy kept him out of action in the final three quarters. But the loss of one player cannot be used as any sort of excuse for such apathetic performance.

It was not all bad for Claremont, however, with heartening displays from 18-year-olds Darcy Cameron and Max Bentley and determined efforts from experienced midfielders Luke Blackwell and Andrew Foster.

Cameron followed his breakout performance against West Perth with another tremendous exhibition of ruck work. Not only did he excel at the bounce-downs and boundary throw-ins, but he laid a match-high tally of six tackles, gained five clearances from stoppages and got the ball inside his side’s 50m attacking zone three times. For good measure he took six marks had 14 kicks and made four effective handpasses.

Bentley gave a disciplined performance on a wing where he curbed the brilliance of the vastly-experienced Shaun Hildebrandt, who was making his 223^rd league appearance. Bentley, in his third senior match, sacrificed personal glory by keeping a tight rein on Hildebrandt and restricting him to just eight kicks and seven handpasses.

Blackwell and Foster tried hard to lift the Tigers. Blackwell laid four tackles and Foster three and Blackwell gained seven clearances from stoppages and Foster eight.

Jack Richardson had his moments in attack and so, too, did Jack Bradshaw. Each booted two goals. Tom Ledger again took up station on a half-back flank with the task of being a link man and rebounding the ball from defence into attack. He had his hands full in the opening term when George Hampson ran riot with eight disposals and two goals.

Later in the contest Ledger was opposed by the dangerous Josh Deluca. However, Ledger worked hard to set up attacks and he looks set for a fine season.

There were no early signs of Claremont complacency or of what was about to unfold. Cameron soared to win the tap at the opening bounce and then inside the first minute he intercepted a Subiaco clearing kick and passed deftly to Ryan Neates, whose kick found a leading Mark Seaby. But only a behind resulted.

A minute later Seaby handballed to John Williams, but again a behind was the result. It took the Maroons six minutes to hit the scoreboard --- when Jarrod Kayler-Thomson received a free-kick and brought up full points.

Chris Phelan was a dominant midfielder for the visiting side and Hampson, Josh Deluca and Shane Yarran were causing all sorts of problems for the Claremont defence. After 16 minutes Subiaco had gone inside their attacking 50m zone 11 times to Claremont’s four and danger signals were blaring for the Tigers.

A second goal to Hampson gave The Lions a handsome lead, 5.4 to 0.2, at the 18-minute mark. Finally, Claremont registered their first goal, with the quarter 22 minutes old. Blackwell was working hard and he gained possession at right half-forward and sent a left-foot pass to Bradshaw, whose goal helped to lift the spirits of the Tigers fans.

Blackwell won the clearance at the opening bounce of the second term, but it was the Lions who got the first goal, a snap from Hampson after 96 seconds. It was a fine, warm day with little breeze and the challenge was there for the Tigers to get back into the contest. But Subiaco continued to dominate and added 5.6 to 1.1 for the quarter. Thankfully Subiaco were off target many times.

Franz was outstanding in this quarter, frequently foiling Subiaco with strong marks and determined spoils. Matt Orzel was fighting doggedly, but nothing seemed to be going right.

Claremont’s solitary major for the term came with 12 minutes and 50 seconds on the clock when Bradshaw’s long kick from the left wing was marked by Richardson for his first. Claremont’s 2.5 was a poor return for a half of football and Subiaco held a handsome 55-point lead at the long interval.

Among the changes to the Claremont line-up were the switch of Henry Roberts from a wing to a back pocket and of defender Brenden Abbott to the midfield and it appeared a far more determined Tigers side which went into battle for the second half. Blackwell won the clearance at the opening bounce and Richardson kicked his second goal with just 30 seconds on the clock.

Abbott followed with a poster three minutes later and soon after that Claremont had their fourth goal on the board after Foster had sent the ball forward and Bradshaw took a sliding mark on the boundary line in the right pocket before slotting a goal home from a most acute angle.

There was greater intensity in the Claremont ranks. The tackling was strong and purposeful and everything was becoming much more cohesive. However, 14 minutes passed after Claremont’s fourth goal before the fifthl was posted. Ledger marked a Subiaco clearing kick and fired an excellent pass to Williams, who kicked accurately.

This was a much better quarter by Claremont, with the Tigers outscoring Subiaco, 3.6 to 3.2. In a disappointing final term Claremont managed only one goal, after seven minutes when Anton Hamp had taken a diving mark. Subiaco again seized the initiative and fortunately for the Tigers inaccuracy marred their play. The Lions scored 5.8 to 1.3 in the last quarter and romped home by 80 points to cement their spot at the top of the WAFL premiership table.

It was symptomatic of Franz’s dedication that half-way through the quarter he was still battling with tremendous zest and at one stage he produced a perfect spoil against Rhys Waters and then recovered his composure to tackle Hampson to again thwart the Lions. He was still in the thick of the action with 28 minutes and 40 seconds on the clock when he was flattened on the scoreboard flank.

by Ken Casellas

Details:

Subiaco 18.22 (130) beat Claremont 6.14 (50)

Scorers---SUBIACO: G. Hampson 4.4; C. Deluca 3.6; J. Deluca 2.4; S. Yarran 2.2; S. Moore 2.0; J. Bristow, J. Kayler-Thomson, R. Waters 1.1; M. Boland, A. Davey 1.0; B. Mahoney, F. Stockley, W. Toomey 0.1. CLAREMONT: J. Bradshaw 2.2; J. Richardson 2.1; A. Hamp 1.2; JK. Williams 1.1; B. Abbott, M. Davies, A. Foster 0.2; D. Cameron, M. Seaby 0.1.

Best---SUBIACO: G. Hampson, B. Mahoney, C. Phelan, W. Twomey, C. Deluca, J. Deluca, J. Bristow. CLAREMONT: L. Blackwell, A. Foster, D. Cameron, B. Franz, M. Bentley, J. Richardson, T. Ledger.