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Colts: LAW LIFTS HIS RATING

By Ken Casellas

Small forward Jordan Law made full use of his natural speed to run rings around the Peel Thunder defence at Claremont Oval on Saturday when he produced his best performance for Claremont and played a key role in his side’s 65-point victory.

The 17-year-old Law, who had managed just six goals from his first 14 matches with the Tigers, was a livewire in attack and booted five of his side’s 22 goals.

He was one of the stars in a contest in which midfielder Brendon Lim and centre-half-forward Jesse Hogan stood out with outstanding displays on a warm, sunny morning. Tough midfielder Tom Curtin maintained his excellent form, Luke Salomone produced his best effort with a strong and creative performance on a wing, Hamish Murray excelled in the ruck and captain Ben Taylor again led by example.

Law, prominent with his distinctive green and black boots, was under notice from the outset and he posted the first goal after 1min. 50sec. of play, running hard to accept a handpass from Ben Daniher after Curtin had gained the clearance from a midfield stoppage.

It was all one-way traffic early as Claremont bombarded the Peel defence and had five goals on the board just after nine minutes of play while holding the visitors scoreless.

It was a spirited display from the Claremont side as it warmed up for final-round action next month. It certainly was a good dress rehearsal for the important match against Perth at Lathlain Park next Saturday.

The Tigers are in second place on the premiership table with 48 points from 17 matches. South Fremantle head the table with 52 points from 18 matches, Perth have 48 points from 18 matches and East Fremantle are fourth on the list with 44 points from 17 matches.

The Demons have a strong side which is certain to test Claremont on Saturday.  It is certainly far more formidable than it was in the round one fixture at Lathlain Park in March when Claremont blitzed the home side, scoring 9.2 to 0.0 in the first quarter before winning, 23.9 to 8.8.

Then in a round ten match in May, Claremont began brilliantly and led, 6.3 to 0.1 at quarter time before fading and being beaten by a goal. So this week’s contest promises to be a beauty.

Hogan was a dominant force from the outset against Peel and he fought hard to gain possession three minutes into the match when he fired out a wonderful handpass to Daniher, who swung on to his trusty left foot to boot Claremont’s second goal.

A Hogan pass to Mitch McGovern resulted in the next goal. Lim gained the clearance at the centre bounce. He handpassed to winger Mitchell Smith, who handballed on to Taylor, whose kick was marked by McGovern for another goal. Daniher got his second four minutes later after a passage of play involving Mackenzie Morgan, Smith, Curtin, Morgan (again) and Tom Bowering.

Peel opened their account with a goal to Kalani Scarrott after he had received a free-kick in a marking duel in the goalsquare. And then Claremont scored the final two goals of the quarter, the first after Murray’s long kick from backward of the right wing found Law, who passed to Salomone. Then in the final minute Bodhi Stubber sent a long kick forward where Hogan used his strength to work to the front of Dylan Winton to take the mark and then kick truly.

Murray won the ball at the opening bounce of the second quarter and McGovern used his left boot to send off a short centering pass to Hogan, who had Claremont’s eighth goal on the board after just 45 seconds.

Strong defensive work by debutant Jared Hardisty, Mackenzie Morgan, Salomone and Curtin worked the ball downfield. Curtin ran hard to get to the next contest and he snapped a goal as he was flattened.

Lim again won the centre clearance and his handpass to Curtin enabled the Tigers to surge forward where Jake Anderson got the ball to Taylor in the left pocket. Taylor squared the ball to Hogan, who held a strong mark before booting his third goal. The ball went back to the centre and the irrepressible Lim again gained the clearance, handpassing to Law. A marking duel followed and Jordan Crockett, front and square, gained possession and snapped a major.

Three minutes later Daniher was awarded a free-kick in the right pocket for a wonderful tackle. The 16-year-old Crockett took the advantage kick and got his second. Claremont led 12.5 to 3.0, but Peel scored two goals, both from free-kicks, in the final stages of the quarter.

Law sparkled with three goals in the third quarter when the Tigers added 6.4 to 3.1. A midfield mark by Bowering got the Tigers moving early in the third term. Bowering passed to Smith and the move was completed with Law running hard on the right flank before kicking an excellent goal from the pocket.

Peel then got another goal after earning a free-kick, but Claremont hit back when Daniher worked hard at half-forward before getting the ball to Hogan, who unselfishly handpassed to Law, who executed a delicate pirouette to bring up six points.

It took six minutes for Claremont’s next goal . It came after a cohesive attack down the left flank where Hogan and Curtin combined to get the ball to Law, who passed accurately to Murray. Law dashed past Murray and accepted the handpass, surged forward and kicked his fourth major.

Peel replied with a goal to Sam Barndon before the Tigers scored the final three goals of the quarter, the first to Xavier Malone after a sortie involving Jack Beeck, Law and Lim down the left flank.

Then Jake Colvin, Taylor and McGovern exchanged handpasses, with Taylor running on to receive from McGovern and boot a 55m goal from left half-forward.  Smith dashed forward and fired a short pass to Lim for the 18^th goal which gave the home side a 68-point lead at three-quarter-time.

Peel outscored Claremont 5.0 to 4.3 in the final quarter. Law notched his fifth goal five minutes into the term, lurking at the back of the ruckmen contesting a boundary throw-in and gaining possession. The next goal came after Xavier Malone sent the ball forward to Harrison Court, whose left-foot snap rolled through the tall timbers.

Murray and Malone scored Claremont’s two final goals. Beeck started an attacking move at half-back and Lim and Law worked the ball forward for Murray to take his third mark for the quarter and kick truly after his two previous shots had veered off target.

Lim was still working hard in the final minute of the match and he provided an excellent block on the left wing which enabled Court to kick the ball to McGovern, who handpassed to Malone for the final goal of an entertaining contest.

Details:

Claremont 22.13 (145) beat peel Thunder 13.2 (65).

Scorers---CLAREMONT: J. Law 5.0; J. Hogan 3.1; B. Daniher, X. Malone 2.1; J. Crockett, M. McGovern 2.0; L. Salomone, B. Taylor 1.3; H. Murray 1.2; H. Court, T. Curtin, B. Lim 1.0; D. Morgan 0.1; 1pt forced. PEEL: B. Copeland, B. Scarrott 3.0; S. Barndon 2.1; K. Ah-Chee, R. Anzellino, C. Marshall, C. Wheatley, I. Wedderburn 1.0; A. Walsh 0.1.

Best---CLAREMONT: B. Lim, J. Hogan, J. Law, T. Curtin, L. Salomone, B. Taylor, M. Smith, X. Malone, H. Murray. PEEL: C. Morris, C. Marshall, P. Dawson, B. Walsh, C. Fish, B. Hancock.