Leederville Oval early on a Saturday morning in autumn is a long way from the remote Aboriginal community of Bayulu.
And it was a strongly-built 17-year-old from Bayulu who attracted considerable attention as he played with great gusto, dash and determination in a back pocket for Claremont in a colts scratch match against East Perth on Saturday.
The robust defender is Shamus Smith, who hails from Bayulu and is pressing his claims for a spot in the Tigers line-up this season.
Bayulu is 2700km north-east or Perth with a population of 200 and the Bayulu football team performed grandly last season when it won the premiership in the Central Kimberley League, beating the Walmajarri Bombers by ten points in the grand final.
Smith was immediately under notice in Saturday’s match when he applied several vigorous tackles in the opening quarter. He was opposed throughout the contest by a likely type, East Perth’s No. 7. And he emerged a clear winner, with his rival managing to break clear on only one occasion when he marked an accurate pass eight minutes into the second quarter and booted East Perth’s third goal.
Smith and Angus Litherland were the stand-out performers in Claremont’s defence which restricted East Perth to a total of 9.5. An inaccurate Claremont scored 11.20 to win by 27 points.
Litherland (17) was dependable at full-back and also when used for a short while at centre-half-back in the final quarter. Litherland, from Ongerup in Claremont’s Great Southern zone, was particularly effective in the third term.
Another newcomer from Claremont’s fertile Kimberley zone to impress was 17-year-old Jefferson Pindan, who gave a lively display in a forward pocket. Pindan, who kicked 2.4, hails from the Looma Eagles Club, a member of the West Kimberley League. Looma is 250m from Broome.
The Claremont colts side is undefeated in three intra-club scratch matches and is in good shape for the opening match of the season, against Peel Thunder at Rushton Park next Saturday.
However, the side was not as impressive against East Perth as it was a week earlier against a strong opponent in Perth. On Saturday, the Tigers could be criticised for poor ball handling, retaining possession for two long and over-use of the football.
Nevertheless, the overall performances in the pre-season matches have been of a splendid quality.
Once again, centre-half-forward Anton Hamp (17) and 16-year-old Tom Mitchell were shining lights. Hamp took five marks and had ten kicks and looks set to be a star of the competition.
The left-footed Mitchell played mainly on a half-forward flank and he possesses wonderful skills. He was on the field for the first three quarters when he took four marks, had ten kicks and made 13 handpasses, 11 of which were effective. In a devastating first quarter he had six kicks and made five handpasses, as well as applying two full-blooded tackles.
At times Mitchell undoes some of his good work by failing to take the first option. Also, at times, he tries to evade too many opponents. But there is certainly no doubting his wonderful potential.
The Tigers began slowly and it took 18 minutes before they scored their first goal, following a good pass from Callum Murdoch to Pindan. The next goal came five minutes later. After receiving a handpass from Hamp, Jarrod Whittle passed to Luke Davies for this goal. Particularly lively in the opening term was midfielder Tom Ledger.
Goals in the second quarter came from Tom Foley, Pindan and Hamp. Warrick Proudlove passed to Hamp, who handpassed to Foley for his goal and then Pindan chopped off and marked an opposition switch kick for his second goal.
A slick Mitchell handpass went to Matt Rawlinson, whose wobbly pass was marked low down by Hamp for the side’s fifth major.
The tigerish Mitchell earned a free-kick after being tackled high and he scored Claremont’s first goal of the second half. After a Foley point, Tyler Stone marked the East Perth kick-in and scored the first of his three goals.
Two minutes later Matt Johns, on the left-half-forward flank, centred the ball to Stone, whose quick shot bounced over the heads of full-forward Murdoch and the East Perth full-back to register a goal.
Coleman Cristinelli, who had been playing well on a wing, brought up Claremont’s ninth goal after effective handpasses from Ledger and Emerson Walker.
The Tigers added goals from Whittle and Stone in the final quarter to put the result beyond doubt. Whittle, playing on a wing, scored his goal after receiving a handpass from Stone, who had gained possession after some hard running by Hamp enabled him to gain possession at right-half-forward.
Stone’s third goal came after a free-kick, the reward for an excellent tackle.
Details:
Claremont 11.20 (86) beat East Perth 9.5 (59).
Scorers---CLAREMONT: T. Stone 3.0; J. Pindan 2.4; T. Foley 1.3; C. Cristinelli, L. Davies, J. Whittle 1.1; A. Hamp, T. Mitchell 1.0; C. Murdoch 0.3; B. O’Regan 0.2; M. Johns, T. Ledger 0.1; 3 pts forced.
Best---CLAREMONT: A. Hamp, T. Mitchell, S. Smith, A. Litherland, C. Cristinelli, T. Stone, T. Ledger, J. Pindan.
