By Ken Casellas

He’s not flash and he’s not fancy. But Claremont’s Mitch Andrews produced yet another superb display against red-hot premiership favourites Subiaco at Ports Oval in Esperance on Saturday to enhance his reputation as the State’s best ruckman.

The 30-year-old Andrews rolled up his sleeves and flexed his muscles to dominate the hit-outs and stoppages in a wholehearted, herculean display against a ruthlessly efficient and highly-skilled opposition.

Sadly, it was in vain as the Tigers were beaten by 40 points by a high-flying side which brought up its 14^th win in succession.

Andrews, a league premiership player with Claremont in 2011 and 2012 and a much-loved cult hero, is a team player par excellence. He refused to surrender at any stage of Saturday’s contest as he fought like a tiger to lift his side.

He finished with 28 hit-outs in the ruck to take his season’s tally in 14 matches to 548 and he was his side’s premier performer at stoppages with an outstanding tally of 12 clearances. He delivered the ball inside Claremont’s 50m attacking zone three times, took five marks, had 15 kicks and made 12 handpasses. He is certainly a warrior with immense passion for his club.

Claremont were spirited in their quest for the ball and there was certainly no lack of endeavour or vigour. The Tigers finished with more marks than Subiaco (88 to 59), more kicks (213 to 197), more handpasses (160 to 130) and more clearances (44 to 39).     

Yet, the Maroons emerged triumphant. It simply was a case of a far more composed side whose players used the ball with superior precision. Another extremely telling factor was Subiaco’s considerable edge in physicality.

So, the Tigers are now licking their wounds as they go into a bye next Saturday before completing their final five qualifying-round matches.

Claremont, with six wins and nine losses, are in seventh position on the premiership table. But all is not lost. The Tigers can still sneak into the top five to earn the right to contest final-round football. First, it is imperative to beat East Perth at Claremont Oval on Saturday week. After that, Claremont will do battle with Perth (Lathlain Park), South Fremantle (Claremont Oval), Swan Districts (Bassendean Oval) and West Perth (Claremont Oval).

Subiaco have held the upper hand over Claremont in recent years and it is about time the Tigers started to reverse this trend. Of the 23 Claremont men who took the field on Saturday, 13 have not played in a winning league side against the Maroons. And Tom Ledger has now made nine appearances against Subiaco for one solitary victory. Jack Richardson has played seven times against Subiaco, also for just one win.

Though the loss came as a great disappointment for the handful of Tigers faithful at the ground on Saturday, a few of whom had driven the 733km down to Esperance, a wonderfully scenic town with spectacular beaches, there was quite a bit to enthuse over.

Indeed, Subiaco captain Kyal Horsley and coach Jarrad Schofield praised the Tigers for their performance.

“Claremont have improved a great deal since the previous time we met them,” Schofield said. That was in round six, at East Fremantle Oval on April 22 when the Lions coasted to a 55-point victory.

Horsley went even further, declaring at the after-match presentations that the Tigers were the best side Subiaco had met this season.

The sun was shining when Horsley won the toss and elected to enjoy the first use of a fresh breeze. However, it was the Tigers who were first into stride, with star midfielder Jye Bolton earning a free-kick at the opening bounce.

Two minutes later, Bolton, CJ Oakley, Ian Richardson and Matt Guelfi were involved in the forward thrust which ended with a boundary throw-in in a pocket where Bailey Banfield snapped a wonderful goal.

Ben Sokol replied for the Lions a couple of minutes later after taking a strong mark and then kicking accurately from a long distance. A Claremont indiscretion saw Sokol being awarded a free-kick without the ball going back to the centre. Another major was the result.

Indeed, Claremont paid dearly for some poor discipline, with Max Walters, Leigh Kitchin and James Garcia all scoring goals after receiving a free-kick, and Corey Adamson booted a goal after gaining a 50m penalty. The Tigers scored one of their seven goals from a free-kick (to Beau Maister).

Bolton gained the centre clearance after Sokol’s second goal and Alex Manuel took a mark before scoring the first of his two goals. Goals to Horsley and the powerful midfielder Adam Cockie enabled the Maroons to go into the quarter-time break with a 13-point advantage. Claremont were a shade unlucky when a shot from Harry McCracken scraped the inside of the right goal post.

It was a splendid performance by the Tigers to be so close to the Maroons, who had the use of a stiff breeze. Keifer Yu had been outstanding in defence and Andrews, Ian Richardson, Bolton, McCracken and Banfield were shining lights in an opening term in which Claremont had Subiaco under extreme pressure.

The Tigers, with the wind at their backs, attacked relentlessly in the early stages of the second quarter. But this dominance was not reflected on the scoreboard, with the Tigers being continuously repulsed by a spirited and resolute defence, led by Greg Clark and Aaron Heal.

Finally, Manuel broke the deadlock, taking a mark just inside the 50m arc and then kicking truly for his second major to reduce Subiaco’s lead to eight points.

A shot by Bolton fell short and Subiaco made the most of a free-kick to Walters for their fifth goal. The mercurial Liam Ryan got another for the Lions and for Claremont it was a distressing tale of wasted opportunities and gaining little or no result for effort.

Andrews was an inspirational force as he battled with tremendous determination. Yu continued to shine, energetic Tom Ledger was shining on a wing and Ian Richardson, Banfield, McCracken, Jared Hardisty, Matt Davies and Ryan Lim were all working assiduously. But a solitary goal with the wind was a terrible result.

Not to be denied, the Tigers scored the first foal of the third quarter, with Maister earning a free-kick in the right pocket after some strong play from Yu, Lim and Oakley. Adamson replied for the Maroons after taking a mark 75m out and then gaining a 50m penalty. Subiaco got the next two goals and went to the three-quarter-time break with a handsome 32-point lead. Claremont had only 4.7 on the board, a poor result for some great endeavour.

Subiaco extended their lead to 43 points after goals to Lachlan Delahunty and Sokol early in the final quarter. Then a Manuel handpass to Aaron Holt resulted in Claremont’s fifth goal. But then Garcia received a free-kick for Subiaco’s 12^th major.

Horsley and Rowen Powell added goals for the Lions before a short pass from Hardisty found McCracken for Claremont’s sixth goal. Bolton added another two minutes later, with a left-foot snap after gaining possession at a stoppage.

Subiaco certainly did not dominate the contest, but their players were more composed and their general disposal more precise. The Tigers haven’t given up hope of qualifying for the finals.

There were no glaring weaknesses in Claremont’s play. Haydn Busher maintained his wonderful form with a grand display at centre-half-back, full-back Anton Hamp kept his opponent Ryan Vermeersch scoreless and Charlie Le Fanu did not shirk the issue when given the task of guarding the brilliant forward pocket specialist Liam Ryan.    

Details:

Subiaco 14.10 (94) beat Claremont 7.12 (54)

Scorers---SUBIACO: B. Sokol 4.0; K. Horsley 2.0; L. Ryan 1.4; M. Walters 1.3; L. Kitchin 1.1; C. Adamson, A. Cockie, L. Delahunty, J. Garcia, R. Powell 1.0; D. Jackson, W. Twomey 0.1. CLAREMONT: A. Manuel 2.1; H. McCracken 1.2; B. Banfield, J. Bolton 1.1; A. Holt, B. Maister 1.0; R. Lim 0.2; M. Guelfi, Z. Langdon, K. Yu 0.1; 2pts forced.

Best---SUBIACO: K. Horsley, A. Cockie, L. Kitchin, G. Clark, A. Heal, B. Sokol, S. Parry, J. Latham. CLAREMONT: M. Andrews, H. McCracken, J. Bolton, T. Ledger, K. Yu, H. Busher, I. Richardson, B. Banfield.