A calculated gamble to promote burly teenager Brenden Abbott, a tough, uncompromising straight-ahead defender, to the league side and use him in attack to infuse some much-needed oomph into Claremont’s forward line paid handsome dividends in the match against Swan Districts at Bassendean Oval on Saturday.

The 19-year-old Abbott, from the Royals club in Albany in Claremont’s Great Southern zone, made a seamless transition from defence to attack and his four-goal haul was a feature of Claremont’s improved showing against the league leaders.

It was a most heartening performance and there were some welcome positive signs for the rest of the season.

The Claremont side lifted its rating and gave Swans some anxious moments before they went on to record a hard-fought 26-point victory, the club’s seventh win in a row. For the Tigers it was their sixth loss from eight games this year and left them in eighth position in the premiership table with a miserable percentage of 58.58.

This encouraging display could well prove to be a turning point in the 2014 season. Indeed, the players and all associated at Claremont are looking forward to playing the next three fixtures at our new temporary home at the Showgrounds. After seven away matches from Claremont’s first eight matches it will indeed be most enjoyable to play eight of our final 12 matches at the Showgrounds.

Abbott, who played in Claremont’s colts side in 2012 and 2013, made his league debut in the round two fixture against West Perth at Joondalup on March 29 this year where he was solid in a back pocket. He then played in the next two rounds, against Subiaco at East Fremantle Oval (playing in defence in the first half and then being used on the ball after half-time) and against the Sharks at East Fremantle Oval (on a half-back flank in the first half and having a turn on the ball and on a half-forward flank).

Then in his fourth league appearance he lined up at full-forward against Swans on Saturday against the vastly-experienced 30-year-old Tallan Ames, a seasoned campaigner making his 202^nd league appearance.

Abbott was far from overwhelmed by the occasion and he was in the thick of the action from the outset, receiving a handpass from Andrew Foster and using his trusty left boot to slam home the first goal of the match from long range with just 90 seconds on the clock.

Two minutes later he scored a behind and after eight minutes of play Swans opened their account with a major from Tim Geappen to level the scores. Four minutes later winger Tom Taylor got the ball to Foster, whose kick to the goalsquare found Abbott, who snapped truly to give the Tigers the lead again.

Ryan Davis collected a Claremont kick-in after a Geappen point and the Davis goal gave Swans a one-point advantage. The Tigers got back in front at the 20-minute mark after Jack Bradshaw took a mark at half-back and passed accurately to Foster, whose kick was marked by Matt Orzel for Claremont’s third goal.

Sam Fong gained the clearance at the centre bounce and he passed to Trinity Handley, whose kick was marked by Abbott. But Abbott’s kick was just off line and another behind was added late in the term, off the boot of Anton Hamp. This gave the Tigers a six-point lead at quarter-time, a commendable effort considering that Swans led the inside 50 count 14-10.

This was only the second time in eight matches this season that Swans had trailed at the first break. Claremont had the use of a slight breeze in the second quarter, but an inexplicable lapse saw the side manage only two behinds --- from Bradshaw (at the 23-minute mark) and Jake Murphy (a minute later). Swans put on 4.4 to lead by 20 points at half-time.

Abbott scored two more goals in the third quarter and Swans turned for home with a 23-point advantage. It was Claremont first into stride in the third term with Luke Blackwell handpassing to Bradshaw, whose kick was marked low to the ground by a diving Mark Seaby.

Seaby’s goal was answered after two minutes by a snap by Matthew Rogers from the right pocket. Then 18-year-old Steven Edwards, playing in a forward pocket, produced an excellent short pass to Abbott, who marked and booted his third goal.

Swans strengthened their grip on the game by scoring the next two goals, each after receiving a free-kick, the first to Matt Riggio and the next to Jesse Manton. At the 27-minute mark half-forward flanker Foster (who was doing an excellent job on Graham Jetta) fired a short pass to Abbott for his fourth.

Swans went into the final quarter with a 23-point lead, but hopes of a Claremont upset were dashed when Swans outscored the Tigers 2.4 to a solitary behind in the first 21 minutes of the quarter.

But no Claremont player gave up the fight and it was wonderful to watch Abbott 19 minutes into the quarter chase hard to tackle Ames and then follow up immediately with a chase and tackle on Swans rover Aaron Elari.

Finally, the Tigers got a goal at the 22-minute mark when Tom Ledger drove the ball forward to provide the opportunity for Anton Hamp to kick accurately on the run. Then, 90 seconds before the final siren, Orzel burst from a stoppage to snap Claremont’s eighth and final goal.

Claremont did well on a fine, sunny afternoon to restrict Swans to 11 goals and credit is due to the defenders, including 21-year-old debutant Lachie Davey. Matt Davies, switched from attack to a half-back flank, did a sound job in keeping Rogers comparatively quiet, while Corey Yeo on the other flank kept a tight rein on Davis.

The indefatigable Blackwell again set the standard for Claremont, finishing with five marks, 14 kicks and ten effective handpasses, as well as a match-high seven clearances from stoppages and four inside 50s.

Claremont have turned the corner and hopes are high that the side’s fortunes will change dramatically when the Tigers clash with Subiaco at the Showgrounds on Monday June 2. The result of Saturday’s match could have been different, or at least the margin could have been much smaller had it not been for an unfortunate injury to centre-half-forward Handley.

Handley fractured a thumb in the second quarter and was unable to take the field in the second half. Not only did that cost the Tigers dearly by losing their most experienced player and their pivotal forward, but it left the side restricted to three interchange players.  

by Ken Casellas

Details:

Swan Districts 11.17 (83) beat Claremont 8.9 (57)

Scorers---SWAN DISTRICTS: R. Cary 3.2; M. Jukes 2.1; T. Geappen, K. Ugle 1.2; M. Rogers 1.1; R. Davis, J. Manton, M. Riggio 1.0; T. Notte 0.3; J. Blight, A. Elari 0.1; 4ptrs forced. CLAREMONT: B. Abbott 4.3; M. Orzel 2.0; A. Hamp 1.1; M. Seaby 1.0; J. Murphy 0.2; J. Bradshaw, S. Fong 0.1; 1pt forced.

Best---SWAN DISTRICTS: J. Simpson, T. Notte, K. Ugle, J. Burnham, A. Elari, T. Geappen, R. Cary, M. Riggio, T. Casserly. CLAREMONT: L. Blackwell, B. Abbott, A. Foster, S. Edwards, M. Orzel, T. Ledger, S. Fong, J. Murphy, T. Taylor.