BY KEN CASELLAS

East Fremantle, with the aid of a fresh breeze, were threatening to take control of the league match half-way through the final quarter at East Fremantle Oval on Saturday when Claremont’s powerful midfielder Jared Hardisty boosted the spirits of his teammates by foiling Jarrad Jansen’s shot at goal with a fearless smother off the boot.

Hardisty cleared the ball out of danger and on to Rylie Morgan. His smother was yet another example of his outstanding commitment. He is the man who sets the standard for wholehearted determination, and he consistently provides the grunt which is so vital in the modern game.

He shies away from the glamorous aspects of football and concentrates on doing the tough things, like chasing and tackling. On Saturday, as usual, he led the way in the tackle count with a tally of eight tackles in a team total of 45.

The Tigers appeared to be on target for a comfortable victory after they led by 29 points following a goal to Anton Hamp in the opening minute of the final quarter. Declan Mountford gained the centre clearance from the opening bounce of the quarter (courtesy of a free-kick for interference) and he delivered to captain Kane Mitchell, whose excellent pass was marked by Hamp.

Hamp’s goal, his third for the day, was followed by a point to East Fremantle’s Ryan Lester-Smith before the next 15 minutes featured several turnovers and produced no further scores --- until a desperate late rally from East Fremantle saw the home side pile on four goals (from Ambrose Ryan, Cody Leggett, Blaine Boekhorst and Nick Kommer) in five minutes.

This took the Sharks to within five points, but Claremont fought tigerishly to prevent any further scores in the final five minutes. This was Claremont’s fifth win from seven matches and the side sits in third position on the premiership table and will qualify for the finals if it beats West Perth at Revo Fitness Stadium next Saturday. Claremont will have a bye the following weekend before the finals get under way.

Claremont had first use of the fresh breeze on Saturday and the side failed to take full advantage of this, ending the term with 3.2 to East Fremantle’s three behinds, with Claremont going into the 50m attacking zone 15 times to East Fremantle’s four.

The Tigers made a brilliant start with powerhouse midfielder Jye Bolton spearing a long low pass in the opening minute to a diving Alec Waterman, who chalked up his 14^TH goal for the season.

Hamp hobbled off the field with an injured left knee at the ten-minute mark and a minute later debutant Ed McGinty enjoyed his first kick in senior ranks. A minute after that McGinty’s clever snap from close range gave the Tigers their second major. The ball went back to the centre where Tom Lee, celebrating his return to league action, gained a decisive hit-out.

A crunching Hardisty tackle on Jordan Snadden resulted in a forward sortie, with Mitchell scoring Claremont’s third goal shortly before the side was struck a serious blow, with key defender Dylan Smallwood limping off the ground with a damaged right hamstring.

Claremont performed strongly to restrict the Sharks to two goals in the second quarter (during which Hardisty and Ben Edwards impressed with their strong tackling) while scoring three goals to go into the half-time break with a 22-point lead.

Both Ollie Eastland and Lee were performing strongly in the ruck duels and they combined to deliver the ball to Hamp for his first major. A Waterman handpass to Bolton gave the Tigers another goal before the term ended in an exciting passage of play which saw defender Haydn Busher pull down a brilliant mark on the right wing before charging forward, eluding Jonathon Griffin and then delivering accurately to Waterman, who held a fine mark and then allowed for the breeze to swing the ball from right to left before sailing through for the side’s sixth goal.

Tom Bennett snapped a goal for the home side in the opening minute of the third quarter, and the Tigers replied almost immediately. Ryan Nyhuis received a 50m penalty and the ball went forward where Eastland cleverly eluded Morgan Davies and passed to Hamp for his second goal.

Max Murphy took a strong pack mark before kicking East Fremantle’s fourth goal, and Cody Leggett got their fifth six minutes later to reduce Claremont’s lead to ten points.

Claremont earned some breathing space late in the term with goals from Callan England and Bolton. 

England’s goal came after an excellent passage of play involving Bailey Rogers, Harry McCracken (celebrating his 50th senior appearance), Mountford, Ryan Lim and Morgan.

An Isaac Barton handpass to Bolton gave him his second major, with Barton being the final link in a chain of possessions involving Mountford, Jack Lewsey, McCracken, Waterman and Edwards. This set the stage for the enthralling final quarter.

Details:

Claremont 10.5 (65) beat East Fremantle 9.6 (60).

Scorers---CLAREMONT: A. Hamp 3.1; J. Bolton, A. Waterman 2.0; E. McGinty 1.2; K. Mitchell 1.1; C. England 1.0; T. Lee 0.1. EAST FREMANTLE: R. Ambrose, C. Leggett 2.0; J. Jansen 1.1; T. Bennett, B. Boekhorst, N. Kommer, M. Murphy 1.0; L. Bailey 0.3; R. Lester-Smith, M. Murdoch 0.1.

Best---CLAREMONT: J. Bolton, J. Hardisty, K. Mitchell, C. England, B. Rogers, H. Busher, O. Eastland, D. Mountford. EAST FREMANTLE: C. Leggett, J. Snadden, C. Eardley, T. Bennett, M. Davies, R. Lester-Smith, A. Ryan.