Finals Analysis – ClaremontThursday, September 8, 2022 - 3:24 PM - by Chris Pike

CLAREMONT will be hoping that 2022 is the year it can breakthrough for that elusive first premiership in a decade after the Tigers have given themselves another good chance from third position.

It's been a case of so close yet so far for a number of seasons now for Claremont, but the Tigers have put themselves in another good position to give the premiership an assault in 2022.

On the back of being the dominant team in the WAFL for four years between 2010-13 where the Tigers won four minor premierships, played in three Grand Finals and won two premierships, it was a long road back.

Claremont only played in one final between 2014-17 but since 2018 the Tigers have put themselves right in the mix and are still attempting to now breakthrough for what would be a first premiership in a decade if they can go all the way in 2022.

The Tigers were back in finals in 2018 and won their first final since the 2012 Grand Final by beating East Perth in an elimination final before being knocked out by West Perth a week later.

Claremont then got to a preliminary final in 2019 before losing to South Fremantle and it was another heartbreak down at the port in the 2020 Grand Final with a heart stopping loss to the Bulldogs.

The pain at Fremantle Community Bank Oval continued with a preliminary final loss to the Bulldogs last year as well, but Claremont is back for another crack in 2022 and will enter the finals from third position having earned a double chance.

That means the Tigers take on East Fremantle in this Saturday's qualifying final with the chance to either move into the second semi-final against West Perth or to then go on and host a first semi-final against either South Fremantle or Peel. 

The best news for Claremont is there's no way they will have to play a final again at Fremantle Community Bank Oval in 2022.

THE SEASON SO FAR

It's been quite the fascinating season for Claremont in 2022 with their best football right up there as the best any team can produce while they've also put in some horror showings, but all in all they did enough to earn third spot and a finals double chance.

The Tigers season started well with three straight wins against West Perth, Subiaco and South Fremantle, and considering they were the other three top teams from last year, it was a significant opening to 2022.

Claremont, though, then had a slip up when overrun by Swan Districts at Bassendean before responding strongly with a 47-point win at home against East Perth.

The rollercoaster really then began with a 22-point loss in Mandurah to Peel before three solid wins against Perth, West Coast and East Fremantle, with that win against the Sharks in Round 9 at the WACA Ground significant.

Just as the Tigers were building momentum they were disappointing in a loss to the Royals at Leederville oval and then another poor showing against South Fremantle in NAIDOC Week in Round 12.

The Jekyll and Hyde nature of this Claremont team continued as they blew West Perth away the following week on the way to a 29-point win and then the Tigers looked to have found their consistency with wins against Subiaco, Swan Districts, Perth and Peel.

However, they were to have one more hiccup when blown away by East Fremantle in Round 19 which ultimately cost them second position before they finished up with a solid win against West Coast.

KEY WINS OF THE YEAR

The standout wins have been as significant as the shock losses for Claremont in 2022, but the big victories they have had shows just what they are going to be capable of during the finals if on top of their game.

Claremont is the only team to beat Peel since Round 12 and that win for the Tigers over the Thunder in Round 18 at Revo Fitness Stadium should give them tremendous confidence of what they are capable of.

The win against West Perth back in Round 13 is the one that Claremont should really look back on to give them the confidence that they can go all the way in 2022.

The Tigers were coming off poor showings against East Perth and South Fremantle, but blew the minor premier Falcons away in brilliant fashion at Revo Fitness Stadium in a fashion that no other team has been able to do to West Perth in 2022.

While West Perth finished strongly, Claremont led that game by 60 points at one point on the way to the eventual 29-point victory.

MATCH UP WITH FELLOW FINALISTS

West Perth might have finished on top of the WAFL ladder, but Claremont has beaten the Falcons the past three times now including in both meetings in 2022.

Claremont beat West Perth at Joondalup by four points in Round 1 but was then even more impressive in winning by 29 points in Round 13 at Revo Fitness Stadium.

The Tigers have now won five of the past six also against the Falcons including knocking them out in the first semi-final last year.

Claremont's first finals opponent will be East Fremantle this Saturday in the qualifying final in what will be the first time the teams have met in the finals since the Grand Final of 2012.

While East Fremantle won the most recent meeting in emphatic fashion by 45 points in Round 19, Claremont had dominated the Sharks prior to that having won 11 in-a-row dating back to 2016.

Should Claremont face South Fremantle in the finals in 2022 the Tigers will be relieved to know it won't be at Fremantle Community Bank Oval with the Bulldogs having beaten them on their home round in the 2021 qualifying and preliminary finals, 2020 Grand Final, and qualifying and preliminary finals of 2019.

Claremont has also won just one of the last five meetings with South Fremantle having lost the most recent clash at home to the Bulldogs by 34 points. The Tigers did win down at the port in Round 3, though, by 11 points.

Claremont has enjoyed things against Peel in recent times having beaten the Thunder in seven of the past eight clashes between the two teams including the last one in Round 18 at Revo Fitness Stadium.

Should the two teams meet in this finals series they will be doing so for the first ever time.

PLAYERS TO BE EXCITED ABOUT

Claremont's big names have all delivered strong seasons once again in 2022. Sandover Medallists Bailey Rogers and Jye Bolton remain at the top of their games while Declan Mountford, Jared Hardisty and Declan Hardisty continue to be strong leaders and Ryan Lim has had his best and most consistent season and he'll reach his 150-game milestone when Claremont plays its second final.

By adding Callan England down back, Claremont possess two the best creative and attacking defenders in the league as well with him alongside Lachlan Martinis but it's the younger brigade who might be ready to breakout come finals time.

If Ronin O'Connor can keep stepping up in the middle and if Jack Buller can have the finals series of his life as a key target then they could just be the icing on the cake to help push Claremont over the hump in 2022.

KEYS TO WINNING

In a lot of ways, the key for Claremont is arriving with the right mindset. When they've been on song this season, they have been unstoppable as shown in wins against West Perth, East Fremantle, South Fremantle and Peel Thunder.

However, the Tigers have also had games where they just haven’t shown up and have been blown away including against East Fremantle in Round 19 and South Fremantle in Round 12.

If Claremont is going to take that next leap from preliminary finalists or Grand Finalists, that inconsistency in their ability to perform from week to week can't show up in this final series because there's no question their best is good enough to go all the way.

In terms of what happens on the field, what happens inside the forward 50 is Claremont's biggest concern. Their back-line has held up strongly all year conceding just 63.7 points but scoring has at times been a problem.

They have a lot of prolific ball winners across half-back and through the middle, but they aren’t always the most attacking or direct team, and that makes life difficult for their forwards.

However, if they can give good supply to their forwards and if one of their targets can step up whether it's Jack Buller, Timm House, Alex Manuel or someone else, then they are going to be tough to stop because there's no doubt they will be getting enough supply.

IMPORTANT STATS

3rd – Claremont is the third ranked team defensively this season having conceded 63.7 points a game

4th – The Tigers are ranked fourth in attack for the season having averaged 74.4 points a game

24.2 – The number of possessions more Claremont averages than their opponents across the season each week

2nd – Second quarters have been Claremont's best across the season, outscoring their opponents by 173 points to be ranked first. However, they are ranked seventh for first quarters, sixth for third quarters and third in last terms

5 – Claremont's leading goalscorer this season might have only kicked 23 goals which was Jack Buller, but they had four other players also kick more than 20 with Alex Manuel finishing with 22, Tyron Smallwood 22, Timm House 20 and Bailey Rogers 20