HEAVY rain was sheeting across Leederville Oval and the surface was a quagmire when Claremont midfielder Keifer Yu won the clearance at the opening bounce of the match against Subiaco on Saturday.

Six minutes later Keegan Knott fired off a short pass to Yu, who took the mark and booted a point, the opening score of the match.

Yu, tough, determined and relishing the challenge of making a mark on the contest in abominable conditions, was the spark that fired the Tigers who bounced back to winning form with a solid 15-point victory in a low-scoring slog.

Yu led from the front throughout and finished with 16 kicks, four effective handpasses and team-high statistics of five tackles, nine clearances from stoppages and six inside 50s. Co-midfielder Tom Curtin returned to his best with a typical tigerish display and his strong work at the stoppages in the first quarter helped to galvanise the Tigers.

Other driving forces in the opening term were Ben Daniher, Jack Richardson and defender Luke Salomone when the Tigers reached quarter time with 2.4 on the board to Subiaco’s solitary behind.

Curtin finished with 15 kicks, four effective handpasses, four clearances and five inside 50s. Other strong contributors at the stoppages were Coleman Cristinelli, Brendan Lim, Richardson and Daniher (who was unable to take the field in the final quarter after receiving a knee injury which will keep him on the sidelines for a few weeks).

The match saw the return to action of quality players Trinity Handley and Aaron Holt, each of whom had missed several matches while recovering from leg injuries. They played in defence, performed serviceably and are sure to derive great benefit from the outing.

It took Claremont eight minutes to score their opening goal, an excellent long shot from Salomone after he had marked an errant Subiaco clearing kick. The next goal was on the just under four minutes later after a couple of strong efforts from Curtin which led to Knott gaining possession at left half-forward and kicking the ball forward where Nick Gajewski snapped truly.

Early in the second term big ruckman Josh Tilley took a mark and handpassed to Yu. The ball finished out of bounds in the left pocket and soon afterwards there was a stoppage at half-forward where Yu, using his body to good effect, gained possession and snapped Claremont’s third major.

It took the Lions until the 19-minute mark of the quarter to notch their first goal. It came after Joe Daye received a free-kick and then was awarded a 50m penalty. The Tigers replied two minutes later after Sam Lamont, Gajewski and Richardson combined to get the ball to Hayden Yarran, who booted the ball to the goalsquare where centre-half-forward Ben Higgs (promoted from the colts) met with interference and was awarded a free-kick which he converted into a goal.

Richardson snapped a goal two minutes after half-time and former Claremont colts player Chris Pocklington replied with a goal to the Maroons. Then it was Claremont’s turn again. A long clearing kick from Tom Bowering sent the Tigers forward where Knott fought hard and helped Higgs to gain possession and kick his second major.

Then a long shot from Christian Bottechia went through for Subiaco’s third goal. There were no further goals in the final 12 minutes of the quarter, during which time Claremont added five behinds, including a shot from Knott which grazed a goalpost and a miss from close range by Higgs.

The final quarter was only 57 seconds old when Richardson sent the ball inside his side’s 50m attacking zone and a kick from Yarran rolled through for full points to stretch Claremont’s lead to 25 points. That was the final goal from the Tigers who went on to record a solid 15-point win.

By Ken Casellas

Details:

Claremont 7.13 (55) beat Subiaco 5.10 (40).

Scorers---CLAREMONT: B. Higgs 2.2; N. Gajewski, L. Salomone, K. Yu 1.1; J. Richardson, H. Yarran 1.0; T. Bowering, L. Davey, K. Knott, S. Lamont, J. Tilley 0.1; 3pts forced. SUBIACO: C. Bottechia 2.0; C. Pocklington 1.2; J. Daye, R. Herring 1.0; A. Pickett 0.2; J. Sells, N. Stewart, A. Vawser, C. Wohling 0.1; 2pts forced.

Best---CLAREMONT: K. Yu, T. Curtin, C. Christinelli, B. Higgs, L. Salomone, E. Panizza, J. Richardson, B. Taylor. SUBIACO: L. Symonds, N. Hay, N. Stewart, K. Somers, C. Fabian, R. Herring.