2011 - Year Of The Tiger

Well, it's taken 15 years but finally my mighty Tigers have won their 11th premiership. After the desolation of last year's loss to Swans I didn't want to get too excited before the game even though our form ensured we started as favourites. I needn't have worried. Very early in the game Brett Jones made the determination of the side very clear with a bone rattling, old fashioned shirtfront on the Subiaco ruckman who didn't move for a while. Fortunately he wasn't dead and was eventually helped off the ground. Subiaco fought a hard game and dragged a lot of our play down to their level which made for a pretty scrappy game at times as the usual smooth movement into the forward line became more of a case of bomb and hope. Luckily for us Beau Wilkes was unstoppable up forward taking some great contested marks and often bringing the ball to ground for smaller players. Luke Blackwell and Kane Mitchell were dominant all over the ground and Alroy Gilligan was involved in a number of important passages of play and ended up with 3 goals. Mitchell Andrews was outstanding in the ruck as he has been all season since Andrew Ruck went down with a knee injury. Brandon Franz led a very solid defense and was as reliable as always. As the game went on our lead gradually built until we were in front by 56 points when the final siren sounded. It was a great day and a great night back at the club with a huge crowd in attendance including some of the great former players of the club.

Now let's make it back to back in 2012!!

Open Letter To The WAFL

Dear WAFL

On Saturday I attended the East Fremantle vs Claremont game at Shark Park. As you're fully aware, Daniel 'Wayne' Kerr was making a comeback from injury and playing his first senior game for East Freo. In the course of the match he made a cowardly strike on Luke Blackwell with his elbow while Blackwell was on his back and defenseless on the ground. This strike was clearly captured by Channel 7 cameras and has now been shown nationwide.

Claremont have followed traditional footy etiquette and decided to leave on the field what happened there but as the body running football in this state you have a higher responsibility. You have the power to choose to open an investigation into Kerr's actions but have chosen not to. Instead you've taken the soft option and hidden behind Claremont's decision and used it as a shield for your own inaction. This is unacceptable.

The footage of Kerr striking Blackwell has been shown nationwide on news and football programmes and your inaction is bringing our proud state competition into disrepute.

I realise you are under extreme pressure from the West Coast Eagles to ignore Kerr's actions but it is time for the WAFL to do the right thing, even if it does upset the 2010 wooden spooners. I challenge you to either bring Kerr before the tribunal or explain why you choose not to.

I await your response.

Regards

Dave

* In the interests of full disclosure I declare that I have been a Claremont Football Club member since 1988

2010 wafl grand final

ok, it's been a few days now so i guess it's time to speak of the devastating disappointment of sunday's grand final loss to the inbred hillbillies. a one point loss always throws up "what if's". what if the best full forward in the league had not torn his hamstring? what if the most courageous captain in the competition hadn't had his jaw shattered in a gutless behind the play attack? could either of these players have made that one point difference? the past two meetings between these sides would suggest that it would have tipped the balance in our favour but ultimately it's irrelevant as the history books will show that swans were the better side on the day and ended up 2010 premiers.

nonetheless, i remain so proud of all my boys have achieved this year. this time last year we'd finished second bottom on the ladder and narrowly missed the wooden spoon. still, i was optimistic that we'd challenge for a spot in the top four as i thought we had some good young players and we'd appointed simon mcphee as coach. as it turned out, we did so much more than just make the top four. we dominated the competition and only lost two games for the season. sadly our third loss was in the only game that really matters.

so, onto the grand final. it clearly wasn't our best game for the year and there were some boys who will be a bit embarrassed by their performance but there were also some pretty good performances. rory walton played a ripper, as did brandon franz. 'franger' had a tough time early but ended up dominating ashley 'the big albino' hansen. schammer and blackwell both played good games through the midfield and crawford was a good target up forward. i thought 'ninja' looked a bit overawed early on but got better as the game went. ian richardson never gives in and tried hard all match. i've probably left some out as it's been a few days but they're the fellas who stick in my mind.

so this year was a great success in jumping from second last to minor premiers and next year promises even more. i can't wait.

soft tigers

those with even a passing interest in footy will know that the worst insult that can be levelled against a team is that they're soft. it's ok to be crap, as long as you're not soft. well, yesterday's grand final really sticks in my throat as my beloved tigers played as soft as i've ever seen. i hate to admit it but subi were very hard at the ball and put unbelievable pressure on claremont which our players simply couldn't handle. after such a fantastic season and successive wins over subi, to come out and play like that in a grand final is pretty devastating. i'm sure the players and feeling very sore and sorry for themselves today. i do love my tigers and know that they're not an inherently soft team but yesterday's performance was just so disappointing, especially as we've shown during the season that we're a better team than subi. i just hope that the senior players make a pact to continue on next year and make amends as we've now lost 3 of the past 4 grand finals and it's time to realise the potential we have.

still, as i say.. the monts to be great in 2008!