Runner-up in the WAFL last year, Claremont controlled the match throughout the first half, before scorching Clarence with five consecutive goals in the third quarter. They finished with 14.18 (102) to 4.7 (31), the highest score in the shortened format of this new state-based league.
Jake Murphy was the best player for the victors, with 19 possessions in an influential display through the midfield, while Trinity Handley and Beau Wilkes performed strongly.
Cameron Thurley was valiant for Clarence, the premier team in Tasmania for the last two seasons. The former Geelong and North Melbourne utility had 19 touches in a dominant first half. Trent Stranden also presented well as a small forward, and finished with two goals.
Claremont stamped themselves on the game from the opening bounce, with their toughness around the contest and their quickness on the spread testing Clarence’s defence.
Andrew Foster kicked Claremont’s opening goal, a result of his side’s relentless forward pressure. While they created a number of other chances, Claremont managed just one more goal for the quarter, with Ben Saunders converting after an acrobatic mark in the goal square.
Wilkes stretched the lead even further with a magnificent solo effort to open the second quarter, before Clarence finally registered their first goal through Standen.
Thurley added a major of his own soon after, but having swung the momentum their way, Clarence’s poor foot skills prevented them from narrowing the gap. Foster, who spent time with Fremantle in the AFL, kicked his second goal to help Claremont end the first half with a 21-point lead.
Clarence came out firing in the second half; their strong play was capped off by Jack Boon, son of Australian cricketing legend David Boon, who snapped a miraculous goal from the boundary line.
But the Tigers quickly turned the match back on their terms, reeling off five unanswered goals in a game-defining run of play. Standen finally got one back for Clarence, but the Tigers still held a seven-goal margin at the final break.
The fourth quarter petered out as Claremont’s superior ball movement prevailed; they added four more goals, while holding Clarence scoreless.
Claremont now progress to the second stage of the knock-out competition, where they will face the winner of next weekend’s clash between the Northern Bullants and Greater Western Sydney.
Claremont 2.5 5.8 10.13 14.18 (102)
Clarence 0.2 2.5 4.7 4.7 (31)
GOALS
Claremont: Saunders 3, Foster 2, Lee 2, Orzel 2, Derickx, McLernon, Rowe, Wilkes, Willett
Clarence: Standen 2, Thurley, Boon
BEST
Claremont: Murphy, Handley, Rowe, Wilkes
Clarence: Thurley, O’Brien, Round, Standen
INJURIES
Claremont: Nil
Clarence: Nil
