It was a fun game to watch Gumnut. The Claremont Oval redevelopment means that a crowd of 4000 is all sitting/standing on top of each other, which meant there was a fun atmosphere.
Claremont’s tackling pressure was very good. Guys like Bolton and Mitchell just string together so many repeat efforts, that it really put pressure on East Perth’s midfield. In a low scoring game I thought the difference was that Claremont had a bloke like Tom Lee on the end of it where his teammates could just put it up in the air to his advantage, and he’d go get it. It’s just so valuable in a tight game of footy.
I was chatting to a few people about Clarke. He’s pretty highly regarded by those who have seen a bit of him, and the consensus is that he’ll be good value for any club that picks him up based on the fact that until now he has been splitting his commitments between footy and cricket. He has good size, good athleticism, reads the play well and puts himself about a bit – even against much more mature bodies. There’s a lot to like about him, and it’s a shame we don’t (currently) have a pick in his range.
I’m not sure about Eastland. He has decent hands, reads the ball well and is a relatively smooth mover for his size, but my concern would be that I’m not sure if he’s quick enough to be a KPP or big enough to be a ruckman. I think you could do worse than take him as a rookie pick and see how he psychically responds to being in an AFL system.
My man-crush on Keifer Yu continues. He’s not the right age profile for a rookie list, but he’s a bloke who makes good decisions, puts his body on the line and has the skills to turn chances into goals for the team. Freo could use players like him.
All around a fun day out. Does anyone know how to get to this Joondalup place next weekend, and if there’s any good accommodation around up that way?
