ARTICLE: "Claremont: A haven for stars and sheep", by J. Townsend, 18/9/2017 (includes Aug. 2012 pics)

ARTICLE: John Hyde’s predicament was typical of the dilemma faced by Claremont throughout much of their early post-World War II history.

A Geelong star who had won two premierships for the Cats and a club champion award, Hyde was Claremont’s gun recruit in 1955 when the Tigers were trying to dig themselves out of a mess on and off the field.

Hyde was put up at the Highway Hotel, a plush watering hole on Stirling Highway often used by visiting celebrities, while he was wooed by the club.

But when he was due to sign a contract with the Tigers during his first visit to his proposed home ground at Claremont Oval, the meeting fell through in the most unusual circumstances. “Sheep had got into the tin shed that served as our change rooms, office and boardroom and had made a complete mess,” Claremont great John O’Connell recalled.

“Here we were trying to sign one of the best players in the country and we were doing it in a building where you wouldn’t keep your dog.”

The soiled premises obviously didn’t dissuade Hyde because he joined the club. O’Connell later went to Geelong, though not as part of any trade, but it was indicative of Claremont’s ground woes in their first four decades.

The sheep were cheap lawnmowers, if prone to awkward side effects, but the tin sheds were a staple for many years after the grandstand burnt down one night in 1944.

Claremont were accepted into the league in 1926, the club evolving from the Cottesloe team that started 20 years earlier, and played their first season at the neighbouring Showground while Claremont Oval was made ready for senior action.

The showpiece was the elegant wooden grandstand which contained a massive concrete bath in the home change room. It was often used by the entire team until it was condemned by health authorities.

Sadly for Claremont, the loss of the grandstand had a marked impact on the club’s fortunes — with distinct parallels to its recent sojourn at the Showground while Claremont Oval was redeveloped.

Numerous theories developed about the cause of the devastating fire, which destroyed most of the club’s records, photos, jumpers, training equipment and even a well-used piano.

The most credible attributed liability to American sailors who often drank at the nearby Claremont Hotel before repairing to the football ground for further refreshments.

After the 1964 Grand Final

It was a cruel blow for a club that had little success in its first decade before becoming a dominant force inspired by coach Johnny Leonard and champion player George Moloney that would play in seven grand finals in as many years and win a hat-trick of premierships.

The stars continued to arrive — Les McClements and Sonny Maffina in the 1940s then Les Mumme, Kevin Clune and Denis Marshall in the 50s — before the establishment of the highly effective junior council in the 1970s. One of the most tangible legacies left by the often controversial but far-sighted Mal Brown saw Claremont develop into one of the powerhouses of the modern game based on the fertile local recruiting zones.

Flags soon came in abundance, players in their dozens were ushered off to the national competition and, after a decade and half of negotiations, the WAFL’s most plush facility was opened on the site of what was once a sheep paddock.

[By John Townsend for The West Australian. This article was first published at the following link: https://thewest.com.au/news/wa/claremont-a-haven-for-stars-and-sheep-ng-b88603445z]

View from above Claremont Oval in 1965

Mort Kuhlman (Claremont) and Ron Evans (West Perth) in June 1965

Maurie Jones getting help for an elbow injury in August 1965

Kieran James (WAFL Golden Era Website) in the centre of Claremont Oval feeling the magic in the air and dreaming that he was Mossy and it was 1981 again. He can see the Krakouers running past and out of the corner of his eye sees Warren Ralph racing into a forward-pocket to take the mark. This picture was taken before the recent re-development of the ground.

The colour pictures were taken in August 2012 before the re-development of the ground and show pretty much how the ground looked like during Claremont's glory years in the early-1980s.

PICTURE GALLERY: Farewell to the old Claremont Oval

Claremont Oval Legends Game, 26 October 2013. In this pic are Darren Kowal (7 Gold), Michael O'Connell (23 Blue), Brendan Green (21 Blue), Colin Barnett (17 Blue), Darrell Panizza (40 gold), and Graham Moss (25 Blue) (photo courtesy Lost WAFL Facebook page)

Graham Moss with the 1981 premiership cup (photo courtesy: Lost WAFL Facebook page)

Field of Dreams: Kieran James at the centre of Claremont Oval on a dreary winter's day dreaming he was Mossy or perhaps Boucher

(all Claremont Oval pictures taken on 16 August 2012)

Round 13, 1986 - West Perth FC 16.13 (109) d Claremont FC 13.26 (104), Claremont Oval

The old Claremont Oval looking from the north-west forward pocket where Warren Ralph would lead out to take marks from Jimmy and Phil Krakouer's expert kicks in the 1981 premiership year. I was at Claremont Oval in May 2013 and was impressed by the quality of the hamburgers and chips being served at the bar inside the grandstand. (No, Jack Frost is not a Claremont member - that bar is open to the public on matchdays.)

Round 13, 1986 – Claremont v West Perth, Claremont Oval

Michael Mitchell (Claremont)

This exciting match was won by West Perth at Claremont Oval after the Falcons withstood a last-minute Claremont surge. The last section of the last quarter of this thrilling game can be viewed on YouTube (search for “WAFL Claremont versus West Perth 1986”). It was a sunny day and Claremont Oval looked magnificent. Both teams of this era were complete with a battery of fast midfield running players and based on the two close games the two teams played in 1986 they were evenly matched. Claremont was third after this Round 13 game, two premiership points and percentage above West Perth and Perth who were level on fourth and fifth but with low percentages of 98 and 96. Both Claremont and West Perth should have made the final four from this position. However, Perth made an end-of-season surge (finishing third with an impressive 12 wins, 8 losses, and a draw) to make the final series while West Perth dropped out. This season was surely one of potential unfulfilled for a talented West Perth side and, at the end of the last season before the VFL/AFL expanded into Western Australia, West Perth supporters were pretty much fed up with the club and ready to embrace something new. For most fans the new team was West Coast Eagles FC. West Perth had lost the first semi-final in 1985 and fans expected continual improvement in 1986 in John Wynne’s second year as coach but unfortunately the team fizzled out without a whimper and more motivated and consistent teams reached the final series. An unexpected loss late in the season in Round 19 to a rebuilding South Fremantle (seventh in 1986) at Fremantle Oval was a bitter blow to West Perth fans that had grown angry with the mediocrity being displayed by the team. A huge 98-point defeat to eventual premiers Subiaco in the last qualifying game revealed the true state of West Perth’s progress and further revealed it had no moral right to play in the finals. West Perth ended the last year of the pre-West Coast era in a mud heap of mediocrity and broken dreams, much like a washed-out LA hooker just stepped out from a Poison or Motley Crue song (to name two popular glam rock bands of the era).

Steve Malaxos (Claremont)

The team line-ups reveal that the Claremont team of this year was a patchwork quilt of older legends, players from other clubs or back from interstate, and some promising youngsters. Coach Graham Moss did extremely well to bring them to an eventual fourth position for 1986 after a first semi-final defeat at the hands of Perth (see posting "1986 first semi-final" on this website). The listed back-line featured the tough and reliable Larry Kickett in one pocket (recruited from East Perth) while Geoff Miles (the ex-Collingwood player later to star at West Coast) was at full back. The half-back line was made up of talented youngsters with brothers Michael and David O’Connell (both early West Coast players) at centre-half-back and centre-half-forward respectively. The centre-line was dependable and talented, with Darrell Panizza on one wing (before he departed for SANFL club Woodville), captain Steve Malaxos (back from a failed year at Hawthorn) in the centre, and the brilliant Peter Davidson on the other wing. This was a state football or VFL/AFL standard centre-line. Ex-West Perth player Derek Kickett was listed on a half-forward flank. Unable to maintain a good working relationship with new coach John Wynne, after Dennis Cometti had left West Perth, Derek, to the great disappointment of West Perth fans, moved to Claremont to join his cousin Larry. This was a major loss to West Perth and greater efforts should have been made to retain this player. By himself he could make the difference between a club playing finals football or just missing out. Another fine running player Steve Goulding was named as ruck-rover for CFC with the young David Court being given the first ruck responsibilities now Graham Moss was no longer operating as a playing-coach. On paper the ruckmen appeared to be Claremont’s biggest weakness but David Court surprised in this game by winning the ruck contest and being named as Claremont’s second-best player. Court’s dominance here perhaps makes it surprising that he never really went on to have a successful career as a footballer. [David Court played 59 games for Claremont from 1984-88.]  The tough and under-rated ex-East Perth full-forward John Scott was named at full-forward. Despite no longer being in the first flame of youth, Scott was still respected and feared by West Perth fans as he had put in some great performances against mediocre West Perth defences (are there any other types?) in past Perth derbies. Scott was a good mark and was very agile and nimble for his height, being able to weave around backmen and pick up the ball from the ground and inside packs. He had that typical East Perth bulldog (probably the wrong word to use to describe a club from north of the river) spirit even after he left the club.

Claremont Oval west side viewed from southern goals, 12/7/2011

The West Perth line-up for this game is also a revelation simply because the club had made very few changes of playing personnel since the previous year. In hindsight, this proved West Perth’s ultimate fatal weakness because it trod water in 1986 while the other clubs, most notably Perth, improved dramatically. If as a West Perth fan you had not attended any West Perth game in 1986 but then attended this Round 13 match, you would find you still had the luxury of knowing nearly all the players! To WPFC’s advantage, promising juniors such as Dean Laidley, Dean Warwick, Paul Mifka, and Craig Turley were all now a year older, more experienced, and more self-confident (as was John Gastev who was injured for this game). Phil Bradmore, Les Fong, and Peter Menaglio were still in the prime of their careers and all played well in this game except for Fong who was tagged into the realm of ineffectiveness. Bradmore was voted best-on-ground and defeated three Claremont players including future West Coast champion Geoff Miles. His win over Miles suggests he was good enough to play VFL/AFL and was perhaps unfairly overlooked by West Coast and other VFL clubs at the end of the 1986 season. His earlier brief career at Footscray was apparently either ignored or held against him. The West Australian for Monday, 23 June 1986 describes Bradmore’s performance as follows: “Strong and creative at centre-half-forward where he had 16 kicks and scored four goals”. Brendon Bell was a reliable, talented, and somewhat physical midfield player for West Perth in the 1980s and another of those WPFC players of this era who was hugely under-rated. He played a great game this day and was nominated second best for his club after Bradmore. Another good WPFC performer this day was another relative no-name David Martin in defence. The fact that Ross Munns was now in the starting line-up and not on the bench or in the reserves, unlike most of the previous two seasons, does suggest the club was running out of options. Among the few positive factors for the club in 1986 were the returns of Hawthorn premiership player Peter Murnane and club stalwart Corry Bewick but only Bewick was in the best players’ list for this game. Bradmore, Bewick, and Fong were the only WPFC players in the Top 20 players for the 1986 WA Footballer of the Year Award after Round 13 (see below).

Claremont Oval scoreboard wing from southern end goals, 12/7/2011

It appeared this day that David Court won the ruck duels overall but that WPFC’s makeshift ruck brigade of Dan Foley, Mal Bennett, and the often injured Craig Nelson put up a reasonable performance. Clearly the team missed Kim Rogers, the strong lead ruckman from the 1985 season, who was still at the club but must have been out injured. Renato Dintinosante was an effective tagger of Les Fong but Bell, C Bewick, and Menaglio were all still outstanding in the midfield. John Scott was effective for CFC with 6.3 but Derek Kickett and Steve Goulding were woefully inaccurate with 1.6 and 1.5 respectively. (The match-report in The West Australian on the following Monday credits Goulding with 1.5 but the scores in the same newspaper credit him with 1.4.) Scott’s 6.3 took him to equal first on the goal kicking table with 49 goals after Round 13, equal to the charismatic Mick Rea (who had had a new lease on life under Mal Brown at Perth). Peter Davidson played an outstanding game as did Steve Malaxos. Malaxos received a knee injury when tackled late after having kicked Claremont’s 10^th goal midway through the third term, and WPFC came back into the game after this point. To quote the match-report written by the late Geoff Christian: “West Perth kicked the last four goals of the third term (plus the first three in the last) in a seven-goal burst that took their score from 8.7 to 15.12 during which Claremont managed only three points”. Christian also wrote: “West Perth were fading at the finish but strong at the start of the [last] quarter when they kicked three early goals and held Claremont scoreless for 11 minutes to establish a 24-point lead, 15.12 to 10.18”. Ultimately, Claremont was not able to bridge this lead at the end although it came very close. WPFC showed it could beat Claremont during the 1986 season (it won three out of the three home-and-away games). However, if we take the season as a whole, then clearly finalist Claremont was by far the better performer as the final percentages of the two teams after 21 rounds make clear (110% and 88%) [by Jack Frost, 5 January 2013].

Likely line-ups:

(Source: The West Australian, Saturday, 21 June 1986, p. 203)

Claremont FC

Backs: L Kickett, Miles, Dintinosante

Half-backs: Morton, M O’Connell, Brayshaw

Centres: Panizza, Malaxos, Davidson

Half-forwards: D Kickett, D O’Connell, Shepherd

Forwards: Beers, Scott, Hann

Ruck: Court, Goulding, Mitchell

Interchange (from): Tait, Owens, Park, Begovich

West Perth FC

Backs: Munns, Mugavin, Lill

Half-backs: Laidley, Martin, Binder

Centres: Mifka, Warwick, D Bewick

Half-forwards: Turley, Bradmore, Bell

Forwards: Menaglio, Nelson, Murnane

Ruck: Foley, L Fong, C Bewick

Interchange: Bennett, Bushe-Jones

In: Laidley, Bennett, Murnane

Out: Barns (groin), Gastev (groin), Stephens

Match results – Saturday 21 June, 1986, Claremont Oval

West Perth FC 3.1 8.4 12.11 16.13 (109) d Claremont FC 4.7 6.12 10.18 13.26 (104)

Scorers: WP: Nelson 4.3, Bradmore 4.1, Foley 2.3, Murnane 2.0, C Bewick 1.2, Lill 1.1, Bell 1.0, D Bewick 1.0, Menaglio 0.2, Mifka 0.1.

C: Scott 6.3, Mitchell 2.1, D Kickett 1.6, Goulding 1.4, Owens 1.3, Malaxos 1.0, Beers 0.3, Hann 0.1, M O’Connell 0.1, Morton 0.1, Shepherd 0.1, Forced 0.2. [KJ note: One Claremont goal seems to be missing from this list.]

Weather: Fine, moderate north-easterly breeze.

(Source: The West Australian, Monday, 23 June 1986, p. 100)

Attendance: 8,807 (from WAFL Online)

Free kicks: WP: 6, 7, 5, 2 – 20.

C: 6, 10, 3, 6 – 25.

Best players:

WA Footballer of the Year Award:

5 votes Phil Bradmore (West Perth) – Strong and creative at centre-half-forward where he had 16 kicks and scored four goals.

4 votes Peter Davidson (Claremont) – Another typical hard-working and effective centreline performance, during which he had 22 kicks and 10 handpasses.

3 votes Brendon Bell (West Perth) – Busy and effective as a half-back and then in the centre in a performance that heralded his return to top form. [KJ note: The newspaper misspelt this player’s name as Brendan Bell.]

2 votes David Court (Claremont) – A sustained four-quarter effort in the ruck where he was a dominant player at the hit-outs.

1 vote David Martin (West Perth) – Was in control throughout at centre-half-back where he exerted a stabilising influence on the West Perth defence.

(Source: The West Australian, Monday, 23 June 1986, p. 100)

Team rankings: WP: P Bradmore 1, B Bell 2, D Martin 3, P Menaglio 4, D Foley 5, C Bewick 6.

C: P Davidson 1, D Court 2, J Scott 3, D Kickett 4, S Goulding 5, S Malaxos 6.

(Source: The West Australian, Monday, 23 June 1986, p. 100)

WA Footballer of the Year Award Leaders after Round 13 (Top 20 players):

33 votes – Laurie Keene (S)

30 votes - Brian Peake (EF)

29 votes – Steve Malaxos (C)

25 votes – Peter Featherby (S)

21 votes – Peter Sartori (SD), Brian Taylor (S)

20 votes – Peter Davidson (C)

18 votes – Phil Bradmore (WP)

17 votes – Warren Dean (S), Robert Wiley (P)

16 votes – Corry Bewick (WP), Mark Bairstow (SF)

15 votes – Craig Starcevich (EP)

14 votes – Steve Goulding (C), Darrell Panizza (C), Peter Wilson (EF), Neil Taylor (S)

13 votes – Michael Mitchell (C), Chris Mainwaring (EF), Les Fong (WP)

(Source: The West Australian, Monday, 23 June 1986, p. 100)

	Round 13	WAFL	Table	1986
	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	%	Points
SUBIACO*	13	12	1	-	149.52	48
EAST FREM**	13	9	4	-	125.49	36
CLAREMONT	13	8	5	-	136.52	32
WEST PERTH	13	7	5	1	98.20	30
Perth	13	7	5	1	96.08	30
Swan Dist	13	3	10	-	87.08	12
South Frem	13	3	10	-	66.73	12
East Perth	13	2	11	-	73.81	8

(Source: The West Australian, Monday, 23 June 1986, p. 100)

*eventual 1986 WAFL premiers

**eventual 1986 WAFL runners-up

Leading goal-kickers after Round 13 (Top 9 players):

49 – Mick Rea (P), John Scott (C)

44 – Stephen Sells (S)

41 - Tony Buhagiar (EF)

40 – Colin Waterson (EF)

37 – Warren Dean (S)

36 - Brian Peake (EF)

32 – Todd Breman (S), Wayne Ryder (P)

(Source: The West Australian, Monday, 23 June 1986, p. 100)

Steve Malaxos - back at Claremont

Complete match report (full text):

By the late GEOFF CHRISTIAN:

“West Perth delved deep into their bag of last-quarter tricks at 4.35pm at Claremont Oval on Saturday and came up with a new way to frustrate, and then beat, Claremont.

“West Perth changed the formula they used at Leederville Oval on May 10 when they produced a surging finish, coming from 41 points down at the 10-minute mark of the last quarter to win by three points.

“This time West Perth were fading at the finish but strong at the start of the quarter when they kicked three early goals and held Claremont scoreless for 11 minutes to establish a 24-point lead, 15.12 to 10.18.

“That proved enough to frustrate the Tigers, who kicked a wasteful 3.8 to 1.2 for the remainder of the game to finish five-point losers at the end of a game they were desperate to win.

“The turning point in this game for West Perth came midway through the third quarter. The precise moment was when Claremont captain Steve Malaxos received a knee injury when tackled late after having kicked Claremont’s 10^th goal to give the side a 20-point lead.

“That was Malaxos’s last kick of the game and it also marked the high point of Claremont’s afternoon of football.

“West Perth kicked the last four goals of the third term (plus the first three in the last) in a seven-goal burst that took their score from 8.7 to 15.12 during which Claremont managed only three points.

“Malaxos was Claremont’s best player for 21/2 quarters and he looked the man likely to develop into a match-winner.

“But the title was eventually the property of West Perth centre-half-forward Phil Bradmore who was again superb as a key attacking player despite the attention of Michael O’Connell, Noel Morton and later Geoff Miles.

“Bradmore not only provided four goals but also a reliable avenue into attack that Claremont were unable to achieve at centre-half-forward.

“Claremont were blocked at that position by an excellent performance from David Martin, a Tigers reject, who had one of his finest days in football in a winning battle against David O’Connell.

“Claremont full-forward John Scott (6.3) set a standard of efficiency in the Claremont attack that was not followed by either Derek Kickett (1.6) or ruck-rover Steven Goulding (1.5). [Jack Frost note: The match scores on the same page of the newspaper credit Goulding with 1.4.]

“Kickett could not convert a notable winning effort against Dean Laidley in the air and on the ground into goals and Goulding spoiled a strong midfield effort with goalfront inefficiency.

“The exit of Malaxos from the ground made things easier for West Perth inside the centre-square, notably Brendan Bell, who was in superb form in the third quarter when he had six kicks, a mark and five hand-passes in a performance that helped the Falcons offset the influence of Claremont winger Peter Davidson, who ended up as his team’s best player.

“The combined efforts of rover Corry Bewick and Peter Menaglio were critical to the west Perth victory.

“It was essential for West Perth to win the roving battles against Michael Mitchell and Mark Hahn on a day when Claremont ruckman David Court won the majority of the hit-outs and Claremont’s Renato Dintinosante successfully tagged Falcons’ captain Les Fong restricting him to 11 kicks and two hand-passes.

“Corry Bewick enhanced his reputation for consistency and Menaglio was back at near his best a week after his return to league ranks against South Fremantle.

“Mitchell played spasmodically but he continues to attempt to achieve too much in a single burst. Quicker disposal could only help himself and Claremont’s all-round football.

“West Perth appeared to have solved their big-man problems.

“This has been achieved by using Dan Foley as a ruckman, regaining the services of Mal Bennett as a knock ruckman and Craig Nelson’s return to form and fitness.

“Bennett showed on Saturday that he is a capable player at the hit-outs and in the marking duels, Foley again displayed impressive around-the-ground talent and Nelson’s confidence is back where it belongs”.

(Source: Geoff Christian (1986), “A new trick from the Falcons’ bag”, The West Australian, Monday, 23 June 1986, p. 100)  [archival research by Jack Frost].