Declan Mountford instrumental in Claremont’s blistering second half comeback to book preliminary final berth

Claremont progressed to their third consecutive WAFL colts grand final after a narrow nine-point victory over Swan Districts in the second semifinal on Sunday.

The Tigers won the 2019 colts premiership and went down in last year’s grand final, but get a shot at redemption on Saturday week.

The Swans had lost only one game heading into the semifinal and led by 14 points at three-quarter-time, but the Tigers stormed home, kicking four goals to one to book a grand final berth.

North Albany’s Talon Delacey and Mt Barker’s Arthur Jones were part of the Tigers outfit that recorded a gritty 11.14 (80) to 11.5 (71) win.

In his second game back from an ankle injury, Delacey had 11 disposals and seven tackles, while Jones finished with eight possessions, two marks, two tackles and three inside-50s.

A big second half from the Tigers’ league team guided them into a preliminary final this Sunday against South Fremantle.

The Tigers produced a great fightback, kicking nine of the last 10 goals to finish 24-point winners over West Perth and keep their premiership hopes alive.

Co-captain Declan Mountford, from North Albany, played a vital role in the result as coach Ashley Prescott used him through the midfield in the second half.

He was busy winning contested ball and sending his team forward while also nullifying the impact of Falcons ball magnet Shane Nelson.

Mountford finished with 27 disposals, six tackles, six clearances and four marks to be one of the most influential players on the ground.

Jerramungup and Royals product Tom Baldwin was strong in defence with 12 touches and four marks while Borden’s Anthony Davis had eight disposals and six marks.

Albany defender Dylan Smallwood played on the competition’s leading goal kicker Tyler Keitel and finished with nine touches and three tackles himself while taking an important contested mark late in the game.

The Tigers went down by four points to Perth in the reserves semifinal and will face Subiaco in the preliminary final.

Railways’ Bailey Bennett was among the best with 14 touches, seven tackles, four inside-50s, four marks and a goal.

Royals and Albany product Tyron Smallwood was lively with 11 possessions, two goals, eight tackles and three inside-50s while Kieran Gowdie from Albany had 16 hit-outs, nine touches, three marks and tackles and kicked 1.1.

Railways tall Jacob Blight finished with 12 touches, two marks and two tackles while North Albany’s Alex Pearce had eight possessions.

For Perth, North Albany tall Jack Steel booted three goals, Railways junior Jye Clark had 12 disposals and five tackles and Mt Barker’s Jordan Reid had 13 hit-outs.