Harris legacy grows as Claremont reaches Grand FinalFriday, September 25, 2020 - 9:09 AM - by Chris Pike

NO matter what now happens in next Sunday's WAFL Grand Final, Claremont has taken another step forward in 2020 as the Tigers have in every season under Darren Harris as he continues to build his reputation as a master coach.

Harris returned to a senior coaching role in the WAFL with Claremont back in 2017 taking over a Tigers team determined to get back to being the power it was at the start of the decade.

On the back of dominating the competition between 2010-13, the Tigers only played in one final in the next four years and that was a losing elimination final effort to East Perth in 2015, but there would be no shortcuts taken.

Harris signed on in 2017 to be part of building something at Claremont again made for sustained success and that meant backing in the young local talent, and waiting patiently for them to turn themselves into league footballers ready to try and win the Tigers' a first flag since 2012.

Obviously there have been smart recruiting moves along the way too highlighted by dual Simpson and Sandover Medallist Jye Bolton, but really this is a Claremont team of Claremont people that Harris has nurtured into a Grand Final berth in 2020.

Claremont put in a commanding performance in Sunday's second semi-final at Fremantle Community Bank Oval to hold minor premiers South Fremantle goalless in the first half while the Tigers kicked the first four, and last four goals of the game to win by 47 points.

That sees Claremont book in the first place in the 2020 WAFL Grand Final also to be held down at the port next Sunday and it's the next step in the direction to the ultimate success that the Tigers have taken since Harris took over as coach.

Claremont won just seven games to finish in seventh place and three wins from a finals spot in 2016 so there was a lot of work to do for Harris when he took over as coach, but the improvement was immediately obvious.

The Tigers won eight games to be closer to finals in 2017 and then returned to finals action in 2018 going on to beat East Perth in the elimination final before a loss to Grand Finalists West Perth in the first semi-final.

Claremont then finished third in 2019 to earn a finals double chance and they would use that to beat the West Coast Eagles in the first semi-final either side of losing to South Fremantle in the qualifying and preliminary finals.

So there has been improvement each season with Harris in charge as coach and that has continued again in 2020 despite the shortened and delayed WAFL season.

Claremont claimed second position and then beat South Fremantle in the second semi-final to move straight into the Grand Final and Harris couldn’t have been prouder of his team's effort against the minor premiers on their home turf. 

"The boys were outstanding. I thought they were really connected with regards to their pressure and they were just able to put South Fremantle under enormous heat the entire day. I'm pretty proud of the boys' effort," Harris said.

"You definitely look at your history but the players made the comment as well that this was a different team at a different time as well, and that history is history. 

'They did want to make sure that they proved to themselves that they could win a big game down there though. I think the last four South Fremantle have beaten us, and it was great to get that monkey off the back."

What Harris has been able to do with Claremont over the past four years should come as no surprise, though, given his remarkable coaching history on the back of a brilliant playing career.

Harris came to West Perth in 1992 from Albury-Wodonga in country Victoria and made an immediate impact.

Over the course of the next five years he played 109 games with the Falcons, played in two Grand Finals and was a premiership captain, Simpson Medallist and fairest and best winner in 1995.

He would later return to the club this time as a coach and lead the Falcons to the 2003 premiership before moving into the AFL system where his reputation continued to grow as part of West Coast's coaching staff for the 2005 and 2006 Grand Finals.

Harris then took up roles at Carlton before returning to Western Australia and continuing his work with Leading Teams, and then dipping his toe back into coaching in charge of the WAFL State Teams in 2015 and 2016.

With premierships littering his history in football as a player, captain, senior coach and assistant coach, Claremont couldn’t have entrusted their hopeful path back to those glory years of four straight minor premierships and flags in 2011 and 2012 with anyone better.

But sometimes it comes down to having some luck with special talent too and the availability of Alec Waterman in 2020 for the Tigers has been a significant factor in them now reaching the Grand Final.

Always seen as an exciting young talent which is why he followed his father Chris' footsteps to West Coast, glandular fever struck him down for virtually three years, cost him his AFL career and there was never a guarantee he could even get back to play regular WAFL football.

But he has shaken that off in 2020 for a brilliant season and was again outstanding in Sunday's second semi-final win kicking four goals, and Harris couldn’t be happier for him.

"He has been great all year. He just needed to get some continuity with his training, and he had a great pre-season. The thing for us is just the energy he brings because he is just loving his footy," Harris said.

"When he hasn’t been well for a while and things have been tough for him, he's come out the other side and I think he's just absolutely loving life. He's loving his footy and footy club, and because of that he is playing well because he is an elite talent as well."

Claremont's midfield led by ruckman Oliver Eastland with Jye Bolton, Declan Mountford and Jared Hardisty at ground level were instrumental in the performance on Sunday against South Fremantle as well which Harris was so happy with.

"I think you look at our midfield and they are starting to build some chemistry," he said.

"We are still the youngest team left in the finals campaign and we know we've been building over a period of time, and Bolton has always been great as a big body in there but Oliver Eastland has really stood up. 

"I thought his job on Higgins was a really good and important one for us, and then you throw in Jared Hardisty and Dec Mountford, and we have our own big bodies in there and all of a sudden we have our own big bodies in there."

It wasn’t just a big day on Sunday for Claremont's league side either with all three grades taking part in finals action at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.

The colts began the day winning their second semi-final by 15 points against Subiaco to move straight into the Grand Final while the reserves won their first semi-final against South Fremantle by 17 points to move into the preliminary final this Sunday against Subiaco.

That's also a great source of pride for Harris to see the whole club in such a strong position.

"It becomes just a great place to be around. We had all our photos done a couple of weeks ago with all the grades in there, and then when we had the bye week we all trained together," Harris said.

"The club is just feeling really good about itself at the moment because you are just trying to be the best you can be, and when you have all three grades in it says a lot about all the work everyone does. 

"That's from a board level down through the coaching group, the playing group and then you have your futures coming through. You try to get it all right and there's a fair bit of work to be done, but this time of year is when you get some reward for that hopefully."