Travis Tuck leads Bloods into Foxtel Cup grand final

WEST Adelaide is the first SANFL club to qualify for a Foxtel Cup grand final, thanks to a 17-point win against Claremont at AAMI Stadium.

WEST Adelaide is the first SANFL club to qualify for a Foxtel Cup grand final, thanks to a 17-point win against Claremont at AAMI Stadium on Tuesday night.

The Bloods will face another WAFL outfit, East Fremantle, on August 6, with early suggestions it could be played in Adelaide.

Travis Tuck - perhaps inspired by the opportunity to press his claims for an AFL recall in front of a national TV audience - was the inspiration behind the win.

He had 23 disposals - 19 contested - and seven clearances.

Claremont has been the best-performed side in this competition since its inception two years ago, winning the title last year after finishing runner-up in 2011.

And the Tigers looked like making it three Grand Finals in a row early in the game.

On a slippery AAMI Stadium deck West handballed far too often in the opening quarter and was forced to soak up a lot of pressure.

Led by imposing ruckman Mitch Andrews, Claremont then kicked the only two goals of the second quarter to grab the lead.

But just when the Bloods looked in serious trouble they countered.

Chris Bonney pounced on a long Ben Macreadie kick to the goal line and Chris Schmidt snapped one over his right shoulder to establish a nine-point lead.

Jon Beech, who had failed to score from two set shots in the second term, got on the end of another Macreadie assist early in the fourth to stretch it further.

The winner's cheque for this year's Foxtel Cup is $100,000. The Bloods now have the opportunity to cash in.

WEST ADELAIDE  3.1  3.4  5.4  6.7 (43)

CLAREMONT         1.3  3.6  3.7  3.8 (26)

Best - West: Tuck, Macreadie, Mangan, Beech, Rankine, Eagle. Claremont: Murphy, Andrews, Neates, Breakey, Richardson, Cronin.

Goals - West: Beech 2; Bonney, Schmidt, Nelson, Slattery. Claremont: Richardson, Neates, Bradshaw.