Tigers lose sponsor to WAFC
Claremont are disgruntled after losing a long-running sponsorship deal to the WA Football Commission.
Kennards Hire have wound up their sponsorship of the Tigers after signing as a funding partner attached to Channel 7's WAFL broadcast deal.
The equipment hire firm was last week announced as a naming-rights partner of the league's umpiring department after negotiations with WAFC officials.
But the deal has come at the expense of Claremont, who will be without the 10-year sponsor after posting a financial loss of almost $110,000 for the 2014 season.
Claremont president Kevin Somes has written to the WAFC expressing disappointment at learning of the new sponsorship arrangements only last week.
Negotiations between Kenn- ards and the commission are understood to have started in November.
Claremont chief executive Dean Horsington said he had been surprised to find out Kennards had committed as a WAFL broadcast partner.
"Sponsors are at a premium these days and anyone you get on board is a bonus and anyone you miss out on, it obviously hurts," Horsington said.
"There's no doubt it's great for the WAFL and the broader competition, but unfortunately it does have a flow-on effect to club land when they've come from this club."
East Fremantle also have an in-kind sponsorship deal with Kennards that will be cut back substantially this year.
However, Sharks chief executive Todd Shimmon said the WAFL benefited more by the firm becoming a wider competition sponsor.
"What the broadcast deal has done already with the link of going to commercial TV is we're getting some more leverage in companies looking to come on as sponsors of WAFL clubs," Shimmon said.
WAFC chief operating officer Nick Sautner said securing sponsors such as Kennards had been crucial to getting WAFL matches on free-to-air television.
"The coverage will not only enhance the profile of the competition, but allow additional outcomes to be delivered to the WAFL clubs and the wider community," Sautner said.
Meanwhile, Claremont are locked in a stalemate with West Perth over a suitable deal to clear former Fremantle utility player Kepler Bradley to the Tigers.
The Falcons are understood to have asked for $30,000 over two years to approve the transfer.
Bradley originally signed a contract with West Perth for the 2015 season after retiring from AFL ranks at the end of last season.
But he accepted a player- welfare role with Claremont when an agreed job in the Falcons district fell through.
Bradley, 29, who played 117 AFL games (49 Essendon, 68 Fremantle), is not allowed to train with Claremont until the dispute is resolved.
