Late Goal Stuns the Tigers

By Ken Casellas

Peel Thunder, buoyed by the inclusion of twelve AFL listed Fremantle Dockers and inspired by the brilliance of former Claremont players Bailey Banfield and Hugh Davies, defeated the Tigers in a low-scoring slog at Rushton Park on Saturday.

Midfielder Banfield, winner of the E. B. Cook Medal as Claremont’s fairest-and-best league player in 2017, and key defender Davies, a prominent Claremont colts player in 2021 and 2022, were inspirational and were clearly Peel’s best players.

And the third Claremont product in Peel’s side, 20-year-old ruckman Aiden Riddle, a star in Claremont’s grand final colts victory over Swan Districts in 2024, emerged as the Thunder’s hero when he scored the winning goal after the final siren.

With 27 minutes on the clock Riddle flew high to take a splendid mark dead in front and about 25 metres out. As he was composing himself the siren blared, and he then kicked accurately to leave the Claremont players in a state of shock.

The Tigers led by nine points at the 23-minute mark after Jaiden Hunter was left unattended in the forward line where he gained possession and strolled forward to pop in a goal.

Two minutes later Adam Sweid received a free-kick in Peel’s right forward pocket, and he steered the ball through for a goal to leave the home side just three points in arrears. And then Riddle’s goal gave Peel the victory, 8.11 to 8.8, which extended the side’s winning sequence to eight and a one-game lead over Claremont on the premiership table.

Claremont have now lost three of their past four matches, and the side will be looking to arrest this mid-season slump with a win over the third-placed South Fremantle Bulldogs at Revo Fitness Stadium next Saturday.

The 28-year-old Banfield was a constant driving force, and he finished with ten marks, 21 kicks, seven handpasses, six inside 50s and four tackles, while Davies was a tower of strength in defence, finishing with ten marks, 17 kicks and 16 handpasses.

Peel began the match, kicking with the aid of a strong breeze, but it was Zac Mainwaring who stole the show with a dazzling first-quarter performance, which saw him score the opening goal of the contest after four minutes of play.

The Tigers did a great job to restrict the home side to 2.2 in the opening quarter while scoring 1.1. And then it was Mainwaring who began the second term in dazzling style, taking a splendid, contested mark 48m out and scoring his second major.

Eleven minutes later, after some grand work in defence by Anthony Davis, Mainwaring took yet another contested mark and notched his third goal, and this was followed by a powerful contested mark by Riddle, whose shot was off line and registered a behind.

Tyson Headland pounced on a loose ball to score Claremont’s fourth goal, and he celebrated by gaining the clearance at the resulting centre ball-up. A free-kick forward to Jack Musika resulted in a goalmouth scrimmage, with ruckman Ollie Eastland snapping a clever goal over his shoulder.

In the dying moments of the quarter Mainwaring was rewarded for a fierce tackle in the goalsquare, and his fourth goal enabled Claremont to lead by 22 points at half-time, 6.4 to 2.6.

Peel performed better with the breeze in the third quarter, and a Corey Tregenza goal was followed by another when Banfield marked a pass from Davies to reduce Claremont’s lead to eight points.

A Hunter pass found Headland for his second major, but Jacob Hewitt was quick to reply with Peel’s fifth goal. At the 27-minute mark Peel’s dangerous Jaren Carr was about to shoot for goal but was dispossessed by an excellent tackle from Ollie Shelkdrick.

Max Spyvee earned a free-kick midway through the final quarter for his tackle on Sean Hunter, but his kick brought up only a point. However, the Tigers appeared likely to hold on for a well-deserved victory before Riddle’s match-winning mark and goal.

Hard-as-nails midfielder Ben Elliott maintained his grand form and he was superb at the clearances, finishing the contest with three marks, 14 kicks, 12 handpasses, five inside 50s and ten tackles.

Mainwaring executed 11 tackles to go with his five marks, 12 kicks, six handpasses, five inside 50s and four goals. Alec Waterman and Callan England were also strong contributors, while Claremont’s defenders all made life extremely difficult for the opposition.

Details:

Peel Thunder 8.11 (59) beat Claremont 8.8 (56)

Scorers—PEEL: J. Hewitt 2.0; A. Riddle, C. Wagner 1.1; B. Banfield, L. Colton, A. Sweid, C. Tregenza 1.0; M. Cox 0.2; J. Carr, J. Draper, B. Hancock, T. Whan 0.1; 3pts forced. CLAREMONT: Z. Mainwaring 4.0; T. Headland 2.1; O. Eastland, J. Hunter 1.0; B. Elliott 0.2; K. Gowdie, M. Spyvee 0.1; 3pts forced.

Best—PEEL: B. Banfield, H. Davies, C. Wagner, J. Carr, A. Sweid, T. Whan, C. Simpson, A. Riddle, L. Kickett, L. Tardrew. CLAREMONT: B. Elliott, Z. Mainwaring, A. Davis, C. England, A. Waterman, C. Dennis, S. Alvarez, O. Eastland, T. Headland, D. Hardisty.