League Report - Disappointing Tigers Slaughtered by Lions

By Dan Scamozzi

A woeful performance after quarter-time saw Claremont suffer consecutive losses as Subiaco romped past the Tigers for a 55-point win in ANZAC Round at East Fremantle Oval in perfect conditions last Saturday.

Despite leading by 19 points at the opening change on the back of some of the best football the team has played this season, the Tigers could only manage two goals after quarter-time after being held goalless in the second and fourth terms as Subiaco piled on 14 to win 15.10 (100) to 6.9 (45).

The loss, on the back of conceding eight goals in the final term for the second time in eight days, albeit in different circumstances, leaves the Tigers with some soul searching to do as the team searches for a way to compete for longer periods and break its two-game losing streak.

The Tigers’ cause wasn’t helped by the late withdrawals of Tom Lee (shoulder) and Matt Davies (hamstring), however, Jye Bolton did line up despite suffering a knee injury against South Fremantle in round five.

Zac Langdon and Tom Shanahan failed to recover in time from concussion, with Haydn Busher, Harrison McCracken, Matthew Palfrey and Morgan Davies all coming into the team.

Oliver Eastland made his debut after some strong form in the Reserves, while John Williams deservedly held his position and put in another solid performance.

Keifer Yu (players’ player award), Anton Hamp and Ryan Murphy continued their excellent form in defence, while Bailey Banfield (27 disposals, one goal) and Ryan Lim (10 tackles) battled manfully.

Mitch Andrews (60 hit outs) put in a rucking performance for the ages, with the evergreen Tiger dominating all over the ground to continue his outstanding start to the season.

Meanwhile, Ian Richardson and Jack Bradshaw each kicked two goals, however, the Tigers were, once again, unable to convert their passages of play into scoreboard pressure and could only manage 36 inside 50s for the second game running.

Subiaco were led by the amazingly consistent Chris Phelan (34 disposals, 10 tackles, 11 inside 50s, one goal), while Liam Ryan (five goals) was a second-half match winner after being well held by McCracken up until half-time.

Banfield slotted the first goal of the game after being found by Bradshaw as the Tigers kicked to the northern end with the aid of a breeze, with Hamp already proving his worth in defence.

Bradshaw then went from goal provider to scorer with an outstanding snap from the forward pocket to give the Tigers consecutive majors, before debutant Liam Baker got Subiaco on the board.

With Williams providing solidarity alongside Hamp, Beau Maister hauled in a strong mark from a long kick by Morgan Davies to kick Claremont’s third goal, before a great smother by Jesse Laurie reaffirmed the Tigers’ appetite for the contest.

A late goal to Richardson following some great efforts by Maister and Andrews gave Claremont a strong finish to the opening term and 19-point lead at quarter-time, as coach Darren Harris praised the team’s “selfless footy”.

With Andrews already up to 23 hit outs and Lim five tackles, an arm wrestle engulfed the first 17 minutes of play in the second term before the previously unsighted Ryan kicked truly to trim Claremont’s lead to 12 points.

Majors to Ben Sokol and Max Walters gave the Lions the only three goals of the second term as the Tigers could only manage two behinds kicking into the breeze and found themselves level with their traditional rivals at half-time, despite the efforts of Andrews (37 hit outs) and Banfield (20 disposals).

A second goal to Ryan saw Subiaco strike first in the second half and was an early warning of what was to come from the mercurial forward, before Bradshaw kicked his second and Claremont’s first goal since the closing stages of the opening term.

A great smother by Andrews in defence highlighted the big man’s work rate, before two goals in the space of 90 seconds to Ryan, including an amazing snap, gave the silky Lion three for the term and Subiaco a 12-point lead.

A second to Richardson soon after saw Claremont respond and trailing by just six points at the final change, thanks largely to the efforts of Bolton, who put in a gallant third term and was feeling the effects of it at the three-quarter-time huddle.

With the match up for grabs, Subiaco put their foot down in the final term as they slammed on 8.3 to 0.2 to run out massive winners over a Claremont side who offered little resistance and had no answers for the Lions’ onslaught.

The Tigers will regroup and look to return to winning ways when they face Swan Districts at Steel Blue Oval in round seven.

CLAREMONT 4.3 4.5 6.7 6.9 (45)

SUBIACO 1.2 4.5 7.7 15.10 (100)

GOALS

CLAREMONT: 2 I. Richardson, J. Bradshaw, 1 B. Maister, B. Banfield.

SUBIACO: 5 L. Ryan, 3 B. Sokol, 2 L. Baker, 1 L. Kitchin, M. Walters, C. Wheeler, C. Hoskins, C. Phelan.

BEST

CLAREMONT: K. Yu, A. Hamp, B. Banfield, R. Murphy, H. Busher.

SUBIACO: C. Phelan, L. Ryan, J. Lockyer, W. Twomey, K. Horsley, L. Baker.