Tough Day As Sharks Bite Tigers | Round 2

By John Townsend

If adversity brings opportunity, plenty of Claremont players will receive chances in the coming weeks.

The Tigers have gained a powerful reminder of the intensity, urgency and commitment required to have sustained success at league level.

Any suggestion that reigning premier East Fremantle had lost their focus in the wake of their drought-ending flag dissipated during a brutal display at Revo Fitness Stadium on Saturday.

The Sharks were more aggressive, used the ball better, displayed considerably better skills and took better options during one of Claremont’s most disappointing matches in recent decades.

Claremont’s 90-point loss was their biggest in 16 years and it took a late Bailey Rogers goal to prevent any prospect of their first century loss to East Fremantle at home.

There have been only six at Claremont in nearly a century.

The size and nature of the 21.9 (135) to 6.9 (45) result was not foreshadowed in the nail-biting Round 1 loss to West Perth though coach Ashley Prescott’s decision to drop three players after that match suggested some concerns had been identified.

If so, they were amplified from the start on Saturday when the Sharks repeatedly streamed forward and had four unanswered goals on the board in the opening nine minutes.

Ollie Eastland has invariably beaten ruckman either bigger or more mobile in recent seasons but he had his hands full with an opponent in Brynn Teakle who had both attributes.

And imposing forward Jon Marsh monstered the Claremont defence before finishing with seven goals during one of the best performances of a career that included two AFL stints and a substantial contribution to WA’s only interstate victory over Victoria in Melbourne.

Claremont responded to the initial burst though dashing wingman Joel Western, who has started the season brightly after finishing last year in the reserves, was unfortunate not to strike on the scoreboard with two long shots within a minute hitting the same goalpost.

Then ruckman-forward West Love soon got Claremont on the board after a strong rebounding run that included two bounces before he kicked truly.

It was to prove one of the home team’s few effective periods in the match.

 A scoreless 15-minute arm-wrestle to start the second term ended when Marsh slammed on three goals in a row and though captain Decland Mountford led from the front with seven tackles, his example was followed by too few team-mates as East Fremantle built a 50-point lead at half-time.

Claremont were more poised in the third term with rebounding defender Lachlan Martinis gathering the ball 21 times in the half and Callen England working into the match. But the respite was short-lived.

East Fremantle came home with a wet sail as dynamic midfielder Milan Murdock set a benchmark that no Claremont player could reach.

One of those was promising first-gamer Ashton Bryant, who shone brightly at times but received a valuable lesson from his ferocious opponent.

Murdock laid nine tackles in the last term on the way to 18 for the match as he attacked the man as vigorously as the ball which he won 30 times.

CLAREMONT 2.4 | 2.5 | 4.7 | 6.9  || 45

EAST FREMANTLE 7.0 | 11.1 | 13.4 | 21.9 || 135

GOALS - CLAREMONT: Manuel 2; Rogers, Waterman, Mainwaring, Love.

EAST FREMANTLE: Marsh 7; Hagan 4; Leggett, R McGuire, Schoenfeld 2; Murdock, Marlin, Jansen, Lawler.

BEST - CLAREMONT: Western, Alvarez, Eastland, Martinis, Bryant.

EAST FREMANTLE: Marsh, Murdock, Marlin, English, Jupp, Baskerville.