Tigers Stumble at First Hurdle - Rd1 League Match Report

Nothing lasts for ever. Claremont’s complete dominance over Perth at Lathlain Park came to a shuddering, heart-wrenching end on Saturday afternoon when the Demons demolished an under-achieving and extremely disappointing Tigers combination.

A slick-moving and relentless Perth simply destroyed a feeble rival and romped to a highly-impressive 65-point victory, leaving the Tigers to lick their wounds and to regroup for the round 2 clash against reigning premiers West Perth at Joondalup next Saturday afternoon.

This ended a 12-year drought for Perth against Claremont at their home ground. The Tigers had won the previous 12 matches against Perth at Lathlain Park. Perth’s previous home win against Claremont was when they triumphed by 34 points, 12.13 to 7.9, in round nine 2002. Since then Claremont have enjoyed a remarkable superiority over the Demons at Lathlain Park.

Saturday’s result was in stark contrast to many of the previous 12 games between the clubs at Lathlain Park, with the Tigers winning some of those contests by huge margins, including the 158-point rout in round 16, 2004, with a scoreline of 28.18 to 4.4. Other commanding victories included a 22.9 to 12.10 result in 2010 and a 149-point victory in round 22, 2012 (29.13 to 5.8).

It all goes to show that nothing in sport, or in life, can be taken for granted. History is important. But it certainly has little or no influence on determining the outcome of future contests.

Claremont went into Saturday’s match with plenty of confidence after a strong performance and easy win in a scratch match against Swan Districts the previous weekend. However, Perth ambushed the Tigers with their greater resolve, a more ferocious commitment and a superior and more skilful brand of football.

Now, after a couple of days of soul-searching, it is time to consign that match to history and to plan for the future.

It was an extremely hot, muggy day and a scorching, energy-sapping wind from the east was far from ideal. But this cannot be presented as any sort of excuse. Players from both sides had to contend with the same conditions.

There was nothing early to suggest that the Tigers were going to be steamrolled. Ruckman Mark Seaby met with interference at the opening bounce and his free-kick was marked at centre-half-forward by Anton Hamp, who notched a goal with just 39 seconds on the digital clock.

For the next 15 minutes Perth attacked relentlessly, but managed only two behinds. The Tigers were showing tremendous spirit and the defence stood up in grand style, with many attacking moves foundering.

Matthew Moody looked set to score Perth’s opening goal as he was running forward at centre-half-forward into open space with not a single player ahead of him. Keifer Yu chased hard, caught up with Moody and applied a powerful tackle to earn a well-merited free-kick.

Soon after that the Demons were thwarted again when full-back Brandon Franz was awarded a free-kick for his tackle on Moody in the goalsquare.  Then, at the 12-minute mark the dangerous Brennan Stack was lining up for a shot from 15m out, only to be halted by a grand Aaron Holt tackle. And another Perth attack was nipped in the bud when Seaby pulled down a strong mark deep in defence.

Claremont captain Jake Murphy got into the act with a strong tackle on Matthew Boyle to earn a free-kick before, finally, Moody snapped Perth’s first major at the 20-minute mark. Ninety seconds later Moody repeated the dose after receiving a free-kick to give the home side a nine-point advantage.

But Claremont’s Matt Davies replied within a minute with a goal on the run and four minutes later full-forward John Williams booted an inspirational goal after outpacing Matthew Welburn and shrugging off a tackle, bursting forward and taking two bounces before bring up full points.

Claremont led by two points at quarter time and few Tigers supporters were prepared for the rout that was to follow. Perth assumed total control and ran the opposition ragged as they spread astutely and carried the ball downfield in waves. The Perth midfield was in command, with nifty wingers Cameron Manuel and Michael Florio continuing to run riot.

Perth added 4.2 in the second quarter during which Claremont’s only score was a forced behind. Rare highlights for Claremont in this term were two excellent smothers off the boot of an opponent by Sam Fong (against Joel Leeson) and Ryan Neates (against Brent Edmonds).      

Amazingly, that forced behind was Claremont’s only score in 55 minutes, during which time Perth piled on ten goals and four behinds.   

The Demons simply dominated the midfield battles and they nonplussed the Tigers with their swift ball movement, superb handpassing and precise kicking to leading forwards. Claremont’s solitary goal in the second and third terms came at the 21-minute mark of the third quarter when debutant Max Bentley gained the clearance at a centre bounce and passed accurately to Davies, whose kick was marked by a leading Williams for his second major.

Perth led 13.8 to 4.3 at three-quarter time before goals flowed in the final quarter, with Perth adding six and Claremont five. Luke Blackwell gained the clearance at the opening bounce and he passed to  Neates, who found Matt Orzel 55m out for a goal with only 50 seconds on the clock.

Claremont’s other final-term goals came from the hard-working Andrew Foster, Hamp, Davies and Seaby.

Foster’s goal came after receiving a free-kick in the right pocket; Hamp took a mark in the right pocket for his second goal; Davies got his second with a clever snap and it was Edwards (switched from defence to attack) who got the ball on to Seaby for Claremont’s ninth and final goal on a miserable afternoon at Lathlain Park.

The Tigers had few winners. The 18-year-old Bentley made a sound debut and showed flashes of class in his 11-kick, two effective-handpass performance on a wing, which h included three clearances and three inside 50s. Fellow-18-year-olds Edwards and ruckman Darcy Cameron had their moments and will develop into good league footballers. Recruit Bernard Sneeuwjagt played on the ball and in defence and weighed in with seven kicks and eight effective handpasses.

Winger Tom Ledger, a star for the Claremont colts in 2010, made his league debut for the Tigers after three seasons with St Kilda. He was suffering from a viral complaint and was relatively quiet.

Without offering any excuses for the drubbing, it must be pointed out that the Tigers felt the loss of centre-half-back Trinity Handley, who was forced out of action in the second half, suffering from, a hamstring strain. And  Yu was playing in pain after receiving a nasty blow high in his spine.

Handley had been outstanding before he hurt his leg, keeping a tight rein on Perth star Paul Bevan and restricting him to just three first-half kicks. Holt and Franz had turns in guarding Bevan in the second half and performed the task in splendid style.

The pacy Neates was Claremont’s best performer, playing on a wing, on the ball and on a half-forward flank. He finished a good day with five marks, 19 kicks and five effective handpasses. Foster also made a strong contribution with 15 kicks, seven effective handpasses and six inside 50s.

by Ken Casellas

Details:

Perth 19.10 (124) beat Claremont 9.5 (59).

Scorers---PERTH: M. Moody 4.0; B. Stack 2.2; J. Leeson, M. Leyendekkers 2.1; C. Collard 2.0; M. Boyle 1.1; J. Houghton, J. Irons, C. Manuel, D. O’Sullivan,  R. Richardson; G. Ugle 1.0; P. Bevan 0.2; 3pts forced. CLAREMONT: M. Davies, A. Hamp, J. Williams 2.0; A. Foster 1.2; M. Orzel, M. Seaby 1.0; D. Cameron 0.1; 2pts forced.

Best---PERTH: C. Manuel, M. Florio, B. Keast, D. White, G. Ugle, C. Collard, J. Morton, D. O’Sullivan, M. Moody. CLAREMONT: R. Neates, B. Franz, A. Foster, A. Holt, M. Davies.