Tigers Bury Their Demons | Round 20 Colts Match Report

Claremont (Colts) has won its fifth consecutive game after steamrolling Perth by 99 points at the Show Grounds.

The Tigers held the Demons scoreless in the opening term, before prevailing 17.15 (117) to 2.6 (18).

The Tigers’ 11th win for the season has guaranteed a spot in the finals with the team looking to go back-to-back in 2014.

With the Tigers fresh off a bye in round 19, a fast start was just the tonic first-year coach Ross McQueen and his coaching staff were looking for.

A goal to Jake Jones after three minutes provided a catalyst of what was to come, as he snapped truly from a forward-line stoppage.

Six consecutive behinds were to follow, with the Tigers peppering the goals as a result of their dominance all over the ground, however, the Demons dropping numbers behind the ball made clear scoring chances tough for the hosts.

A goal to Sam Bevan at the 22-minute mark of the opening term was manufactured by a neat pass from Alex Manuel who would go on to have a hand in several scoring involvements.

The result was an 18-point lead to the Tigers at quarter-time, however, the score line of 2.6 suggested that the margin could’ve been greater.

With the majority of the opening term being played in the Tigers’ front half, McQueen implored his team to hit the short target and not bomb the ball into the forward line.

It would be the visitors who would get off to a fast start in the second quarter, with Lennon Marlin kicking truly to put the Demons on the board, however, a second goal to Bevan from a quick transition of play restored the Tigers’ 18-point lead at the seven-minute mark.

Second-game player Ryan Murphy could only manage a minor score after being found by Jacob Delaporte, however, moments later he would kick truly from an opportunist snap off the hands of the pack to give the Tigers a game-high 25-point lead at the 11-minute mark.

This was followed by a goal to Scott Trickey after a wonderful squaring-pass by Manuel and suddenly the Tigers were beginning to reap the rewards for their dominant efforts.

A clever snap by Demon Luke Bakker reduced the margin to 25 points, before Matthew Palfrey kicked truly to give the Tigers a 31-point lead at half-time.

A focus on quicker ball movement and better skill execution saw the Tigers find more space in their forward line, however, inaccurate kicking in front of goal (6.9) was an area to sharpen up on in the second half.

Jared Hardisty (16 disposals in the first half) would feature prominently in the opening stages of the third term as his searching pass set up a goal for Manuel after a string of neat passages by the Tigers.

He would then benefit from a fantastic gather and handball from Manuel to kick his first goal and give the Tigers a commanding 43-point lead at the six-minute mark.

Eddie Simpson was next to get in on the action after being well found by Trickey and suddenly the Tigers had kicked the last four goals of the game.

A second goal to Jones resulted from a spearing pass by Francis Watson before Hardisty grabbed his second major as a result of being found by Joshua Barty.

Bevan would then kick his third goal as the result of a Perth turnover from a kick-in, before late goals to Jack Prendiville and Ryan Lim made it nine consecutive goals (eight for the term) for the Tigers as they turned for home with an unassailable 79-point lead.

McQueen encouraged the team to focus on “simple footy” and maintain a “man-on-man” contest in the final term as the Tigers looked to finish off the game in commanding fashion.

Three straight behinds were not the return the Tigers were after to begin the final term, however, consecutive goals to Harry Taylor saw the team extend their lead to 95 points at the 14-minute mark.

A second major to Murphy at the 21-minute mark put the icing on the cake for the Tigers, as the hosts restricted the Demons to three goalless quarters, and in the process recorded their biggest win since round two.

Perth’s score of 2.6 was also the lowest score the Tigers have conceded in 2014, while the team have conceded an average of just 34.2 points during their current five-game winning streak.

On a day where the Tigers had several dominant performers, Lim, Alec Waterman, Hardisty, Delaporte and Nicolas Reid all won plenty of the football, while 11 individual goal-kickers highlighted the even team performance right across the board.

Next up for the Tigers is a clash with fourth-placed Subiaco at Medibank Stadium in round 21, as the team looks to maintain its momentum heading into September.

CLAREMONT 2.6 6.9 14.10 17.15 (117)

PERTH 0.0 2.2 2.3 2.6 (18)

GOALS

CLAREMONT: 3 S. BEVAN, 2 R. MURPHY, J. HARDISTY, H. TAYLOR, J. JONES, 1 E. SIMPSON, A. MANUEL, M. PALFREY, R. LIM, J. PRENDIVILLE, S. TRICKEY

PERTH: 1 L. MARLIN, L. BAKKER

BEST

CLAREMONT: R. LIM, J. HARDISTY, J. JONES, N. REID, A. MANUEL, A. WATERMAN, J. DELAPORTE

PERTH: K. PHILLIPS, C. LEGGETT, G. KEITH