Tigers Sink Their Claws Into Falcons | Round 22 Colts Match Report

Claremont (Colts) has won its seventh consecutive game after demolishing West Perth by 88 points at the Show Grounds.

The 18.15 (123) to 5.5 (35) win sees Ross McQueen’s men lock in second position on the ladder just a fortnight away from the finals.

Forwards Sam Bevan and Alex Manuel combined for 11 goals on the back of a dominant display by the Tigers’ midfield, with Claremont hitting top gear as they look to go back-to-back in 2014.

The Tigers began the match in ominous form, with goals to Manuel, Isaac Baum and Sam Humphry in the opening six minutes giving the hosts an early 18-point lead.

Nathan Alexandre kicked truly to give the Falcons their first major at the 13-minute mark, before a behind to Alec Waterman resulted from an intercept mark and spearing pass by Francis Watson to give the Tigers a 13-point lead.

When Manuel kicked his second goal after a kick into space by Joshua Barty, the Tigers were out to a 19-point lead at the 17-minute mark of the opening term.

That lead was extended to 31 points at quarter-time after late goals to Bevan and Ryan Lim saw the hosts round out a scintillating first term.

The statistics clearly reflected the Tigers’ dominance in the opening term, with the hosts enjoying 52 more disposals, 26 more marks, 12 more inside 50m entries, and six more scoring shots.

McQueen was happy with his side’s pressure, but maintained there was still room for improvement.

The Tigers began the second term in similar fashion to the first, however, three behinds was not the reward for effort they were looking for.

Despite being completely outplayed in the opening stages, a 50m penalty to Tyson Moulton saw the Falcons kick their second goal for the match at the nine-minute mark, reducing the Tigers’ lead to 28 points.

The Tigers responded with goals to Bevan (second) and Manuel (third) extending the lead to 41 points, although a downfield free kick saw Angus Innes kick truly for the Falcons, cutting Claremont’s lead to 35 points at the 16-minute mark.

A booming goal to Matt Guelfi saw the Tigers take a 42-point lead into half-time, although the lead could’ve been far greater with the hosts letting the Falcons off the hook by kicking 3.6 for the term.

The Tigers began the second half in terrific fashion as goals to Bevan (third) and Barty saw the lead out to 55 points on the back of relentless pressure in the forward line.

From there on the scoring dried up as the Falcons worked their way into the contest and poor use of the football let the Tigers down.

A goal to Kaidyn Fullgrabe at the 11-minute mark saw the Falcons reduce the deficit to 49 points, before a goal to Harrison McCracken minutes later saw the Tigers establish a game-high 57-point lead.

With both sides cancelling each other out for the remaining nine minutes of the third term, the Tigers took a 54-point lead into the last change.

McQueen was less than impressed with what he’d seen, with the Tigers “out-worked” and “ill-disciplined” for much of the quarter.

With Claremont seeking a big final term to finish the match off in style, Manuel kicked his fourth goal three minutes in after an intercept mark and pass by Harry Taylor to give the Tigers a 61-point lead.

Not to be outdone, Bevan then kicked his fourth major at the 12-minute mark after being found by Humphry to extend the lead to a whopping 69 points.

Further goals to Manuel (fifth) and sixth-gamer Aden Wilkins  saw the lead out to 81 points, before a great one-on-one mark saw Bevan kick his fifth and the Tigers’ 17th major at the 18-minute mark of the final term.

A late goal to Jordan Gray provided little more than consolation for the Falcons, as Bevan put the icing on the cake at the 21-minute mark by kicking his sixth goal to see the Tigers run out comfortable winners.

On a day where the Tigers had several winners across the board, Jared Hardisty, Baum, Watson, Bailey Rogers and Barty all won plenty of the football, while nine individual goal kickers reflected the many avenues to goal.

The Falcons’ score of 5.5 is the seventh consecutive time the Tigers have kept their opposition to eight goals or less during their current winning streak.

Claremont travel to Medibank Stadium in round 23 to face fourth-placed East Perth, looking to rectify their two previous losses to the Royals this season.

CLAREMONT 6.1 9.7 12.11 18.15 (123)

WEST PERTH 1.0 3.1 4.5 5.5 (35)

GOALS

CLAREMONT: 6 S. BEVAN, 5 A. MANUEL, 1 H. MCCRACKEN, M. GUELFI, I. BAUM, A. WILKINS, R. LIM, J. BARTY, S. HUMPHRY

WEST PERTH: 1 A. INNES, N. ALEXANDRE, T. MOULTON, K. FULLGRABE, J. GRAY

BEST

CLAREMONT: S. BEVAN, A. MANUEL, J. HARDISTY, B. ROGERS, I. BAUM, A. WATERMAN

WEST PERTH: C. HINCHCLIFFE, D. MUNNS, M. ASHFIELD