Tigers Round Off Pre-season In Style

Claremont will enter its round-one blockbuster against reigning premiers Subiaco full of confidence after despatching Peel Thunder by 115 points at Bendigo Bank Stadium in its second and final pre-season outing.

Following its impressive win over East Perth a week earlier, the Tigers once again showed impressive signs in the 24.15 (159) to 6.8 (44) rout.

Forward Jackson Starcevich confirmed what an emerging talent he is with a five-goal haul, while Jack Richardson chipped in with four majors and acting captain Ian Richardson three.

Tom Willett, Kepler Bradley, Jordan McAllister, Tom Swift, Jack Bradshaw, J. Richardson and Jack Beeck came into the side, while Ryan Neates, Hugo Breakey, Kiefer Yu, Toby Plant (Reserves), Brandon Franz, Steven Edwards and Corey Yeo made way from the team who defeated the Royals.

Once again a fast start was the catalyst for the Tigers, with quick ball movement and team pressure a big feature stemming from the summer.

After winning a free kick courtesy of holding the ball by a Thunder opponent, Keegan Knott was the beneficiary of a 50m penalty and made no mistake when he kicked the first goal of the game to give the Tigers a six-point lead at the five-minute mark of the opening term.

Starcevich was then on the end of a spearing pass by Knott, and when he kicked truly the Tigers saw their lead doubled as they exerted control over the contest.

A flying snap at goal by J. Richardson gave the Tigers their third major, before goals to Haydn Busher, J. Richardson (second), Starcevich (second), Matt Goyder and Aaron Holt saw a scintillating first-term effort result in a commanding 49-point lead at quarter-time.

The Tigers were at their manic best as they recorded 11 scoring shots to two, with Tom Ledger setting the tone in the midfield, Knott providing the spark in the forward line, and Bradshaw inspirational as he read the play across half-back.

Coach Michael Broadbridge was delighted with his troops’ ball movement and delivery into the forward line, but highlighted the need to improve on free-kicks against.

For the second week in a row the Tigers had kept their opponents goalless in the first term, with the Thunder grabbing their first major through Stephen Kane two minutes into the second quarter.

Consecutive goals to Starcevich and I. Richardson, however, saw the Tigers hit straight back, and take a 55-point lead at the seven-minute mark.

Goals to Thunder pair Riese Wilkey and Mitchell Wallace trimmed the Tigers’ lead to 43 points, before John Williams added his name to the goal kicking list, and Knott kicked his second major after being found by Busher following a brilliant passage of team play from defence.

Livewire Shane McAdam then lit up the game with some tremendous skill and awareness as he set up Starcevich to kick his fourth and fifth goals, before late majors to Williams (second) and Ryan Lim gave the Tigers a thumping 83-point lead at the main break.

It could have been worse for the Thunder had a brilliant running goal by Ledger from tight on the boundary line occurred on the other side of the half-time siren, with the Tigers piling on 24 scoring shots in the opening half.

It proved to be Ledger’s final act in the game, with the busy midfielder sitting out the second half.

With rain beginning to set in, Broadbridge implored his troops to adopt “smart ball use” for the second half and move it quickly to the likes of McAdam and Starcevich in the forward line.

The Tigers’ efficiency had been a highlight in the opening two quarters, however, with conditions quickly taking a turn for the worse, the contest developed into an arm-wrestle in the third term.

With both teams registering just two behinds apiece in the opening 16 minutes, a third goal to J. Richardson saw the Tigers out to a 90-point lead after some more impressive work by McAdam.

When I. Richardson was in best position to mark a quick kick into the forward line, he made no mistake as he grabbed his second and the Tigers’ 18^th goal at the 19-minute mark.

A fourth goal to J. Richardson, this time from a tight angle, saw the Tigers out to a whopping 102-point lead, before Thunder captain Brendon Jones brought the margin back to 96 points.

McAdam then kicked his first goal of the afternoon after having a hand in several others, before former Lion Josh Deluca pulled one back for the Thunder in the shadows of three-quarter time.

With a commanding 95-point lead at the final change, five-goal-hero Starcevich would sit out the fourth quarter as Broadbridge encouraged his players to play out the game and finish on a high.

After consecutive behinds to McAdam at the start of the final term, Beeck added his name to the goal kicking list as the lead once again crept beyond three figures, before Wilkey grabbed his second major for the home side.

Goals to Busher (second), McAdam (second) and I. Richardson (third) rounded out the complete domination by Claremont and capped off a promising pre-season.

For the second week running, the Tigers had a string of solid contributors, with several returning players gaining valuable game time as competition for spots increases.

Claremont face Subiaco at Medibank Stadium on Saturday afternoon, with bounce down at 4.15pm.

In the Reserves, an inspired nine-goal haul by Anton Hamp saw the Tigers record their second consecutive win under first-year coach Brad Trpchev after a 94-point mauling of the Thunder, while Claremont made it wins for all three grades after the Colts defeated Peel at Steel Blue Oval on Sunday.

CLAREMONT 8.3 16.8 20.10 24.15 (159)

PEEL THUNDER 0.2 3.2 5.5 6.8 (44)

GOALS

CLAREMONT: 5 J. STARCEVICH, 4 J. RICHARDSON, 3 I. RICHARDSON 2 K. KNOTT, J. WILLIAMS, S. MCADAM, H. BUSHER 1 A. HOLT, M. GOYDER, R. LIM, J. BEECK

PEEL THUNDER: 2 R. WILKEY, M. WALLACE, S. KANE, J. DELUCA, B. JONES

BEST

CLAREMONT: J. STARCEVICH, T. LEDGER, K. KNOTT, J. WILLIAMS, S.MCADAM, A. HOLT, J. BRADSHAW, J. MCALLISTER J. RICHARDSON, I. RICHARDSON, F. WATSON, M. BENTLEY

PEEL THUNDER: B. JONES, R. WILKEY