Tigers Mauled By Bulldogs

Claremont will be looking for answers after the Tigers were convincingly outplayed to the tune of 38 points by South Fremantle on Good Friday.

The only saving grace for the blue and gold was the Bulldogs’ inaccuracy in front of goal, as the hosts ran out 12.19 (91) to 8.5 (53) winners at the Port.

Despite welcoming captain Jake Murphy into the team and a debut for exciting young-gun Sam Petrevski-Seton, the Tigers got off to a shocking start and never truly recovered.

With influential Claremont midfielder Corey Yeo on the sidelines, the Bulldogs began the match in ominous fashion as they dominated through the midfield, with their run and spread too much for the Tigers.

A goal to former Tiger Ben Saunders gave the Bulldogs an eight-point lead at the five-minute mark of the opening term, before Jack Bradshaw hit back after being found by Ian Richardson.

After lighting up Medibank Stadium 13 days earlier on debut, Shane McAdam showed he was capable of similar feats when he kicked the Tigers’ second major after an assist from Jack Richardson, with the visitors trailing by one point at the 20-minute mark.

Late goals to Traye Bennell, Cory Dell-Olio and the returning Ashton Hams gave the Bulldogs a healthy buffer at the first break, although a score line of 4.7 to 2.0 had the Tigers feeling as though they’d been let off the hook, despite trailing by 19 points.

This was something not lost on coach Michael Broadbridge as he implored his players to lift their work-rate and intensity around the ground.

Despite the Tigers kicking with the aid of the breeze in the second term, the Bulldogs took a commanding 33-point lead at the 12-minute mark following goals to Steven Verrier and James Sellar.

A second major to McAdam two minutes later kept the Tigers within striking distance, however, there were no more goals for the quarter as the Bulldogs took a 26-point lead into the main break.

With the Bulldogs wasteful in front of goal, the Tigers remained in the game, however, the lack of ball winners and inability to hit the scoreboard was turning into a major headache for Broadbridge and the coaching staff.

To make matters worse, was the sloppy and infrequent delivery into the forward line, which enabled the Bulldogs’ defenders to rebound and counter-attack with ease.

It didn’t get much better for the Tigers in the early stages of the third term, despite the second and third efforts of Tom Ledger, as Saunders grabbed his second goal after reading the ball off the back of the pack.

Further goals to Brendan Verrier and Ryan Cook gave the hosts an unassailable 45-point lead at the 16-minute mark as a blowout looked on the cards.

A first goal in Tiger colours for Kepler Bradley reduced the margin to 39 points, before a second major to Hams saw the Bulldogs respond late in the term.

A goal to Ryan Neates saw the Tigers trim the deficit to 40 points, and when Kiefer Yu kicked truly after the three-quarter time siren the margin was back to 33 points, however, an upset was still some way off.

That possibility was all but extinguished by a second goal to Sellar, before goals to Bradshaw (second) and McAdam (third) provided mere consolation for the Tigers.

A second major to Dell-Olio capped off a memorable week for the former Bomber, as his teammates maintained their unbeaten start to the season under new coach Todd Curley, while the Tigers have some soul-searching to do ahead of a trip to ATOM Stadium in round four to face East Fremantle.

In some positive news for Claremont, Murphy got through the match unscathed as he seeks a return to full fitness, while Beau Maister and Tom Swift played for the Reserves as they look to be integrated into the team in coming weeks.

The Tigers will be looking forward to their returns along with Yeo and Mark Seaby.

Petrevski-Seton also showed that he belongs at League level after displaying several impressive signs and reading of the play.

CLAREMONT 2.0 3.3 6.5 8.5 (53)

SOUTH FREMANTLE 4.7 6.11 10.14 12.19 (91)

GOALS

CLAREMONT: 3 S. MCADAM, 2 J. BRADSHAW, 1 K. BRADLEY, K. YU, R. NEATES

SOUTH FREMANTLE: 2 A. HAMS, B. SAUNDERS, J. SELLAR, C. DELL-OLIO, 1 R. COOK, T. BENNELL, S. VERRIER, B. VERRIER

BEST

CLAREMONT: S. MCADAM, T. LEDGER, R. NEATES, S. PETREVSKI-SETON

SOUTH FREMANTLE: A. HAMS, B. SAUNDERS, J. SELLAR, H. SCHLOITHE, B. VERRIER