Tigers Claw Past Swans

Claremont (Reserves) has overcome a slow start to record a thumping 77-point win over Swan Districts at the Show Grounds and register its third win for the season.

Despite the Tigers trailing by 11 points at the first change, 16 goals to one after quarter-time saw the hosts blow the game open, as the side ran out winners, 19.7 (121) to 6.8 (44).

The victory comes on the back of tight losses to Peel Thunder and West Perth, and sees the Tigers sitting in fifth position on the ladder after eight rounds.

Keegan Knott was the star of the show with six goals, including five in the first half, while the telepathic pairing of Sam Bevan (five) and Alex Manuel (three) combined for eight majors.

Lawrence Evans was a constant menace for Swans’ defence with his lightning speed, aerial leap and pressure, while Tom Willett marshalled the Tigers’ defence and a number of players won their fair share of the ball.

Matt Goyder was included into the team after John Williams returned to League ranks, while Toby Plant came in for his first WAFL game since round five after missing two games with concussion.

Jack Richardson was unable to take his place in the side, while Joshua Barrett was replaced by Peadar Burke.

On a beautiful afternoon for football, the Tigers kicked to the southern end of the ground in the opening term and registered the first major after nine minutes when Knott ran into an open goal following a kick to advantage by Isaac Baum.

Ricky Cary (returning from a two-game suspension) grabbed Swans’ first goal some five minutes later following a free kick, before a second goal to Knott after a ferocious attack on his opponent and the ball saw the Tigers take a six-point lead at the 17-minute mark.

A second goal to Cary two minutes later saw Swans draw level, before two majors in the space of a minute to Matthew Jukes saw the visitors take a 12-point lead at the 24-minute mark.

With the Tigers in need of a response, Max Bentley kicked truly from a tight angle to reduce the deficit to six points, before Jukes kicked his third goal moments before quarter-time to hand Swans an 11-point lead at the first change.

With the Tigers recording only 15 marks in the first term, coach Brad Trpchev encouraged his troops to move the ball better and switch the play more often, and this paved the way for Knott to light up the opening stages of the second term.

Three goals in 10 minutes to the silky and elusive Tiger saw the hosts out to a seven-point lead after the forward ran rings around the Swans’ defence, before two goals to Bevan either side of a major to Manuel had the Tigers out to a 25-point lead at half-time following a blistering quarter, which saw the visitors held goalless.

With the Tigers keen to exert their grip on the game and put together a strong second half, consecutive goals to Bevan (four) had the hosts out to a 37-point lead six minutes into the third term.

A goal to Harrison McCracken six minutes later resulted from some great teamwork out of defence, pressure by Reece Maxwell and a handball from Manuel, as the hosts extended their lead to 42 points.

A second goal to McCracken followed a great run by the ever-dangerous Evans and pushed the lead out to 48 points, before Tony Kalimeris kicked Swans’ first goal since the 28-minute mark of the opening term to pull the margin back to 42.

When Maxwell wobbled through his first goal at the 19-minute mark, the Tigers restored their 48-point buffer, and that’s the margin the hosts would take into the final change.

Another dominant term saw the Tigers take 38 marks, as the hosts continued to run Swans off their feet, while Trpchev highlighted the efforts of Willett, Evans and Baum to the playing group.

A second goal to Bentley handed the Tigers an imposing 53-point lead at the third-minute mark of the final term after the tough midfielder won himself a free kick, and when Manuel kicked his second and third majors, the hosts had extended their buffer to 66 points.

A sixth goal to Knott at the 19-minute mark resulted from a downfield free kick as the visitors let their emotions get the better of them, before a fifth major to Bevan seven minutes later provided the icing on the cake, as the Tigers ran out comfortable winners and completed a fantastic weekend for all three grades.

The Tigers will look to register consecutive wins when they welcome East Perth to the Show Grounds in round nine.

CLAREMONT 3.1 9.4 14.4 19.7 (121)

SWAN DISTRICTS 5.0 5.3 6.4 6.8 (44)

GOALS

CLAREMONT: 6 K. KNOTT, 5 S. BEVAN, 3 A. MANUEL, 2 M. BENTLEY, H. MCCRACKEN, 1 R. MAXWELL

SWAN DISTRICTS: 3 M. JUKES, 2 R. CARY, 1 T. KALIMERIS

BEST

CLAREMONT: K. KNOTT, L. EVANS, S. BEVAN, M. BENTLEY, A. MANUEL, T. WILLETT, B. HIGGS, H. MCCRACKEN

SWAN DISTRICTS: M. JUKES, R. CARY, A. FAULKNER, J. BURNHAM