Tigers Pipped by Thunder

Claremont have missed the chance to move in to third position on the ladder after the Tigers suffered a 22-point defeat to Peel Thunder at the Show Grounds.

In a scrappy encounter which never reached any great heights, the Thunder ran out 13.11 (89) to 9.13 (67) winners and moved two games clear of the fifth-placed Tigers.

The loss was Claremont’s first since round 13, and resulted from ordinary first and final terms, poor decision making and an inability to move the football with any real purpose or fluency.

Ryan Neates worked tirelessly and won plenty of the football, while Kepler Bradley kicked four goals and threatened to be a match winner for the Tigers.

Ryan Lim was given the job on Peel midfielder Tendai Mzungu and played an important game, while Jack Beeck once again held Leroy Jetta to just one goal.

Matthew Palfrey had a mixed afternoon but managed to kick three majors, however, the Tigers continually turned the ball over and failed to kick 10 goals for the second week running.

The Thunder were best served by Clancee Pearce, Ed Langdon, Connor Blakely and Jacob Ballard, while the visitors had nine individual goal kickers compared to four.

Keegan Knott was rewarded for some outstanding form in the Reserves while Tom Swift lined up in his first League game since the 2012 Grand Final, with the pair replacing Isaac Baum and Matt Goyder who were both omitted.

Corey Yeo lined up on Blakely at the opening bounce, however, the in-form midfielder could do nothing to stop the Peel player kicking the opening goal of the game following an errant kick in defence by Oliver Tate.

With earlier behinds to Mzungu and Brendon Jones, it was all the Thunder as a sluggish Claremont failed to come to grips with the contest, and when Jack Hannath kicked truly at the five-minute mark, the visitors were out to a 14-point lead.

A further goal to Hannath gave the Thunder a 17-point lead at the first change, with the Tigers held goalless for the third time in their last five quarters of football.

Michael Broadbridge implored his players to tighten up on the prolific Blakely, while the Tigers needed to convert their chances after managing just four behinds for the term.

Goals to Bradley, Beau Maister and Palfrey saw the hosts hit the front at the 21-minute mark of the second term after working their way in to the contest, before late majors to Paul Duffield and Gerald Ugle gave the Thunder an eight-point buffer at the long break.

A goal to Jetta extended the advantage to 14 points five minutes in to the third term, before consecutive majors to Bradley (three) saw the Tigers reclaim the lead, with the big man playing a dominant role both inside 50m and further up the ground.

A second goal to Ugle resulted from a coast-to-coast passage of play after a crucial miss by Ian Richardson at the other end of the ground, before Palfrey kicked his second major following some great work by Haydn Busher in the ruck.

An inspiring chase and tackle from Knott saw the small forward rewarded with a free kick, before Jordan McAllister kicked his first goal in League ranks to give the Tigers a two-point lead.

A fourth goal to Bradley resulted from some fine work in midfield by Busher and gave the Tigers a six-point lead at the final change, with the hosts now gathering some momentum and gaining reward for their effort.

However, goals to Brady Grey and Tom Vandeleur gave the Thunder a six-point lead in the opening minutes of the final term, before Palfrey responded with his third major.

After being rarely sighted for the previous three terms, Zac Clarke bobbed up to kick two crucial goals and hand the Thunder a 10-point lead, before majors to Pearce and Blakely (second) capped off an important win for the visitors and left the Tigers licking their wounds ahead of a round-18 trip to HBF Arena where they’ll face second-placed West Perth.

CLAREMONT 0.4 3.9 8.10 9.13 (67)

PEEL THUNDER 3.3 5.5 7.10 13.11 (89)

GOALS

CLAREMONT: 4 K. BRADLEY, 3 M. PALFREY, 1 B. MAISTER, J. MCALLISTER

PEEL THUNDER: 2 J. HANNATH, C. BLAKELY, G. UGLE, Z. CLARKE, 1 T. VANDELEUR, B. GREY, C. PEARCE, L. JETTA, P. DUFFIELD

BEST

CLAREMONT: R. NEATES, K. BRADLEY, R. LIM, B. MAISTER, H. BUSHER

PEEL THUNDER: C. PEARCE, C. BLAKELY, E. LANGDON, J. BALLARD