Inaccurate Tigers Pipped By Royals

Claremont have dropped out of the top five following a 10-point defeat to East Perth in freezing conditions at Medibank Stadium.

The 8.12 (60) to 10.10 (70) defeat sees the Tigers fall to sixth position and trailing fifth-placed Swan Districts by one win with a game in hand, while the Royals remain in fourth following their 10^th win.

An inaccurate display in front of goal proved to be the Tigers’ downfall, while the team were one player down after the in-form Kepler Bradley suffered a hamstring concern in the opening term and was unable to return.

Tom Ledger and Matthew Davies were both outstanding as they won plenty of the football, while Beau Maister played out a fascinating duel with Kyle Anderson and was able to kick three goals.

The Royals were best served by Brendan Lee, Kane Lucas and Jamie Bennell, while Paul Johnson worked tirelessly in the ruck and around the ground.

The Tigers entered the clash minus Jake Murphy (hamstring) and Shane McAdam (ill), with John Williams and Haydn Busher coming in for the pair.

With Ryan Lim opposing Steven Payne and Ryan Neates going to Lee, acting captain Ian Richardson won the toss and elected to kick to the northern end in the opening term with the aid of a healthy breeze.

An arm wrestle engulfed the opening 20 minutes as both sides failed to gain any ascendency in tricky conditions, before Maister kicked the first goal at the 24-minute mark to give the Tigers an eight-point lead.

Jackson Nelson then responded for the Royals to see the teams head in to the first change with one goal each, as Michael Broadbridge lamented his teams’ inability to lock the ball inside 50m and stop the hosts from repelling out of defence with ease.

Despite Ryan Neates, Lachlan Davey and Maister all working hard for the Tigers, goals to Tom Lamb and Mitchell Howlett saw the Royals out to a nine-point lead 13 minutes in to the second term, before Ledger hit back courtesy of a free kick and 50m penalty.

The resulting goal saw the Tigers trailing by four points at half-time, although a return of 2.9 told a sorry tale on the scoreboard and was not lost on Broadbridge.

With the team inefficient going forward and Royals’ defender Tom Barrass getting better as the game went on, the Tigers were in need of a big third term with the breeze at their backs.

A goal to Richardson following a handball by Maister was the ideal start and saw the side take a two-point lead, before a second major to Lamb saw the hosts respond.

Although Anton Hamp and Davies were holding up the Tigers’ defence, an outstanding mark by Corey Adamson running with the flight of the ball and goal saw the Royals increase their lead to 10 points.

However, goals to Jack Bradshaw and Jordan McAllister saw the Tigers hit back and take a three-point lead in what was becoming a see-sawing term, before majors to Craig Wulff and Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls saw the hosts hold an eight-point buffer at the final change.

A second goal to Oakley-Nicholls had the Tigers trailing by 14 points early in the final term, before Ledger responded with his second major following an errant kick-in by the Royals.

With Darcy Cameron lifting but Anderson solid in the Royals’ defence, goals to Nelson and Dylan Main saw the hosts out to a commanding 22-point lead and left the Tigers needing a miracle.

A pair of goals to Maister (three) following some strong marks trimmed the defeicit to 10 points, but despite the Tigers dominating general play in the closing stages, they were unable to stage a fairy-tale comeback as the Royals held on for their second narrow win in six days.

The Tigers will now turn their attention to their final home game when they host East Fremantle at the Show Grounds in round 21, with a win a non-negotiable if the team are to play finals.

CLAREMONT 1.6 2.9 5.11 8.12 (60)

EAST PERTH 1.3 3.7 7.7 10.10 (70)

GOALS

CLAREMONT: 3 B. MAISTER, 2 T. LEDGER, 1 J. BRADSHAW, I. RICHARDSON, J. MCALLISTER

EAST PERTH: 2 J. OAKLEY-NICHOLLS, J. NELSON, T. LAMB, 1 C. WULFF, C. ADAMSON, M. HOWLETT, D. MAIN

BEST

CLAREMONT: T. LEDGER, M. DAVIES, B. MAISTER

EAST PERTH: B. LEE, K. LUCAS, P. JOHNSON, J. BENNELL