Tigers Overrun by Swans

Claremont face a do-or-die clash against West Perth in the final round after Swan Districts defeated the Tigers by 11 points at Steel Blue Oval and sent the visitors tumbling out of the top five.

Despite the Tigers leading by five points at three-quarter time, an all-too-familiar pattern unfolded in the final term as the hosts kicked three goals to nil and prevailed, 9.14 (68) to 7.15 (57).

The disappointing fadeout follows similar losses suffered against Peel Thunder and West Perth by the Tigers in rounds 17 and 18, and leaves the side needing to beat the Falcons at HBF Arena in round 23 to reclaim fifth position and play finals.

Ryan Lim and Corey Yeo produced herculean efforts in midfield for Claremont, while Brandon Franz was a rock in defence and Ian Richardson kicked four goals.

Mitch Andrews was once again outstanding in the ruck and around the ground, while Beau Maister had a see-sawing battle with Swans’ captain Tallan Ames but could only add 1.3 on the scoreboard.

Tigers’ skipper Jake Murphy was a late inclusion for the injured Jack Bradshaw (back) and was robust in and around the contest, while Declan Mountford made his debut after some brilliant form in Colts and Reserves and Kepler Bradley returned from a hamstring injury.

Matt Rogers, Adam Faulkner, Jarrad Blight and Matt Riggio were all prominent for Swans, while the dangerous pairing of Rudy Riddoch and Matthew Jukes combined for four goals.

On a bitterly cold day with tricky conditions due to overnight rain, the Tigers loaded up their forward line at the opening bounce with the likes of Mark Seaby, Bradley and Maister all starting inside 50m.

Ryan Neates also found himself forward while Tom Ledger and Riggio went head-to-head on the wing, as a great tackle by Matt Davies in defence layed the platform for a ferocious contest to come.

A goal to Jukes following an easy counter attack from the hosts gave Swans an early buffer, before Riddoch doubled the advantage as the Tigers found themselves trailing by 12 points.

The first of many clearances by Murphy came next and allowed Seaby to register the Tigers’ first goal, before consecutive majors to Richardson gave the visitors three in a row and an eight-point lead at the first change.

Despite the best efforts of Murphy, Jack Beeck and Haydn Busher for the Tigers, coach Michael Broadbridge implored his team to tighten up and prevent Swans from counter attacking.

A second major to Jukes saw Swans burst out of the blocks and trim Claremont’s lead to just two points early in the second term, before John Williams was forced to leave the field after the Tiger suffered a leg injury.

With Lim getting busier as every minute passed, a second goal to Riddoch saw Swans hit the front as a sluggish Tigers’ outfit started the second term as they did the first.

The sight of Kiefer Yu being hampered by a hand injury was hardly good news for the Tigers, however, a third goal from the dynamic Richardson following a fine pass by Lim saw the visitors draw level, and when Oliver Tate kicked truly late in the term, Claremont found themselves leading by eight points at the long break.

With a war of attrition unfolding and a classic arm-wrestle set to go down to the wire, goals to Maister and Richardson (fourth) gave the Tigers a lightning start to the second half and extended the lead to 20 points.

Sadly for those wearing and supporting navy and gold, the side would fail to kick another goal for the game, as Neates made his way to the bench after suffering a dislocated finger.

Goals to Aaron Elari and Jake Nuich saw Swans respond and the hosts trailing by just five points at the final change with their season on the line.

When Rogers kicked truly at the four-minute mark of the final term, the hosts were suddenly in front, as Jordan McAllister was forced to leave the ground under the blood rule.

A dazed Busher was next to feel the effects of a bruising contest as the match wore on, before a great mark and tackle just moments apart by Yu in defence served as inspiration for his teammates.

Sadly for Claremont, it wouldn’t be enough as Swans dominated general play in the closing stages and the Tigers were left to rue some simple missed chances at the other end, with late goals to Joel Houghton and Ryan Davis enough for the hosts to register their 10^th win for the season, and in the process, hand the Tigers their 10^th loss.

CLAREMONT 3.4 5.9 7.11 7.15 (57)

SWAN DISTRICTS 2.2 4.7 6.12 9.14 (68)

GOALS

CLAREMONT: 4 I. RICHARDSON, 1 O. TATE, M. SEABY, B. MAISTER

SWAN DISTRICTS: 2 R. RIDDOCH, M. JUKES, 1 M. ROGERS, J. NUICH, A. ELARI, R. DAVIS, J. HOUGHTON

BEST

CLAREMONT: R. LIM, C. YEO, M. ANDREWS, J. BEECK I. RICHARDSON

SWAN DISTRICTS: J. BLIGHT, A. FAULKNER, M. ROGERS, T. AMES, A. HOWARD