Tigers Claim 14th Premiership

Claremont (Colts) has won its 14^th premiership and second in three years after thrashing a woeful Swan Districts by 69 points in the grand final at Domain Stadium.

Tom Gajewski took home the Mel Whinnen Medal after a best-on-ground performance as the Tigers prevailed 14.17 (101) to 4.8 (32).

The impressive win was built on the back of fierce pressure, a superior work rate and an even team performance, while the Tigers had nine individual goal kickers compared to three.

Claremont also had 20 more inside 50m entries, 19 more scoring shots and 13 more tackles.

Declan Mountford, Ryan Murphy and Bailey Rogers were all outstanding, while Matt Guelfi and Cameron Wilson laid 12 and 11 tackles respectively.

Jeremy Goddard put on a clinic in the ruck and continually gave his Claremont midfielders first use of the football, while Jake Waterman got better as the game went on and finished with three goals.

Mountford, Eddie Simpson and Regan Smith each kicked two majors, while Bailey Banfield, Shaquille Morton and Fraser Gilbert led a miserly backline which kept Swans goalless in the third term and to just one goal for the second half.

Swans’ full-time score was their lowest for the season, with the Black Ducks given no time and space to operate in as the Tigers created perceived pressure all over the ground with their manic attack at the contest and will to work for each other.

Claremont has produced arguably its best football for 2015 in the past two games, and would’ve won by far more if not for some inaccuracy in front of goal.

Despite being without key personnel at different stages throughout the season, coach Ross McQueen and his staff have done a terrific job, with the team losing just six games and blooding several players for the future.

Swans were best served by Brayden Hackett, Brad Lynch and Griffen Logue, while Dylan Smith was their only multiple goal kicker.

On a glorious morning and in a far cry from the weather we saw in the corresponding fixture last year, the Tigers kicked to the city end of the ground in the opening term under the guidance of skipper Rogers.

Despite dislocating his shoulder in the win over Swans a fortnight earlier, Aden Wilkins took his place in the team as the Tigers went into the game unchanged.

After some fine bodywork in the ruck, Simpson grabbed the ball and snapped it straight over the goal umpires hat to kick the opening goal and give the Tigers an early six-point buffer.

With Claremont’s ferocious tackling already on display, Smith then added a second after gathering the loose ball inside 50m and providing a cool finish to extend the lead to 11 points.

Guelfi was signalling his intent for a big game as he was involved in several contests thus far, before Murphy kicked the Tigers’ third major after running down a Swans opponent inside 50m and finishing with aplomb.

With the Tigers threatening to break away and open up a massive advantage, Smith added a badly-needed goal for Swans to reduce the margin to 12 points, before Waterman added Claremont’s fourth after being in front and best reading a kick forward by Mountford.

The result was a 23-point lead to Claremont at the first change, and could’ve been more following the Tigers’ eight more scoring shots.

It was also the second game running where Claremont have restricted Swans to just one goal in the first quarter.

Goals to Smith (second) and Chad Daniels gave Swans an ideal start to the second term and trimmed Claremont’s lead to 10 points, as Rogers left the field momentarily with a leg concern.

With Swans now working their way into the game, a goal to Mountford halted their momentum and restored parity for the Tigers following a chain of quick handballs at half-forward before the silky midfielder finished coolly on the run.

A second major to Smith then gave the Tigers a 24-point lead at half-time as both teams kicked two goals for the term.

An arm-wrestle engulfed the majority of the third term despite Mountford weaving his way through congestion and the best efforts of Guelfi, before Waterman kicked his second and the first goal for the quarter at the 22-minute mark to increase Claremont’s lead to 31 points.

A late goal to the hard-working Jacob Sideris then saw the lead extended to 37 points at the final change with Swans adding just three behinds for the term.

Goals to Mountford (second), Guelfi and Wilson saw the Tigers continue on their merry way in the opening 12 minutes of the final term, with the margin now out to 57 points and a whitewash well and truly on the cards.

Waterman then kicked his third major, before an unmarked Simpson added his second after being found by Mountford following some outstanding second efforts by Guelfi.

When the hard-working Gajewski capped off his fine game, the margin was out to a whopping 75 points following eight consecutive goals to the Tigers, before Tim Yorkshire grabbed Swans’ only goal for the second half and first since the eight-minute mark of the second term just moments before the full-time siren.

The win was Claremont’s 16^th and fourth over Swans for the season, and confirmed the Tigers’ dominance over the competition in 2015.

CLAREMONT 4.6 6.10 8.14 14.17 (101)

SWAN DISTRICTS 1.1 3.4 3.7 4.8 (32)

GOALS

CLAREMONT: 3 J. WATERMAN, 2 E. SIMPSON, D. MOUNTFORD, R. SMITH, 1 J. SIDERIS, T. GAJEWSKI, R. MURPHY, M. GUELFI, C. WILSON

SWAN DISTRICTS: 2 D. SMITH, 1 T. YORKSHIRE, C. DANIELS

BEST

CLAREMONT: T. GAJEWSKI, M. GUELFI, D. MOUNTFORD, B. ROGERS, J. GODDARD, B. BANFIELD, R. MURPHY, C. WILSON

SWAN DISTRICTS: B. HACKETT, D. SMITH, B. LYNCH, G. LOGUE