Claremont clawed their way to the top of the ladder with a 92-point demolition of Peel Thunder at Claremont Oval today and sets the Tigers up strongly heading into the finals.
A shaky start from both teams saw some silly errors, with turnovers in both attacking 50s rampant. Claremont dominated possession early and although it waned slightly towards the middle of the quarter, their accuracy in front of goal gifted them a 10 point lead at quarter time with the score finishing on 4.1(25) for Claremont against Peel 2.3(15).
Peel’s second quarter was littered with wasted opportunities as they struggled to shake free in their attacking half. Strong positioning on field from Claremont defenders and mid-fielders left Peel struggling when the ball entered their attacking 50 and they were kept to a mere three goals for the quarter with score going into half time favouring Claremont 10.3(63) to Peel 5.5(35).
Reliable Claremont midfielder Kane Mitchell kicked-off a strong third term for Claremont however silly mistakes were still being made by both sides. Three out-on-the-fulls were chalked up in the third alone term and Peel gave away two 50 metre penalties within the first 20 minutes of the term. A slick passage of play through the centre field from Alroy Gilligan rounded out the quarter with Claremont leading 14.6(90) to Peel 7.8(50).
Claremont consolidated their authority in the final term kicking a massive 11 majors. A dynamic defensive display from ex-Eagle Beau Wilkes in the back-half, along with Brett Jones kept Peel’s major scores to just three for the term and gave Claremont a decisive victory with a final score 25.10 (160) over Peel 10.8 (68).
Mitchell, who has played a major role in many of Claremont’s victories this season, said after the game that Claremont’s win was indicative of their ability to outrun other teams.
“We always play pretty tight games and we’re an endurance based team. We’re very hard running so we’re able to finish out games strong,” he said.
“Peel are a young side so they get tired faster and we just grind games down to outrun the opposition and that’s what we did today.”
Mitchell also said that today’s win had strengthened the team’s conviction to finish on top and to follow that up with a grand final appearance.
“Going into the final we’ve got one game left against East Perth who can’t make the finals now so they’re playing for pride, so we’re just trying to keep the momentum up and trying to keep winning,” he said.
“I think we’ve got as good a chance as anyone to make the final. We haven’t beaten West Perth all year and we’ve got them in the first round of finals so that’s going to be a big one.”
“I’m confident we can make the finals, but not arrogant. We have hard work to do but I feel confident about it.”
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