Finals dream all but over for the demons

John TownsendThe West Australian Claremont are on the rise and Perth’s finals drought is set to extend to a 21st year after the Tigers produced their most comprehensive performance of the

season to win the Pyke Cup. Playing in an eight-point match in which the loser would find it difficult to qualify for finals but the winner had every chance of finishing in the top five,

Claremont led for all but five minutes at Lathlain Park on their way to a 46-point win, 19.11 (125) to 11.13 (79). Anton Hamp was superb at full-back for the Tigers where he kept Spencer

White to just three touches until he secured a late goal but the win was based on the work rate of a group of unheralded midfielders including Jared Hardisty (29 disposals) and Tom Curren

(26). Corey Yeo (38) and Brant Colledge (36) were also busy for the Demons but they were unable to get sufficient support to expose Claremont’s defence. Perth defenders Michael Sinclair (36

touches) and Matthew Taylor (23) held up under considerable pressure Claremont started brightly with captain Ian Richardson converting a strong mark in the opening minutes to record his

400th goal for the Tigers. Sandover Medal-winning centreman Jye Bolton also proved a handful in attack and it was one-way traffic for much of the first term until the mercurial Michael

Bennell made his mark on the contest. Bennell finished the term with two superb long kick at goal from contested marks and started the second quarter in the same fashion to level the scores.

But the Tigers then produced their best quarter of the season during the 36-minute second term to take a 41-point lead intro the long break. Their eight majors included Tom Lee’s 75m

bouncing effort while Jack Beeck produced a goal of the year contender by smothering the ball off a Perth defender’s boot and then landing a tough shot from the boundary. WA under 18s

team-mates Sydney Stack and Jordan Clark played on each other and confirmed their draft potential with moments of brilliance. CLAREMONT 3.4 11.6 16.9 19.11 125 PERTH 2.4 4.7 7.10 11.13 79

GOALS – CLAREMONT: Lee 3; Richardson, Beeck, Bolton, J Hardisty, Manuel, Gilbert 2; Yu, Curren, Ledger, Martinis. PERTH: Bennell 3; Colledge, Johnson 2; Yeo, M Jones, Stack, White. BEST –

CLAREMONT: Hamp, J Hardisty, Curren, Lee, Martinis, Yu, Manuel. PERTH: Yeo, Colledge, Sinclair, Taylor, Bennell, Stack. UMPIRES: D Johanson, T McPhee, J Power. CROWD: 1200 (approx) at

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