Round Three – Claremont Tigers vs. Peel Thunder

MEGAN KELLY

ROUND three of the WAFL saw the odds stacked against Peel in their first game of the season against Claremont.

Claremont won their first two matches against East Fremantle and Swan Districts by large margins.

Peel have only won seven games against Claremont, and only two of 18 games played at Claremont Oval.

Being Clancy Rudeforth’s 150^th game, the Claremont captain really wanted a win, but with a well-rested Peel and 11 debutants to play, it was anybody’s game.

Peel got the first clearance, with most of the action down Peel’s end for the first quarter, but Claremont’s defence made sure Peel didn’t score.

Eight minutes into the game, Peel was the first to get onto the board, but only with a behind. Two minutes later, Ashley Thornton managed to kick a goal.

Claremont finally scored a goal 12 minutes into the game and followed this up with another goal only a minute later.

Great clearance work from Kristin Thornton was only rewarded with a point by Matt Battye. This was a common trend, with a lot of good work through the middle being let down by inaccurate goal kicking by the Thunder.

Claremont made great use of their limited goal kicking opportunities, ending the first quarter 5.0 to Peel’s 2.4.

The second quarter was similar to the first with most of the action being down Peel’s end, but their inaccuracies didn’t let the scoreboard reflect the action on the field.

Within the first two minutes of the quarter, Jordan Jones kicked a goal for Peel, but a free kick to Alroy Gilligan scored his side a goal.

Towards the end of the second, Peel’s end saw less action. Claremont was able to extend their lead with the half-time score being 10.2 (Claremont) and 6.4 (Peel).

Tigers started to kick away in the third and Thunder looked flat.

Peel was a player down after Matt Battye, who came into the game with an injury cloud, was unable to play the second half.

The Tigers were 47 points in front at the end of the third with the only goal for Peel kicked by Rhys Healey, Peel’s recruit from the Melbourne Demons.

Lewis Broom kicked five goals throughout the game and Peel didn’t do much to stop him with a lack of numbers in their defensive half.  But it was their wasted opportunities at goal that cost them.

In the fourth quarter the scoreboard reflected the actions of the game, with Claremont clearly being dominant.

Thirteen minutes into the fourth, Jacob Williams gave the Peel crowd a little bit to cheer about, but Claremont soon quietened them down.

Peel was running out of leg and Claremont had a ten goal lead. Jesse Crighton reduced this to nine but it was too late. Kristin Thornton tried his best to cut the lead down to eight goals in the dying seconds of the game, but only managed a behind.

The final score was 19.10 (124) to 10.11 (71).

Best On:
Claremont – L. Blackwell, A. Brown, K. Mitchell
Peel – J. Crighton, K. Butcher, K. Thornton