Development Match Report

By Ken Casellas

Claremont, reeling after Perth had booted four goals to nil in the opening nine minutes of the match at Lathlain Park on Saturday, were sparked into action by the exciting Jack Richardson late in the first quarter when he kicked three goals in the space of four magical minutes.

This was the much-needed boost the Tigers needed and it paved the way for a solid 16-point victory.

The 23-year-old Richardson is making a determined bid to force his way into the league side and if he maintains his enthusiasm at training and his strong match form he will be knocking on the door for a recall to senior action after making 13 league appearances in the previous three seasons --- two in 2013, nine in 2014 and two in 2015.

Others to enhance their prospects of promotion included the tigerish midfielder Zac Langdon, the stout-hearted and attacking defender John Williams, robust midfielder Justin Speed and pacy defender Harry McCracken.

The Demons led 4.1 to 0.0 16 minutes into the contest before McCracken drove the ball forward where Lawrence Evans gained possession in the goalsquare for a much-needed major.

And then it became the Richardson show. Two minutes later he booted the ball forward to rover Ash Fitzgerald for Claremont’s next goal before he kicked three goals in just four minutes, the first of these coming after Evans had speared a superb pass to Langdon, whose pass was marked by Richardson.

Langdon gained the clearance from the resultant centre bounce and he got the ball on to Matthew Ehlers, whose delicate short pass found Richo for his second goal. The clearance from the following centre bounce was won by Toby Plant, whose long kick went to Richardson in the goalsquare for another goal which gave the Tigers a six-point advantage at quarter time.

Each side managed two goals in the second term, with Claremont’s majors coming from Fitzgerald and Alex Manuel (who snapped truly from close range after collecting a long kick from the busy McCracken.

Perth started the third quarter in a blaze of glory with Shaun Crane striking a purple patch with three goals in the space of just over four minutes. This put the home side back in front (by seven points).

Tigers coach Kepler Bradley had made some positional changes at half-time, the most significant being the switch of Ben Higgs from defence to full-forward. Higgs got into the action, but his first two shots registered behinds, with the first of them being a poster.

Richardson was to the fore again and his high kick to the goalsquare saw Justin Speed take a chest mark before kicking a goal. Plant continued his fine form in the midfield and one of his kicks landed in the goalsquare where Adam Speed and Langdon converged on the ball, with Langdon soccering it through from a metre out for another goal.

Soon afterwards McCracken again sent the Tigers into attack where Langdon’s hurried kick was marked by a diving Higgs in the right pocket. Soon afterwards Higgs marked a Fitzgerald kick and the resultant goal stretched Claremont’s lead to 22 points. The margin was reduced to 16 points when Crane booted his fourth goal for the quarter with the final kick of the term.

Each side had added four goals for the third quarter and the tally was two goals apiece in the final stanza. Claremont’s two goals came in the early stages of the quarter --- the first to Morgan Davies after an attacking move involving Evans and Higgs and the next to Langdon, after marking a McCracken pass.      

Details:

Claremont  13.16 (94) beat Perth 12.6 (78)

Scorers---CLAREMONT: J. Richardson 3.0; B. Higgs, Z. Langdon 2.2; A. Fitzgerald 2.1; A. Manuel, J. Speed 1.2; M. Davies, L. Evans 1.0; M. Ehlers, Z. Lynn, B. Musitano, T. Plant, I. Rowe, 2pts forced. PERTH: G. Piggott 5.1; S. Crane 4.0; R. Brookes 2.2; C. Byrne 1.1; B. Keast, J. Mason 0.1.

Best---CLAREMONT: Z. Langdon, J. Williams, T. Plant, J. Speed, J. Richardson, H. McCracken,  A. Speed, A. Manuel, E. Simpson. PERTH: G. Piggott, C. Byrne, L. Marlin, S. Crane, R. Brookes, B. Keast, J. Irons, K. Fleay.