Claremont’s (Reserves) chances of playing finals are all but over after the Tigers suffered a 48-point defeat to East Perth in freezing conditions at Medibank Stadium.

An insipid first half in which the visitors were held goalless was the catalyst for the defeat, as the Royals prevailed 13.10 (88) to 5.10 (40).

The Tigers’ 11^th loss sees the side now three wins outside the top five with just three rounds remaining, while East Perth improve their record to 9-9.

Morgan Davies lined up in his first game after some promising performances in the Colts, while Cameron Wilson, Samuel McPhee and Arana O’Byrne also made their debuts.

Isaac Baum, Chaz Flint, Tom Willett and Harrison McCracken all tried hard for the visitors, while Kaiden Gilbert was dominant in the ruck.

The Royals were best served by Freddie Clutterbuck, Thomas Omodei, Thomas Shanahan and Rowen Powell, while Agid Gardoud kicked four goals and took several strong marks.

When Damian Lee kicked truly at the seven-minute mark of the opening term he gave the Royals a six-point lead, before Powell extended the buffer to 13 points after a courageous mark and goal.

A free kick then gave Zachary Dent the opportunity to kick the Royals’ third major in which he duly obliged, as the hosts took a 21-point lead at the first change after a dominant term.

With the Tigers needing to improve their work-rate, ball use and decision making, Brad Trpchev lamented the number of missed tackles, and implored his players to take the game on.

With the Tigers needing a fast start to the second term, the Royals had other ideas as two goals to Gardoud extended their lead to 33 points.

Although Willett was proving a rock in defence for the Tigers, a goal to Blake Riley heaped further misery on the visitors as the Royals increased their buffer to 38 points following a miss by Keegan Knott at the other end just moments earlier.

A 37-point deficit was what confronted the Tigers at half-time, as the team searched for a way to get in to the game and keep their season alive.

However, further goals to Tom Hodgson and Clutterbuck on the run saw the margin blow out to 50 points early in the third term, before Steven Edwards finally got the Tigers on the board when he kicked truly at the 13-minute mark.

A great chase and tackle by Sam Bevan minutes earlier showed the Tigers were not going to roll over, and when Davies kicked his first goal, the margin was trimmed to 36 points following some fine work by Knott.

Further goals to Clutterbuck (three) saw the Royals respond and take a 51-point lead in to the final change, as Trpchev implored his players to attack the corridor and play brave football in the final term.

A goal to Baum following a kick forward by Knott saw the Tigers strike first, before Gardoud responded with his third major.

Ben Higgs then responded for the Tigers with his first goal in 2015 after being thrown forward, before Gardoud registered his fourth major.

A goal-saving mark by Peadar Burke showed the Tigers were keen to fight out the contest, before O’Byrne became the visitors’ fifth goal kicker.

A goal to Daniel Perkins sealed a big win for the Royals on a dark day for Claremont, with the Tigers now turning their attention to their final home game for 2015 when they host East Fremantle at the Show Grounds in round 21.

CLAREMONT 0.2 0.4 2.6 5.10 (40)

EAST PERTH 3.5 6.5 10.9 13.10 (88)

GOALS

CLAREMONT: 1 S. EDWARDS, I. BAUM, B. HIGGS, M. DAVIES, A. O’BYRNE

EAST PERTH: 4 A. GARDOUD, 3 F. CLUTTERBUCK, 1 Z. DENT, B. RILEY, R. POWELL, D. PERKINS, D. LEE, T. HODGSON

BEST

CLAREMONT: T. WILLETT, M. DAVIES, I. BAUM, H. MCCRACKEN, K. GILBERT

EAST PERTH: F. CLUTTERBUCK, A. GARDOUD, R. POWELL, T. OMODEI, T. SHANAHANigers no Match for Royals