DEMONS DOMINATE THE TIGERS

By Mark Thornber

Round 1, Perth v Claremont

Lathlain Park , Saturday 22 March 2014

Perth                           2.5       6.7       13.8      19.10    124

Claremont                  3.1        3.2       4.3       9.5       59

Perth opened their 2014 season in absolute style on Saturday with a comprehensive victory over Claremont at Lathlain Park by 65 points.

In warm conditions for the return of football it was the Tigers who goaled first within the opening minute through key forward Anton Hamp. Perth had plenty of the ball early on and were playing a very open forward line with most players outside their forward 50 metres.

Despite creating plenty of opportunities though the Demons had trouble finishing off their good midfield work and found scoring goals difficult. Finally though Matthew Moody was able to snap truly to kick his side’s first major at the 20 minute mark.

At quarter time it was the visitors who held a narrow lead by 2 points. The second term saw Perth finally be rewarded for some of their hard work as Joel Houghton put the home side in front early in the term.

Ruckman Mitchell Leyendekkers was playing well in the centre square and with the hard working Dene White they were combining well out of the middle. First gamer Brad Keast was also playing well in the centre and proving to be a handy pick up replacing the injured Chance Bateman, who was a late withdrawal.

Brennan Stack bobbed up half way through the quarter to further increase Perth’s lead, however the home side could easily have been further in front based on their dominance around the ground. Leyendekkers was able to kick a vital goal after the half time siren to give Perth a handy 23 point lead at the main break.

The second half began well for the Demons with the exciting Cameron Manuel goaling in the first minute and this was soon followed by another to Moody, who was causing the Tigers plenty of headaches up forward.

Perth were now well in control especially across the centre line where both Manuel and Michael Florio were well on top of their opponents on their wings, and Keast was continuing to gain plenty of the ball in the middle of the ground. The Demons looked super impressive and the exciting Clem Smith and Gerald Ugle were rebounding well off half back for the home side.

Joel Leeson who was obviously lacking some match practice slowly started to finish off some his team mate’s good work and kicked consecutive goals to put Perth in complete command of the match.

Perth played a wonderful third term booting an impressive 7 goals 1 and leaving Claremont with only 1 goal 1 in a dominant display.

With a commanding lead the Tigers certainly started to play some of their best football in the final term as the dangerous Luke Blackwell and Jake Murphy started to break free as the Tigers booted 2 quick goals.

This seem to lift the home side though as Moody soon responded with his 4^th goal and when Callum Collard kicked a great check side goal deep in the pocket a 10 goal margin was again re-instated. The last term saw both side’s run the match out well despite the tiring conditions with goals being scored quickly at both ends of the ground.

Perth’s pace was a real key difference in the last term though as Matthew Boyle and Jarrod Irons both ran up the ground to run into open goals. The final margin in the end was an impressive 65 points and the first time Perth had beaten the Tigers at home since 2002.

None played better for Perth than Manuel who finished with a game high 27 touches with fellow wingman Florio not being far behind him with 24 possessions. Leyendekkers played well and capped off his good work with 2 goals. Ugle and Keast were both great throughout the match and Moody was clearly the best forward on the day with 4 goals.

Perth had three players making their league debuts with Brent Edmonds (league player number 1548), Brad Keast (league player number 1549) and Clem Smith (league player number 1550) all showing some encouraging form.

Next week Perth travel down to the port to tackle the Bulldogs on Friday night with veteran Kris Miller likely to line up in his 300^th match.

Goals: Moody 4, Stack, Leyendekkers, Leeson, Collard 2, Houghton, Manuel, Richardson, O’Sullivan, Boyle, Irons, Ugle.

Best: Manuel, Florio, Leyendekkers, Ugle, Keast, Moody.

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