Sharks in the five after big day out

A resounding 49 point win capped off a big day for East Fremantle, winning at all levels against the Perth Demons on Saturday afternoon at Lathlain Park.

The Colts’ 65 point win set the table for the Development League side, who kicked an astounding 26.6 (162) in their 96 point win.

As East Perth fell to Subiaco, the League side put the icing on the cake in their must-win encounter, taking fifth spot over the Royals on percentage in their 17.12 (114) to 9.11 (65) victory.

Jeffrey Carter made his League debut in the Blue and White, and it was the Sharks who made the most of the perfect conditions, taking control of the free-flowing encounter to lead by 11 points at quarter time with goals through Lewis Krakouer, Jamie McNamara, Brett Peake and Liam Anthony.

There were hopes of pushing this lead further in the second term when Jacob Green set up a brilliant contested mark and goal from Cam Eardley, but the Demons responded with back-to-back majors to cut the margin to three.

Just as the Demons looked their most threatening, George Hampson stepped up to quash their rally -- converting a set shot from 45m and crumbing another as the Sharks extended their lead to 16 at the main break.

Clinton Jones got the Demons rolling with the first of the third term, but from there it was all East Fremantle. Peake and James Bristow combined for seven goals in the second half, finishing the day with four a piece.

The Demons rallied late with the last three majors to cut the margin to under 50 points, but the day belonged to East Fremantle, with a combined margin of 210 points between the three grades.

Sharing the ruck duties with Andrew Stokes, James Bristow made the most of his stint up forward, and credited the efforts of the midfield that was headed by a 36 disposal performance from Liam Anthony..

“Coming out in the third quarter we knew we had to keep grinding away and we finally got on top of them,” said Bristow of the Sharks four goal to one third term.

“I always enjoy getting to go up front, especially when the ball really starts to come out of the midfield like it did -- it makes life easy.”

It was all about the Bristow brothers for a ten minute period in the final term. A Tim Bristow mark and goal at seven minutes started the run before James Bristow stepped in with three in quick succession, including two set shots outside the fifty in front of the delighted travelling fans.

“I think [Tim] assisted me in those three goals so it’s nice for us to get on a roll,” said Bristow.

“Those set shots are always a bit easier when you’re up by 40 points but it was good to have the encouragement from the stands. Hopefully they’ll all be there at the Shark pit in the next two weeks and we can get a couple wins for them.”

But Bristow is wary of next week's opponents in Claremont, who were eliminated from finals contention after dropping a one-point heartbreaker to West Perth. The Tigers have just 6 wins from 18 matches this season, but their percentage of 112% is the third best of any club.

“We’ve got two games left to try and improve ourselves and make the finals, so hopefully we can take this form into next week and have a win against Claremont,” said Bristow.

“They’re a very good side, and have lost seven or eight they could have won and they have nothing to lose now so we need to give them respect into next week. If we can get a win there it sets up a mini-final against East Perth.”

The Development League’s 96-point win will cause some selection headaches for Rob Wiley, with Jack Perham and Dion Anthony proving their worth with eight and five goals respectively, and Anthony racking up 40 disposals.

Sitting fifth on 40 points, the Development League cannot be eliminated from the finals, but with one game and hand and a superior percentage, they stand a chance to move into fourth ahead of Subiaco on 44 points.

In sixth, the Colts could move as high as fourth in the standings, sitting four points back of the fourth placed Swan Districts, and two back of East Perth in fifth.