Sharks endure in Showgrounds thriller

On a wild and woolly Saturday afternoon the East Fremantle Sharks held off the Claremont Tigers for a thrilling five point victory at the Showgrounds.

The punters that braved the Perth Storm were put through a tense and often entertaining affair, as the Sharks sealed their 6.17.53 to 7.6.48 win at the death from a Fraser Perry mark in the goal square.

East Fremantle dominated general play with 59 inside fifties to Claremont’s 32 -- but the Tigers were able to match the Sharks on the scoreboard with accuracy from their set shots, and by creating space and scoring opportunities on the counter.

The Sharks had no answers into the swirling breeze that advantaged play to the railway end, kicking 6.9 with wind and 0.8 against it.

Conversely, Claremont appeared unaffected with the majority of their goals coming at the northern end. This included the opening two of the match which spurred an East Fremantle response through strong marks and goals to Tim Bristow and a pair to George Hampson.

At quarter time, few would have felt that the Sharks’ four point advantage was enough. Claremont’s record breaking 19.2 total against East Fremantle in Round 5 was still fresh in the memory, and the Tigers were again at their clinical best and looming large with the wind to their backs.

There’s an old adage that attack is the best form of defence and it played true in a bizarre second quarter. East Fremantle kept Claremont to just one goal by keeping the ball primarily in their forward half -- but in front of goal the Sharks were literally coming up short, seeing some set shots fail to reach the goal square as the rain and hail wreaked havoc.

At half time a drenched East Fremantle side headed to the changerooms buoyed by an impressive effort to stay in front by a single point, despite failing to kick a goal for the quarter.

The third quarter went more to script and after 10 minutes James Bristow broke through to secure the Sharks' first goal since the 21 minute mark in the opening term. Brock O'Brien added another after marking on the half back flank and gaining an encroachment 50m penalty to goal from the set shot.

Late in the third Fraser Perry put East Fremantle 16 points up with a diving mark in the forward pocket and playing on to secure the Sharks' sixth and final goal for the day.

The game was far from over as the Tigers came out fighting in the fourth. Jack Bradshaw goaled in the opening minutes and Ryan Lim reduced East Fremantle’s lead to just four points heading into time on.

Under immense pressure, East Fremantle’s backs held their own, and the likes of Josh Cuneo, Sam Reid, Ryan Lester-Smith and Brock O’Brien were immense to help the Sharks extend thier winning streak to four games ahead of Saturday’s clash with Peel Thunder at ATOM Stadium.

Earlier, the Colts got back to their winning ways defeating the Tigers 8.9.57 to 5.3.33 after keeping Claremont scoreless in the opening and third terms.

Drew Blurton and Hamish Rogers kicked a pair of goals while Corey Holmes ran hot with 21 kicks in his 24 disposals.

The Development League side remain just inside the top five despite their 12.6.78 to 6.8.44 loss to the third placed Claremont. A four goal final term helped saved face for East Fremantle after Claremont raced out of the blocks and buit a sizeable lead.

Jacob Green led the Sharks on the scoresheet with two majors while Jesse Adamini picked up 12 kicks and 15 handballs to lead the Sharks' disposal count with 27 touches in total.