Shark Struggle in Season Opener

The Sharks were dealt a round one blow on Saturday, going down to Claremont by 62 points at East Fremantle Oval.

The boys secured early ascendancy, that saw them take a 19-point lead into the first break.

In his first game with the Sharks, Jonathon Marsh kicked an absolute beauty from 65 metres out to set the crowd in to a frenzy. Brett Peake and Matthew Watson followed suit, nailing important goals to extend the lead to 17 points and things looked promising. Another returning Shark the hit scoreboard, with Cameron Symonds kicking a goal from a set shot after a strong contested mark.

Claremont clawed their way back with the breeze in the second, kicking six goals to the Sharks one.

There were glimmers of hope for the boys early in the third quarter but they struggled to convert. Claremont’s dominance continued during the second half of that quarter, kicking four unanswered goals, before Watson booted the final goal of the quarter to reduce the deficit to 21 heading in to the final stanza.

Unfortunately, that’s where is finished for the Sharks, with the Tigers work rate far superior to ours, kicking 8 final quarter goals to our one.

Jesse Adamini was a standout for the blue and white, collecting 27 disposals and finishing with a goal in his eighth-league appearance.

East Fremantle did also have some good ball winners with Cameron Eardley collecting 25 possessions, Conor Regan 24, Jayden Schofield 23 and Ryan Lester-Smith 22, however at times, turnovers and ball use let them and many of their team mates down.

The boys take on reigning premiers Peel Thunder at Bendigo Bank Stadium on Sunday, where they will need to bring a four-quarter effort.

The two earlier games displayed some true East Fremantle talent, with both the Colts and Development League securing first round wins.

After an even start, the Sharks Development League side came out blazing in the second to take a solid lead into the half time break. The Tigers were kept scoreless in the fourth, whilst the Sharks recorded 6 of their own to nail a 53-point win.

Jake Schleicher racked up 34 possessions, Ben Harding and Joel Kalajzic 28, Carl Green 24, Nathan Fahey and James Harrold 21.

The Sharks had several goal scores, with Alex Moreno finishing with 3 while Jesse Mirco and Zac McCarrey were the other multiple goal kickers, snaring two apiece.

The match committee will have a tough decision this week with several of the Development League boys pushing for League selection.

The Colts faced some tough competition playing the 2016 colts premiers, but managed to walk away with a 7-point win after a committed and courageous effort.  The young Sharks controlled play for much of the day, however were inefficient in front of goals which kept the Tigers in the contest.  The Sharks inaccuracy could have been costly in the final quarter, where they kicked 9 behinds, but they were able to keep the Tigers to just two goals to record a great first up win.

 Liam Rajanayagam was outstanding with 31 disposals, as was Dylan Williams 28, Gabriel Parfitt 26, Kyle Baskerville 25 and Jaimon Alone 24.  The two key defenders in Cameron Davidson and Chris Scott, both of whom travel from the country to play for the Sharks were very impressive and we will be hoping they can play more games throughout the year.