South Fremantle shake off spirited Claremont

South Fremantle have recorded their third straight victory after kicking five final quarter goals to sink Claremont by 27 points in the round 5 WAFL fixture played at Albany’s Centennial Stadium this afternoon.

In front of a large crowd that built all day, the Bulldogs led at every change and were never behind at any stage but they were significantly tested by a persistent Tigers outfit.

The Tigers again got within a kick when forward Tom Lee slotted his third goal on the verge of three quarter time but the Bulldogs rallied to boot the first three goals of the all-important final term.

Livewire Brandon Donaldson kicked his second early in the last to extend the margin to eight points before Matthew Parker crumbed beautifully to make it 14 points.

The game stopped for several minutes as trainers attended Tigers’ Keifer Yu, who appeared to be knocked out in a tackle and was stretchered from the ground before being transported to hospital.

Bulldogs forward Blaine Johnson then launched a long bomb to push the margin beyond 20 points as his side eventually ran out winners, 12.13 (85) to 8.10 (58).

Donaldson was superb for the winners up forward, kicking 2.1 from 24 disposals while midfielder Shane Hockey was very busy throughout to collect 31 possessions.

Haiden Schloithe had to deal with a heavy tag from Great Southern product Morgan Davies and was kept to 12 disposals but still managed to have an impact with three second half goals.

Captain Dylan Main and ruckman Brock Higgins, 47 hitouts and one goal, also had strong influences on the result.

The Tigers were well led by midfield star Kane Mitchell who amassed 33 possessions while Haydn Busher was outstanding in defence as he limited Mt Barker’s Ben Saunders to only one major.

Jye Bolton worked hard around stoppages and Jared Hardisty was also among their best with 18 touches.