East Fremantle Sharks beat Claremont but fall short of finals East Fremantle's Andrew Stephen (centre) was outstanding in defence. EAST Fremantle finished off its season with a win over the minor premier Claremont at East Fremantle Oval by 10 points but it counted for nought in the finish. The Sharks knew coming into the game that they had to win their grand final rematch and then also hope other results fell their way after losing to fellow top-four contenders Swan Districts last week. East Fremantle started slowly against Claremont, giving up the first three goals, but then kicked the last five of the second quarter to set up the eventual 13.9 (87) to 11.11 (77) victory. However, both Swan Districts and East Perth won, meaning East Fremantle's efforts to knock off the two-time defending premiers was for nought. The Sharks finish the season in fifth position with an 11-9 record coming off last year's grand final, but were still above a 50-50 record and made the Foxtel Cup grand final during 2013. Claremont might have lost, but it was just its third defeat of the season, with the Tigers having secured a fourth straight minor premiership while gearing up for a third flag, starting off with next Sunday's second semi-final against West Perth at Claremont Oval. East Fremantle captain Mark McGough found himself reported but was still outstanding with 35 possessions and seven clearances with Rory O'Brien finishing with 28 touches. Richard Hadley was a strong contributor with 24 touches with Aidan Tropiano also gathering 24 for the Sharks, Scott Hancock 21 and Brad Cooper 20 while having an intriguing duel with Ian Richardson. Andrew Stephen was outstanding in defence with 17 touches and six marks, but also holding Paul Medhurst scoreless. Rob Young worked hard for East Fremantle also both in the ruck and up forward finishing with 12 touches, five marks, 15 hit outs and two goals. Sandover Medal favourite Jake Murphy again led the way for Claremont with 29 possessions and 11 clearances, with a former winner Luke Blackwell also a tireless worker with 24 touches and seven clearances. Mark Seaby spent most of the game forward but had 18 touches, eight marks, 24 hit outs and five clearances with Ryan Neates gathering 25 disposals, Andrew Foster 21 and defender Tom Taylor 18. Richardson had to work hard for his three goals, with Chad Jones booting two, as did Jack Bradshaw. The Tigers came flying out of the blocks with the first three goals of the game in a five-minute purple patch, but the Sharks were able to turn it around before half-time with five straight second quarter goals, two each to Young and Jack Perham, to hold a three-point lead at the main change. Little then separated both teams for the second half with the margin never getting out to more than the 12 points that East Fremantle led by when O'Brien goaled at the 16-minute mark of the last quarter. However, the Sharks never again gave up the lead and held on the bittersweet 10-point win. BEST Sharks: R Hadley, A Stephen, R Young, M McGough, A Tropiano, R O'Brien, S Hancock. Tigers: J Murphy, M Seaby, L Blackwell, R Neates, C Jones, T Taylor, J Laurie. GOALS Sharks: J Depane 2, B Sheppard 2, R Young 2, J Perham 2, R O'Brien, K King, S Henson, A Tropiano, M Boyle. Tigers: I Richardson 3, C Jones 2, J Bradshaw 2, A Hamp, J Laurie, R Neates, A Foster. UMPIRES: S Parry, T Keating, A Martin. CROWD: About 1000 at East Fremantle Oval.