Round 2 games had all Tigers teams playing away from home on the Saturday and the 15's and 18's playing at home on the Sunday. The weather remained good and it was a great weekend of footy for everyone involved.
The Tigers U6 team finally got on the field this weekend and what a ball they had in their first game of the season. The 7's were looking to build on their good form in week 1 and the 8's were hoping the extra week of training would help them find some form. Both 12's teams were under strength this weekend and playing short in both games and both the 15's and 18's were hoping to have better fortune after narrow losses in week 1.
Read about all the games below and thanks to our kits sponsors; Kore Property Group, Quality Health Care, Sound Plumbing and On Top Constructions for bringing you this weeks games.
U6 Green Tigers 16 Gymea 56
The U6's got their season underway against the Gorillas and didn't they look great in their headgear. It was a good start by both teams with each player getting the chance to have a run. Gymea got on the board first after a good break and Jake McMillan quickly equalized to scoring the Tigers first try. Gymea put on 2 more quick tries before quarter time to take a 12-4 lead into the break.
In the second quarter the Gorillas started to get on top with some excellent team tackles, closing down the Tigers at every opportunity. A strong run from Gymea through the defence got the lead out to 16-4 and the Gorillas scored again soon after to take a 20-4 half time lead. In the third quarter the game really opened up with both teams going try for try in the early stages. Jake McMillan's experience was on show as he scored two tries, one an outside run around the Gorillas defence and his second a mazy run through the entire Gorillas team before jinking his way into the corner to score. Late in the quarter the Gorillas started to reassert their dominance and score a couple of quick tries against a tiring Tigers defence.
In the fourth quarter the Tigers looked tired after some ferocious tackling from Gymea who played a really good team game. Jake McMillan managed to cross again to score his fourth try and Daniel Romyn made some great breaks and deserved to get on the scoresheet but the Gorillas defence was just too strong and too quick for the Tigers to break through. Gymea score a couple more tries to finish the game running out 56-16 winners and the Tigers will be better for the experience.
Player of the Game: Danielle Romyn
Tigers Spirit Award: Robert Couley
U7 Green Tigers 48 De La Salle 40
The U7's continued their great form from week 1 winning an exciting game against De La Salle. The Tigers went behind by three tries early on as De La Salle flexed their muscles but the Tigers found their groove quickly after - Sonny Faughey just missed the try line in his first attempt (thought he hit the try line but was short). After another De La set, Tigers collected themselves with Harrison Payn and Hendrix Malaki putting the first tries for the Tigers on the board. Caleb Dawson, Hendrix Crawley and Sonny Faughey were our other try scorers today.
Harrison and Caleb continued their try scoring streak and showed amazing skill and energy, darting through and side stepping the opposition- inspiring their team mates to do the same. Very closely backed by Arlo Gibbons, Hendrix C, Hendrix M and Sonny F. Arlo, Sonny and the Hendrix’s have so much heart, strength and grunt and they all love to get the ball and make runs as well as chase down and tackle.
Kade Jones played like a champion, big front rower, lifting those knees and keeping momentum whilst being tackled and almost had a few breakthroughs for the try line and showed excellent courage and determination in chasing down tackles. And always with a smile! That’s why he was made man of the match.
Jack Jones also had a great game with lots of effort and determination, side stepping and game tactics and almost scored twice - tackled just shy of the line both times, but gave big effort.
Angelo T is coming along in his game and was involved in some critical tackles to keep the line and also showed great courage and confidence in running the ball straight into the opposition, he is also super vocal on and off the field, cheering on his team mates.
Dennis and Tyler both agree that it was incredibly difficult today to decide Man of the Match as all were more than deserving of it.
Player of the Game: Harrison Payn
Tigers Spirit Award: Hendrix Crawley
U8 Green Tigers 8 De La Salle 36
The Tigers came up against a well organised and well drilled De L Salle team that just had too much finesse for the Tigers this week. The Tigers showed more cohesion this week and we had plenty of positive moments throughout the game. Aston Gibbons, Levi Horne and Zac May were a constant threat and when they had the opportunity they troubled De La Salle with their skill.
Max Horne was able to use his speed and footwork to punch holes in the De La Salle defence and it was his ability to get through the line that set up both Tigers tries. Max managed to score in the first and fourth quarters and deserved a better return for his efforts. The Tigers also improved in their defensive effort with Charlotte Dart and Hayden Walker getting through a tonne of work to keep De La Salle at bay. There was enough evidence that the U8's are getting closer and a couple more days training will really help this team gel.
Player of the Game: Max Horne
Tigers Spirit Award: Hayden Walker
U12 Bronze Tigers 20 Gymea 20
This was probably the performance of the weekend, under strength, players carrying injuries the Tigers took to the field with 11 players and it was looking like it was going to be a tough and long afternoon.
Both teams started well and were looking good defensively then Bede Staniforth was given the ball. He ran through four or five tackles and scored under the posts from 20m out. Levi Dawson was given the shot at goal and slotted it home, 6-0 to the Tigers. Great runs from Leo Giovenco and Reece Amos allowed the Tigers to advance near to the Gorillas try line. and on the fifth tackle, Max Cooper put in a grubber in the in-goal to the corner and Cooper Nunn pounces on it to take the score to 10-0.
Off the tap-off, our defence muscled up and kept the Gorillas at bay. Great tackles from Will Janssen, Lewis Amesbury and Bailey Mason gave the team plenty of confidence and we started to play some expansive football. Gymea sets up and then scores in the next six and the score is now 10-6. We tapped off next and more great runs from Ben Rooke, Bailey Mason and Lucious Viteri once again got us close to the try line. Great pass from Max Cooper out to Levi Dawson and we score in the corner. Half time the Tigers are up 14-6 and it has been a great effort by the team.
In the second half the Gorillas came out hungry and they had some really good periods in the early stages of the half. The Gorillas pressure started to pay off and they put on a couple of quick tries to take the lead 16-14. Unfortunately for the Tigers Will Janssen picked up an injury and we are now down to 10 players against a confident Gymea team that could sense victory.
However, these Tigers just don't know when they are beat and we win the ball and get it to Bede Staniforth who busts through the smallest hole in the Gorillas defence and runs 40m to get the Gorillas defence on the back foot. We defend strongly and Leo Giovenco and Reece Amos make some important tackles and big hits and you can see the team gain in confidence as a result.
We continue to worry the Gorillas and a mistake sees us win back the ball. We play through hands and Bede Staniforth makes another bust through the defensive line and runs 50m to the try line and slams the ball down-Game on. Cooper Nunn slots the conversion and it is now 20-16 to the Tigers with 2 minutes left to play. The Gorillas are clearly stung and they go on the attack from the kick-off. They make steady progress and then create an overlap and score in the corner to tie the game up at 20-20. Fortunately for the Tigers they miss the conversion and the whistle blows to end the game 20 apiece.
This was an absolutely amazing effort from the boys. Playing short is never easy but the Tigers never backed down and every player looked for work and supported their teammates throughout the game. Everyone should be proud of their performance today.
Player of the Game: Levi Dawson
U12 Silver Tigers 10 Titans 32
Just like the Bronze team the Tigers went into this game seriously under strength with only 11 players available to take the field. Unfortunately they came up against a strong Titans team that was able to make the most of the gaps caused by playing short. It was a brave effort by the Tigers but the Titans proved too strong and too well organised not to take their chances. The silver team have a sense of deja vu as they also started the 2021 season with two losses before going on a run that saw them occupy second place coming into the final games-We can only hope that 2022 gives us more of the same.
Player of the Game: Mason De Luca
U15 Silver Tigers 12 Kingsgrove 24
A good opening with both teams testing each other out early. The Tigers had a couple of sets and forced Kingsgrove back towards their line.after a couple of left side attacks we switched to the right, working the ball through hands before getting it to Fintan Kelly who beat a couple of covering defenders to score in the corner. 6-0
Kingsgrove attacked from the kick-off and made ground up the middle. They worked it wide and their winger scored around the outside 6-4. The Colts bigger size started to push the Tigers back and repeat sets saw them score through the middle to lead 10-6. The remainder of the half both teams had good moments threatening the line before the Colts crossed the line again with forceful straight running to take a 14-6. half-time lead
The second half started even but the Colts started to make ground again with strong runs and strong defence. The Tigers spilled the ball a couple of times and the Colts scored first points to take an 18-6 lead. Alex Moussa scored under the posts to get back to 18-12 and the Tigers had a sniff. Kade Bergman , Harry Melbourne and Albie Lamaro were getting through a tone of work and Fintan Kelly was hungry for work often coming in from his wing to take a run. The Colts were looking for the killer blow and the Tigers were searching to get parity and it made for an entertaining period in the game. With seven minutes to go the Colts charged the line to take a 24-12 lead. The Tigers had plenty of ball in the final fives minutes but were unable to score despite getting over the line on a couple of occasions.
This was a tough work out against a bigger team with lots of enthusiasm. The Tigers more than held their own but some silly errors and dropping off the tackle caught up with them in the end.
Player of the Game: Kade Bergman
U18 Merged Tigers/Crocs 0 Gymea 26
The game started with both teams working through their sets and attacking each other defence. The Tigers had good early field position and were playing the game in the Gorillas half. The remainder of the half turned into an arm wrestle with both teams playing between the twenty metre lines. The Tigers gave away a couple of penalties which put the Gorillas close to the line and a set play saw them cross to take a 6-0 lead. A couple of errors by the Gorillas put the Tigers on the attack but they were unable to make the most of their advantage and neither team troubled the score board to half time.
In the second half the Gorillas scored three quick tries to take a 22-0 lead. The Tigers started to look drained in the hot conditions and Gymea set up camp on the Tigers try line. Gorillas scored again to go 26 ahead and finished the game strongly. The Tigers started to have some good possession towards the end of the second half and threatened the Gorillas try line without scoring. The Tigers did well to stay in the game in the second half and with more training will be better prepared to take on teams.