It was a bit quieter in Tigertown this week with a fair bit of excitement and nerves taking hold of the club. The U9's played the Minor Premiers, De La Salle at Captain Cook Fields, the U13 Bronze also played the Minor Premiers, Menai Roosters at Cronulla High School and the Tigers own Minor Premiers, the U13 Silver played the Engadine Dragons at Gwawley Oval.
In the words of Meatloaf Two out of three ain't bad. The Tigers U9's Bronze and U13 Silver both won their Preliminary Finals to play in the Big Dance next week. Unfortunately the U13 Bronze lost to a strong Roosters team bow out of the finals. This is a fantastic result for the Tigers and we encourage everyone to get behind the two teams at next weeks Grand Finals.
Tigers U9 36 Bronze De La Salle 28
The fairy-tale continues, the U9's are into the Big Dance defeating the Minor Premiers in another fantastic performance that I am running out of superlatives for. The Tigers started strongly going two tries to one ahead in the first quarter with Hayden Walker and Aston Gibbons grabbing the points for the Tigers. In the second quarter the Tigers scored another two tries, this time through Archer Brassington and Lachlan Couley and managed to keep De La Salle scoreless through some determined defence thanks to Charlotte Dart, Malachi Kane and Max Carlson. The Tigers led at half-time 26-6 and were looking good value at the break, troubling De La Salle with their speed and enthusiasm.
In the third quarter De La Salle scored first points to get the scores back to 26-12 but the Tigers scored another two tries with Hayden Walker getting his second and Zach May getting his first to give the Tigers a 32-12 lead. In the final quarter De La Salle started to show the form that made them Minor Premiers and they put on two tries to get the scores back to 32-22 before Archer Brassington scored for the Tigers to give them a 36-22 lead. In the final minutes De La Salle scored again to finish with 28 points but the Tigers claimed the victory with 36 points. The Tigers outscored De La Salle 7 tries to 5 and claim a famous win to qualify for the Grand Final.
Tigers U13 Bronze 8 Menai Roosters 36
The Roosters were firm favourites in this game and in the end they had too much quality for the Tigers. The Roosters star player Nico Golik scored 5 tries and at times was simply unplayable. However, the Tigers can hold their heads high as they pushed the Roosters right up until the final whistle and had their chances throughout the game. Patrick Graham and Nathan Baldock suffered injuries during the game and we wish both a speedy recovery.
Lewis Amesbury and Hunter Loveday scored the two tries for the Tigers and both played well, making tackles went it counted and looking dangerous with the ball. Other stand out performers included Lucius Viteri, Jake Dooley and Leo Giovenco who were all solid in defence and worked hard when taking the ball up. Patrick Graham, Bailey Murray and Max Cooper used their skill to create space and set up chances but had few opportunities to really get on top. Liam Good and Zane Shoblom looked dangerous in attack and Xavier Viteri and Cooper Nunn were both willing runners whenever the Tigers had the ball. Despite their injuries Patrick Graham and Nathan Baldock pressed the Roosters throughout the game and Will Janssen had a strong game making important tackles when needed.
It has been a memorable season for the Bronze team and making the preliminary final was a great effort given the strength of this years competition. Congratulations to the Roosters who remain undefeated and we wish you well in next weeks Grand Final.
Tigers U13 Silver 8 Engadine Dragons 0
In an epic battle, the Tigers prevailed over a stubborn Dragons outfit who defended valiantly right up until the final whistle. In blustery conditions there were plenty of nerves from both teams with a Grand Final appearance up for grabs. Both teams worked through their sets early, testing each out and looking for an advantage. Dylan Sammut, Mason De Luca and Tom Fraser all started strongly and Ethan Coleman was moving the Dragons around with his kicking. A great run by Zac Porter got the Tigers over the advantage line but they couldn't capitalise and momentum was lost. The Tigers were enjoying most of the possession and forcing the Dragons into errors in their own half. From one such error the Tigers got the first points. The Tigers attacked down the right but met a brick wall, they then switched left and Hudson Lane managed to dive through a gap and put the Tigers 4-0 ahead. For the remainder of the half the Tigers continued to attack through Bede Staniforth, Billy Dunn and Hudson Purves but the Dragons held firm and managed to keep the Tigers out.
The second half was a direct replica of the first, the Tigers had the majority of possession but were unable to break the Dragons defensive line. Mason Holiday started to assert himself and Hudson Wilcox made some important runs. The Dragons lifted mid way through the half and a kick was well gathered by Brayden Kench on his defensive line. Nerves were creeping in with the Tigers supporters who were getting restless on the sideline. With minutes remaining the Tigers scored again to make the game safe, Flynn Rankin went close on the left wing but was held up. The ball then shifted to the right and Lewis Amesbury used his pace to get on the outside of the defence and score in the corner. The Tigers nearly got another try after the bell when Ethan Coleman put in a grubber that was nearly collected by Zac Porter. This was a tight game against two strong teams and the Engadine Dragons are to be congratulated for their performance in a tight game.
A Big Thank You to our 2023 sponsors, without your support we would not have a club and we appreciate you getting behind our teams.
