Preliminary Finals Preview
Three Tigers teams remain and each are playing for a spot in the Grand Final.
The U9's and U13 Bronze teams excelled in their elimination finals games with the 9's beating the Sharks 40-18 and the 13's also beating the Sharks 30-20. Both teams will be hoping to carry their good form into their games, as they both meet the Minor Premiers in the Preliminary Final. The Tigers own Minor Premiers, the U13 Silver meet the Engadine Dragons in their final and with the ledger standing at one win each, the Tigers will need to be on top form if they wish to play in the Grand Final.
GO TIGERS.
U9's Yarrawarrah Tigers V De La Salle
The U9's played their best game of the season against a surprisingly flat Sharks team in last week's elimination final. Having said that, the Tigers were dominant all across the park and it is fair to say they never gave the Sharks an opportunity in the first two quarters. They will need to do the same against a talented De La Salle team who only lost 3 games and drew 1 throughout the season. That draw was against the Tigers in Round 12. In a close game, the scores ended 24-24 with the Tigers thinking they had won the game on the siren only for the referee to call held up. Both teams met on two other occasions in the season with De La Salle winning both games easily, 60-6 in Round 3 and 60-34 in Round 8. The Tigers will take a lot of confidence into the game and we hope belief as well, we are predicting a close game with the Tigers winning by a try.
U13's Bronze Yarrawarrah Tigers V Menai Roosters
After an incredible effort against the Sharks in the elimination final, can the Bronze team go one better and knock over the undefeated Roosters to play in the Grand Final for the second consecutive year. The team will miss Jensen Bunyan who is out with a foot injury and the boys will be looking to get a result for their team mate. In the regular season the Roosters had the wood on the Tigers winning 28-10 in Round 3 and 46-6 in Round 12. The 13's will go in as clear underdogs, but if they can show the belief that they displayed in their last two games, against De La Salle and the Sharks, they will give the Rooster a run for their money. Belief is the key for the 13's and they will need to build a defensive wall across the park, limit any space for the Rooster to work in and take the game to the Roosters if they are to record their first win against the Minor Premiers. We are predicting a close game with the Tigers causing an upset to win by 4 points.
U13's Silver Yarrawarrah Tigers V Engadine Dragons
Having had the week off, the Silvers will be keen to get back on the park to take on local rivals the Dragons in what promises to be a cracking final. The team will miss Levi Dawson who is out with a broken arm but welcome back Bede Staniforth. Honours are even in the win stakes with the Dragons winning 30-12 in Round 1 and the Tigers winning 20-10 in Round 10. However, we need to look at the table to get a fuller picture of where this game will be won and lost. Both teams are strong defensively with the Tigers conceding 132 points to the Dragons 140, but the Tigers are easily ahead in the points scored table, scoring over 206 more points than the Dragons. It is fair to say, this game will boil down to whether the Tigers attack can get on top of the Dragons defence. The Tigers need to stick to their game plan, keep rolling up the middle and allow their talented backs to get the job done. We are predicting a close game with the Tigers winning by 10 points.