A brilliant weekend weather wise saw the commencement of the season after the holiday break. We saw a bagful of tries scored by our U6 and U7 teams, the U9's had an incredible draw against De La Salle and the U13 Silver team enjoyed a brave victory against the Colts despite playing with eleven players. Enjoy the reports and galleries below.
Tigers U6 64 Silver Kurnell Stingrays 60
In an exciting game the Tigers managed to get their noses over the line scoring 16 tries to the Stingrays 15. It was a high scoring game with both teams looking to score at every opportunity. Conor Lehane (6), Ollie Trevillian (3), Daniel Crawford (2), Logan Jones (2), Caden MacPherson (1) and Kingston Taylor (1) scored the tries for the Tigers and Zach Jansson and Raiden Price went close but were unable to get on the scoresheet. This was another impressive performance by the U6's who adopted the attitude of for every try you score, we will score two.
Tigers U7 Bronze 56 Bosco Bulldogs 60
The U7's went down to a final minute try to the Bulldogs in a fantastic game that could have gone either way. The Bulldogs started strongly and put on quick points, only for the Tigers to settle and start playing to their strengths. The Tigers reduced the margin, got level and then took a handy lead into the fourth quarter. Jake McMillan scored an unbelievable 11 tries, Robert Couley scored 2 and Hendrix Austin grabbed 1. Both teams got excited in the final minutes and mistakes were made but the Bulldogs held their nerve to score the final crucial try and win by four points.
Tigers U8 Bronze 26 Kurnell Stingrays 36
In a tight game the Tigers were playing catch-up throughout the game as the Stingrays always managed to pull away, when the Tigers got close. The Stingrays got out to an early lead before the Tigers pulled them back, only for the Stingrays put on more points and pull away again. You can't fault the determination of this team and their never say die attitude nearly pulled off an unlikely come from behind win, however the Stingrays managed to put on a couple more tries and stay in front scoring 7 tries to 5.
Tigers U9 Bronze 24 De La Salle 24
In the game of the round, the Tigers played out a thrilling draw against the top of the table De La Salle. In a tight opening quarter both teams showed attacking intent scoring two tries each. Archer Brassington and Hayden Walker scored for the Tigers and trailed De La Salle at the break. In the second quarter De La Salle had the better chances and went out to a half-time lead. However, the Tigers worked themselves back into the game in the third quarter, with a try to Zac May. Going into the fourth quarter the game was tied up at 18-18 and the Tigers had momentum after scoring late in the third. Archer Brassington put the Tigers ahead early in the fourth and the Tigers defence was solid, withholding every De La Salle attack.
With two minutes remaining, De La Salle scored to level the scores but the Tigers could sniff out a win and went straight on the attack from the kick-off. First Lachlan Couley tried his luck but was held back, then Archer Brassington searched for his hat-trick but was tackled, before Hayden Walker picked up the ball five metres out. He straightened up, charged over the line but was turned on his back by the covering defender and the game was tied at 24-24. The Tigers exceptional goal kicking was important today as De La Salle scored 5 tries to 4 but this was a brilliant performance by the Tigers who were unlucky not to record a win after such an impressive performance.
Tigers U13 Bronze 6 Menai Roosters 46
The U13's met the undefeated Roosters in an important game for their finals aspirations. The Roosters scored first and soon went out to a 10-0 lead. The Tigers worked themselves back into the game and a try to Lewis Amesbury reduced the lead to 10-6. The Tigers were having some luck and were forcing the Roosters back, however, the Roosters soon got back into their zone and put on easy tries. The Tigers were unable to keep up with the Roosters attack who scored 9 tries to set up a deserved 46-6 win. Games against Como and Gymea in the next two weeks will be crucial for the U13's if they want to play finals this year.
Tigers U13 Silver 22 Aquinas Colts 6
In the most impressive performance of the day the U13 Silvers defeated the Colts 22-6 despite playing with 11 players in warm conditions. A good run by Mason De Luca got the Tigers going forward and on the next play a cross-field grubber kick from Ethan Coleman, was collected by Zac Porter and he was able to get the ball over the line in the corner to give the Tigers a 4-0 lead. The Colts were trying to play around the Tigers but great work by Mason Holiday, Mason De Luca and Hudson Wilcox reduced the space the Colts had to work in. A mistake by the Colts gave the Tigers the ball in good field position and it was worked to Hudson Wilcox who was able to crash through defenders and put the Tigers out to an 8-0 lead. With less than one minute on the clock, more good work by the Tigers, got the ball to Mason De Luca who received the ball ten metres from the line and he is almost unstoppable from that distance and scored to give the Tigers a 14-0 half-time lead.
In the second half the Colts pressured the Tigers and had plenty of the ball in the Tigers half. This resulted in a try to the Colts who started to look dangerous as the Tigers started to fatigue in the hot conditions. However, this is a proud team and a fantastic defence splitting run by Hudson Wilcox got the Tigers into the Colts half. The ball was worked quickly to Tom Fraser, who had a ton of work to do, which he did well and scored to halt the Colts momentum. With a couple of minutes remaining, Zac Porter got his second to give the Tigers a 22-6 win which wasn't pretty but was well earned in challenging circumstances.
Tigers U16 Silver 0 Kingsgrove Colts 24
In front of the cameras the Tigers were taking on the high flying Kingsgrove Colts in a game they had to win to cement their finals chances. We celebrated Will Field's 100th game for the Tigers today but unfortunately Will had to leave the game with an ankle injury and we wish him a speedy recovery.
In a tough and hard fought game the Tigers matched everything the Colts threw at them. Going behind early the Tigers could have easily wilted to the bigger and more physical Colts, however for the next 45 minutes, the Tigers dug in, matched them physically and had their chances to score. The Tigers limited the space the Colts had to work in and this flustered their attack and resulted in a lot of dropped ball. The Tigers unfortunately, were unable to capitalise on the Colts mistakes and convert this into points. The boys were disappointed with their performance and the result, but it remained 10-0 to the Colts until the final 10 minutes when they put on 3 tries in quick succession. The Tigers deserved more from this game and a bit more creativity in attack would have resulted in certain tries. Despite the loss, the Tigers showed real grit and bravery throughout the game, in going toe to toe with the Colts.
Tigers O35 Silver 10 Renown United 32
After recent results the O35's were looking to reverse the 44-24 defeat in May. Unfortunately for the Tigers, Renown were focused and had too much skill on the day. Renown went ahead early and put on a couple of quick tries to take an early lead. The Tigers tried to work themselves back into the game but the green hoops were causing confusion amongst the Tigers and at times mesmerized defenders. Craig O'Connor and Clinton Jones were the Tigers scorers with the deadly Sean Cummins scoring one conversion from one.
A brilliant weekend for the Tigers with some impressive performances, Conor Lehane had a great game scoring 6 tries, the U7's were brave against the Bulldogs with Jake McMillan bagging 11 tries. The U9's continued with their impressive form, holding the top of the table De La Salle in an exciting game and the U13 Silvers had an important win playing short.
We would like to thank the Committee and Tiger parents for doing such a great job in helping out at Yarrawarrah today. We only had two home games and hosted several other teams and it was great to see so many people setting up the fields, firing up the BBQ and running the canteen. THANK YOU
Thanks to the Stingrays, Bosco, De La Salle, the Colts, the Roosters, Kingsgrove and Renown for a great weekend of footy and we wish all teams the best for the remainder of the season.
