Round 2 sees all Tigers teams playing at home on the Saturday with the U16's playing De La Salle away on the Sunday. The Tigers will be hoping for some better results this weekend and home ground advantage will certainly give all players a lift. Enjoy the reports and galleries below.
Tiger U6 Blue 40 V Engadine Dragons 36
The Tigers put in another solid performance in defeating a skillful Dragons team 10 tries to 9. In an exciting game the Tigers hunted the Dragons down all over the park with Zach Jansson, Logan Jones and Ollie Trevillian hurrying the Dragons into making mistakes. Conor Lehane and Kingston Taylor used their pace to good effect and often had the Dragons defence on the back foot and Dan Crawford, Ethan Welfare and Caden MacPherson made some important runs and troubled the Dragons with their determination. Tries were shared around the team with Kingston Taylor grabbing 3 and Conor Lehane, Logan Jones and Ollie Trevillian scoring 2 apiece and Caden MacPherson scoring 1. The U6's are playing a brave brand of footy and are always looking to run the ball and attack at every opportunity.
Tigers U7 Blue 4 V Gymea Gorillas 72
Unfortunately for the U7's they come up against a big, strong and pacey Gorillas team who were on top from the opening whistle. The Tigers found it difficult to get into any rhythm as they were harried constantly by the Gorillas. Layken Koprivic and Robert Couley had some good moments and Jaxon Good brought energy and pace into the Tigers attack. Hendrix Austin and Daniel Romyn tried to get the team going forward but they were met by a big green defensive wave every time. Joshua Dart made some try saving tackles and Jake McMillan was always looking to get across the try line and scored the Tigers only try. There will be better weeks for the U7's and they came across a very good Gorillas team today.
Tigers U8 Blue 48 V Gymea Gorillas 26
The Tigers were short on numbers again, but carried their good form into this week and defeated a good Gorillas team by 22 points. The Tigers started the game brightly with Oscar Nicholls getting the first try and he was well supported by Hendrix Malaki who scored a length of the field try and Sonny Tricker who used his pace to score in the corner. Kade Jones made some good tackles and was a willing runner for the Tigers and he was well supported by Ray Logie who top scored with 3 tries, as did Hendrix Malaki, Oscar Nicholls got over the line twice and Arlo Gibbons and Sonny Tricker chipped in with 1 each. This was a fantastic team effort by the U8's who played with speed and energy across the park. Thanks to Jake McMillan, Robert Couley and Jaxson Good who all played up for the 8's and made some important contributions in the Tigers victory.
Tigers U9 Bronze 28 V Como Crocs 36
The Tigers went behind early and it looked as if the Crocs would run away with this game, but the Tigers U9's are made of sterner stuff this year and they fought back, drew level and had every opportunity to run out winners but just couldn't get there by the final whistle. This was another impressive team performance with everyone playing their part, Hayden Walker and Geordan Fairbairn-Raco were a constant threat with the ball, Lachlan Couley, Archer Brassington and Aston Gibbons were buzzing around the pitch causing mischief. Charlotte Dart and Malachi Kane were tackling everybody in a green shirt and Zach May, Hudson Palmervale and Max Carlson provided solid link up play between attack and defence. This was an exciting game with both teams going toe to toe for long periods. Unfortunately, the Tigers just fell short, but they can hold their heads high in what was a great game to watch.
Tigers U13 Bronze 22 V Kogarah Cougars 20
This game had everything with multiple lead changes and a last minute try by the Tigers to win the game. The opening minutes were tight with both teams feeling each other out and looking for weaknesses. Lewis Amesbury made some important tackles breaking up play and the Tigers front-line of Leo Giovenco, Lucius Viteri and William Janssen were sharing the workload and taking the ball up equally. Liam Good got the Tigers on the board after a great run by Jensen Bunyan who opened up the Cougars defence and left holes everywhere. At half-time scores were locked at four points apiece with everything to play for. In the second half Lewis Amesbury danced through traffic and left the Cougars defence stationary as he scored under the posts and give the Tigers a 10-4 lead. Soon after Cooper Nunn got the Tigers out to a 14-4 lead with a well worked try and the Tigers looked like they may run away with the game. However, the Cougars put on two quick tries and got out to a 20-18 lead to set up a grandstand finish with minutes remaining. Cometh the hour, Lewis Amesbury collected the ball from the kick-off, he beat a couple of players before heading to the left wing and then outpaced three covering defenders to give the Tigers a 22-20 winning margin. This was a great effort by the U13 Bronze team to come back and snatch victory in the final minute and the whole team is to be congratulated for never giving up.
Tigers U13 Silver 26 V Brighton Seagulls 12
This was a physical game with both teams not giving an inch. The Tigers started the game with more energy and zip than last week and Zac Porter scored early to get the Tigers going. The Tigers attack were worrying the Seagulls at the edges and were forcing their defence backwards with some good combinations and interplay from the Tigers backs. Mason De Luca got the Tigers out to a 10-0 lead after a strong run and dummy that bamboozled the Seagulls defenders. In the second half the Seagulls hit back and scored two quick tries and go out to a 12-10 lead. The Tigers may have buckled but Zac Porter took control of the game and scored two tries to give the Tigers a 20-12 lead and then scored his fourth try after a skillful run down the line, kicking into space and then out-muscling the Seagulls covering defender to score and give the Tigers a unassailable lead. The U13 Silvers are to be congratulated for holding their nerve and getting on top of a physical Seagulls team who had plenty of chances themselves.
Tigers U16 Silver 10 V De La Salle 16
Football can be an incredibly cruel game, and this point was proved again at Captain Cook Oval this afternoon. A depleted Tigers team were beaten in the final seconds of the game, in which their effort and endeavor deserved better reward.
The Tigers went into the game with 14 players, but were quickly reduced to 13 when Will Field left the game with an HIA and possible broken nose (we wish you a quick recovery Will). The game was evenly poised in the first half but De La Salle went into the break 10-0 ahead thanks to a couple of handling errors from the Tigers. In the second half the Tigers lifted their intensity and pressured De La Salle at every opportunity. Bailey Murray and Campbell Robertson were harrying the De La Salle forwards and tackling everything in blue that moved their way. The two Tigers wingers Issac Schippers and Fintan Kelly were also getting through a tonne of work, coming in to help the forwards by taking the ball up and helping build an impenetrable defence in the middle of the park.
The Tigers pressure eventually paid off and De La Salle were getting rattled. A good attack down the Tigers right saw Fintan Kelly go close but was stopped by four defenders. The Tigers tried to play on quickly, De La Salle jumped out of the blocks but were unable to stop Campbell Robertson crossing the line. In the ensuing melee a De La Salle player was sent from the field for violent conduct for punching Fintan Kelly and were reduced to 12.
The tide was turning the Tigers way and in torrential rain Luke Fenton got the Tigers second and Albie Lamaro converted from the sideline to tie the scores at 10 apiece. The Tigers had dominated possession in the second half and De La Salle had barely crossed the half way line, but with 30 seconds left on the clock, De La Salle were on the attack and worked space to score a finger tip try to steal the game away from the valiant Tigers. It was an exciting game but cruel on the Tigers who didn’t deserve to lose.
Tigers O’35 Silver 40 V Taren Point Titans 0
The Tigers played a depleted Titans team who forfeited the game at half-time. The Titans started strongly and had the Tigers on the back foot from the kick-off. However, the Tigers weight of numbers started to get on top and Sean Cummins made a clever break to get the Tigers ahead. Clinton Jones then went in soon after from an exceptional pass by Chris Fellas. Then some fantastic interplay between David Dart and John Dart set up Nathan Jones to score under the posts. Further tries to Chris Fellas, Tony Faughey, John Dart and Steve Mason put the Tigers out to a 40-0 half-time lead and the game was effectively over. Some of the play by the Tigers in the first half resembled the Harlem Globetrotters and it looked like to boys were enjoying themselves and the extra space on the pitch.
Summing up the weekend it was a special day in TIGERTOWN on Saturday and the atmosphere was loud and vocal with the teams feeding off the excitement. We had some fantastic games with the U8's getting their first win of the season, the U9's despite the result put in a fantastic performance and came close to victory and both U13's games went down to the wire and could have gone either way. The day was a great advertisement for junior football and all games were played in the right spirit. We thank the Dragons, Crocs, Gorillas, Cougars, Seagulls and Titans for a great day and we wish all teams the best for the rest of the season.
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