Round 5 saw most teams at home, which allowed us to celebrate Mother's Day and celebrate the many fantastic things that Tigers Mums do for the club. We had another fantastic day weather wise, although the temperature plummeted in the afternoon. There was a great deal of excitement in TIGERTOWN for another round of exciting footy at the home of the Tigers. Well done to all teams and please enjoy the reports and galleries below.
Tigers U6 Blue 40 Como Crocs 24
The Tigers started the game with four players and Como kindly reduced their team to four to even things out. Despite the low numbers the Tigers were the stronger team and they looked quicker and more confident than the Crocs. Everybody got on the scoresheet this week with Daniel Crawford top scoring with 3, Ethan Welfare, Caden MacPherson and Kingston Taylor getting 2 each and Zach Jansson scoring 1. Since losing to De La Salle in Round 1, this is the fourth win on the bounce for the U6's who play as a team, tackle constantly and work together to set each other up to score. The Crocs deserve a special mention as they never gave up and despite playing a bigger team and never shirked a tackle. Well done to Ethan, Daniel, Caden, Zach and Kingston for playing so well and chalking up another victory.
Tigers U7 Blue 16 Como Crocs 68
The U7's were well beaten by a fast and skillful Crocs team who just had too much pace for the Tigers. There were some good moment for the Tigers with Robert Couley tackling everything in a green shirt, Layken Koprivic keeping the Crocs on their toes by looking for gaps, Jaxon Good and Daniel Romyn always looking to make a run and Joshua Dart and Hendrix Austin showing some fight and taking it up to the Crocs at every opportunity. Jake McMillan had another good game and scored 2 tries and Hendrix Austin and Robert Couley chipped in with 1 each. The Tigers will go back to the drawing board before next weeks game and work on some plays to find a much needed spark.
Tigers U8 Blue 16 Gymea Gorillas 36
The Tigers did well to stay close to the Gorillas coming off a heavy defeat against the Sharks the week prior. The Tigers had their moments and the speed of Arlo Gibbons, Oscar Nichols and Ray Logie worried the Gorillas as did the tackling by Hendrix Crawley, Hendrix Malaki Sonny Faughey. In the end the Gorillas were just too strong and the Tigers were unable to get close and apply some scoreboard pressure to the Gorillas. Arlo Gibbons, Oscar Nichols and Ray Logie were the Tigers try scorers
Tigers U9 Blue 36 Gymea Gorillas 42
This was by far the game of the round at Tigertown and the U9's are quickly becoming the entertainers of the competition. This game had everything and the Gorillas went ahead early through two quick tries, Archer Brassington then pulled one back for the Tigers using his pace to evade defenders and it was game on. Both teams were going for broke, trying to score every set, this made for a highly entertaining and exciting game, with the lead changing hands regularly. Everybody was playing well and Charlotte Dart scored a couple of cracking tries, Hayden Walker is starting to use his size to good effect and Archer Brassington's pace had the Gorillas on the back foot. The Tigers took a slender 32-30 lead into the final quarter and both teams continued to attack. The Gorillas scored two quick tries before the Tigers pulled one back. With minutes to go, the Tigers had several chances to level but the excitement got to them and they were unable to cross the try line, meaning the Gorillas won by a converted try.
Tigers U13 Bronze 28 Gymea Gorillas 6
An important win for the Bronze team sees them sitting in joint second place on 11 points with Cronulla Caringbah, Kurnell Stingrays and Kogarah Cougars. The Tigers started strongly and camped themselves in the Gorillas half. A kick into the end goal was dropped by the Gorillas defence and Hunter Loveday reacted quickest to score and put the Tigers ahead. The Tigers gathered the ball from the kick-off and quickly worked themselves into the Gorillas half. Some neat play saw the ball worked out to Nathan Baldock to score hist first try for the Tigers and put them out to an 8-0 lead. Jensen Bunyan was making some important tackles against much bigger opponents, Liam Good and Max Cooper were combining well in the middle and Xavier Viteri was having a strong game in defence.
The Gorillas were struggling to get out of their own half and after another impressive defensive line, the Tigers won the ball back, worked it through hands and put Hunter Loveday in again. On the next set Lewis Amesbury worked his way through traffic and scored to give the Tigers an 18-0 half-time lead. In the second half the Tigers continued were they left off and were playing the game in the Gorillas half. More enterprising play by the Tigers created space for Hunter Loveday to score his third and the Tigers were well on top. The game then dropped off before Lewis Amesbury grabbed the ball, stepped through the defence, bounced off a few tackles and managed to break free and score under the posts. This was a solid performance by the Tigers with everyone play their role and the attack straightening up and looking damaging rather than always trying to run around the defence. Next week the Bronze team meets De La Salle with a good opportunity to consolidate their position.
Tigers U13 Silver 16 De La Salle 6
This was another impressive performance by the Tigers who kept their cool and their shape to win by four tries to one. De La started strongly and a kick landed perfectly for their forwards to run onto but Thomas Fraser made a try saving tackle to keep the scores level. Hudson Wilcox then made a strong break up the middle and after a couple of plays, the ball was worked out to Thomas Fraser to score near the corner and put the Tigers ahead. From the kick-off the Tigers made good metres and were pressuring the De La defence again. The Tigers were working the ball from left to right to find a gap and then an immaculate cross-field kick by Ethan Coleman, saw Mason Holliday collect the ball and then somehow get it under control to score in the left corner.
The Tigers were well on top but were unable to break the De La line through a combination of solid De La defence and some poor options by the Tigers, who were looking to push the play at every opportunity. De La then managed a break and Hudson Wilcox made a fantastic covering tackle to prevent a certain try. In the next play, the Tigers defence held out De La and kept them scoreless at half-time. In the second half the Tigers went straight on the attack again and another kick over the top by Ethan Coleman was superbly collected by Zac Porter who used his strength and pace to score in the corner and give the Tigers a 12-0 lead. The game then got into a bit of a grind, as both teams seemed happy to try and out-muscle each other, and this led to De La getting on the board, through a clever kick that was collected close to the posts for a score. This stung the Tigers who got on the front foot and started to show more composure in their attack. This led to the match winning try scored by Zac Porter, who was worked into space through patient passing and when a gap opened up, Zac shot through to score and give the Tigers a 16-6 victory.
Another good performance by the Silver team with everyone playing their part, Hudson Lane held up his wing all game and made some important tackles and stops, Billy Dunn was busy all over the park and Hudson Wilcox and Dylan Sammut got through a ton of work in the middle. The Tigers sit in joint second place and will go into next weeks game against Cronulla Caringbah with some confidence.
Tigers U16 Silver 6 Kingsgrove Colts 22
As defeats go, the Tigers can hold their heads high. They pushed the Colts the whole game and the scoreline would have been very different, if a couple of calls had gone the Tigers way. This was a brilliant team effort and every player deserves credit for standing up and playing for each other and the shirt.
The Tigers went into the game against the second placed Colts, missing several key players and with the bare thirteen. We did welcome back Alex Mantik from an ankle injury and we also welcome Owen Anderson, who was making his debut today. The Tigers started brightly and were holding their own against much bigger opponents. Kade Bergman, Blake Burke, Albie Lamaro and Campbell Robertson were working overtime to hold out the Colts forwards and Harry Melbourne and Will Price were tackling themselves to a standstill, as the Colts tried to assert some dominance early. The Colts put on two quick tries to go out to a 10-0 lead but the Tigers hit back and went close through Alex Mantik and then Owen Anderson but both were held up on the Colts try line.
The Tigers did manage to get over the line after some enterprising play from Kobi Porter but the final pass was called forward, a decision that seemed harsh on the Tigers. Isaac Schippers and Alex Mantik were having some joy on the left wing, and they were pegging the Colts back whenever they had the ball. More good play from the Tigers saw Albie Lamaro steam forward and the ball was played out to Alex Mantik who stepped through defenders to score and get the Tigers on the board. The Tigers went into half-time 10-6 behind but had all the momentum in the closing stages of the first half.
In the second half the Colts scored off the first play, working a nice crash play close to the Tigers line. Again, the Tigers fought back and most of the play was in the Colts half with the Tigers searching to get back in the game. Some great play by Tom Robinson created a chance and then Fintan Kelly went close but the Colts held firm on their line. Sustained pressure from the Tigers had the Colts teetering, but they were unable to break the line and score. A great break by Blake Burke, worked Albie Lamaro into space and in turn he broke a couple of tackles and passed to Alex Mantik who looked certain to get his second, but unfortunately for the Tigers he was unable to stay in play. In the final minutes, a relieving kick from the Colts resulted in their fourth try, after the ball bounced at right angles, allowing their backs to chase the ball down and fall over the line to score.
Despite the loss the Tigers were a lot closer than the scoreline suggested, they held the Colts in their own half for long periods, matched them physically and deserved more from the game.
Tigers O35 Silver 32 Cronulla Caringbah Sharks 42
The Tigers went into this game with some confidence after scoring their first ever win against the Sharks in the pre-season. However, the Sharks were ready and had a scintillating first half running the Tigers ragged. The Sharks had some speed on the wings and the Tigers found it difficult to contain them. In the second half, the Tigers lifted as in previous weeks but left themselves to much ground to make up, to secure the win.
On another glorious day in TIGERTOWN (in the morning anyway), we saw some great footy and some great performances by players and teams. The U6's continued their strong run, the U9's played in yet another cliff hanger and both U13 teams consolidated their ladder positions with good wins. Hunter Loveday scored a hat-trick for the Bronze team and Mason Holliday had a big game for the Silvers. The O35's put in another excellent second half performance and if they could manage to do the same in the first half, their win-loss ratio would look very different.
Thanks to the the Crocs, Gorillas, De La Salle and Sharks for a great weekend of junior footy and we wish all teams the best for the remainder of the season.
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