Round 7 was an important round for many Tigers teams as they looked to continue with recent good form, secure an important win and for some cement their place in the top four of the competition. We enjoyed another perfect day weather wise and we were treated to some excellent games throughout the day. Enjoy the reports and galleries below.
Tigers U6 24 Blue Gymea Gorillas Blue 52
The Tigers met a bigger and more physical Gorillas team and found it difficult to break their defensive line. The Gorillas were well drilled and had pace throughout the team and deserved their win. Tries to Ollie Trevillian (3), Kingston Taylor (2) and Conor Lehane (1) and Zach Jansson, Caden MacPherson and Logan Jones went close but just couldn't crack the line. Daniel Crawford and Ethan Welfare played well without reward and Raiden Price played his second game of footy and put in another positive display. The Gorillas defence worried the Tigers and most attacks were either sideways or backwards and sometimes a bit of both. The U6's will bounce back from this defeat and will take some lessons from the game.
Tigers U7 Blue 12 Engadine Dragons Blue 56
Like the U6's the U7's met a physical and well organised Dragons team. The Tigers found it difficult to make ground or break the defensive line and the Dragons used their pace and skill to score from all parts of the ground. The Tigers had some positive moments but just not enough to pressure the Dragons. Josh Dart made some strong runs and Daniel Romyn and Hendrix Austin played with energy. Layken Koprivic and Jaxon Good looked dangerous with the ball but had little space to work their magic. Robert Couley had a strong game and scored two tries and Conor Lehane, playing up from the U6's, got the Tigers third try with a good run on the left wing. Daniel Crawford also played up from the U6's and did well.
Tigers U8 Blue 34 Engadine Dragons Blue 38
This was an exciting game with the Tigers pushing the Dragons to the final whistle and nearly snatching a draw. The Dragons scored from their first set but from the kick-off Ray Logie leveled the scores and gave the Tigers a lift. The Dragons then scored another two tries to finish off the quarter strongly. In the second quarter the Tigers scored three tries with two to Ray Logie and one to Hendrix Malaki and set up the final quarters nicely. Tries to Hendrix Malaki and Ray Logie in the third quarter had the Tigers pushing towards a strong finish but just one try to Oscar Nicholls in the fourth meant the Tigers remained four points behind. Despite the loss, the U8's played another impressive game with contributions from the whole team. Arlo Gibbons and Hendrix Crawley used their pace to good effect and Sonny Tricker and Kade Jones were dangerous with the ball in hand. Joey Rodriguez was pulling the strings in the middle and Sonny Faughey and Jack Jones were playing with good energy. Another close game for the U8's who look set to put on a big score soon.
Tigers U9 Blue 34 Como Crocs Blue 26
The Tigers played a strong Crocs team who were in second place on the table and put on an impressive display to come out winners 6 tries to 5. The Tigers started positively and were playing a high tempo game. Charlotte Dart and Geordan Fairbairn-Raco were making important metres and were well supported by Max Carlson and Archer Brassington. Both teams were showing attacking intent and the Crocs put the first points on the board to go ahead 4-0. Archer Brassington scrored quickly to give the Tigers a 6-4 lead at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter the Crocs scored first and from the kick-off the Tigers advanced forward through a strong run by Malachi Kane and the ball was worked out to Aston Gibbons who forced himself through a gap and put the Tigers 12-10 ahead.
In the third quarter the Tigers came out firing, firstly a fantastic run by Geordan Fairbairn-Raco had the Crocs on the back foot. The ball was worked out to Charlotte Dart who went close with her first attempt, but was the quickest to react from the play the ball and reached out to score and then convert to give the Tigers an 18-10 lead. Zac May then scored a brilliant solo effort down the right wing to get the Tigers out to a 22-10 lead. The Crocs pulled one back but on the next play the Tigers were on the attack again and the ball was worked to Hayden Walker who scored close to the line and give the Tigers a 28-16 lead. The Crocs came again, as you would expect and they scored on the third quarter bell to get the scores back to 28-22.
The Crocs scored first in the fourth quarter and with the scores at 28-26 to the Tigers, the game could have gone either way. Both teams continued to attack but a combination of strong defence and handling errors prevented either team from scoring. In the final minute the Tigers worked the ball up the field and Aston Gibbons ran around the defence to score in the corner and give the Tigers a 34-26 victory.
Tigers U13 Bronze 0 Kurnell Stingrays Bronze 16
The Stingrays got on the board early and went out to a 6-0 lead. The Tigers started to work themselves back in the game but found it difficult to break through the Stingrays defence. Patrick Graham and Liam Good were combing well in the middle and Nathan Baldock and Liam Good were making strong runs to get the Stingrays on the back foot. The Tigers thought they had scored with a good try to Hunter Loveday but the referee called a knock-on despite the touchy awarding the try. The Stingrays started to get on top and were making easy metres through the middle by showing more pace and strength than the Tigers and this resulted in another try clsoe to half-time to give the Stingrays a 12-0 half-time lead.
In the second half Jensen Bunyan caught a cross-field bomb and ran the length of the field looking to score. Jensen evaded one tackle but was caught by a second and he was held up close to the line and the Stingrays prevented a certain score. The Tigers were beginning to have some positive moments with Leo Giovenco and Xavier Viteri starting to win the forward battle. Unfortunately, for the Tigers they were unable to finish and towards the end of the game, the Stingrays scored again, after a rangy cross-field run. The Stingrays were deserved winners and the Tigers were unable to find any cohesion or fight to trouble the Stingrays.
Tigers U13 Silver 26 Como Crocs Silver 4
The Tigers defeated the first place Crocs in an impressive performance, that had skill, guile and old fashioned roll-up your sleeves grit and determination. The game got off to an even start with both teams completing their early sets. Tom Fraser and Hudson Wilcox were creating some early gaps with strong runs, but the Tigers were unable to press home their advantage. Then the Tigers had good field position and the ball was worked through hands for Tom Fraser to make a diagonal run to score and give the Tigers a 6-0 lead. The Crocs lifted after the try and some mistakes by the Tigers gave them good field position, but the Tigers defence held strong and snuffed out any danger.
Hudson Wilcox, Mason Holliday and Mason De Luca were having strong games up front and Dylan Sammut was putting in a tonne of work in defence. Another try to Tom Fraser after good work first by Levi Dawson and then Billy Dunn put the Tigers out to a 10-0 half-time lead. In the second half the Crocs attacked looking for a try but the Tigers defence held firm again with Zac Porter, Flynn Rankin and Hudson Purves making important covering tackles. The Crocs pressure did eventually pay off and they got over the line to get the score back to 10-4. On the next play the Tigers worked the ball back off their try line and Hudson Wilcox found some space in the middle, to step around defenders and then throw a dummy to get around the fullback and score under the posts. The Tigers lifted and another attack saw the ball worked to Zac Porter in good attacking position and he used his strength to break through tackles and score to give the Tigers a 20-4 lead. Zac Porter then scored his second from a kick on the last by Ethan Coleman, the ball bounced kindly for the Tigers and Zac used his pace to beat the defence to the ball, somehow maintain control of the ball and then score under the posts and give the Tigers a 26-4 win.
Tigers U16 Silver 14 Joeys Silver 24
Another loss in a game that the Tigers could have and probably should have won, leaves them with lots of ground to make up at the back end of the season if they want to figure in the finals again.
Both teams worked through their sets early and Jai McEwen and Alex Mantik started strongly with some big hits to unsettle the Joeys forwards. Will Field was also making some important runs from fullback to get the Tigers going forward and things were looking positive for the Tigers. A good set by the Tigers finished with Jai McEwen kicking for the corner and Joeys knocked on to give the Tigers good position. On the next play the ball was worked through hands and Fintan Kelly got around the defence to score in the corner. The game then settled with both teams working through their sets without gaining much of an advantage. The Joeys then made a mistake on the half way line and the Tigers pounced. A couple of good hit-ups by Luke Fenton and Albie Lamaro saw the ball worked to Kade Bergman, who stepped a couple of defenders to score and give the Tigers an 8-0 lead. Joeys hit back with a good solo try on the right wing and then the Tigers thought they had scored again through Will Field but the referee ruled that it was short. With a couple of minutes until half-time Joeys scored again to take a 12-8 lead and the Tigers were kicking themselves for letting their advantage slip.
In the second half both teams worked through their sets again and it looked like the Tigers were beginning to win the physical battle. The Tigers were pressing to get level and went close on a couple of occasions but were just unable to press home their advantage. An injury to Harry Melbourne, halted the Tigers momentum and then a penalty to Joeys saw them score again and then put on more points to go out to a 24-8 lead. The Tigers fought back and scored again through some good play by the backs to put Kobi Porter over but the damage had already been done and the Tigers lost 24-14. Another game, another solid performance but another defeat. The U16's deserve more from their season but injuries, illness and a small squad is just hampering their progress more than it should.
Harry Melbourne went off in the second half with a suspected broken wrist and we wish him all the best in his recovery.
Tigers O35 Silver 24 Como Crocs 30
We had predicted a boil-over in this game and the Tigers were 6 minutes from a famous victory, against the top of the table Crocs, eventually going down by 6 points in a heart-stopping game. The Tigers started strongly holding out each Crocs attack with strong defence. The Crocs did score through a clever play, however the Tigers got on the board soon after with a scorching run by Lloyd Maddison. The Crocs scored again to take an 8-6 lead but the Tigers were undaunted, and a great run by Steve Brassington got the Tigers back in front, and this was no more than their play deserved. The try gave the Tigers belief and then a cracking play up the middle, opened up the Crocs defence and quick play put Tyler Gibbons in space, and he scored to give the Tigers an 18-8 lead. The Crocs then put on a couple of tries to go into half-time 18 points each.
The Tigers were playing some scintillating football and William Barrios was doing a great job at the back organising the team and filling gaps. David Dart, Jay Sykes and Grant May were linking well in the middle and Sean Cummins was kicking everything from everywhere to keep the Tigers in front. Como got the first points in the second half but the Tigers got in front again after a great run by Chris Fellas, avoiding defenders and scoring close to the posts and give the Tigers a 24-22 lead. With minutes remaining and a famous victory in sight, the Crocs pulled a rabbit out of the hat, putting on two tries to steal the win 30-24. This was a great effort by the Tigers who looked organised, dangerous in attack and solid when defending.
It was a disappointing Saturday in TIGERTOWN with two wins out of eight games but we couldn't fault the effort shown by all teams and of course we had a couple of importnat wins. The winning teams were the U9's and the U13 Silvers both defeating the Crocs in convincing style. Aston Gibbons had a great game for the U9's scoring 2 tries and Zac Porter also got a brace for the Silvers. In the U8's Ray Logie with 2 tries and Oscar Nicholls with multiple try saving tackles stood out in another strong team performance.
Thanks to the the Gorillas, Crocs, Dragons, Stingrays and Joeys for a great weekend of junior footy and we wish all teams the best for the remainder of the season.
The Tigers are proudly sponsored by Kore Property Group, Quality Health Care, On Top Constructions. Sound Plumbing, Shire Garage Doors, E&S Electrical Wholesalers, Pizza League, Sutherland Shire Trophies, Dad and Dave's Tree Services and Underground Civil Supplies. Please show your support for the local businesses that support your club.
