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TIGERS CLUB NEWS ARCHIVE
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2004
Grand Final report
Tigers
fall at final hurdle
What
went wrong?
That
was the question in the minds of all 21 Queanbeyan Tigers as the soul-searching
begun in the wake of their 47-point loss to the Belconnen Magpies in the
2004 AFL Canberra grand final at Manuka Oval.
Snatching
the shield for the third year in a row, Belconnen escaped from a spirited
first half Tigers onslaught, recording an emphatic victory, 14.20.104
- 8.9.57.
In
an enthralling first half of football which saw the Tigers take lead into
the main break for the first time over the Magpies in four-years, the
pre-match speculation of a Tigers victory looked ominous.
Throwing
back-line stalwart Renee Ioppi and centre-half forward Mark Armstrong
in the mid-field worked wonders for the Tigers, gaining domination in
the ruck area.
Goal
kicking super-power Luke Ellis was also shown a change of scenery as he
exerted his marking power and strength in the backline, a move which worked
wonders.
With
players suffering from sunburn and heat stroke, the Tigers went into the
break with an 18-point lead after an exceptional half of football.
Passionate
performances from Tigers mid-fielder David Lepavoux, back-liner Brett
Noltes and coach, Mark Armstrong, shocked the 2600-plus crowd.
With
the arrival of a ferocious storm which saw gale force winds, hail and
pouring rain, the Tigers 2004 third-quarter grand final-trend reared it's
ugly head.
Belconnen
released their thunderbolt in the 33-minute quarter, booting seven unanswered
goals, and put the game beyond reach in the appalling conditions.
Armstrong's
desperate pleas at the three-quarter time huddle could not break Belconnen's
hold, with the Magpies unstoppable momentum too tough to harness.
Belconnen's
midfield, led by best-on-ground player, Steve Hazelman, showed no mercy,
adding three goals in the final quarter.
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"It was a very disappointing day for the club. We thought we
were in with a real chance at half-time," said Armstrong.
"All through the week we talked about self-belief, and the
boys had a lot of confidence going into the game.
In a day that saw 20-degree-plus heat, then a thunderous electrical
storm, Armstrong agreed the conditions played a part in their demise.
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Queanbeyan’s senior team enter
the arena
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Coach Mark Armstrong kicks for goal
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"It was a strange day. One minute we were getting sunburnt, then
the next we were freezing.
"The wind was all over the place. In the third quarter it was
a blowing a gale down Belconnen's end, then it started to pour down
with rain," said Armstrong.
"We came off the field and just thought, 'what the hell just
happened there?'"
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In
an emotional farewell, Tigers goal kicking legend and record holder
Michael Niesen,
was chaired off the ground by 200-gamers coach Armstrong, and captain
Jason Gilbert, ending the career of a true Queanbeyan icon.
Final score: Queanbeyan
8.9.57 defeated by Belconnen 14.20.104.
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Defender Ryan Quade hits the ground
after pulling down a big mark
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Tigers Reserves take to the field
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Reserves
Another third quarter fadeout proved costly to the Queanbeyan Tigers
reserves when they suffered a 12-8-80 to 9-11-65 defeat at the hands
of the Ainslie Kangaroos in Sunday's grand final at the Manuka Oval.
After holding a narrow six-point lead at the first change and being
only five points adrift at the long break, the Tigers failed to
fire in the third term as Ainslie took control, adding 6-3 to the
Tigers 1-3 establishing a match winning 35-point lead at the final
change.
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The Tigers staged a gallant fight back in the final quarter booting
4-3 to 1-1, finishing off the match very strongly but the "horse
had bolted" and the Kangaroos hung on to take the flag by 15
points.
Disappointed Tiger coach Michael Goiser said in his post match comments,
"I was happy with our first half display but in the third term
Ainslie gave us a football lesson. You cannot afford to let a quality
outfit like Ainslie dominate as we allowed them to do during this
period. To rub salt into the wound we did play some decent football
in the last stanza but our revival was far too late."
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Reserves Ruckman Jordon Longmore takes
a solid mark
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Under 18 players break the banner in
their Grand Final encounter
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During the course of the match the Tigers had a number of players
who produced spasmodic passages of skilled football but few who were
prominent from the opening bounce to the final siren.
Triple senior premiership player, Chris Davis, was an exception
working particularly hard all over the ground throughout the match
in a ruck rover roll, and appropriately took out the trophy for
the best player afield announced at the post match medals presentation
and followed up by being named the club's major award winner for
the game later on Sunday evening.
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Promising youngster Michael Haddock handed in a terrific game at centre
half back, repeatedly breaking up Ainslie attacks either with quality
aerial marking or dashing clearances on the run.
Tigers ruckman Jordan Longmore had a stirring battle with the Kangaroos
giant follower Roger Mcintyre, probably taking the points in the
midfield and around the ground at stoppages. It was a tremendous
effort from young "Jordie" who has had an interrupted
season suffering a badly cut leg in a workplace accident.
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Under 18 player Michael Beer is presented
with his Runner Up medallion by the AFL’s Gary Buchanan. Under
18 Coach Damien Kirkwood is on the right
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Other
Tigers to show out at various stages of the grand final included Adam
Heading, Rod Gisik, Dave Hunter, Michael Goiser, Kane Bull, David Corcoran
and Paul Briedis.
Overall,
the Tigers reserve grade squad had a good year, winning 16 out of their
18 home-and-away games plus the preliminary final, but lost the all-important
second semi final plus Sunday's grand final by less than three goals ®
both to eventual premier, Ainslie.
At a glance
Ainslie
1-2 5-4 11-7 12-8-80
Queanbeyan
2-2 4-5 5-8 9-11-65
Queanbeyan
goals: Davis 2, Goiser 2, Heading 2, Corcoran, Williams, Gisik
Best:
Davis,
C.Haddock, Longmore, Heading, Corcoran, Briedis, Gisik, Hunter, Goiser.
Under
18
An
extraordinary performance from coach Damien Kirkwood's Queanbeyan Tigers
in Sunday's AFL Canberra under 18 grand final could not sink the Marist
juggernaut, going down in a thriller, 11.14.80 - 10.5.65.
With
Marist going into the grand final undefeated, a blistering first quarter
from the Tigers saw Marist under pressure and on the ropes for the first
time all year, with inaccurate kicking from Marist and overwhelming physical
pressure from the Tigers seeing the quarter time scoreboard read 0.7.7
- 3.1.19, Tigers in front.
In
a great showcase of under 18 football with both teams giving their all,
Marist found their stride and clawed their way back into the game,
scoring five quick goals to the Tigers two, a result of terrific ball
movement and silky skills.
In
a trend that was set for the remainder of the day, the Tigers came out
of the half-time break asleep, succumbing to the relentlessness of the
superior Marist outfit, showing the 500-strong crowd why they were undefeated
in season 2004.
Quality
teamwork and supremacy in the air saw Marist take control of the game,
going into the final quarter with a 27-point lead and momentarily breaking
the Tigers hearts.
An
inspiring fight back from the Tigers in the final quarter sparked the
patriotic Queanbeyan crowd who sensed a revival capable of overcoming
the Marist lead.
A
fiery performance from Tigers forward Jeff Charman and hard running from
the mid-field saw the gallant Tigers stack on three goals in the first
ten minutes of the final term.
Desperate
to make amends for the failure of the 2003 under 16 grand final of which
many of Sunday's 18s were a part of, the spirited comeback was cut short
as the siren sounded their 15 point defeat.
"I'm
very proud of what you boys achieved this year, I'm proud of you as people.
You are an enormous group of young men," said Kirkwood in his post-match
address.
"You
represented the town well, your families well, and yourselves well.
"There
was not one thing that we could do differently today, your performance
was nothing short of sensational," said Kirkwood.
Final word...
Despite losing the grand final in all three grades
in 2004, this proud and resilient football club will recover to claim
its rightful place as the premier club in the AFL Canberra competition.
Other Clubs continue to look to the Tigers as the benchmark
in professionalism in this competition, and every other football club
must envy the support the Tigers have in its local community.
The Queanbeyan Tigers Football Club would also like
to thank its loyal supporters, sponsors and army of volunteers for their
continued support and enthusiasm this season.
The loyal and supportive sponsor family of the Queanbeyan
Tigers Football Club are listed elsewhere on this site - we encourage
you to support those businesses that continue to support our Club.
Special mention must go to our media sponsors for publicising
our on-field activities - the Queanbeyan Age for its fantastic
coverage of Australian Football (and supplying match reports for this
site each week), and, 96.7 QBN FM, Queanbeyan's own radio station
for its game day broadcast, Friday night football show and general support
of the Tigers Club and Australian football.
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