Close Encounter – Down by 4!

NEAFL

The GWS GIANTS won an entertaining match by 4 points last Saturday at the Blacktown Sports Centre. Time ran out for the Tigers who were gaining momentum as the game progressed.

Had the siren not sounded there was no doubt the visitors would have walked away with a thrilling win over their counterparts.

Although the GIANTS held sway for the majority of the first three quarters great credit is due to the manner in which the Tigers stuck to the task eventually turning the match around.

Three posters in the opening first quarter (and one after) dealt the Tigers an early blow and they seemed not able to recover against a side that showed pace and cleaner disposal early in the game.

There are positives signs coming from the Tigers first loss of the season. Being able to chase down an AFL based team shows growing confidence for such a young outfit. The loss of Will Griggs at half time through injury clearly robbed the team of one of the form players so far this year – yet they still managed to claw their way back into the game after a team reshuffle at ¾ time.

The performance of 17 year old Sam Jensen has been fantastic this year. He continually receives plenty of attention from his opponents but just plays the game without any retaliation.

James Kavanagh provided plenty of options up forward posting 4 goals. Jarrod Atkinson is adapting well to his new surroundings and goals in his last two matches could well be considered for nominations in the goal of the year award.

Steve Jolliffe provided plenty of bite around the packs as did Kaine Stevens who is also enjoying a stellar year so far.

The inclusion of Kieran Shea from the Tigers Rising Star Under 18 Grade team is another positive for the NEAFL team. He didn’t let anyone down in his first senior grade team.

The Tigers play Sydney Uni this Sunday at Dairy Farmers Park in an early game that commences at 11.45am.

UWS Giants 5 3 33 8 10 58 13 13 91 14 14 (98) Queanbeyan 3 5 23 5 9 39 8 14 62 13 16 (94)UWS Giants Goal Kickers: S. O”hAilpin 3, D. Wright 2, G. UGLE 2, S. Reid 2, T. Etto , S. Schulz , I. Taylor , D. Tyson , N. Haynes Best Players: T. Adams, A. Phillips, D. Tyson, J. Bruce, S. Reid, S. Frost Queanbeyan Goal Kickers: J. KAVANAGH 4, J. ATKINSON 3, B. Fruend 2, K. Stevens , T. Dickinson , S. Jensen , K. Klemke Best Players: T. Conroy, S. Jolliffe, K. Klemke, B. King, S. Jensen, B. Fruend

AFL Canberra Division 1

For the fifth match in a row, the Tigers were severely restricted with player unavailability and injuries yet they were able to provide stiff opposition to competition front runners Belconnen Magpies at Jamison Oval.

Coach Pavese had to draw on four players who had not trained this year let alone play a game but the match was in the balance up until the final minutes. Some bewildering decisions went against the team throughout the contest – three of which resulted in goals within the 50m ark.

Regardless of the loss there were some strong performances. Nathan Kerlin certainly showed selectors he is back in contention to regain a NEAFL spot.

Tom Hollis provides fantastic option up forward even though playing injured. Ben Jabornik continues to battle his heart out as do the Watts twins. The speedsters of the team Ryan Price and Liam Walker Eastick played well enough to be considered for the NEAFL team.

BELCONNEN MAGPIES 4 0 24 6 3 39 9 7 61 11 7 (73) QUEANBEYAN 3 2 20 6 5 41 8 6 54 9 8 (62)BELCONNEN MAGPIES Goal Kickers: R. Towill 3, D. Posch 2, S. Meikle 2, J. Taylor , C. BURDETT , C. Calvert , M. Mooney Best Players: K. Ferns, B. Talsma, J. Hodder, S. Meikle, J. Pearson, S. Mellick QUEANBEYAN Goal Kickers: B. WATTS 3, M. Liddle 2, T. Hollis 2, R. Stein , M. Elliott Best Players: N. Kerlin, M. Liddle, B. WATTS, S. KELLAND, B. ORMSTON, D. CUMMINS

Under 18 Rising Stars

The Tigers Rising Stars combination certainly rose to the occasion against Ainslie at Ainslie Oval.

Without five regular players they were able to contain an enthusiastic Ainslie combination who dominated proceedings early.

Justin Galloway played his best game for the Club with some towering marks and long kicks out of defence.

The unassuming Adam Lee is as solid as a rock and shows plenty of character to win the hard ball. There was no better than Steve Camp last Sunday. He dominated throughout the match for a best on ground performance.

Jason Taylor was another with plenty of endeavour to contest and win the hard ball. It was good to see Daniel Hespe return to the goal kicking list with some strong marking up forward as did Ethan Callender.

There were a couple of unsavoury incidents in the match of which Coach Campbell addressed in no uncertain manner at both ¾ and full time addresses. Spectators from both Clubs need to contain the manner in which they criticise players from the opposing teams and umpires alike.

Ainslie 2 3 15 3 3 21 3 4 22 4 5 (29) Queanbeyan 1 3 9 5 4 34 8 6 54 9 9 (63)Ainslie Goal Kickers: N. MARTYN 2, T. Powell , A. VICKERS Best Players: L. Holder, C. DWYER, T. Powell, B. ALVES, C. Boyton, N. FOLEY Queanbeyan Goal Kickers: D. HESPE 3, E. Callendar 2, M. Price , J. ARMSTRONG , J. McKenna , C. Haub Best Players: J. Galloway, A. Lee, D. HESPE, S. CAMP, E. Callendar, S. Lancaster

Tigerettes

QUEANBEYAN 0.0 0.1 1.1 1.1 (7) EASTLAKE 1.1 1.1 6.1 8.3 (51) Goals: Rachael Finley Best: Rachael Short, Hannah Dunn, Jane Vucago, Olivia Dawson, Melissa Hurley

The Tigerettes were much improved in Round 2 but still ended on the wrong side of another lob sided score line going down by 44 points against reigning premiers Eastlake, a poor third quarter snuffing out any chance of a massive upset.

The first half proved that the Tigerettes at their best can match it with any one in 2012 keeping a clearly frustrated Eastlake to just the one goal from two scoring shots. However as good teams do Eastlake lifted a gear in the second half and our girls failed to run with them.

Highlights for the Tigerettes included Shorty’s outstanding four quarter performance in defence, Hannah’s tireless efforts through the midfield, JV’s performance as the second ruck, the continued improvement of our new players Liv, Irish and Kodie and a great snap from Dougie to post our only goal after fantastic lead up work from JV, Siau and Hannah.

Going from competition easy beats to being competitive is one small step, but it will take a much larger step to improve even further to get a result against the established gun teams, including playing at their best for the entire four quarters.

The Tigerettes get their next chance back at home at Town Park v Belconnen next Sunday 29 April at 10am.