Tigers Down with Insipid Performance!

Paul Briedis celebrated his 100th game with a good win in the Reserves.

FIRST GRADE

The Tigers had a enormous opportunity to challenge for second position on the ladder if they won over Tuggeranong last Saturday. But it was not to be. The Hawks played a style of game that will more than likely turn people away from attending games but – with respect – their new game plan has now upset the Tigers and Belconnen in recent weeks and could prove a headache for others as the season moves closer to the finals series. It doesn’t matter how you win it’s a matter of winning and the Hawks certainly did that.

The Tigers now have a real battle on their hands to make the four even though the Sydney Swans are the only safe bet in the four at this stage. The Tigers travel to Sydney to take on the Swans this Saturday at the SCG.

The most disappointing thing about last Saturday’s loss would have to be the effort of the Tigers in the last quarter. To have 6 goals posted against them for a zero return certainly turned the day into a dismal loss and it was reflected on everyone’s face in the change rooms after the game. In what was a dirty day at Greenway, the only ray of light featured from Kris Thompson who battled hard in the backline. His employment situation restricts his ability to train and sometimes play for the Tigers each week, but his efforts last Saturday were tireless. Additionally Neil Irwin displayed a determined effort to spring the Tigers into attack on a regular basis from the backline but to no avail as the Hawks repeatedly kept the Tiger forward line at bay.

Up forward was like peak hour traffic in Sydney with 17 Hawks players dominating the Tigers forward 50 along with a sprinkling of black and gold. The Tigers were unable to break the solid defence of Tuggeranong and suffered accordingly. James Kavanagh tried to lift his team mates with another strong marking display but there were few others who could put their hand up with the exception of Ryan Quade and the unpredictable Tim Cook.

TUGGERANONG HAWKS 1 0 5 1 6 4 12 6 (78) QUEANBEYAN 2 2 4 4 8 6 8 8 (56)TUGGERANONG HAWKS Goal Kickers: B. Cleaver 3, P. LOVETT 2, D. SMITH 2, B. SYMONS 2, J. KICKETT , A. POCOCK , A. LAWDER Best Players: R. CUTIFANI, C. ROBINSON, J. RICE, J. KICKETT, B. Cleaver, P. ASHCROFT QUEANBEYAN Goal Kickers: J. KAVANAGH 3, M. ARMSTRONG 2, A. LIESCHKE , J. BROOKER , S. MACKIE Best Players: N. IRWIN, K. Thompson, J. KAVANAGH, T. COOK, T. Conroy, R. QUADE

Reserve Grade

The Tigers Reserve Grade continued on their winning way with an impressive win over the then fourth placed Tuggeranong Hawks combination who have now slipped out for the four after an upset win by Ainslie over competition leaders Belconnen last weekend.

The win did not come easy with the Hawks providing stiff opposition throughout the match. The Tigers were fielding one of their strongest combinations of the year but that is always a danger as players seem to rely on others to do the hard yards.

Accurate kicking by both teams kept the game in the balance. It was a four goal last term by the Tigers that gave them the upper hand at the close of business. It was a fitting result for the very popular Paul Briedis who played his 100th Club game for the Tigers. Highly regarded within the Tigers organisation PB gave yet another faultless display with strong determination and spirited play mingled with a few “coaching decisions” along the way.

Jared Daniel has certainly matured as a senior grade player and his around the ground effort whether in the forward line of backline proved to be very positive for the entire team last Saturday. Up forward youngster James Manie posted five goals. This valuable game time at this level will be beneficial later down the track. Old timer Chris Davis ran himself into the ground with a feature being a goal on the run from 50 metres (or was that 70!!).

Other notable performances came from Daniel McGavin who kept his opponent quite for most of the day. James Nancarrow could get a call up pretty soon with yet another strong display. It was great to have Dane Miller back on the field after suffering a knee injury in last year’s grand final.

TUGGERANONG HAWKS 3 0 7 0 10 2 12 4 (76) QUEANBEYAN 5 2 9 4 14 6 18 7 (115)TUGGERANONG HAWKS Goal Kickers: C. GRAHAM 5, M. FERNIE 2, L. ANDREATTA 2, B. MCROREY , N. SMITH , L. FELSMAN Best Players: W. PROWSE, M. MALONEY, S. BURLEY, B. MCROREY, C. GRAHAM, M. FERNIE QUEANBEYAN Goal Kickers: J. Manie 5, B. WATTS 3, C. DAVIS 3, J. DANIEL 2, S. DANIEL 2, F. Nortje , D. QUADE , D. MILLER Best Players: C. DAVIS, D. McGAVIN, P. BRIEDIS, M. MACKENZIE, J. Nancarrow, B. ORMSTON

Under 18 Grade

The Tigers Under 18 grade team have suffered another loss this time to the Hawks who have struggled all year to win games. Although down on numbers with a host of players unavailable, the Tigers were still expected to win a close encounter. A 50metre penalty just prior to the final siren gave the Hawks the lead in what was a very disappoint ting loss for the Tigers. This now sees them slip back to third position after seemingly having a stranglehold on second position just four weeks ago.

Although losing there were still some pretty good performances but the whole team needs to react to this loss with danger games coming their way for the remainder of the year. Sam Jensen and Taylor Lee posted 3 goals apiece with Cameron Cobby and Brendan Hague (both coming back from long term injuries) being amongst the best. Zac Bowden played one of his better games for the year with Ryan Price, Dean Solway and Tim Coggan giving tireless efforts on the day.

TUGGERANONG HAWKS 3 0 3 2 7 4 9 5 (59) QUEANBEYAN 4 1 5 4 6 5 8 7 (55)TUGGERANONG HAWKS Goal Kickers: H. PINI 2, F. Townsend 2, J. Townsend , M. ACHURCH , N. WOOD , B. ANDREATTA , P. CLARKE Best Players: J. WILLOUGHBY, P. CLARKE, J. CAMERON, J. Townsend, J. Whyte, H. PINI QUEANBEYAN Goal Kickers: S. JENSEN 3, T. LEE 3, R. PRICE , T. Maher Best Players: C. COBBY, B. HAGUE, R. PRICE, D. Solway, Z. Bowden, T. Coggan

WOMENS TEAM

QUEANBEYAN 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 (0) GUNGAHLIN 1.3 5.7 6.9 6.9 (45)Best: Chrisie Bourbous, Kristen Turner, Tegan Tisma, Dani Louis, Sarah Crowe

The Tigers Ladies slumped to their tenth defeat of the season with a disappointing performance against Gungahlin on the weekend. The Jets did most of the damage in a ten minute period just before half time kicking four goals as they were more committed to the contest than a lacklustre Tigers outfit coming off the bye.

Despite the disappointing performance their were some individual highlights. Chrisie Bourbous has really found her position across half back and has found some late season form, complimenting Kristen Turner on the other flank who continues her stellar debut season. Dani Louis at centre half back was one of the few Tigers prepared to get dirty going in for the football in the first half. Sarah Crowe also played her best game for the season playing resolutely in the back pocket, unfortunately her best being her last before heading overseas. Tegan Tisma also continued her late season form trying hard around the midfield and Sarah Van Meurs showed in the last quarter that she isn’t far away from playing a top game.

The Tigers take on ADFA next weekend and will be looking to bounce back and put up a much more committed effort. The game is at ADFA at 10am on Saturday and the ladies would love all of those involved at the club not going to Sydney to come out and cheer them on.