Tigers break eight year drought at Noarlunga

What a beautiful day it was to head down south to Noarlunga with a balmy 24 degrees. It had been a good weekend for the Club with the Women’s team beating Norwood on Saturday and winning their way through to their first grand final. Congratulations to Jason and the girls. It was fantastic to see quite a large number of the Senior men’s team at Norwood supporting them, and they will be there next week to support them in the final.

Our Reserves continued their winning form, beating South in the early game with a number of players putting their names up for senior selection and keeping the League boys on their toes.

South got away to a flyer when Gibbs kicked an early goal, but once we got our hands on the footy we were able to put some pressure on South and we used the ball well going inside 50. Liam McBean and Lachie Hosie were good focal points for us, but it was our ground level work this week that was the most pleasing aspect. We went into the quarter time break with a handy 22-point lead but could have been further in front if we capitalized on our snap shots.

South responded well in the second half, getting their hands on the ball at stoppages and putting our backline under enormous pressure. With Curran, Proud and Durdin being outstanding in the air, and Martini, Agnew and Virgin along with Newman mopping up the balls that hit the ground, we were able to repel South and restrict their scoreboard influence. We went into half time with a 8-point lead.

The third quarter was instrumental for us with the way we won the contested ball and how we moved the ball inside, with our forward line giving the forwards first opportunity. Lachie Hosie was instrumental in our scoreboard pressure, kicking two goals in the first 10 minutes before being sidelined with a hamstring injury that looks like it will keep him out of the game for a few weeks. We kicked 6:3 to South’s 0:3 during this term and went to ¾ time with a handy 44-point lead.

Knowing that it had been 8 years since we last tasted success at Noarlunga, the guys were keen to finish the game off well. We did this, although we didn’t finish our work inside 50, kicking 2:3 to 3:1.

Congratulations to Chris Curran who won the John Schneebichler medal for his excellent performance in defence and to the whole team for bringing the Carey-Darley cup back to Brighton road.

A big thankyou to our loyal supporters who travelled down the expressway to Noarlunga and supported us on Sunday. Your support and voice is greatly appreciated by the players and it was outstanding to see so many on the hill cheering us along. We look forward to seeing you all at Glenelg this Saturday for our game against the Crows.

– Brett Hand, Senior Coach

Goal kickers: L. McBean (3), D. Bailey (2), L. Hosie (2), M. Motlop (2), M. Allen, A. Bradley, J. Kluske, T. Pink, L. Reynolds, B. Turner

Trademark Player: Chris Curran