The improvement of Cairns City Lions was there to see, but North Cairns' clinical finishing meant the home side notched a win in their first home appearance of the season at Watsons Oval on Saturday afternoon.
Propelled by the return of talented Tom Nicols, the Lions stuck with the Tigers for most of the first half.
His long bombs, four in all and all from outside 50m, were inspirational for the long-time cellar dwellers as they stayed within a kick of Norths for the first hour of the contest.
In heavy, waterlogged conditions, the Tigers' superior fitness showed they turned the screws on City to finish 17.13-115 to 13.11-89 victors.
"We started well and were on par with them; it was probably just a few skill errors that told and they mopped up our errors really well," Lions caoch Marc Harbrow said.
"We were generally pretty spot on with our skills though, much better than last week."
Harbrow has made no secret of his ambitions to lift the Lions from the bottom of the pack this season and said he fancied their chances of doing just that.
"The second time we play them it might be a different story," Harbrow said.
Tigers were great, but they are a different looking team from last season."
He praised assistant coach and key player Michael Paul for another classy performance, while Nichols' return was also handy.
"He's got a big kick on him and he backs himself," Harbrow said.
"Tom is working in Darwin right now, so won't be here every week but he'll be back for good for the second half of the season."
Adam Mueller was again in fantastic for the Tigers with six goals, while young pair, Tyler Gorogo and Mitchell Koch were fearless.
Captain Kane Richter celebrated his return to the side with a gaol, as did Willie Alick
Last Modified on 06/11/2014 15:07