Under 18.5's v North Warrnambool : The Tigers slipped into high gear from the opening bounce. They controlled the flow of the game and made full use of the fine weather to display all the skills of the game as they continually sliced holes in the opposition defence. All around the ground each Tiger player performed their required role with the consequence of getting out to a 6 goal break at the 1st change. Despite kicking into a slight breeze in the 2nd quarter, Portland still had the better of the contest with their defensive skills standing up to close scrutiny. A couple of late goals to North ensured that they stayed within striking distancebut the margin in Portland's favour was a convincing 32 points.
The 3rd quarter saw North get on top with their superior marking power enabling them to drive the ball forwards repeatedly. In contrast, Portland struggled to muster any momentum and had trouble registering any significant progress on the scoreboard. The nett effect was that Portland had a lead of 25 points at the final change but there were some ominous signs. And so it proved with North having complete mastery in the last quarter. The Tigers rarely went forward with the ball seemingly camped in the rear end of the park. Desperate defence was needed and fortunately this was supplied by an overworked back half. North's task was also made more difficult by the errant kicking of their attackers in their shots on goal and in the end, Portland limped over the line by 14 points. Plenty of good players with Aidan Cancian absolutely superb in defence and initiating attacks. Hughie Atchison revelled in the conditions whilst Jesse Murray won plenty of the ball and snagged 5 goals. Other prominent players were Hayden Telfer, Nathan Jennings and Brett Uebergang.
Final scores: Portland 10-3=63
North Warrnambool 6-13=49
Reserves : Defences of both sides were on top in the early stages of the contest thus keeping scores to a minimum. The Tigers were first to break the shackles and they did so in fine style. A burst of unanswered goals-7 in total- saw swept the Tigers to a commanding lead at the 1st change. With the midfield getting plenty of it, they were able to provide the forwards with a constant supply of the ball and they gratefully feasted on the chances. The Tigers enjoyed the majority in the 2nd term but the North defence were proving to be a hard unit to penetrate at this stage of the match. therefore scoring again was kept to a minimum. Portland were numerically challenged when they had a player sent from the ground late in the 2nd quarter but North failed to capitalise on this leaving Portland with a 48 point lead at the long break.
Again the game took on a dour appearance in the first half of the 3rd term but them the floodgates again were prised open and another splurge of goals resulted that left North floundering and they were not helped when they too had a player ejected from proceedings. The Tigers had total supremacy all over the park with the defence repelling everything and in turn launching a series of productive attacks which were slightly marred by a bout of inaccurate shooting for goal. The margin of 78 points was a pretty fair reflection of the game thus far. The last quarter was somewhat of a procession with the combatants virtually going through the formality of playing out time which when completed saw Portland storm home by a sizeable 143 points. Every player did his bit with the more noticeable being Josh Chapman, Michael Matthews, Matt Kelly, Andrew Symons and the 2 key forwards in Sam Lewis and Tyler Boots.
Final scores: Portland 22-21=153
North Warrnambool 1-4=10
Last Modified on 30/08/2014 17:47