Under 18.5's : Blustery conditions greeted the teams as the Tigers got off to a perfect start with a goal on the board within seconds. Despite enjoying the majority of possession Portland's kicking became haphazard both around the ground and shooting for goal. With both teams being numerically challenged, a modified playing arrangement saw plenty of open spaces but the fumbling and ill-directed disposal didn't make for a pleasant spectacle. Nonetheless, the visitors did enough to battle to a 15 point lead at the first break. The Tigers were now kicking into the breeze and they made hard work of it and when they did push forward, only minor scores resulted. Fortunately South's attacking moves resulted in a similar fate. It was pretty much a stalemate for the quarter as neither side posted majors leaving Portland 2 goals in front at half time. It took until half way through the 3rd term for the next goal to be registered, a somewhat fortuituous goal to the Tigers, which was immediately cancelled out by a well-worked South major. The rest of the quarter was basically a smorgasbord of errors as both teams suffered from handling difficulties in the testing conditions. Portland had it by 16 points at the final change and upon resumption, they were able to conjure up a skilful passage of play that resulted in a valuable goal against the wind. South then enjoyed a period of dominance and the Tigers were forced to defend grimly. Three goals to the hosts and the game was hanging by a thread. But Portland hung on and they scrambled to a 2 point win, priceless in the scheme of the season. Good players were hard to locate but those worthy of mention were Dylan Murray, Mitch Bunworth, Daniel Jackson, Tom Templeton, Zach Telfer & Jakob Cleary-Jones.
Final Score
Portland
Reserves: Portland had use of the breeze in the 1st quarter but they took some time to generate any positive passages of play. But then the scoring began to tick along quite nicely, although a few minor scores were registered in the process. The Portland forwards were enjoying frequent use of the ball and made telling use of it to jump out to a 39 point margin at the 1st changeover. Despite the strong breeze, goals were freely kicked from each team in the 2nd quarter. The Tigers were able to maintain their lead by manning up when necessary and breaking clear to set up the loose man when the opportunity arose. It was a spirited showing by the Portland players and they fully deserved their 31 point lead at the long break. Rain began to tumble down in the 3rd term making conditions decidely wintery. Up to this poin,t the skill level had been satisfactory but the weather elements reduced the game to a sequence of errors. Still Portland were able to expand their lead out to 46 points and looked set for victory. The disadvantage of kicking into the wind certainly didn't hamper the Tiger scoring output as they strengthened their position with a spate of early goals in the final quarter. The weather became even more adverse as the quarter progressed and it was a tribute to both sides that they slogged it out to the end at which point Portland were 71 points to the good. Portland had several prominent performers the best of whom were Joel Mirtschin, Pat Thornton (8 goals), Brett Egan, Daniel Kinghorn, Stefan Barr and Jamie Blacksell.
Final Scores
Portland 17.15-117
South Warrnambool 6.10-46
Seniors: The wind had dropped significantly by the time the feature game got under way, but the torrential rain turned the ground into a quagmire. South drew first blood with a long soccered goal and overall they looked sharper in the heavy going. Portland had more of the territory late in the quarter but South withstood everything that the Tigers could throw at them to have a 5 point lead at the 1st change. Portland continued to labour as they found goals to be rather elusive. Deliberate shots were off target as South worked tenaciously to hold the Tigers at bay. Goals were like gold nuggets and South had their metal detector out as they worked the ball forward to claim a second major and ease out to a 9 point buffer. Jay Moody missed a set shot to prolong the Portland sides run of minor scores, then he atoned by kicking a gem to bring the Tigers within 2 points. The game see-sawed from end to end for the remainder of the quarter with neither side able to make any real headway. It was South by a slender point at the main interval. An early goal to the Tigers had them in front for the first time in the contest. But then South took control and had the majority of play in their forward zone. They gained a share of the lead until the Tigers engineered a goal through sheer running power. It was duplicated soon after, but then South mounted a vigourous fightback that saw them ahead by a straight kick at the last change. It promised to be a nerve-jangling affair and so it proved. Two early goals to Jay Moody had the Tigers back on top but there was still plenty of time to run. A South goal half way through the term saw them edge to a single point lead. The Tigers drew level and it became a rolling maul where no side gained any sort of dominance. The last 7-8 minutes were scoreless as the ball slurried around the ground. Then, with 4 seconds left, a long shot from Jarrod Hayse drifted through for a minor score that left the Tigers in front and able to stave off a plucky South. A gutsy win that keeps Portland alive. Not easy to pick standout players but those worthy of mention were Hamish Withers, Jay Moody (5 goals), Daniel Falcone, Marcus England, Jaron Quinlivan and Nathan Haylock.
Final Scores
Portland 6.12-48
South Warrnambool 6.11-47
Last Modified on 04/08/2013 08:24