Portland v North Warrnambool: Bright, sunny conditions provided a welcome backdrop to this crucial encounter. The Tigers had the advantage of the breeze, but the Eagles got numbers to the ball and were able to stem Portland's attacks and launch their own forays. The Tigers didn't help their cause by playing from behind and using haphazard dispoal around the ground. It all compounded to North having a slight superiority and worthy of their 3 point lead on the scoreboard at quarte time. Portland's position took a serious turn for the worse in the 2nd term as the Eagles took full toll of slack defending by the Tigers. Dropped marks, failing to man up when not in possession, errant disposal-these were all cruciial to Portland's sorry plight half way through the term when they slipped to some 4 goals in arrears. Fortunately, a late rally in the shadows of the long interval produced a burst of goals that got the sea-siders back within 7 points as the half-time siren rang out.
The Tigers were more intense on the resumption, peppering the goals and generally having control of the ball. Not all of the scoring shots hit the target, but the signs were encouraging. Marks were being held, the crumbers were seizing their chances and the team had the appearance of one playing with confidence. Added to these positives was the fact that the tackle count was significantly improved from the early stages and the sum of these facts was that the Tigers were able to surge to the lead and then consolidate the advantage to hold sway by 20 points at the last changeover. Despite North having the wind advantage in the final quarter, they found it difficult to penetrate the resilient Portland defence-a marked contrast from the initial proceedings. In a concentrated team effort, every Tiger rose to the occasion and performed an immaculate lock down job on the Eagles. So much so that the goal tally in the last quarter amounted to zero. This meant that the net result was the Tigers ran out 24 point winners. Overall, it was a fair result that sets up a meeting with old rivals Hamilton next Saturday. Lots of players came to the party as the game proceeded, but those worthy of mention were Mitch Bunworth( fired up early when there wasn't a lot going Portland's way ), Jay Moody( 5 goals in a highly skilled performance), Rowan Marshall( gets better every outing ), Jake Hawker( very tidy ), Hamish Withers( polished ) and Tom Templeton( telling possessions ).
Fianl Scores: Portland 9-14=68
North Warrnambool 6-8=44
Last Modified on 31/08/2013 15:36