Under 18's : Coming off a convincing victory against the potent Imperials side, the Tigers came up against a West outfit who were up for the contest. Portland got away to an early lead, mainly through the lively efforts of Daniel Jackson up forward. But West struck back strongly and forced the home side into numerous handling errors. Also compounding Portland's worries was the tendency to press up the ground and leave the back half unattended. This resulted in a couple of soft goals to the visitors. Another complicating factor was the slippery conditions caused by the regular deluges from the past week. But, as the game unfolded, the Tigers got surer in their ball-handling and crept out to a 27 lead at the main stopover.
The 2nd half saw Portland monopolise possession, mainly in their front half and, as a result they dominated the scoring. All around the park, the skill level displayed by the Tigers escalated, no doubt helped by the drying ball. At times, they were able to propel the ball forward with laser-like precision, thus making the life of the forwards much more comfortable. The final margin saw a minor blow out of 73 points to the hosts who were best seved by Jordan Kane( 4 goals in a dynamic midfield effort ), Thomas Templeton( handled the ball authority all day ), Joel Mirtschin( oisposal a feature ), Daniel Jackson ( extremely busy and creative )with Dylan Barr and Zac Telfer both doing heaps of heavy body work. Harder assignments lie ahead, but winning streak is still going.
Final Scores: Portland 14-12=96
West Gambier 3-5=23
Reserves : The Tigers went about their business in a methodical manner in the heavy conditions, that is heavy in the cricket pitch area. They struck stubborn resistance from West Gambier who were intent on stifling the home side and shutting down any run that Portland were able to generate. In a game that never reached great heights as a skills demonstration, it was nevertheless an absorbing contest in which the Tigers always had the slight edge which they maintained to the finish when the scoreboard read in Portland's favour by 16 points. Best players for the Tigers were Jake Patterson, Harley Angus, Dylan Barr, Jamie Blacksell, Shaun Trenorden and Jordan Cables. A handy win that keeps Portland in the firing line for the finals, but still much work needs to be done.
Final Scores: Portland 11-10=76
West Gambier 8-12=60
Seniors: The Tigers overcame theinitial shock of seeing West grab an early goal to set up an avalanche of goals that left the opposition reeling. Moving the ball fluently round the ground and with the aid of a stiffening breeze, Portland eased out to a 5 goal lead at the 1st break, and the 2nd term produced more free-flowing football from the home side. It was exciting to watch as the run into the forward line produced another series of goals that enabled Portland to romp away to a 9 goal lead at the long break. It was the 1st occasion this season where the Tigers have dominated an opening half, but could it continue? Unfortunately, the weather gods intervened during the interval, and not in a pleasant manner. The sunny conditions now became a scene of bleakness, with the drizzle turning the game into a slog. Still, the Tigers continued to press forward using some precision link up play and they managed to keep the scoreboard ticking along very nicely. At the final stopover, Portland had the ascendancy by some 73 points and looked set for a big win. It didn't blow out much further. Porltand snared a couple of early goals, but West rallied somewhat and got 4 goals late in the encounter. As far as percentage goes, these are the sort of goals that could prove critical in the final analysis. Still it was a impressive performance by the Black and Gold and shows that the season still has plenty to offer. In a solid all round effort, those judged to be to be more prominent were Luke Van Heugten( just having a superb season in shutting down opponents and launching attacks ), Denis O'Loughlin( the big fellow gets better ), Daniel Falcone( Mr. Consistency ), Jarrod Hayse( bona fida gold ingot display ), Rhys Egan( a typical gritty exhibition and Sam Fleming( very constructive in everything he does ). It should not go unnoticed that Coach Jarrod Holt snared another 7 majors in a another classic perfrmance.
Final Scores: Porltand 21-12=138
West Gambier 8-10=58
Last Modified on 21/07/2012 17:55