The Annual Anzac Day Clash between the Tigers and historic adversaries the Coorparoo Football Club was played at the Den yesterday in a game fitting of the rivalry between these two great clubs.
It was also a historic occasion with one of the Tigers most courageous warriors Jack Collings playing his 150th game for the club, a milestone which was appropriately recognised by both clubs.
Both clubs have been near the top of the table for a number of years now and this particular game has been a much anticipated feature on the season calendar since 2018 to recognise the importance and reverence of Anzac Day. The day was marked with ceremonies for each of the day’s games with the senior game including the annual attendance of the Pipes and Drums National Serviceman’s Memorial Band providing the music for the national anthem.
The Tigers drew first blood with the first goal of the day but the fuse was lit for a furiously paced game which seesawed for the first term to see both sides on four goals.
The Tigers were going forward on the strong efforts of Daniel Schmidt who worked tirelessly all day in the ruck and around the ground with a number of critical marks while Jack Collings was determined to make his milestone game one to remember as he worked bravely in every contest as well as gut running across the park. Louis Quin is obviously paying plenty of attention to the example that Collings is setting as he is also showing all the hallmarks to be the next generation ball getter for the Tigers.
The Kings pace was a feature as always but it was James London and William Abbott that showed the way with their ability to get to multiple contests as well as their clean hands and impressive foot skills. London went on to win the Wayne Stewart Medal in a much deserved performance.
The Tigers were able to gain a small lead at the main break after another exciting quarter fitting of the Anzac Day spirit.
Jack Coghlan was once again a ball of business as he used his pace to advantage in an exciting contest with Coorparoo speedster Shayle Korander on the wing.
The Tigers defence were holding strong with Dean Hartley using all his guile to perfection while Jeremy Duck and Ryan Eyles did a mountain of work to keep the Kings attack under control.
The second half did not go the Tigers way with the Kings surging in the third quarter before Jack Collings was issued a yellow card in a bewildering decision over an innocuous incident. The Tigers were severely affected by the loss of their best player for fifteen minutes leaving the side scrambling to reorganise rotations. The Tigers had already lost Tim Webb with an early injury and were struggling to keep up the pace of the game with the stretched bench.
In the end the Kings pulled away to a score which did not reflect the game so the Tigers will have to wait another year to claim Anzac Day honours.
The Tigers play last year’s other grand finalist Beenleigh next week at the Den in a must win game to keep their season on track.
Scores: Coorparoo 15.17.107 d Mayne 9.10.64 Goals: J Ivers 2, J Westerberg, J Coghlan, T Fry, Z McLean, R Doolan, K Henry, M Chardon 1. Best: J Coghlan, J Collings, D Schmidt, D Hartley, J Duck, R Eyles.
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