The Tigers held their annual Mick Nolan Reunion Day at the Den yesterday as we welcomed back players and supporters to the club. It was 50 years for our 1973 A Grade Premiers and we also welcomed back players from the 1963 and 1973 Colts Premiers and 1973 Banyo Premiers teams. The day was organised by the Mayne Past Players and Supporters Group (Mayne Old Boys).
A key feature of the Mick Nolan Reunion Day is the awarding of The Mick Nolan Medal. This award was introduced in 2009 to honour the passing of AFL great and Mayne Tigers Premiership Coach and Player. This very prestigious medal is awarded to the Best and Fairest Player in the senior game played on the Annual Reunion Day. The club was again very fortunate to have Nettie Nolan and Danny Nolan attend the day to present the award to Zac Quin.
Prior to the match the senior team joined the past players and supporters to hear the reunion day address and were treated to some Tiger Tales from 1973. The past players then joined the reserves in the match day guard of honour as the seniors entered the playing field for the afternoon.
All was set for an entertaining match and then, to the delight of the reunion day crowd, the Tigers unleashed a first quarter blitz stunning UQ and effectively ending the contest by quarter time. By the end of the quarter the Tigers’ dominance was seven goals, four points, forty six to nil.
The quarter time break provided an opportunity for UQ to regroup and to their credit they were able work their way back into the contest. However, the Tigers advantage was too great, the Tigers winning the quarter three goals to two.
The Tigers dominated play all day with the midfielders Jack Collings, Jack Coghlan and Tim Webb showing strength, speed and skill that generated plenty of forward opportunities. Zac Quin was back to his mercurial best, working well with Ruckman Dan Schmidt who made sure that the Tigers got the first use of the ball. Quin was unstoppable, running the ball at will out of the stoppages and centre clearances, kicking five goals for the match. The Tiger forwards headed by Captain Zac McLean kicked with a high level of accuracy converting opportunities into goals from a combination of forward set plays and the hard running midfield overwhelming the UQ defence.
The game opened up in the second half with the ball moving a bit more freely between the two sides. Creating open space Seby Windsor controlled the wing linking well to provide the forwards with opportunities. The Tigers continued to outscore UQ in the second half and went on to record a much-needed win. The result has the Tigers consolidating fourth place on the ladder.
Best: Z Quin, J Coghlan, J Collings, D Schmidt, T Webb, S Windsor
Goals: Z Quin 5, Z McLean 4, C Barber 2, J Coghlan 2, R Doolan 2, J Collings 1, J Westerberg 1
Score Mayne 17.17.119 University of Qld 5.9.39
