The 2024 version of the Tigers travelled to Palmwoods yesterday to take on a fresh looking Hinterland team for the much anticipated Round 1 of the Hart Sport Cup QFA Division 1 competition and it didn’t disappoint.
It is very clear from yesterday’s game that Division 1 will once again be the most competitive of all the divisions with every game sure to be a contest.
The forecast for the day was extreme rain and flooding but there wasn’t even a spit however it was extremely hot and humid making for very challenging conditions for a host of new Queenslanders on both teams.
It was a contest right from the start with the Hinterland Blues drawing first blood with a quick goal to put the Tigers on notice that they were in for a fight.
The Blues welcomed back Rhys Magin to their fold and he didn’t waste any time getting back into action and will prove to be a handful for the competition as he accumulated five goals for his day and was one of the Blues best.
The Tigers regrouped well with some fast play going coast to coast to have sharpshooter Ryan Doolan’s lead honoured and he wasted no time getting on the scoreboard as well.
The first quarter went tit for tat with both sides running hard putting on a great display to end the quarter with three goals apiece. The Blues are a much bigger side and made good use of their stronger physique but the Tigers pace made for the right challenge.
The Tigers were happy with their first term but it was obvious that the Blues had plenty of firepower with Captain Nathan Spring in everything and Darcy Brosnan getting plenty of the ball.
The Tigers came out for the second quarter ready to go with Beau Harris working hard in the middle with his hard running and clinical tackling a real feature. The Tigers were able to get some good ball out of the middle despite some heavy checking tactics from the Blues midfield.
Ryan Doolan was able to get on the end of a couple more with some strong marking and precise kicking while Jamie Ivers also provided a big target for the Tigers. Doolan went on to kick four in a solid outing.
The second term was a shootout with the Tigers kicking five while the Blues added another three leaving an eight point margin at the big break.
Big Tiger Daniel Schmidt was terrific for the quarter taking some critical marks pushing back in defence while Jeremy Duck was impeccable in the men’s department as the game was in the balance.
The question was whether the Tigers lost their way immediately after the main break or the Blues found their top gear, but a five goal burst led by big man Thomas Wischnat had the Tigers in all sorts of bother.
The Tigers brains trusts decided it was time for some changes which thankfully did just the trick making for a very different second half of the term. Zac Quin was finally able to get off the leash as he kick started the Tigers run with a towering goal which he followed up a couple of minutes later. He went on to kick five in the second half to blow the Blues off the park.
Jamie Ivers got on top in the ruck to dominate the middle of the ground while Dan Saunders got into gear breaking open the packs to get the Tigers moving.
The last quarter saw the Tigers step up another gear to kick a further five goals to two with Louis Quin and Casey Barber getting busy and Dan Schmidt providing a big target. The Tigers finished with a long range goal from Will Brohm who was precise all day.
The Tigers play University of Queensland next week away in another exciting contest.
Scores: Mayne 17.6.108 d Hinterland 13.7.85Goals: Z Quin 5, R Doolan 4, J Ivers, B Wilkinson 2, D Schmidt, W Brohm, D Saunders, R Eyles 1. Best: J Ivers, Z Quin, B Harris, J Duck, L Quin, D Schmidt.
