Tigers hold off Red Lions in top two clash

It was the last fixture of the first round with the scene set for the joint ladder leaders Mayne and the UQ Red Lions to see who can take the outright position, at least for now.

The Red Lions have been impressive so far all year so the Tigers were looking forward to the challenge which included an always difficult added hurdle of the University Oval. The Red Lions play the small ground to perfection and make it a fortress for themselves.

The Tigers made several changes to the win over the Panthers last week with the return of Zac McLean and Jasper Craven and an emotional added bonus of Xavier Craven finally playing his 50th senior game after a career punctuated by a horrific run of injuries. The Tigers however were missing key players in Casey Barber, James Stolz, Hayden Fry and Jack Coghlan in a significant changeover for this important game.

The Red Lions started strongly to get their game going with impressive forward pressure but the Tigers were able to kick the first major through Ryan Doolan who was on the receiving end of some quality entries of which he made the most. He finished with three for the quarter and was a big headache for the Red Lions.

The Tigers midfield were working hard with Jack Collings experience coming to the fore while ruck Jamie Ivers was once again impressive all round the ground with his marking and positional play.

Just as expected, the Red Lions weren’t going to let the Tigers have it all their own way with Thomas Carey kicking two and the dangerous Ethan Rosin one as well. The Red Lions were inaccurate and but for their waywardness they would have led into the first break. The Tigers held a two point lead at the completion of a frenetic start.

The Red Lions threw everything at the Tigers in the second term as they camped in their forward half for long periods to have the Tigers defence working hard. Daniel Schmidt was impressive for the Tigers as he read the ball to perfection to chop off numerous raids by his aerial work and attack on the contest. Zac Puncken gave away plenty in height but he has incredible ground skills and balance which confounds his opponent as he sweeps the ball away and creates another Tiger attack.

The Red Lions kicked four with Carey again getting into the action as they edged ahead at the main break. However, the Red Lions seemed to be losing their focus as they concerned themselves consistently with the men in green.

The Tigers knew they were in for a battle at this stage but they have plenty of poise and composure so they set themselves for another big half.

The third term started with plenty of hard running and impressive contests with both sides putting their best efforts on display but the Red Lions lost their focus as they continued their attack on the umpires which finally led to the Tigers receiving two important goals which broke the game open. The Tigers kicked eight goals to nil for the term with Ryan Doolan on his way to eight for the game despite being double and sometimes triple marked. Zac Quin went into the middle and ran rampant to leave the Red Lions completely flummoxed as to what had gone wrong.

The Red Lions coach was furious with his team’s lack of discipline and let the whole oval know his displeasure. The old fashioned spray seemed to work with the Red Lions coming out to play again in the last term. They once again threw everything at the Tigers but their inaccuracy once again was their downfall.

The Tigers held on for an important win on the road and retain the top position on the ladder for now in the full knowledge there is still plenty of the season to play out.

The Tigers play the Hinterland Blues at the Den next week in the much loved Mick Nolan Reunion Day. Make sure you don’t miss this one.

Scores: Mayne 16.11.107 d UQ 10.20.80

Goals:  Ryan Doolan 8, Zac Quin 3. Nick Galvin, Zac McLean, Rhys Syrett, Jasper Craven, Beau Harris, Jamie Ivers 1.

Best: Jamie Ivers, Zac Quin, Ryan Doolan, Zac Puncken, Daniel Schmidt, Jack Collings.