Game MVP
Liam O'Connor (picked by referee)
Brian O'Connor
(picked by Hornets)
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The
Tigers opened in offence, with Adam scoring on a deep pass from Brian on
the first play. Unfortunately it was called back on for an inadvertent
whistle, and the Tigers failed to move the ball on their next set of
downs. Aside from a deep pass from Brian to Liam late on
in the half, when Liam was tackled just short of a TD, the Tigers made
heavy weather of things failing to move the ball well, dropping passes,
going backwards on runs and even colliding with each other in the back
field.
In contrast the Broncos marked our key players and
hardly missed any tackles. Whilst they struggled at times against our
defence, a combination of sloppy tackling by the Tigers and simple, well
executed plays by the Broncos allowed them to run up 3 offensive TDs, a
TD off an interception and two 1 PATs ending the half 27 points clear.
Half
Time: Tigers 0 Broncos 27
The
Tigers prevented the Broncos adding to their first half lead on their
first possession of the half, before securing a first down themselves.
From there they moved the ball with a combination of running and passing
before Liam scored on a short pass and Josh ran in
the 2 PAT. Unfortunately this revival didn’t last long before the
Broncos once again started to run up the score 2 TDs and a 1 PAT saw the
Tigers accept the Mercy Rule half way through the half. Liam
again scored a TD, from a great running play, almost
the length of the part, which meant at least one Tiger had something to
smile about!
Final score: Tigers 8 Broncos 40
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COACHES COMMENTS:
This match saw the Tigers lose an important match against another well
organised and disciplined Broncos side. The difference between the sides
was that the Broncos came out to win it and the Tigers clearly did not
have the same appetite. It’s been a long time since the Tigers cadets
have had to take the Mercy Rule but once again it was to their great
rivals the Broncos.
Both coaches were disappointed at the way the players
approached and played this game, making fundamental errors in almost every
department. This is not to take anything away from the Broncos, who executed
well, but hopefully this will be the wake up call needed after their last
two games. This division is likely to be a closely contested affair and we
cannot afford a repeat of this week’s performance.
There
were a few positives, positioning on defence was good, with Josh maintaining
his high standard of play in making great recovery tackles, but even when we
had three players around a Broncos player poor tackling let them slip
through, often to score down the sidelines. Offensively, Brian had a
real baptism of fire, being subjected to the Blitz through most of the game,
but remained calm under pressure, rolling out to avoid the sack and get the
ball out. Liam demonstrated his ability to catch, pulling in some
difficult balls and scoring tow great touchdowns.
MVPs
Liam
was the Referee’s MVP choice, and
Brian secured the Bronco’s nomination. The Tigers awarded the MVP to the
Bronco’s Fraser Thomson, who was a constant threat with his height, pace and
hands. He proved to be an important player for them on both sides of the
ball, frustrating the Tigers for much of the game.
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