The Tigers went down in a tight finish for the second week in a row having had their chances, this time to the Caloundra Panthers at the Den yesterday.
The Tigers started off the game in terrific form to kick out to a five goal lead at the first break but lost their way in the middle of the game while the Panthers clawed their way back into the game.
Seventeen year old Ryan Doolan was another debutant for the Tigers after starring in the Reserves in recent weeks and he wasted no time getting into the action to kick the first goal of the game in the opening minute. The Tigers piled on the pressure to leave the Panthers goalless at quarter time with Josh Westerberg kicking two goals after taking strong marks while the Captain Zac Mclean was leading his troops strongly from the front.
The second term saw the Panthers get their mojo on to kick five of their own goals with the Tigers only able to kick two to retain a six point margin. If the Panthers had been more accurate it could have been a different half time score.
The Tigers backline defended grimly with Jimmy Aganas and Dean Hartley doing their best to stem the tide but the dangerous Caloundra midfield had their tails up led by a rampant Luca Mason who seemed to be everywhere. The identical Panther Kimberley twins Tim and Brad also gave the Tigers hell with what appeared to create small blond haired Panthers at every turn.
The third term was rather dismal for the Tigers as they had no answer for the Panthers run and penetrating kicking but Zac Quin, Henry Leong and Seb Windsor were doing their best to spark a revival or at least hold back the tide. The Panthers attack was relentless in the third term but they couldn’t hit the knockout blow with inaccurate kicking their downfall. It was still a drawn game until the Panthers kicked two goals in the dying minutes of the quarter to take a clear lead heading into the final term with their run looking unstoppable. The Tigers hadn’t troubled the scorer for the term.
Coach Duffy gave his squad a big rev at the final break in the hope of sparking a revival.
The Tigers finally woke from their slumber to get their game back on track kicking two quick goals to even things up again but the Panthers weren't going to lie down as the game seesawed to an exciting finish.
The Tigers had their chances to steal the game back again but they weren’t able to make the most of their dominant possession with three set shots to some of their younger brigade not able to deliver the required blow to seal the game.
In the end the Tigers went down by five points to a very worthy winner in the Panthers in yet another close game in the competition. No team in the competition has won all of their four games with each week providing a great contest.
The Tigers play Wynnum at home next week and will be desperate to get back on the winners list.
Scores: Caloundra 10.16.76 d Mayne 10.11.71 Goals: J Westerberg, Z McLean, R Doolan 2, C Caught, Z Quin, H Leong, S Miletic 1 Best: J Aganas, Z Quin, S Windsor, H Fry, D Hartley, R Eyles
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