The Tigers and the Blues fought out a very even first three quarters of the game at Everton but the final term was all Mayne as they blasted 7 unanswered goals to run out winners 18.20.128 to 10.10.70.
In a very even team performance 11 players shared the goals for the Tigers with Luke Faulkner kicking 4. For the Blues Mark Vigus was outstanding at Full Forward kicking 7 goals.
Mayne Coach Mitch Ferguson was full of praise for Coolangatta following the game. “Considering the problems they had numbers wise they fought the game out with a lot of spirit, they tired in the last quarter,” he said. “We came out after ¾ time and really applied the pressure and pulled away from them. We have had our best season in a number of years but we lost a couple of close games and haven’t beaten any of the top sides,” he added.
Blues Coach Neil McKay, who was forced to play in the Reserves, was of proud the way his leadership group got the team in the right frame of mind before the game.
“We have been competitive for periods of most games we play but this week we made it our goal to be as hard as we could for longer, we just ran out of legs after the last break,” he said
Tiger Adam Stevenson continued his excellent recent form to earn BOG honors, with Sam Paterson, Taylor Muthra and Ben McElligott also prominent.
For the Blue Scott Johnson, Stanis Susuve and Gerard Robinson joined Mark Vigus on the best player list.
The Tigers will now be hoping the Blues can do them a big favour and knock over the Demons in their last round clash next week to keep their slim chances of making the Finals alive.
Ladder leaders the Western Magpies had a comfortable victory over a game but undermanned Roos at Chelmer winning 19.19.133 to 8.11.59.
Magpies Coach Peter McClennan said, “It was a funny day we didn’t play all that well, or intensity fell away at times and we had a number of lapses in front of goal.”
“We had 3 players withdraw on Saturday morning, Tim McEvoy, Nathanial Congoo and Will Fozzard but otherwise came through the game injury free. We now look forward to the big clash against Noosa next week with the prospect of a full list to chose from.” He added
“I thought we did alright until ½ time” said Roos Coach Roger Delaney. “We had our fair share of the ball but failed to convert a number of opportunities in the 2nd quarter.”
“Lack of depth is a big problem for us we have something like 7 players out of the side from last week and a couple of our reserves had to double up.” He added.
“Make no mistake the Magpies are a quality side they blew us away in the 2nd half and will give the Flag a real shake.” Delaney said.
Best Players for the Magpies were Lachlan Woods, Ed McDonnell, Billy Moorhead and Bryce Crossley while for the Roos Greg Stirton, Jarrod Raun, Madison Rogers and Jarrod Gale played well.
The Pumas and the Hawks fought out a very close game at Lowe Oval with Sandgate hanging on to a narrow 5 point victory 9.16.70 to 9.11.65.
Springwood jumped the Hawks early and had it not been for some wayward kicking in the 2nd quarter their 20 point half time lead could have been much greater.
“To tell you the truth we didn’t deserve to win, they had more than enough chances to knock us off but we hung in.” said Hawks Coach Ben Long.
“We are in the 5 at the moment but with the bye next week we need a minor miracle to maintain the spot. We’ve had a pretty good year given the quality players we lost and the injuries we have sustained.” He added
Tony King said, “I was a bit disappointed in the end we had numerous chances to put them away but our lack of experience and the occasional bit of panic cost us dearly, the young guys we have brought into the side have done us proud and will learn from these narrow defeats.”
The win keeps the Hawks slim chances of making the finals alive but with the bye next week they will have to rely on others to determine their fate.
Sandgates Sam Gribble earned BOG honours with Patrick Walton, Will Bradley and Michael Silman also in good touch. For the Pumas Josh Mitchell was best with Nick Tronk, Shane Murrihy and Brayden Eddy all playing well.
