Senior Competition Round 9 Wrap
Friday Night Footy made a return in round 9 with the Grafton Tigers and Sawtell Toormina Saints going head to head under lights at Ellem Oval, Grafton in front of another healthy crowd.
The two teams took to the field with the thermometer reading 12 degrees, but with most players swearing that it was closer to zero! It didn’t take long for the action to heat up, both teams ripping in to ensure a tight, close contest from the outset.
Scoring opportunities were at a premium in the first quarter. Whilst the Tigers didn’t manage to hit the scoreboard they did an outstanding job of restricting the ladder leading Saints to just six scoring shots to lead by 16 points at the first break.
The Saints really hit their straps in the third quarter, led by Aaron Clarke up front who led well and marked strongly. The Saints posted 10 majors in the second quarter to blow the lead out to 77 points and were never going to be headed from there.
Resuming after the main break it looked as though things could get very ugly for the Tigers but they battled on manfully and continued to contest the ball all around the ground. Considering they were missing Luke Stanford who has been their best player all season, reliable defender Chris Curthoys, and young gun Hamish Ellem who gained NSW/ACT representation last week, it would have been easy for the Tigers to drop their heads but they stuck to their task despite being outgunned by the Saints.
Sawtell also took the chance to try players in different positions in the second half with an eye towards tougher matches ahead in the back half of the season.
The Tigers continued effort coupled with Sawtell’s experimentation stopped the scoreline from completely blowing out. It also meant that the game remained worth watching despite the Saints scoreboard dominance. At the end of the match, Sawtell claimed a 142 point win.
Aaron Clarke was the stand out performer for the Saints with a bag of 6 goals. Veterans Mark Couzens and Jim Angel chipped in with 3 goals apiece, Hamish Bird kicked 2, and seven other players managed a single goal.
Grafton will be looking forward to next week’s bye to freshen up their troops and will expect to see several key players return to the fold the following week.
Sawtell President Alex Pearson paid tribute to the Grafton Tigers who were gallant despite another tough loss. “A massive wrap for the Grafton club, they didn’t complain and all 22 players gave 100% for all four quarters. Well done to all involved in the club, we applaud you!”
Sawtell Toormina Saints 21.17.143 defeated Grafton Tigers 0.1.1
The other match of the round between Coffs Breakers and Port Macquarie Magpies had to be postponed due to an injury and illness crisis hitting the Magpies this week. Port had several players carrying injuries from last week’s clash and were then hit hard by a bad flu strain that has gone right through the area, leaving them without enough fit players to take the field.
Next week sees a general bye to coincide with the Queen’s Birthday long weekend, and all clubs will be appreciative of the week’s break. The competition will resume on 17 June with the third instalment of this season’s C.ex Group Cross Conference Competition when all teams should return to full fitness.
In this round, Coffs Breakers and Sawtell Toormina Saints travel to Byron Bay and Tweed respectively for what should be too very tough matches. Grafton host the Ballina Bombers and Lismore Swans make the long trip south to play Port Macquarie Magpies.
