Tigers earned the two points in their win against Killarney Cutters on Saturday, and while captain/coach Brendan Minns said it was a good win it was also a hard-fought one.
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“It was a tough game, but the boys dug in a ground out a win.”
Minns said the Tigers’ renewed defensive strategies helped out a lot, with him pushing a stronger defensive structure and better communication in defence.
“Killarney is never an easy team to beat on home ground. I’m very pleased with the boys’ effort, to come home with the two points.”
The final score was 36-20, with the Tigers’ eight tries scored by eight different players: Faron Anderson, Geoff Swan Jnr, Alex McGrady, Malcolm Wightman, Geoff Swan Snr, Wayne Brown, Cameron Binge and Jack Wilson.
Minns said the try-scoring was widespread, reflecting a great team effort and a lot of quality tries out wide.
Floyd Oxford was named Players’ Player for his exceptional work in the front row in both defence and attack.
“He took the ball forward all day,” Minns aid.
Wightman received three refs’ points and Swan Jnr one point.
Minns said there were a lot of highlights in the match, but particularly that the team worked so well defensively in the face of repeated attacks.
“Killarney had quite a few attacking sets which we were defending against on our own line, and we had to hold them out several times from crossing the line.”
He said there’s still plenty of room for improvement, but he’s very happy with Saturday’s performance, particularity the improvement from the previous week.
Only two conversions contributed to the tally, with kicking duties spread around the team due to Minns being sidelined with his shoulder injury.
He has acupuncture needles in his shoulder and will probably have to sit out Saturday’s home game against Stanthorpe as well.
Minns isn’t anticipating a easy game against the Gremlins, despite their position at the bottom of the table. Stanthorpe took 26 points off powerhouse Inglewood in their last outing (although Inglewood won the match 48-26).
The Tigers’ win last Saturday did, however, solidify their spot in second position putting a three-point gap between themselves and Killarney and just one point behind Inglewood.
“That’s a good bonus for us,” Minns said.
Kick off against the Gremlins is at 2.30pm on Saturday at Rugby League Park.
