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TIGERS SEASON OFF TO ENCOURAGING START

April 7th 2013 by Dave Evelyn

The mighty Great Southern Inn Eden Tigers kicked off the 2013 season when they travelled to Moruya on Sunday for the first round of the pre season competition.

The club fielded sides in under 18's, 1st Grade and the ladies League Tag .

The under 18's were up against Cooma in an early game, and the Sheldon Wykes coached side showed some excellent signs of their potential this season by coming away with a good 14-10 victory in a very exciting match. Cooma got away to an early 6-0 lead but Eden struck back quickly when Pat Brady burst over from close range to get back to 6-4. The sides battled up and down the field in hot oppressive conditions before Eden's Tyrone Maher scored to put the Tigers in front 8-6.Cooma scored what looked to be the winning try with only a few minutes left, but Eden were not to be denied a well deserved win when new player Ryan Lonsborough stormed over in the dying seconds to secure a confidence boosting victory. Ryan looks like being a very handy acquisition and will likely become a home crowd favourite.

Tigers fans will be well advised to make sure they get to the games early this season because this under 18's side will play some very entertaining footy and early indications are that they will be a very competitive team with a bit more fitness.

The Tigresses (?)were next on display and they also recorded a strong win against the Pambula girls.There are a number of new faces in the Eden side as well as the more established stars and they also look likely to be very competitive as the season progresses.

The 1st grade Tigers ran on against the Bega Roosters in one of the last games of the day. It was a strange sight to see an Eden side without Griffin, Baker, Michelin, Stewart, Smith or Holding but the new look side had an excellent hit out despite going down on the scoreboard.

The Tigers looked understandably rusty in the early exchanges but combinations began to come together after a couple of early penalties went to Bega and the Tigers defence had repelled the Roosters. New Tigers Captain Coach Greg Nicholson celebrated his appointment by scoring the first try for the season and with the Fletcher conversion the Tigers took the early lead.A rare handling error let Bega in for their first try just before the break and the scores were locked at 6-6 at half time.

I would love to report what was said in the Tigers huddle at half time but I couldn't really understand a lot of what was said. Apparently it was something to do with intensity of defence and something about attack as well I think.

The second half saw Eden on the back foot after a farcical attempt to field the kickoff brought back memories of Chaplin and Keeton. Bega took advantage of the field position to score and take the lead 10-6. Eden looked to be gaining ascendency with good ball control and solid support play, and after a stunning scrum win against the feed elusive Tigers hooker Matt Evelyn scored close to the posts but the conversion was unsuccessful, scores being locked up at 10-10.

Both sides strove to break the deadlock, but the Roosters, who were aided by a couple of interesting penalties, gained the upper hand and scored the winning try with minutes to spare. Eden had no chance to hit back as Bega received another penalty from the kickoff and then a tackle count restart.

This was a very good hit out for the club with a number of players yet to return. Eden's ball handling was excellent in the first half -8 / 10 completions, but in the second half we could only manage 2/7. Bega also had 3 penalties to nil in the second half which goes a long way to explaining the score.

Eden's defence was very good except for one bad blemish that led to Bega's second try, with all the forwards working hard. Special mention to Hayden Cook and Ryan Lonsborough who backed up from the 18's and did a great job for their club.

Looking at the other sides in the competition it would appear Narooma and Moruya will again be forces to be reckoned with. Cobargo also have a big experienced side while Pambula showed some flashes of brilliance while going down to a strong Cooma side. All in all we can look forward to a very entertaining season of football.

Next weekend Rugby League returns to Eden'sGeorge Brown Oval with a full day of footy on Sunday as the second round of the pre season plays out.

Tigger