Tigers earn their stripes

Tweed Coast’s Josh Smith and Ballina’s Matt Bettesworth contest possession on Saturday.

Craig Sadler

THE Tweed Coast Tigers have found that with success comes the risk of failure and that almost came on Saturday when they won by a whisker against Ballina Bombers at Pottsville Oval.

It was a game which rattled the Tigers’ foundations and if you look at the Summerland League draw, you wouldn’t think the Bombers would be a threat, but they were, with the end result 15.9-99 to 14.6-90.

Tigers president Colin Richards said the round 14 match was a close game and they were lucky to escape with the victory.

“We only won by nine points and we struggled with form ... nothing else on the day,” he said.

“They wanted the football a lot more than us and their forwards were very good.

“Their on-ballers played an old style of footy where they were second to the ball and broke up the pack.”

The Tigers have led the whole season but the gritty efforts of wooden-spoon runners-up Bombers were unmatched.

Their hunger to win was intense as one of their players who suffered with a collapsed lung in previous weeks played on and re-injured himself trying to assist his team to a victory.

Richards said Ballina was a good side and this was the second close call for the Tigers.

The Tigers dealt with the difficult situation and clawed their way back strongly with their key player Arnold Knight firing back to bring home the win.

In other results, Coolangatta Blues pipped Lismore Swans 14.10-104 to 15.7-97 and Byron Bay Magpies thumped Nimbin Demons 37.22-244 to 5.5-35.

The premiership table has the Tigers on 52 points, Magpies 32, Blues 32 (on percentage) , Swans 28, Bombers 24 and Nimbin at nil.