The all conquering Grafton Tigers have secured the 2011 North Coast AFL minor premiership in style with solid victories in the last 3 weeks over 3rd placed South Coffs Swans, 2nd placed Port Macquarie Magpies and last week knocked out the reigning premiers, Sawtell Saints from finals contention.
Its the first time in the Tigers 29 year history that the minor premiership has come to Grafton.
It has been a confidence building few weeks for Grafton with the finals starting on August 12 but with the last competition round being played this weekend at Ellem Oval against the Nambucca Valley Lions, it will be the final time in 2011 that Grafton AFL fans will have the chance to see the Tigers play at their home ground as all finals are to be played at Coffs International Stadium.
In what has always been a hard fought, but friendly rivalry between the Tigers and the Lions, this weekend’s match will also see the final round in the Feline Club Championship (FCC), with a cup being presented between the two sides for the best team over the three competition games played every year.
The Tigers have already secured this due to their round 5 victory and the Lions forfeiting round 10 but Grafton can be assured Nambucca will be keen not to go down 3 nil this year after the FCC has been retained by the Lions for the last 4 seasons.
Added to this, the Lions will also be eager to build some momentum before they start their own finals challenge next week.
Although the Tigers will have some players unavailable for this weekend’s match, they will start red hot favourites and will be keen to keep the winning culture within the team before having the first week of the finals off due to their minor premiership.
The match between the Tigers and the Lions will start at 2:30pm at Ellem Oval on Saturday and all supporters and families are invited to attend with full canteen and bar facilities available at the ground.
Last Modified on 15/08/2011 10:23