Under 18.5's : In overcast conditions( at least it wasn't raining ) the Tigers had slightly the better of a keenly contested affair in the opening term. The blustery wind didn't help the skill level but the closeness of the game kept the spectators interested. A narrow 2 point margin was all Portland had to show at quarter time. The game opened up in the 2nd term and it was the Tigers who made the running. With strong presence, it was players like Luke Hodge and Brad Jasper who won the ball iand set the runners in motion. The forwards did their bit and the 17 point margin in the home side's favour was a fair reflection of the game to that stage.
The game maintained its intensity in the 3rd term with Portland attacking the ball in a highly confident manner. With Toby Cocks and Aaron Shepherd keeping things tight in the back half of the ground at this stage of the game and simultaneously launching plenty of attacking moves, the forwards went on a scoring spree that saw them ease out to a 6 goal lead. But Ter-Mortlake came back into the match with such force that they finished the quarter having dominated the final passages of play to the extent that they were only 14 points in arrears at the last changeover. The scoring rate slowed significantly in the final term with the intensity of the contest also dipping slightly. But it was still an entertaining encounter with the marking and running skills from both sides providing a pleasing spectacle. Portland had the better of the final term and they ran out a winner by some 23 points. Plenty of good Portland players with Aaron Shepherd playing a starring role with 5 goals. Others to feature were Jesse Stone, Ty Deans, Toby Cocks, Luke Hodge and Levi Chapman.
Final scores: Portland 11-3=69
Ter-Mortlake 6-10=46
Reserves : Unbeaten Ter-Mortlake applied plenty of pressure to the Tigers in the first quarter the home side held firm and put up some very stout resistance. The scoring didn't exactly overtax the scoreboard attendants but it was a tight contest with the visitors showing out by 7 points at the first break. A very strange thing then happened-the sun appeared for the first time in a fortnight but unfortunately for Portland, it was Ter-Mortlake that were the more stimulated by this unusual phenomenen. The visitors got a firm grip on the game and incresed their lead at every interval. Portland were kept scoreless for a large chunk of the game but in the last term they did show some ticker and made the game more competitve. Still the Blooda had too many aces and they got across the line in comfortable fashion. Portland were best served by Zac Telfer, Daniel Kinghorn, Hayden Dyke, Delwyn Beavis, Bryce Koenig and Pat Thornton( 3 goals ).
Final scores: Portland 8-8=56
Ter-Mortlake 13-10=88
Seniors : In brilliant sunshine the visitors were first out of the blocks and quickly got into their game in fairly smart fashion. A series of goals left Portland trailing and the job had become significantly more difficult. The Bloods had the bigger bodies and they used this to their advantage to outposition the Tigers and set up numerous scoring opportunities. Their delivery of the ball was also of a superior quality and quarter time saw the visitors with a big lead of 43 points. It was about gaining credibility and the Tigers did manage go some way to achieving this early in the 2nd term. They hunted in numbers, sharpened up their disposal and manufactured some scoring chances. The clawed into the deficit but Ter-Mortlake still won enough of the ball to hold sway by 35 points at the long break.
The young Tigers put in another valiant effort in the 3rd term but they struggled to fully capitalise on their chances. They repeatedly had the ball in their scoring area but as has often happened this season their final delivery let them down badly. Consequently a string of points appeared on the scoreboard. To accentuate that fact the Bloods made full use of their scoring opportunities and on their rare forays forward they extracted full toll. The overall result was that Ter-Mortlake stretched their lead slightly to lead by 40 points at the final break. The same story repeated itself in the final term with Portland winning plenty of the ball around the ground but not doing themselves justice in the final third of the ground. An interesting fact from the game is that from quarter the Tigers had 4 more scoring shots than the opposition but were outscored by 7 points. It was another disappointing finish in a game where there were many fine individual contributions from the Tigers. None better than Luke Crane who ran himself to exhaustion in trying to lift his side. Others to feature were the consistent Ben Malcolm, Daniel Falcone, Jake Edwards, Brett Uebergang, Jay Moody and Pat Haylock.
Final scores: Portland 6-17=53
Ter-Mortlake 16-11=107
Last Modified on 16/05/2015 17:23