Tigers Black def Tassie Devils - 30 to 23

Grrrrrrr Grrrrr another win!!!

What a fab game it was last night against the Tassie Devils. It felt like a pretty close game all the way, and we were actually surprised by the final score of 30 - 23 to the Tigers. What a win!

The first quarter we (Marta) accidentally gave Stacey away to the Golds who were a player short and so we were short one player, but yet again a Londoner stepped up and helped us out. It was a close quarter and the Devils attack was strong, but we felt good and held our own.

In the second quarter Stacey came back to us and this strengthened our brilliant defence team of Liz, Stacey and Cookie. Libby and Kath shared C and WA and formed a strong attack and Marta and Toni were on fire and bringing home the goals. We felt really good, everyone was enjoying the game and the positioning felt right.

The third quarter felt a little tight with the Devils having a run of goals, but Liz and Cookie put their necks on the line a couple of times and did some lovely footwork. We analysed their strategy and put in some techniques to minimise their power and this seemed to work for us nicely.

The final quarter was pure joy. Fantastic defence intercepts by Stacey and Toni put real pressure on the Devils attack and we gelled beautifully in our own attack to bring the ball home. Kath and Libby worked together in a beautiful synchronicity to get the ball down to our goal and the ball seemed to glide into the hoop every time. It was just meant to be!

A special thank you to Rhino for his encouraging support from the sidelines as our token cheer squad!

Well done Tigers Black on a magnificent win that felt every bit as good as it looked!

Tigers Black def Southerners Gold - 21 to 16

September 29

What an enjoyable and exciting game we had last night against Southerners Gold!

The first quarter started off with a sub from our Londoners friend Heather, as we only 6 players to start! Heather was fab as WD and Lizzy ran wild as Centre. The first quarter ended 5-3 their way, but we felt good and were enjoying the game.

Cat arrived to take over from Heather in the 2nd quarter and the defence trio of Cat, Cookie and Emma were brilliant at keeping the ball away from their goal circle. We were ahead by the end of the second quarter, although don't know by how much as a certain superstitous co-captain didn't want to ruin our run by checking the score!

The beginning of the 3rd quarter saw Prez Lizzie struck down by a mysterious stomach bug, but luckily Joy arrived to step up and continue the magic in WA. Previous body-on-the-line medal winner Kath took on Centre and more than once we feared for her life as she ignored any possible risks to herself and took one for the team. At the end of the 3rd we were up by 3 points (note that co-captain's requests of score anonymity were ignored) and we were all fired up.

This was it, do or die, we were focused and motivated sweatballs and gelling absolutely beautifully as a team. Defence were doing a great job, the attacks were all over the court, Joy doing some amazing twisty things with her body to get the ball, and Lianne and Marta in goal were just getting them in one after another! And the motivational yelling from the co-captains was driving the Southerners nuts!

Mad Dogs def Tigers Black - 27 to 9

September 15

Well, there is no doubt whatsoever that although Tigers Black did not end the night in triumph - we sure looked damn good out there in a our new sleek back and gold lycra numbers - not one wedgy adjustment to be witnessed during play!

Dressed now for both style and comfort, some suggested that the new unifoms feel so comfy, they likened it to being in the nude. Bit disturbing actually. In the inaugural first game of the season, Tigers Black welcomed many new faces. And despite some having only been on a netball court a hand full of time (some never), everyone managed to get a run and try out a few different positions. So naturally, with many quarterly change overs, our game was a little bit incohesive - however, its very clear to see that there is not only some natural talent amongst the those new to the game, but most importantly, a lot of get-up-and-go and willingness to try something new. Last but by far, not least, it was a fun and friendly match - which means the team weren't too disappointed at the final score - 27 (Mad Dogs) / 9 (Tiger Black).

Back in Black but Bumped Off by the Better Team on the Day

Tigers Black 14 v Soi 8 17
The crowd was alive with energy as we arrived for finals night; marking the end of the netball year and the tigers’ first successful year. Tigers Black were first up, playing a fiery 34 minutes against Soi 8. Having really come together as a team over the last few weeks, we provided a strong opposition and rose to the challenges provided. Playing well, our fabulous wings (Lizzy and Sarah) and centre (Libby) provided the excellent support enabling our strong attacking force to penetrate their defence allowing scoring duo Toni and Marta to work their magic and get one in the net first – resounding ggggrrrrs echoed around as we returned to centre, caught a breath and continued the our half with strong determination to keep ahead. Soi 8 fought back, playing a fast paced game which kept us on our toes (and sometimes on our knees), despite managing to break through our defence, scoring twice in a row, defence displayed some quality under the net action, ready for rebounds and moving the ball on. With a roaring side line, we were spurred on, knowing that we were providing our own challenges. At halftime, in score-reversal of our last final meeting, we were narrowly ahead: 8-7. A few substitutions meant our ever increasing ambush all got to demonstrate their tiger spirit. After a few minutes to reacquaint partnerships and gauge our opponents substitutions; we provided another fast paced, quick thinking, rapid passing round meaning goals were shot and defended by our new duos Toni & Stacey, and Robson & Bridie. Team dynamics held strong, so that when the final whistle finally blew; with anticipation mounting…we had…drawn. I don’t think we’d ever drawn in the entire season, and here we were, the biggest night of the netball calendar with a standoff, a deadlock, an even-steven stalemate. With no momentous victory on either behalf we entered some encouraging, yet serious team talk from Robson and Marta (future Cap potential?!) Heads up, we were about to enter 4 minutes of extra time… 240 seconds, that’s all we had to win or lose. Tension mounting. The whistle blew. We were off. Our tremendous effort, active determination, and perseverance held strong, despite Soi 8’s first and second goals; tiger spirit never faded. We’d come so far in the last year, we’d fight til the end. Despite valiant efforts, we were unable to penetrate their defence. An excellent game, one in which we truly showed our team colours, had unfortunately ended in a Tiger Black defeat: 17 – 14. Grrrrr….

Tigers Black 8 vs Londoners 12
Whilst clearly being the loudest supporters on the side lines; spurring Tiger Golds on, the opportunity arose to play the Londoners, with a battle for third and forth places. We readily accepted, and re-gathered our team. Having beaten the Londoners in our last pre-finals match, we knew beating them was a possibility – they had some new players from our previous meeting so it took a while for our legs to warm up and work out their dynamics. Similar sides played both first and second halves, with the addition of Chelsey. On such an important night on the netball calendar, it was impossible to slow the pace down – everyone wanted a piece of the action. We demonstrated great marking, superb passing, we thought about our footwork and our spacing, and possession started off quite equal. Unfortunately for us, despite tiger spirit shining through and perseverance which ensued throughout our game we were defeated. Perhaps it was their new players, perhaps it was the fact that we’d sat and rested, believing that we’d played our last game of the season, perhaps the old saying ‘quit whilst you’re ahead’ ringing true, perhaps I should just stop making excuses… After a superb match, one which showed us to be a fine and strong team, we were beaten by the Londoners, final score Tigers Black 8, Londoners 12.