Tigers clear first hurdle to finals
TORQUAY is happy to live in the moment.
The BFL premier kept its finals hopes alive with a clutch 54-point win over top five contender Ocean Grove on Saturday.
But the Tigers know they have to be absolutely perfect from now on, needing to defeat Drysdale, Newcomb and Portarlington in the final three weeks and relying on other results to go their way.
While veteran Ben Raidme says the win over the Grubbers gave his team a crack at the top five, the Tigers were not getting ahead of themselves.
“Going into to the game we knew what was at stake,” Raidme said.
“The message before the game was to take it moment by moment, don’t think about the end result of that game or the end of the year.
“It gives us that fighting chance now. We have to win all of them.
“It’s an elimination final mentality going into every game. It’s super important for us to win all three and not take any opposition lightly.”
Torquay led by 17 points at halftime, but was able to blow the game open in the second half.
Paul McMahon bagged five goals, while Sam Wormald kicked three. Raidme was the Tigers’ best with Connor Williamson and Tim Carty, in his 200th game, also impressed.
The Grubbers were led by Karl Staudt and Jahd Anderson.
“They are a quality opposition,” Raidme said.
“They always serve up a really tough contest. ‘Lynchy’ (coach Paul Lynch) has them well drilled.
“It was tight first half and we opened things up a little bit in the last half.
“We were just playing smarter, in some areas we tried to bottle it up and get repeat stoppages, which suited our game style.” QUEENSCLIFF moved a win inside the BFL’s top five after defeating Modewarre by four points in a thriller.
The Coutas were behind at halftime, but rallied after the main break to secure what could be a crucial victory in the scheme of the season.
Daniel DeGois was the hero with six goals, while Luke Forbes kicked four goals for Modewarre.
The Warriors remain in the top five thanks to their percentage. DRYSDALE recorded a 23point win over Portarlington. JORDAN Erskine kicked 10 goals at Anglesea accounted for Newcomb by 110 points.